Liverpool will have to rethink their summer transfer strategy after top target Alex Teixeira agreed a whopping £38m move to Jiangsu Suning – fee reported by Sky Sports.
According to Sky Sports, the Reds were keen to return for the Brazilian at the end of the season after failing to strike a deal with Shakhtar Donetsk in the January window.
But the 26-year-old has scuppered those plans by becoming the latest talent to make a lucrative switch to the Chinese Super League, worth £185,000 per week according to Sky Sports.
Sky Sources: Teixeira’s contract in China is 4 years, £9.6 million a year. Works out as just over £185,000 per week! #LFC @SkySportsNewsHQ
— Paul Gilmour (@skysportspaulg) February 5, 2016
So Liverpool are back to square one in their search for a match-winning No. 10. Here, CaughtOffside offers five alternatives that Jurgen Klopp and his team should consider….
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Klopp is likely to explore a market that he is familiar – Germany – and Mkhitaryan is a player that he knows well having signed the 27-year-old for Borussia Dortmund, ironically from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Daily Mail quotes Klopp as describing the Armenian, the top assist provider in the Bundesliga this season, as “one of the most talented players in the world”. A reunion should be on Klopp’s radar.
Mario Gotze
A player who was arguably higher on the wish-list of Liverpool fans than Teixeira anyway, Gotze is another who has worked with Klopp previously, helping Dortmund to successive Bundesliga titles.
But the World Cup final scorer has not had the best time of it at Bayern Munich. Incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti might have big plans for him, but there is no harm in Liverpool trying their luck.
Andriy Yarmolenko
The only player on this list who does not ply his trade in the Bundesliga is Dynamo Kiev’s Andriy Yarmolenko, who has been linked with Liverpool and a host of other clubs by the Daily Star.
Although he is untested in a major European league, Yarmolenko certainly has impressive goalscoring pedigree. He has scored at least 13 in each of his last five seasons, and 22 in 55 games for Ukraine.
Kevin Volland
Roberto Firmino arrived from Hoffenheim in the summer, and the Reds might be tempted to return to the same club for his former partner in crime – versatile and goalscoring forward Kevin Volland.
The 23-year-old has scored five goals and supplied two assists in a struggling Hoffenheim side this season, and would be able to perfectly dovetail with Firmino in a fluid and flexible frontline.
Hakan Calhanoglu
Liverpool have been short of goals this season and their midfield has not made much of a contribution. Calhanoglu is an attack-minded player with an eye for goal – he has 21 in 75 Bundesliga starts.
And he is only 21 years of age, so is likely to improve in the future. He may represent a bit of a gamble, but would at least provide the Reds with somebody better to take free-kicks than James Milner!
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