Rodgers wants to add to Liverpool squad

03 July 2013 15:46

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is keen to add at least two more players to his squad as he continues to strengthen for the new campaign.

His first four signings - Kolo Toure, Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Simon Mignolet - joined up with their new team-mates for the first day of pre-season on Tuesday. But with Jonjo Shelvey on the verge of a £6million move to Swansea the Reds boss is still looking to bring in another forward and a defender.

"I still think another attacking, creative player, and depending on what goes out of the club - because naturally there might be one or two players who need to go out and play more - then we'll need to fill those areas that have been vacated," he said.

"Certainly another attacking player will really benefit us, and probably another defender. We'll see how it develops over the course of the next few months."

The club remain interested in Shakhtar Donetsk's attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan but the deal is a complicated one, although not as much as some are suggesting.

Press Association Sport understands Liverpool are unaware of any reported third-party ownership issues. They were led to believe if they met a clause in Mkhitaryan's contract, understood to be in the region of £20million and a price the Reds are willing to pay, the deal could progress.

However, the Ukrainian club continue to change the terms and with money not an issue - they are backed by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, listed the 47th richest man in the world in March - they have no incentive to sell.

Rodgers is considering his options in terms of another centre-back after deciding Schalke's £19million valuation of Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, is over-the-odds.

But the future of Luis Suarez, who has spent much of the last month seemingly publicly courting Real Madrid after expressing his unhappiness with the British media, may necessitate a change of approach. Shelvey's departure would go some way to balancing the books on the back of the departure to West Ham of striker Andy Carroll for a deal potentially worth £19million.

Getting the majority of his business done early this time around was key for Rodgers. "Obviously the plan was to get our signings in as soon as we possibly could - and we still hope to make a few more," the Northern Irishman told liverpoolfc.com. "I'm very happy with the four players I've brought in, and they'll add to the group."

Source: PA