After losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona early in the window, Liverpool FC are looking somewhat short in the striker department, but who should the club be looking at?
Liverpool FC have had a fairly productive transfer window to date, addressing key issues including squad depth and defensive frailty - however there is a gaping Suarez shaped hole in the current squad of which the club needs to fill. With a sizeable transfer kitty and a huge sum shaved off the wage bill, LFC should be shopping on the top shelf in the final weeks of this transfer window, but who may be the most fitting candidate?
Radamel Falcao
Reports have recently surfaced that the club may indeed be in for the prolific Colombian, so it seemed only right to begin with Falcao.
Having moved to Monaco last summer, it seemed something of a dead certainty that Falcao was Madrid bound this year; however things seem to have changed! With Real Madrid renewing Karim Benzema's contract and splashing the cash on Falcao's Monaco teammate, James Rodriguez et al, a move for the Colombian seems unlikely unless current Galacticos are sold.
Perhaps this is where LFC can step in?
Falcao, while being a proven goal scorer, is indeed a high risk signing. Couple a serious ACL injury that kept the Colombian from featuring at the World Cup with the high loan fee which could potentially have no option to buy and you have the riskiest signing of the summer but also possibly the highest reward! At Atletico Madrid, Falcao was regarded as one of, if not the best, out and out number nine on the planet and the LFC style could certainly help the Colombian regain such status! If paired with Daniel Sturridge at the top of a diamond, the Reds could potentially have the most potent strike pairing in Europe and with the creative influence of Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic & Lallana; also plenty of service!
The signing of Falcao is not certain to pay dividends for LFC, should it come off at all but at this stage of the window the potential reward could be too good to turn down!
Gonzalo Higuain
A potential move for Higuain would likely depend on Napoli's failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages; perhaps Bilbao can do Liverpool FC a favour?
Another striker who made a move in the most recent summer window gone by, Gonzalo Higuain could be the answer to the club's current striker shortage! A prolific finisher, Higuain lives off the last shoulder and relies on strong positioning to get himself his goals - this could be the ying to Daniel Sturridge's more creative and costless flowing yang! As Sturridge often pulls wide to drag defenders out of position, Higuain's quick footballing brain could mean lots of goals.
Creativity is, however, going to be pivotal in making a Higuain type striker work for LFC and while the club have creative types in abundance, a striker that doesn't involve themselves in build up play has the potential to bog down the costless flowing style of football that Brendan Rodgers has implemented.
On balance, Higuain would seem to be a good option for the club when purely considering replacement of Suarez's goal output - the success of this 'type' of forward at the club would hinge upon striking the correct balance in the side and providing strong service for the forward line; Reds fans would have to place faith that the manager could indeed find such a balance!
Heung-Min Son
To complete the trio of forwards who moved club last summer, we have Heung-Min Son.
By far the most versatile of the three attacking players mentioned, Son would bring (further) pace and ability to play all across the front line to the Liverpool FC squad. Mainly playing as a wide forward or a second striker, Son would bring another dimension to Rodger's diamond or four three-three set up.
Heung-Min Son isn't however a prolific goal scorer with the Korean netting 13 in all competitions for Bayer last term. This is a decent return for a wide man or second striker but is no where near making a dent on the totals of Luis Suarez. In the other hand, Son has a very high ceiling indeed and there is no better man to harness young, attacking talent than Brendan Rodgers.
Again, a move for Son would likely rest upon Bayer failing to qualify for the Champions League, should that be the case, the Korean should be in the conversation for LFC's next number seven for both his footballing talents and the potential commercial market that having one of Korea's favourite sons may open up.
These are just three suggestion for strikers that LFC could/should target in the coming weeks, the end of the transfer window looks to be a busy time for Liverpool FC as they continue the rebuilding process, post Luis Suarez.