Liverpool Transfer Rumours: 7 Potential January Targets

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

That's the sound of the transfer window getting closer. It's less than three months now until teams are allowed to conduct transfer business again, and it's safe to say the market will burst into life the second after the window reopens.

Here's guessing Liverpool will be among England's busiest clubs. Heading into this weekend's international break, Liverpool has 13 points through seven Premiership matches.

For some teams, that would be cause for celebration (Arsenal, anyone? What? Too soon?), but not for Liverpool.

After the summer signing spree conducted by manager Kenny Dalglish, much was expected of the Reds this term. While they haven't played badly, they haven't played well enough to compete for the title.

That's the goal for Liverpool, and that's why the club will be busy in the transfer market come January.

Who will they buy? We're glad you asked.

Here's a list of seven potential transfer targets.

Jeffrey Schlupp, Leicester City

Word around the interwebs today is that Leicester City has a transfer target on their hands.

That transfer target is 18-year-old Jeffrey Schlupp, a midfielder and forward of Ghanaian descent.

Schlupp is being linked with Liverpool here and here.

It's not much, but it's something. The first article says Leicester expects an offer in January. In addition to Liverpool, Newcastle and Stoke are said to be interested.

Schlupp is eligible to play internationally for England, Ghana and Germany. He has scored once in six Championship appearances this term.

Eden Hazard, Lille

Eden Hazard, Lille's 20-year-old Belgian midfielder, has long been linked to Liverpool.

But since the August transfer window closed, there hasn't been much news.

On Sept. 1, ESPN reported Lille saying Liverpool doesn't have first dibs on Hazard. That speculation arose after Joe Cole moved from Liverpool to Lille on loan, prompting many to think Hazard would quickly head the other direction.

The same day, SkySports reported something very similar.

Since then, it's been nothing.

That doesn't mean there won't be a deal in January or later. It just means we don't know what's going on.

Stay tuned.

Jan Vertonghen, Ajax

Jan Vertonghen, Ajax's 24-year-old Belgian defender, has been on Liverpool's radar for a few weeks now.

He was linked (here and here) to Liverpool, among others a few weeks back.

More recently, another report claimed Arsenal could beat Liverpool to Vertonghen based on his relationship with Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.

The saga seems to have legs, so stay tuned for the latest. It could go down to the wire in January.

Shinji Kagawa, Borussia Dortmund

The Guardian and BBC are reporting that Liverpool is competing for the signature of Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa.

Kagawa is a 22-year-old midfielder/striker who has been capped 25 times by Japan.

According to the BBC report, Kagawa is also being chased by Manchester United and AC Milan. According to the Guardian, his price is £18 million.

Christian Eriksen, Ajax

Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, 19, is another player Liverpool has been linked to for a few weeks.

The rumours started soon after the August transfer window closed. Nothing much has happened since then.

Stay tuned, though.

Paco Alcacer, Valencia

Paco Alcacer is an 18-year-old forward currently playing with Valencia.

Recent reports have suggested Liverpool and Arsenal are interested in signing him. That report says Alcacer's contract includes an £8 million buyout.

That's a lot of money for an 18-year-old without a ton of experience. But it doesn't seem out of the question for Liverpool, or Arsenal.

Raul Albiol, Real Madrid

This one is a longshot, but it could still happen.

Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol has been linked with a move to Liverpool. He's denying it, but we've all heard footballers say one thing and then do another.

Could that happen with Albiol? Like we said, it's a longshot.

But stranger things have happened.