Quote (dro94 @ Mar 7 2016 02:36pm)
Been doing some thinking over who we could realistically go after in the summer, although some of these targets may be a little ambitious. I'll just cover the positions I think we should be prioritising to strengthen, so for me those are the positions of goalkeeper, left back, defensive midfield, attacking midfield and striker. These are just my personal thoughts, not transfer rumours.
GK - Begovic. He isn't getting much game time at Chelsea and probably never will. He is too good to be sat on the bench and is definitely an improvement over Mignolet, so he could be enticed by the promise of first team football. We'll probably just end up getting a solid keeper from the Bundesliga on the cheap which I would also be fine with. Apparently Klopp is also looking at Butland and Forster, but I consider Begovic a step above and there won't be that English premium associated with him.
LB - Cresswell/Gibbs. Gibbs can't even get a game for the Arsenal anymore, but he's still decent and better than Moreno needless to say. I'd like Cresswell personally but West Ham having a good season (may even finish above us lel) and him being an English player means we might have to pay over the odds to get him.
DM - Medel/Khedira/Wanyama. Maybe another option (although less realistic) could be Nainggolan, there are some really good central midfielders in Serie A for sure. Out of all the positions I listed we needed to strengthen, this is probably the least necessary, but I don't think Henderson and Can are good enough protection for the back 4. I'm not a huge fan of Can, I'd rather have him on the bench and Henderson + a hard tackling defensive mid starting, in order to make us more solid at the back.
CAM - Mkhtaryan/Payet/Wijnaldum. Some people would say Gotze is a realistic option but I think he'd be more likely to go to PSG, Atletico or some team like that. Mkhtaryan was brought in by Klopp so there could be a chance.. Payet would likely cost a lot as he has a pretty new contract and he may not even want to go, West Ham are going places!
ST - Berahino/Aubameyang. I think Berahino could really fit into our style of play. Only possible to get Auba because of the german connection, I still think it wouldn't be that likely to happen though. I imagine he'd be pretty happy at dortmund playing in the champions league etc. I really like Higuain and would like Klopp to make a big money move for him, but not listed him because it's not that realistic.
As for players to sell, I'd sell moreno, allen, enrique, kolo, balotelli (out on loan), markovic (out on loan), and teixeira. Maybe Benteke aswell if Klopp can't incorporate him into his playing style. It's a shame because he is a really good player and I think he is good enough. A few months ago I might have added lallana to that list, but he has improved recently and I think he is definitely good enough to stay as an impact sub. I'm pretty much done with moreno, need a left back that can actually defend and go forward in equal measure. Allen has had promise during his time here but he gets injured too often and I can't see him ever forcing himself into that team. Never liked Markovic, shocking player. The rest speak for themselves.
Will give ulloa + 5mill for benteke lmk