Five Liverpool transfers to watch this January

07 January 2014 09:17

Another January transfer window dawns with the usual suspects cast into the mix of wantaways and wantobuys, but this January will have greater urgency for players eager to prove their worth to international managers with the World Cup approaching fast on the horizon.

Top of the list of clubs rumoured to be looking to strengthen their squads in the Premier League are Liverpool.

Several of the players in the mix are those that have been linked with moves away at previous transfer windows which for one reason or another failed to happen and below are five transfer rumours of note:

Ivan Rakitic

The talented playmaker has been the target of transfer speculation for some time, especially Liverpool and according to The Mirror via Estadio Deportivo the club are looking at a new midfield acquisition which could open the door for a Liverpool bid.

Ivan Rakitic
 
After it seemed the Croat had pledged to open talks regarding his contract it seems the door may be open again. Rakitic spoke about the situation

"We are going to sit down, we'll talk and then we'll see what we can do," he said."Everyone knows that I always come with great desire to train and to play, I walk around the city, and even the people that don't know me very well know that I am enjoying it here and that the most beautiful thing is to be part of [this team].

"It has been a very good year, but I want to improve and keep growing with this team.

Javier Pastore

The Argentine midfielder has not been first choice at PSG this season which has prompted speculation that the 24-year-old could be on his way out of the Parc dex Princes in January. Pastore was one of the first major signings for the Qatari owned club costing £35m.

Javier Pastore

The Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi however has questioned speculation that the player was unhappy and ready to move on.

"I am not sure Pastore wants to leave," he told L'Equipe.

"When a player is unhappy it is difficult to keep him. But it is not the case with Pastore.

"We will never forget he was one of the very first key players to join our project."

Al-Khelaifi insists PSG will always remain loyal to their players and claims Pastore, who is yet to live up to the standards he displayed last term, is one of the leading players in the world.

"We are loyal to our players as we ask them to be loyal to the club," he added.

"Pastore is both a man and player of quality. Maybe he is in a difficult period, but he remains one of the biggest talents in the football world.

"He knows he has to do much more. I still have big faith in him."

The Mirror however believes the dip in form competition now at PSG means a £17m Anfield move is possible with competition for his signature likely to come from Roma and Lyon.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah

The FC Basel winger who will be remembered for scoring the 87th minute goal that ensured the Swiss side beat Chelsea in the Champions League group stage has been strongly linked with a move to Anfield.

The Mirror via LFC Zone has reported a quote by former Egypt quote Bob Bradley which hints that he could be on his way to the Premier League:

"In Egypt a great success story in the last two years is a young player called Mohamed Salah.

"He left Egypt, first to FC Basel and from what I read and hear in the coming days you'll see his name again because there will be a big transfer to a Premier League team."

Solomon Kalou

Soloman Kalou

Solomon Kalou looks to be set for a return to the Premier League with Lille prepared to allow him to move on for £2.5m say the Mirror.

The 28-year-old striker spent six seasons at Stanford Bridge and despite interest from Roma and Besiktas it is though the Premier League is his preferred destination where Liverpool and Spurs have shown interest.

Sidney Sam

Sidney Sam

The Bayer Leverkusen winger has been attracting admiring looks from the Premier League with Arsenal and Liverpool tracking the 25-year-old. The winger has been transfer listed by his own club and other than him reportedly set also for a move to Schalke which surfaced in December 2013 according to ESPN, this transfer rumour has gone quite.

 

Source: DSG