Hold tight, there’s just under a week of the January transfer window left. Okay, we’ve still got to sit through Jim White’s yellow tie fest and pretend that his on-screen relationship with whichever dolled up female co-presenter is on screen with him is not entirely creepy, but the end is in sight!
Although the whole month has been a bit of a damp squib in English football, Liverpool could yet save the day with a headline-grabbing transfer, with reports claiming that Alex Teixeira – Shakhtar Donetsk’s free-scoring attacking midfielder – is a top target as the deadline creeps ever closer.
And there have been suggestions that the club may not finish with the Brazilian, and indeed maybe one more could come in after him.
With that in mind we gathered together TEN names that have been aligned with the Reds in the rumour mill over the course of the past week or so and put them to Kopites yesterday.
The votes came in in their thousands, and here are the top FIVE… (We’re pretty sure that most Anfield fans would personally carry No.1 from his current club to Merseyside if given the chance!)
5 – Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
Officially La Liga’s fastest player after being clocked travelling at 22.2-miles-per-hour, the tricky wide attacker has been aligned with Liverpool in recent weeks. He has since, however, penned a new contract, but Athletic’s tweet to announce the agreement made a big point about the release clause in place, delivering the biggest possible hint that he’ll be sold for the right price.
4 – Javier Hernandez (Bayer Leverkusen)
From Manchester United to Liverpool via Bayer Leverkusen? Reds fans certainly hope so… and it’s pretty easy to see why. The Mexican was deemed surplus to requirements by Louis van Gaal over the summer, but his 11 Bundelsiga goals already this season have left the Dutchman’s face redder than Sir Alex Ferguson’s nose, and attracted Liverpool’s attention.
3- Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Granit by name granite by nature, the Swiss midfielder is a modern day enforcer, teaming good all-round passing and ball control with a spikey, never-say-die attitude. With Jurgen Klopp known to be a fan of ‘heavy metal football’ there’s little wonder that the Kop club have been linked with Xhaka, who could compliment Jordan Henderson and Emre Can in the centre of the pitch.
2 – Ilkay Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund)
In at number two we have a rumour mill favourite: Gundogan! The German playmaker has been linked with just about every top English club for what feels like an eternity now, but Liverpool do have a better chance than most given Klopp’s relationship with the Germany international from their time together at Dortmund. Reports have already claimed that the Anfield boss has spoken to Gundogan in a bid to tempt him to Merseyside, so we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.
1 – Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Liverpool fans, imagine your side with a decent goalkeeper! Well, it seems you all have been, with Barcelona’s back-up stopper coming out on top in his vote by a clear distance. The German goalie is known to be a great all-round option between the sticks, balancing great shot-stopping with a the sort of command of his area that would make Simon Mignolet blush, and reports have suggested that a £20m move BEFORE the looming deadline is an option for the Reds.
There were FIVE other names in the mix, too… See those who weren’t so popular on the next slide!
The rest…
6 – Alvaro Morata: A good striker, but would be costly to tempt Juventus to sell.
7 – Mario Suarez: A good holding midfielder, but perhaps sharing a name with Luis would make this too painful for all involved!
8 – Raphael Guerreiro: Left-back is an unglamorous role, even if a replacement for the brain-dead Alberto Moreno is, arguably, needed.
9 – Ezequiel Lavezzi: Have Reds fans got sick of links with the Argentine? It would seem so.
10 – Shane Long: Solid, unspectacular… and in at No.10!
