da pixbet： We’re now nearly halfway through the January transfer window and so far it’s been… well, incredibly uneventful.
da doce： Liverpool have been one of the Premier League’s busiest clubs and they’ve only signed two senior players; Serbian prodigy Marko Grujic, who will return to Red Star Belgrade for the remainder of the season, and QPR defender Steven Caulker on loan.
Perhaps being left underwhelmed by the January transfer window is largely inevitable. Whilst the tabloids hype up every rumour as absolute fact, clubs are often restricted in terms of finance and the fact their priority targets probably won’t be allowed to leave their current employers halfway through the season.
But we at Football FanCast are issuing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a magic wand for the rest of the transfer window, and he’s free to wave it at any player he’d like from the Bundesliga.
So without further ado, here are FIVE stars from the German top flight the Anfield gaffer would love to get his hands on this month. Unfortunately, however, he probably won’t.
LEROY SANE
Seeing as he’s already caught the attention of Barcelona and Real Madrid, I’m sure Liverpool would love to get their hands on Schalke winger Leroy Sane this month – especially considering their current squad is seriously lacking in terms of natural wide players.
The 20-year-old has taken German football storm this season, bagging four goals and four assists in eleven Bundesliga starts whilst ranking sixth through the division for successful dribbles per match at 2.9.
That impressive form earned Sane an inaugural cap for Germany in November and he’s now reportedly being courted by some of the biggest clubs in world football, including the El Clasico duo and Premier League title favourites Manchester City.
The pulling power of Jurgen Klopp keeps Liverpool in the race for the 6 foot attacker’s signature. But rated at around £40million, the Reds probably lack the funds to bring him to Anfield this month.
NEVEN SUBOTIC
Jurgen Klopp may have just nabbed QPR’s Steven Caulker in one of the most surprising deals of the transfer window so far, but he’d undoubtedly prefer to have Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotic at his disposal for the remainder of the campaign.
Indeed, the Serbian international not only served under the German gaffer as they lifted consecutive Bundesliga titles with the Black-Yellows but also at former club Mainz, arriving at Westfalenstadion together back in summer 2008.
Subotic has spent much of his Dortmund career overshadowed by World Cup-winning centre-back partner Mats Hummels but he’s an incredibly talented defender in his own right and particularly on the deck, with well-timed tackles, a good reading of the game and quality on the ball.
Having slumped down the pecking order this season due to injury, a loan move to Anfield was mooted earlier this month. Caulker’s unexpected arrival, however, suggests it’s unlikely to go ahead.
JAVIER HERNANDEZ
Liverpool were in the market for Javier Hernandez before his summer move to Bayer Leverkusen and will almost certainly have taken note of his impressive form since.
Now enjoying regular first team football for pretty much the first time since moving to Europe in 2010, the former Manchester United super-sub has bagged eleven goals in twelve Bundesliga starts this season – alongside five strikes in the Champions League’s group stages.
The 27-year-old’s Premier League pedigree is undoubted, having previously recorded three consecutive campaigns of double figures in the top flight, whilst his flurry for Bayer has proved what ‘Chicharito’ is capable of if given a starting berth.
He’s exactly what the Reds need right now amid injuries to Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and Divock Origi, but it will take an enormous offer to convince Bayer to sell just six months after signing the ‘Little Pea’.
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG
Speaking of strikers, let’s not forget about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – the reported Liverpool target who has scored the most league goals of any player involved in Europe’s five leading top flights this season.
Indeed, the Borussia Dortmund star’s potent haul of 18 goals in 17 Bundesliga outings this term saw him linked with a plethora of top clubs ahead of the January transfer window. His Black-Yellows return now stands at a formidable 68 in 119 across all competitions and the 26-year-old’s mix of power and pace, measuring in at 6 foot 2 whilst famed for his penetrative speed, has lead many to moot him as a perfect fit for Premier League football.
Rumours of an imminent departure rapidly escalated earlier this month as Aubameyang unexpectedly missed the first day of training in 2016. But his £42million price-tag is probably a little beyond Liverpool’s financial reach for the January window.
MARIO GOTZE
Mario Gotze emerged as one of the most exciting youngsters in world football under Jurgen Klopp’s direction at Borussia Dortmund but has suffered a fall from grace since his controversial move to Bayern Munich in summer 2013.
Indeed, despite bagging the winner for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final and producing a decent enough return of 34 goals in 104 appearances for the Bavarians, the attacking midfielder has found himself continually marginalised by Pep Guardiola and often excluded from Bayern’s most important fixtures.
Still just 23 years of age and laden with top class technical quality, Gotze has the potential to emerge as real coup for his next club. He seems more than likely to leave the Allianz Arena before next season, with his contract set to expire in 2017, and Liverpool have been mooted as one of the more interested parties.
But the 48-cap international has already ruled out a January transfer and is currently sidelined through injury anyway, so any deal will have to wait until the summer.