Ranking Liverpool's Transfer Rumours on Excitement Factor
This is a big summer for Liverpool.
After a top-four finish in the Premier League last season secured a return to the UEFA Champions League, manager Jurgen Klopp could be busier in the transfer market than a desperate shopper on Black Friday.
The exact amount the Reds boss has to spend is unclear. Judging from the number of players linked, however, the German has money burning a hole in his tracksuit pocket. His job is to find the right faces for the (relatively) right prices.
According to former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher, the key is quality, not quantity.
"If you add three or four players and they go straight into the first XI, three or four of those who were playing week in, week out last season go to the bench," Carragher told Chris Shaw of the club's official website. "It makes the bench a lot stronger and your team a lot stronger. It's not just numbers. It's about getting the right quality that can go straight into the team."
As the transfer merry-go-round gathers pace (and we've not even reached July yet, so brace yourselves), Bleacher Report has ranked the top potential recruits on whether they get fans' pulses racing.
So while Klopp is looking for a centre-back, don't expect too many defenders to appear on this list. Liverpool are out of contention to sign Southampton's Virgil van Dijk after the Reds officially ended their interest on June 7.
This is all a matter of personal opinion. The criterion for selection is the players in question must have been linked with the Reds in the media.
10. Gelson Martins
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"Gelson Martins will be the future Cristiano Ronaldo."
The above statement is a bold call. However, according to Nemanja Grbic of FourFourTwo, those were the words of Benfica president Domingos Stanislau about a player who belongs to his club's bitterest rivals, Sporting CP.
Martins will have to go some to hit the same lofty heights as the outstanding Ronaldo, but he does look to be yet another special talent to come through Sporting's Alcochete academy.
Per Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo, the Reds may be ready to bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League. A winger capable of playing on either flank, he would add pace and playmaking abilities to the forward line.
Anyone who witnessed Martins' cameo off the bench for Portugal against Mexico at the Confederations Cup on Sunday must have been impressed with what they saw from the winger.
9. Mohamed Salah
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Unlike the majority of rumours that will be talked about in these rankings, Mohamed Salah's move to Liverpool has legs.
AS Roma have played hardball over the Egyptian winger, rejecting an initial bid of £28 million. However, as revealed by Melissa Reddy of Goal, the two sides are close to reaching an agreement.
For Salah, the move will see him get a second crack at playing in the Premier League. He struggled in his previous spell in England, with Chelsea, making just 19 appearances before leaving.
However, the 25-year-old has starred in Serie A, first with Fiorentina on loan before moving to the Giallorossi.
Like a flight constantly hit by turbulence, transfer negotiations between Liverpool and Salah's employers have been rocky. In the end, though, the winger appears set to safely reach his next destination.
8. Naby Keita
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Naby Keita was a key component of an RB Leipzig squad that took the Bundesliga by storm in the 2016/17 season.
The midfielder scored eight goals and provided the same number of assists in league action, per Transfermarkt. Signed from RB Salzburg for £12.75 million last July, his performances suggest Leipzig bagged a bargain.
According to David Maddock of the Mirror, Liverpool were quoted £50 million for the 22-year-old—and the Reds still weren't put off by that hefty price tag. So far, though, there have been no further developments over the deal.
Keita—who shares an agent with Sadio Mane—would be a wonderful addition to Klopp's squad, even if it will take a club-record fee to prise him away from his employers.
However, in terms of excitement over his potential arrival, he doesn't quite have the same wow factor as others linked with Liverpool. These rankings are about star power, not necessarily suitability.
7. Benjamin Mendy
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Despite the excellent efforts of James Milner in the position last season, Liverpool need to add a recognised left-back to their squad (particularly with the added pressure of playing in Europe too).
A number of names have been rumoured. Neil Moxley of the Sunday Mirror reported in May a deal for Hull City's Andrew Robertson would be announced once the transfer window reopened.
Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon appeared a target too, at least he was until Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo reported how the Reds had dropped out of the running and that the teenager was expected to join Tottenham Hotspur instead.
However, Benjamin Mendy would be the pick of the left-backs linked to Liverpool so far this summer.
The France international—outstanding in the AS Monaco team that won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League—appeared likely to end up at Manchester City.
The deal has hit a snag, though, according to L'Equipe (h/t Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News), raising the possibility of the Reds sneaking in to snatch the player from City's grasp.
Milner was a steady presence, but Mendy would be a major upgrade in a problematic position—and that should be enough to get Liverpool fans excited about the addition of at least one new defender.
6. Douglas Costa
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Ed Malyon of The Independent revealed how Bayern Munich's signing of Serge Gnabry had cleared the way for Douglas Costa's departure—and Liverpool were one of the clubs said to be monitoring the situation.
Those Reds supporters who also happen to own a games console greeted the news with delight, as they imagined the fun of a new career mode on FIFA 18 with the addition of Costa and his five-star skill moves.
On an actual football field, the Brazilian is undoubtedly capable of magical moments. In moving to Merseyside, he would join compatriots Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, giving the squad a strong samba feel.
However, it doesn't seem there will be a new Costa located at Anfield this summer.
Juventus want the 26-year-old, as coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed. "Douglas Costa is one of our objectives; he is a very good player," he told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Ben Grounds for MailOnline).
5. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appears to be at a career crossroads.
Despite a strong finish to the season with Arsenal, which concluded with victory in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, the Ox only has one year remaining on his deal.
John Cross of the Mirror revealed how the England international has been left "deeply frustrated" with the Gunners' failure to sort out a new contract. "Liverpool are long-term admirers while Chelsea and City are also keen and are set to move in with Arsenal dragging their heels," Cross added in his story on Saturday.
According to Neil Fissler of the Sunday Express, Klopp would be willing to pay as much as £40 million for a player who could be used in a number of different roles.
Such a signing would be a coup—and not just because of Oxlade-Chamberlain's talent.
Here is a player who, at 23, should still have his prime years ahead of him, plus it would be striking a blow against a domestic rival. This transfer would cause a few arguments on Twitter.
4. Alexandre Lacazette
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Alexandre Lacazette is the first of two French forwards Liverpool fans should welcome with open arms.
Still just 26, Lacazette has scored 129 goals in 275 games for Olympique Lyonnais, according to Transfermarkt. He found the net 37 times last season, but could that campaign have been his last in his homeland?
French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Saturday how Arsenal are primed to sign a player who seemed destined to join Atletico Madrid before the Spanish club were hit with a transfer ban (h/t Uche Amako of the Daily Express).
Liverpool are also said to be interested though.
Klopp favoured Firmino as his lead frontman when setting up in a 4-3-3 system last season, while he also has Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi as alternative options to play up top.
Lacazette, though, would be the kind of upgrade who makes a real difference. Any time your club is linked with a forward with such an impressive strike rate, it's hard not to get a little carried away.
3. James Rodriguez
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James Rodriguez's Real Madrid future is uncertain—and that's putting it mildly.
The Colombian couldn't even make the bench for Los Blancos' 4-1 Champions League final win over Juventus. Left out by head coach Zinedine Zidane, Rodriguez became the most expensive spectator in Cardiff, watching on from the stands as his team-mates retained the trophy.
So where next for a player who won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup? More to the point, which club can afford to not only meet Madrid's valuation but also afford James' likely sky-high salary?
According to Don Balon (h/t the Mirror), Liverpool could be willing to splash £52 million on Rodriguez.
It's a nice idea in terms of adding quality to the squad, as Carragher suggested. It would be a major coup too, the type of heavyweight transfer that pricks interest all across Europe.
But even if Rodriguez's falling stock and the Reds' upward curve under Klopp allowed fans to get briefly excited about this transfer, a deal still looks highly unlikely.
2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Klopp's history with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it easy to link Liverpool with a move for the striker.
Yet despite the success the pair enjoyed working together at Borussia Dortmund, last season's Bundesliga leading scorer was seemingly heading for Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
However, things can change quickly in the transfer market. While PSG apparently had a deal in place, a source at the club told Jonathan Johnson of ESPN FC how new sporting director Antero Henrique pulled the plug on it.
So could Aubameyang now be heading for Merseyside instead? Per Le Parisien (h/t Tom Olver of Metro), yes.
The French outlet reported Liverpool are ready to spend as much as £61 million to secure the biggest reunion since Steps announced they were releasing a new album.
While some will scoff at such a huge fee for a 28-year-old, the upside is the player already knows how his potential new manager works, and vice versa. Scoring goals wasn't the issue for Klopp's Reds in the Premier League last season—but that doesn't mean upgrades shouldn't be made to the attack.
In many ways, Aubameyang to Liverpool makes sense. That's not to say the move will happen, though.
1. Kylian Mbappe
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Kylian Mbappe is the hottest property in European football.
After a wonderful season for AS Monaco in which he scored 26 goals in all competitions, the Frenchman is attracting attention from more clubs than you find in a deck of cards.
Liverpool seems an unlikely landing spot for the 18-year-old forward. Still, according to Dominic King of the Daily Mail, Klopp "made contact" with Mbappe's representatives to join a rather long queue of teams hoping to sign a player who has been compared to Thierry Henry.
Mbappe, however, appears to have his heart set on going somewhere else. Per Spanish newspaper ABC (h/t James Walters of the Daily Star), he has told his club he wants to join Real Madrid.
It is nigh on impossible for Liverpool to compete with Los Blancos in the transfer market. If Madrid come calling, few players have the will to say no.
Still, just the thought of adding a player of Mbappe's massive potential to the Reds' current crop is enough to make the mind boggle. It would be fun to watch until Madrid inevitably turn up and lure him away.
All statistics and transfer fees used in the article are from Transfermarkt unless otherwise stated.
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