It’s promising to be a long and exciting summer for Liverpool. With money already on the table for Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne (via the Liverpool Echo) and Mateo Kovacic of Inter Milan (via Caliciomercato), it’s clear that the club are intent on moving quickly to strengthen Brendan Rodgers’ squad.
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Liverpool transfer news
We’ve heard plenty of rumours regarding James Milner and Danny Ings, who are both out of contract during the summer transfer window (via the Daily Mirror), while Christian Benteke’s future should soon become clearer now that the FA Cup final is done and dusted. Sky Sports claim he’s ours for £32.5m.
All that brings with it the inevitable questions about team selection and possible line-ups for next season. So, in the list below we’ve come up with five potential starting line-ups, some admittedly more plausible than others, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Back in the first game of the 2014-15 season, we started our first match against Southampton with two summer signings in the starting line-up and two more on the substitutes bench. How many will we have next season? We take on the impossible task of attempting to answer than question below…
Brendan Rodgers’ sticks with the current crop:
Team: Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Lucas, Henderson, Allen; Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge.
We have to consider the possibility – however unlikely – that we could be stuck with what we’ve got. With the likes of Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson out of contract and on their way out, that leaves us with a couple of gaps to cover. Emre Can will need to continue at right-back, with Joe Allen finally realising his potential in midfield. We should be strong up front once Daniel Sturridge has returned from injury, with Adam Lallana proving back-up.
The boss keeps faith and returns to the 3-4-3:
Team: Mignolet; Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho; Ibe, Henderson, Can, Moreno; Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge.
Sticking with the same philosophy of using only the current crop of players, it’s possible that Brendan Rodgers might consider the 3-4-3 or more suitable formation for the players at his disposal. This allows Can to move into midfield to partner captain Henderson, as he’s supposedly been promised (via EPSN), and makes room for exciting youngster Jordon Ibe. Again, we can’t find room for Adam Lallana, with Sturridge leading the front three.
The key new signings come into the team:
Team: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Kovacic, Henderson, Milner; Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge.
This is where things start to get interesting. If we pick up the players that we mentioned earlier in this piece then our team starts to look more like one that can challenge for honours next year. We’ve included three of those names from the start in a 4-3-3 formation – with Clyne coming in at right-back and Kovacic and Milner joining Henderson in midfield. The likes of Can and Allen will be able to come off the bench and make an impact.
Or, with all the new signings:
Team: Goalkeeper; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Sterling, Kovacic, Henderson, Milner; Benteke, Ings.
If we’re to get completely carried away, we could include six new signings. A new goalkeeper seems inevitable this summer, with Brad Jones having gone, while we’ve also gone for Benteke and Ings up front in an entirely new-look 4-4-2 formation. This means there’s no room for Coutinho, as our new signings dominate the midfield and strikeforce, while Daniel Sturridge is also given a rest. Knowing his injury problems, he might well need one.
And what happens if Raheem Sterling goes:
Team: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Kovacic, Henderson, Milner; Sturridge, Coutinho, Benteke.
This is conceivably the most likely scenario. With rumours continuing to circulate regarding Raheem Sterling’s future (via the Daily Mail), we have to accept the possibility that he could be on the way out. As a result of his exit, we’ve been able to bring Benteke into an exciting front three, with Sturridge and Coutinho playing alongside him. The rest of the team remains the same, with Kovacic and Milner revolutionising our midfield trio. Exciting, right?
