Liverpool officially released five players today – Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Brad Jones and academy duo Jordan Lussey and Marc Pelosi – as confirmed by the Premier League’s official website. While this list will surprise very few people, it got us thinking about who might also have played their last game for the Reds.
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For example, there has been a lot of talk about our strikers, and who will be leaving over the coming weeks. With Danny Ings agreeing his move from Burnley on Monday and Divock Origi set to rejoin the club after a year with Lille, the competition for places is incredibly fierce.
James Milner also joins us next month, when his contract with Manchester City expires, while deals for Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan and Inter Milan midfielder Mateo Kovacic are thought to be close as well (via the Echo).
Here’s who we consider to be the ‘deadwood’ that we need to sell:
Luis Alberto
A promising youngster when we signed him in the summer of 2013. Unfortunately, he’s failed to progress beyond that over the last two years. He only made a handful of La Liga appearances for Malaga last season so with Milner and Kovacic potentially coming in and Emre Can looking to move into midfield, his chances at Anfield are going to be extremely limited. It won’t cost us much to keep him but it seems like a move away would be best for everyone.
Iago Aspas
Simpy not cut out to be a Premier League striker. He was a prized figure at Celta Vigo, where he scored 46 league goals in 136 games, but he’s proved since then that he’s not capable of reproducing that form elsewhere, either at home or abroad. After netting just once for Liverpool during our 2013-14 campaign, he’s continued to struggle at Sevilla. He scored only twice in La Liga and was left out of their squad for the Europa League final last month.
Jose Enrique
Injuries have put paid to the Spaniard’s career, who has spent much of the last two years sitting on the sidelines. With Alberto Moreno now very much the first-choice left-back in the Liverpool squad, there looks like there’s going to be little chance for Enrique to change the mind of Brendan Rodgers and co next season, even if he stays put. The 29-year-old, who has made just 76 Premier League appearances since 2011, surely has to be first to go.
Rickie Lambert
The big man has found chances hard to come by this season and will surely realise that a move away from Anfield is probably best for his career. It will be sad for us to lose a boyhood Liverpool fan who fulfilled a lifelong ambition by finally returning to Merseyside for his shot at the first-team, but Brendan Rodgers just doesn’t appear to be convinced by his abilities – which admittedly aren’t well suited to our preferred style. A gamble that didn’t work.
Fabio Borini
Has rarely been given the chances he arguably deserved. If goals were given for hard-work and endeavour, then Borini would probably be among our top scorers. Unfortunately, he lacks that killer instinct that makes the likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge so impressive. The Italian is still a young man, but having netted just twice for us in the Premier League since 2012, his time looks to be running out. A return to Sunderland would do him well.
Mario Balotelli
A lot of the criticism of him as been unfair. He’s had a difficult season, one that he been littered by fitness issues, and to call someone who has made just a handful of Premier League appearances a failure is beyond harsh. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old doesn’t seem to see eye-to-eye with Rodgers and you have to think that a return to Italy, and most likely a return to Milan, would help him rediscover his best form. It’s hard to see him staying.
Raheem Sterling
Our final selection might raise a few eyebrows – but we’re getting to the stage now where allowing him to go, provided we get a decent price, might be the best solution for everyone. There’s been a lot said about him over the last couple of months and it was evident during his most recent appearance, for England against the Republic of Ireland, that he’s starting to let it get to him. Will he play well if he does stay? Let’s take our money and move on.
