Well, no, not really. Have you not heard that they lost Suarez in the summer?
There may just be a glimmer of light through the thickening Melwood trees for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool though. And the solution comes in the most unlikely of rare sources, the craziest of mad ideas. The solution is coming from so far out of left field that it might as well be playing a different sport (don’t worry, we’re talking about Balotelli). They’re going after a Belgian, a big lad, a promising youngster who was bought for €12.5m in the summer. That’s right, they’re going after Divock Origi. Actually chasing one of their own players.
The 19-year-old was bought and loaned back to Lille in August for the remainder of the season but, according to the Daily Mirror, is ready to make an impromptu return to Anfield after the club have spent the last three months scratching their heads trying to come up with a solution to their attacking woes. Just imagine the conversation:
‘Brendan, can we not try all of our strikers?’
‘I told you, I’m not playing Rickie bloody Lambert.’
‘Well, what about that boy you spent all that money on in the summer?’
‘Markovic?’
‘No, the other one.’
Origi has been quoted as saying that he would welcome a quicker return (or arrival) to Liverpool than scheduled. “If the club choose to let me go in January, I would go,” he said. “I would like to join Liverpool then. Although I agreed to stay with Lille until the end of this season, if there was that chance of joining Liverpool sooner, I would take it – I would love to move sooner rather than later.”
Get ready to spit your tea out because Manchester United are in the market again and they might actually be interested in a defender (one of those boys who stops goals going in at the other end). The Daily Mirror are reporting that Louis van Gaal is ready to launch a bid for 20-year-old Athletic Bilbao centre back, Aymeric Laporte. The good news is that the manager does in fact know what a central defender is… allegedly. The bad news? Arsenal and Chelsea are rumoured to be interested as well so, you know, United can forget about it.
Meanwhile, the English transfer valuation index is as reliable as ever, Everton asking for just the £60 million off Man City for Ross Barkley (Manchester Evening News). What? He’s played at least 50 league games for the Toffees. Not to be perturbed by the price tag, City are expected to re-enter negotiations, starting them at £72 million. Bill Kenwright will ask for less, and the two clubs will meet somewhere in the middle. It’s believed that Barkley is keen to follow in the fine example set by Jack Rodwell’s move to the Etihad.
Real Madrid are still said to be considering the sale of Gareth Bale, with Chelsea looking like the front-runners to capture his €113 million signature (Express). Carlo Ancelotti was believed to be uninterested in the offload but has since realised that, with the €113 million coming in to their bank balance for the Welshman, Madrid could buy at least two players – for well under a billion in total.
And, get this. The Birmingham Mail are reporting that Birmingham are lining up the signature of free agent midfielder Guy Moussi. The French man served Nottingham Forest for six years until the summer and, if you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the sound of no-one caring.
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