6 Players Who Are Fighting for Their Liverpool Futures in Final Weeks of Season

When Gerard Houllier took sole charge of Liverpool midway through the first half of the 1998/99 season, he proceeded to reshape the squad with a busy but extremely productive summer in 1999.

Houllier, who had been appointed as manager in November 1998 after Roy Evans left the club, had over half the season to judge his squad and gauge where the Reds needed strengthening.

The Frenchman made seven signings, with 12 players leaving the club. In came a new goalkeeper (Sander Westerveld), a commanding centre-back (Sami Hyypia), a partner for that centre-back (Stephane Henchoz), a holding midfielder (Dietmar Hamann) and options in attack (Emile Heskey, Vladimir Smicer and Titi Camara).

Houllier completely overhauled the spine of the Liverpool XI to great effect.

This summer, that story could repeat itself at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp having been in charge for a month longer than Houllier was and with many supporters hoping the German sets about tackling Liverpool's spine.

You wouldn't see many Kopites unhappy if a new goalkeeper, two centre-backs, a holding midfielder and three attackers were signed this summer.

With that in mind, there are plenty of current Liverpool players fighting for their Anfield futures in the final weeks of the season.

Here are six players who need to persuade Klopp they should remain at the club next season.

Martin Skrtel

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Given the events of Liverpool's 3-2 loss at Southampton on March 20, when Martin Skrtel returned from injury at half-time and oversaw a complete second-half collapse, the Slovakian is probably the most likely first-team player to leave.

The 31-year-old's future is cast into further doubt when you consider Liverpool already have a deal in place for Joel Matip—the right-sided centre-back from Schalke 04.

Skrtel has been the only constant in Liverpool's constantly fragile defence in recent seasons, and he's now well past his prime. Time to sell while he retains any sell-on value.

Lucas Leiva

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Skrtel is Liverpool's second longest-serving player, and the club's longest-serving player, Lucas Leiva, is likely to join him in leaving the club this summer.

Injury to Lucas last month has been bad timing for the Brazilian, and he'll face a challenge to persuade Klopp he can be in his long-term plans.

The 29-year-old is past his prime, and Liverpool could get a decent fee before he hits 30.

What's clear is that he isn't good enough for the first XI, and it's unlikely he'll want to remain as a back-up player again.

Simon Mignolet

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Most Liverpool supporters would like to see Klopp upgrade the goalkeeper this summer, meaning Simon Mignolet's future is very much in doubt.

The Belgian has improved in recent weeks, but he still has underlying issues in his game—see his miserable clearance that eventually lead to Southampton's winning goal last time out as an example.

The Reds continue to be linked with a host of goalkeepers, from Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, as reported by the Daily Express (h/t the Mirror's Aaron Flanagan), to FC Cologne's Timo Horn, according to German publication Bild (h/t Flanagan).

Christian Benteke

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Perhaps the most likely to leave Liverpool this summer is forward Christian Benteke, especially after his comments to Sport/Voetbalmagazine (h/t This Is Anfield) this week.

Benteke has gone from being signed by Brendan Rodgers as first-choice striker in the summer to fourth choice under Klopp—he'd likely be fifth choice if Danny Ings wasn't sidelined for the season.

Benteke's last start for the Reds was at West Ham United in the FA Cup in February, and he's been on the bench for the nine following.

Seemingly unsuited to the Liverpool style of play, both club and player will want a parting of ways this summer.

Jordan Henderson

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The most high-profile departure from Liverpool this summer could be that of captain Jordan Henderson.

The England midfielder's future at Anfield is certainly no foregone conclusion, with Klopp linked to moves for Granit Xhaka and Ilkay Gundogan, per Football Insider (h/t Daily Star's Alex Harris).

Henderson has had a tough first season sporting the armband at Liverpool, suffering from an ongoing heel problem that's clearly affected his game in recent weeks—he's been frequently subbed around 70 minutes.

Henderson has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, per the Daily Mail's Joe Bernstein.

Jordan Rossiter

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It's gone under the radar, but Liverpool's academy product Jordan Rossiter is just weeks away from being out of contract at the club.

The 19-year-old hasn't been helped by two hamstring injuries, which have restricted his playing time under Klopp to just one substitute appearance against FC Sion in the UEFA Europa League in December.

That appearance saw him pick up his second hamstring injury, having suffered the first while on international duty with England under-19s in Klopp's early time in charge.

Rossiter has now been sidelined for over three months with the injury, and he faces a big challenge to get back fit and then do enough to earn a new deal.

However, the Reds could hand him an extension as they did for Jon Flanagan last summer.