Liverpool poised to raid shock strugglers
Liverpool have already been linked with Ashley Young and Stewart Downing and there's no sign of the Aston Villa players to Anfield rumours dying down any time soon with the Metro making the remarkable claim that Richard Dunne is on Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli's radar.
The Republic of Ireland defender has had a troublesome second season at Villa Park that at one point saw him dropped for poor form and more recently has involved him getting in trouble off the field after he and James Collins allegedly argued with coaching staff at a team bonding session.
Despite that, the former Manchester City centre back - who won the Citizens' player of the year award on four occasions before being let go by Mark Hughes in 2009 - appears to remain highly regarded, with the Metro adamant that Manchester United are also tempted by the 31-year-old.
We cited Dunne's position as one that the Reds should try to strengthen in this summer given Jamie Carragher's advancing years, Daniel Agger's fitness trouble in 2010 and question marks over the quality of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, however his arrival would be unlikely to get supporters excited.
Gary Cahill was the name we put forward as the Bolton defender is the flavour of the month right now as far as interest from the Premier League's elite is concerned, but an intriguing candidate mentioned by one of our readers was Simon Kjaer.
The Danish centre back played at the World Cup having gained a reputation for having the potential to be one of the best in the world at the back during his spell at Palermo, yet has failed to live up to his billing since a big-money move to Wolfsburg. At 21, he has plenty of time to bounce back though.
Are Kjaer, Cahill or Dunne good enough for Liverpool? Have your say below...
Published: 23 Mar 2011
Phil (March 23, 2011 9:57 AM) said:
A bit of a pointless piece this one.
You say "We cited Dunne's position as one that the Reds should try to strengthen in this summer given Jamie Carragher's advancing years," but Dunne is barely 18 months younger. At least we know what Carragher can do, and that he still gives his all every match.
Betfair Football (March 23, 2011 10:02 AM) said:
Ah, perhaps we were a bit vague Phil. We meant that we cited Dunne's position (centre back) as an area for Liverpool to strengthen, rather than citing Dunne himself. Instead, our suggestions were the much younger Cahill and Kjaer. Hope that clears things up.
Phil (March 23, 2011 11:08 AM) said:
Ah it was the lead picture that threw me.
Although we could do with reinforcement at CB, I still think the main concentration in the summer will need to be at LB (most needed), both wings, Defensive Mid.
Then central defence, then squad players.
Betfair Football (March 23, 2011 11:17 AM) said:
No worries. It's the Metro that are claiming that Dunne is a Liverpool and Manchester United target, though as mentioned above we're very sceptical.
Cheers for your views on the positions Liverpool should be looking to strengthen in, it appears we agree on a few:
https://www.betfairfootball.com/premier-league/liverpool/five-summer-transfer-targets-for-liverpool-150311.html
Adefemi Adebowale (March 23, 2011 11:32 AM) said:
I don't think liverpool need all these ageing player though their experience will definately tell. Since FSG has indicated they want young talented players. Please need people like Erikson dat wil serve long term...
Charlie (March 23, 2011 12:28 PM) said:
For me centre back is the position that is least in need of strengthening. We have 4 first team cbs (carra, agger, skrtel + soto) but we also have a number of younger players - such as daniel ayala - who should be looking to step up next season... Agger and Skrtel should be first choice nxt season, with carra filling in when required. I think our priorities are in this order:
1) Winger
2) Left Back
3) Second winger
4) Centre mid (must be world class or else we may as well stick with what we have...)
5) Striker
6) Centre Back
What we don't want is another Benitez style transfer policy where we ONLY sign central players (we must have one of the largest turnovers in central midfield over the last 5 years or so).
Gerald (March 23, 2011 3:22 PM) said:
Cahill is better than all three. Except the experience of dunne. Both cahill and dunne should both be in red next season.