Liverpool were tantalisingly close to winning their first Title in the premier League era and with a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2009/10 season strengthening the squad will be key to continued success. Liverpool pulled off an unprecedented season of fantastic performances, but last season was an exceptional one, with changes in management at Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City. If Liverpool want to kick on going into next season this transfer window will be crucial as other clubs strengthen around them.
Liverpool need to strengthen across the pitch to compete with the biggest and best of Europe, along with adding considerable depth to the squad to keep up with the increased number of fixtures they will face next season. The resolution of yet another Suarez situation will also be extremely important for Rodgers this summer and if he decides to sell him on it will be vital that he spends the money effectively to recoup Suarez' impressive contribution of goals. Rodgers also needs to focus on his back four which let in 50 league goals last term, astonishingly bad for a team pushing for the league title. Here are a few of the targets that could make or break Liverpool's summer:
1. Xherdan Shaqiri
The Bayern Munich midfielder could be exactly what Liverpool need for next season and beyond, his hat-trick for Switzerland against Honduras shows exactly what he can do. "The Swiss Messi" also created a total of 17 chances during the World Cup and his creativity will be desperately needed if Suarez does leave Anfield, as he can help to set up plenty of goals to keep Liverpool at their high scoring best.
2. Dejan Lovren
Brendan Rodgers has already carried out a substantial raid of Southampton's team and it would seem unlikely that it could continue, but with reports of transfer requests put in by Lovren a deal could be on the cards. Lovren could come into the team instead of the likes of Daniel Agger or Mamadou Sakho who failed to impress defensively last season. The 24 year old centre back would be a welcome addition to strengthen the Liverpool defence should a deal be cut.
3. Alexis Sanchez
While Liverpool are not short of right sided attackers, Sanchez could easily be moulded into a central striker. His performances in the World Cup show that he can score important goals and could ease the burden of scoring in a team without Suarez. Furthermore the Barcelona man could be used as a makeweight in a deal for Luis Suarez which would save Rodgers the stress of competing for some of his other targets.
4. Mario Balotelli
As unlikely as it may seem this deal could happen if Rodgers manages to get his full valuation of Luis Suarez, with a potential £80 million to spend Liverpool could bring super Mario to Anfield. Balotelli has a decent record in the premier league and the potential to become a world class striker in the future, which Liverpool will need if Suarez is sold.
5. Marcos Rojo
The Sporting Lisbon defender would be an extremely shrewd addition to the Liverpool team, he would finally put an end to the bogey left back position, with Enrique suffering through poor form and injuries over the last few seasons. Rojo's performances in the World Cup so far show that he he is a competent defender with a good eye for attacking, just what Brendan Rodgers would want in a full back.
Rodgers needs to utilise his teams lucrative position this summer to improve his squad as if he does not fully exploit it, Liverpool will simply not have depth to continue their unprecedented success and will be back where they were before.
Source: DSG
