LIVEROOPL FC And SUMMER TARGETS

The season is almost at the end now and Liverpool is at the 8^th position which is not what anyone had in mind when the season started. Kenny Dalglish brought in Downing, Carroll, Adam, Henderson, Coates, Doni, Bellamy and Enrique for a total of around £90 million in the summer. Out of these players only Bellamy and Enrique lived up to the expectations. the entire season was about the failure of the £71 million trio i.e. Henderson, Downing and Carroll, who failed to light up Anfield despite being given fair share of chances. The focus is now on getting players in the summer and bearing in mind that NESV will not release funds like what sheikh Mansour or Roman Abramovich have been doing for their clubs. Gerrard, Kuyt, Maxi and Carragher are all on the wrong side of 30s now and the club really need replacement for them. Though I believe that Gerrard will be playing for another 2-3 more years at least but lately injuries are catching up to him, which is not a good sign for Liverpool. Considering the current situation KK needs to look at people who can fill in for all these players and here's my pick of a few players Liverpool can sign in the summer and realize the goal of reaching Europe once again. There are far better players than the ones on my list but I am being realistic with targets, keeping in mind that Liverpool will not be playing UCL.

1). IBRAHIM AFFELAY (HOLLAND And FC BARCELONA)- Born in Utrecht, Netherlands this 26 year old Winger/ Attacking Midfielder is currently playing for Barcelona. He has made a total of 248 appearances for Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven and has scored 40 goals. He has also represented Holland 36 times and has scored 3 goals.  A class player, but plays third fiddle to Pedro, Villa, Sanchez and now Cuenca and Tello. Liverpool could benefit from this signing as they have been unable to create chances from the wing play.

02). MILOS KRASIC (SERBIA And JUVENTUS)- Born in Kosovska, SFR Yugoslavia this 27 year old Winger/ Attacking Midfielder is currently playing for Juventus. He has made total 356 appearances for Juventus, CSKA Moscow and VojVodina and has scored 50 goals. He has also represented Serbia 46 times and has scored 3 goals. He is a quality right winger who has a eye for the goal. Recently out of favor at Juventus, he would be a great addition to Liverpool given their lack of a natural right winger.                        

03). YOANN GOURCUFF (FRANCE And LYON)- Born in Plomeur, France this 25 year old Attacking Midfielder is currently playing for Lyon. He has made a total of 272 appearances for Bordeux, AC Milan, Lyon and Rennes and has scored 38 goals along with 47 assists. He has also represented France 28 times and has scored 4 goals along with 8 assists. He is a creative midfielder who can aptly support Suarez upfront. With his vision and great all round ability he can be a great back up to Steven Gerrard and would also be a great placement for the Captain Fantastic.

04). KI SUNG-YEUNG (SOUTH KOREA And CELTIC FC)– Born in Gwangju, South Korea this 22 year old Attacking Midfielder is currently playing with Celtic in Scottish league. He has made a total of 175 appearances for Seoul FC and Celtics and has scored 20 goals. He has also represented South Korea 45 times and has scored 5 goals. A class player with a great right foot shot, he would be a great addition to our squad with his speed and creativity upfront to support Suarez.

05). ANDRIY YARMOLENKO (UKRAINE And DYNAMO KIEV) – Born in Saint Petersburg, Soviet Union this 22 year old Forward/ Left Winger currently playing for Dynamo Kiev. He has made a total of 175 appearances for Dynamo Kiev and Desna Chernihiv and has scored 55 goals. He has also represented Ukraine 18 times and has scored 7 goals. He has been valued at £8-10 mil by his club. This young forward has been instrumental in Dynamo Kiev success in the league and has been a regular in the line-up. He would be a great addition as he can play on either wing or as centre forward or just behind striker.

06). LUCAS BIGLIA (ARGENTINA And FC ANDRELECHT) - Born in Mercedes, Argentina this 25 year old Defensive Midfielder is currently playing for Andrelecht. He has made a total of 237 appearances for Andrelecht, Independiente and Argentinos Juniors and has scored 9 goals. He also has represented Argentina 6 times. A strong defensive midfielder, he will be a great back up for Lucas. And with a price tag of £ 6-8, he will be a bargain for Liverpool.

07). TOBY ALDERWEIRELD (BELGUIM And AFC AJAX)- Born  in Antwerp, Belgium this 22 year old defender is currently playing for AFC Ajax. In 125 appearances for Ajax he has scored 10 times and has already represented Belgium 16 times. This 6 ft 1 inch defender has been a regular in Ajax defense and is already a key figure in the team. This Versatile Belgian can play as a left back and a center back at equal ease.

08). SIMON KJAER (DENMARK And VfL WOLFSBUG On Loan To ROMA)- Born on 26th March 1989, in Horsens, Denmark. He has played for Palermo and VfLWolfsburg. He is currently on loan to Roma. In a total of 138 appearances for both clubs he has scored 6 goals and has represented Denmark 21 times. This 6ft 2 inches center back has been regarded as one of the best young defenders in Europe. He would be a great back up to Skrtel and Agger.

09). OLA TOIVONEN(SWEDEN And PSV EINDHOVEN)- Born in Degefors, Sweden this 25 year old striker plays for PSV Endhoven. In 179 appearances for Degerfors, Orgryte, Malmo and PSV Endhoven he has scored a total of 63 goals. He has represented Sweden 22 times and has scored 4 times. This 6 ft 3 inches striker has been really good for PSV for the past two seasons. He has a great aerial ability as well as great speed. He has been the main attacking threat for PSV for past two seasons and would be a great partner for Luis Suarez.

Liverpool surely need reinforcement this summer, as i said before Kuyt, Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Bellmay are all in their 30s now and they need at least three players who can replace them. Noting the fact that Liverpool will not be playing UCL is one factor in their inability to sign world class players, however this list contains quality players who have been very influential in their respective teams for past few season. Not only these players will not cost a fortune just like few players did for Liverpool in the past, these players will provide much needed creativity and versatility in the attack for Liverpool which has been a major concern throughout this season.