With both teams in full on Crisis Mode after weekend defeats at the hands of Manchester United and Crystal Palace respectively, it’s no surprise to see Arsenal and Liverpool dominate those bits of the back pages devoted to potentially quick but expensive fixes offered by dabbling in the transfer market.
Having had a pop at Spurs last seasons by stating teams who spend £100m should be challenging for the title, before rounding on Southampton for their lack of ambition just a few months ago, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been left with an omelette’s worth of egg on his face in the wake of his own £117m summer trolley dash and many of the fans who were so quick to champion him last season are getting restless.
With it becoming increasingly more apparent that the goals of Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge helped paper over a multitude of defensive cracks in the Northern Irishman’s marvellously watchable side last season, without their goals the team has looked a fairly shambolic shadow of its former self: toothless up front and ponderous in midfield, with the only reminder of last season’s entertainers being an ongoing propensity for slapstick defending. While you could be forgiven for thinking Rodgers ought to have enough credit in the bank to be given time to put things right, football being the cut-throat world it is, there can be little surprise that speculation suggests his American employers at Fenway Sports Group are already sounding out a potential successor.
Assorted media outlets report that, despite Borussia Dortmund’s disastrous start to the Bundesliga season, Jürgen Klopp is in pole position to take over at Anfield in the event of Rodgers being handed his P45 and the German coach has revealed he would be open to a move to England. “It’s the only country, I think, where I should work, really, next to Germany, because it’s the only country I know the language a little bit and I need the language for my work,” he said. “So we will see. If somebody will call me, then we will talk about it.”
While he remains in situ, Rodgers will continue to attempt in part to solve his problems by throwing more money at them and hopes to boost the firepower of his strike force by signing Inter striker Mauro Icardi for £28 million. The undeniably talented 21-year-old Argentinian has scored 10 goals in all competitions for the under-performing Serie A side this season, although he endured a bad day at the San Siro office yesterday evening. During his team’s 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, he drew a blank while missing three eminently baggable chances. Closer to home, Rodgers is believed to be monitoring the progress of Norwich City winger Nathan Redmond, but will have to fend off interest from Southampton if he is to lure the £10m-rated England Under-21 international to Merseyside.
With Arsenal’s comically middle class hooligan element now so indignant they’ve been reduced to spraying their Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon around the Emirates in frustration, Arsène Wenger will attempt to placate them by signing Hull City’s highly regarded young Scotland full-back Andy Robertson. He will face competition from Manchester United in the race to secure one of the revelations of the season thus far. According to the Spanish press, both clubs have also been linked with a surprise loan bids for Barcelona central defender Thomas Vermaelen, a one-time Gunners stalwart who has yet to make his debut for the La Liga side due to a series of soft tissue injuries he’s suffered since leaving London last summer. Basel’s 22-year-old centre-half Fabian Schar also features on Wenger’s shopping list.
Back on Merseyside, Everton manager Roberto Martinez fancies a reunion with Scottish winger Shaun Maloney, who he brought to Wigan Athletic from Celtic in 2011. The Spaniard travelled to Celtic Park to watch his former charge help Scotland beat the Republic of Ireland recently and will have been impressed by a man-of-the-match performance that was crowned by a fine goal. With Maloney’s contract at Wigan due to expire this summer, a January bid for £500,000 could be enough to secure the 31-year-old’s scrawl.
Another fine performance from Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea’s over the weekend will have done little to stop the Real Madrid vultures from circling overhead, which could prompt Louis van Gaal to tee up a bid for Barcelona’s 22-year-old reserve keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen as a possible replacement. The German international has yet to feature in La Liga under Luis Enrique since moving to Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach for £10m last summer and is already rumoured to be angling for a move elsewhere in January.
Croatia international Niko Kranjcar hopes to make his loan move from Dynamo Kiev to QPR permanent in January, while Athletic Bilbao are preparing a £6m bid for Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal. And finally, despite voicing his dissatisfaction with life at Paris Saint-Germain in recent weeks, long-term Arsenal and Roma target Adrien Rabiot has inked a contract extension with the Ligue 1 club and will be staying put.
