Liverpool Transfer News: Fresh Alexandre Pato Rumours, Top Signings Encouraged

Liverpool are reportedly ready to part with £11 million to beat Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United to the signing of Alexandre Pato.

According to Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Bruce Archer of the Daily Express), the Reds are now in pole position to land the Corinthians star. As noted in the piece, Pato was on loan at Sao Paolo last term in order to get the striker’s salary off their wage bill, and now it seems as though they’re keen to move him on for good.

Although many will remember Pato failing to live up to expectations during his time at AC Milan, he enjoyed something of a renaissance during his time at Sao Paolo. Here’s a glimpse of what he is capable of:

Indeed, Pato is still only 26 years old. He was well-known during the nascent stages of his career due to the massive potential he possessed, and during his time in Milan, the Brazilian showed glimpses of genuine world-class talent. But a spate of injuries saw him fall out of favour and head back to Brazil.

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Now, after building up his reputation again, it seems as though Pato is keen to make it at a top club in Europe. The Selecao Brasileira Twitter feed praised the player’s attitude:

"

I respect Pato more than ever because he turned down mega money moves from China. Shows his dedication & desire to retrieve his glory days.

— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) January 6, 2016"

Liverpool could do with an injection of quality up front, too. While their defensive options have been pushed to breaking point recently, they don’t look completely convincing at the sharp end of the attack, either, with Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Danny Ings all showing they are susceptible to injury problems.

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The team's £32.5 million summer signing, Christian Benteke, is also having a difficult start to life at Anfield, as we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com:

Nevertheless, going after Pato would be a gamble. The £11 million may not be that much money for a club like Liverpool, but the Premier League would be a massive step up for a player who relishes time on the ball and doesn’t particularly enjoy the physical side of the game.

For the Reds, who need a spark in attacking areas, it still could be a risk worth taking.

Jamie Carragher Wants Top Signings

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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has called upon Reds boss Jurgen Klopp to improve the club’s recent poor record in the transfer window.

People heavily criticised Klopp’s predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, for some of his decisions in the market, with plenty of acquisitions faltering under Rodgers' tutelage. Carragher has challenged the German to show he has an eye for a player to complement his obvious man-management skills, per Charlie Phillippe of the Daily Express:

"

The reason they changed the manager is because results had not been good and that comes down to players that have been brought into the club.

The reason most managers get criticised or lose their jobs is because of recruitment more often than not, so for Jurgen Klopp the key is to recruit well in January or in the summer and over the next three or four years and make Liverpool better.

He’s obviously got the ability and the pedigree as a manager and you can see that with the results he’s had at Dortmund. He’s a top manager but it’s just about bringing better players in.

"

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

Klopp had a stellar reputation for developing new signings at Borussia Dortmund. The club was renowned for bringing in personnel that was relatively unknown, including the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan, and turning them into top quality players. The Anfield crowd will be desperate to see him do something similar at Liverpool.

But as noted by Raj Bains of uMAXit, any acquisitions the Reds make don’t necessarily have to be big-money purchases:

Klopp is a manager who places a heavy emphasis on coaching and developing footballers, which is something we’ll continue to see in his transfer strategy at Anfield. But the January window is not an ideal time to make the additions required to turn this team into one in his image.

Even so, if Liverpool do have ambitions of pushing toward the Champions League spots this term, then some savvy midseason purchases would be most welcome.