Liverpool’s proposed move for Nathaniel Clyne makes sense – but only to a point, writes co-editor Kevin Kelly.
Liverpool are expected to make an improved bid for Nathaniel Clyne this week, having already seen their opening bid of £10m rejected by Southampton last week. Their senior right-back Glen Johnson has subsequently left the club this summer following his contract running out and the Reds undoubtedly need to fill the position.
Nevertheless it will irk some fans – and rightly so. While Liverpool do indeed need to fill the position, the lack of an striking addition is one of far more importance for Liverpool and one which should take priority for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool’s infamous transfer committee. While the Reds have already (well, more of less) acquired Danny Ings, the need to bring in a top quality striker is the most important move for Liverpool this summer.
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Let’s not forget Liverpool’s four strikers: Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Daniel Sturridge, managed just eight goals throughout last season’s Premier League campaign. The numbers really are tragic, Liverpool scored 50 goals less than the previous season with Luis Suarez and a fit Daniel Sturridge. While fans can debate whether full-backs and defensive midfielders could help the Reds push on, simply adding goals would be the smart move here.
Sturridge – when fit – is on the precipice of world class status, but last season the number 15 was injured way too often – and when he was fit he didn’t look the same player. Balotelli simply does not fit Liverpool’s required movement in attack, while neither does Rickie Lambert. Fabio Borini meanwhile seems dead-set on staying in Liverpool despite only making nine Premier League appearances last season.
Often such opinions will be met with questions such as ‘who could Liverpool attract anyway’, which are frankly to simplistic and at the heart of Liverpool’s malaise. Luciano Vietto, now on the way to Ateltico Madrid, would have been a viable option for the Reds. Vietto was affordable, skilful, and with room to improve. Vietto scored 18 goals and made six assists for Villareal last season; the 21 year-old showing he has the ability to be Argentina’s next star striker.
Speaking of Argentinian strikers, an ambitious move for Gonzalo Higuain could be another move for the Reds, had they any ambition. Like Napoli, Liverpool cannot offer the 28 year-old Champions League football, but with Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard off the wage bill they could offer him more money than he earns in Italy.
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The aforementioned duo are just two options from a multitude throughout European football which would offer an improvement on what the Reds have in the squad currently. Shifting Balotelli, Borini and Lambert might not be an easy task, but only buying after you sell in a dangerous, and often debilitating transfer strategy.
In the meantime Clyne looks increasingly likely to be a Liverpool player, and in isolation, looks a good fit. Astute defensively while brilliant going forward Clyne might be the rounded-package the Reds thought Glen Johnson might be when they signed him for £18m in 2009. Whether Clyne means the Reds miss out on the striker they dearly require remains to be seen, but if history tells us anything, it doesn’t look too good for Liverpool.