Premier League – Roy Hodgson would still like striker to complete Liverpool squad
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that bringing in another world-class striker would be the icing on his cake; however, he is still content with the business that he has done so far this summer.
After a long saga of going back and forth, Hodgson and Liverpool lost the services of Argentinean midfielder Javier Mascherano, who completed his dream move and joined Barcelona in Spain, while Alberto Aquilani, who was brought in to replace Xabi Alonso, was loaned out for the season to Juventus with the option to buy after the loan spell was over. The manager feels that his squad is still quite strong, and with Paul Konchesky arriving to fill in the position as left-back, once his move from Fulham to Anfield is complete, the team will be as strong as it gets.
"The additions to the squad of Raul Meireles, hopefully Paul Konchesky and possibly another player won't do us any harm at all,” Roy Hodgson was reported to have said earlier today.
"With Meireles coming in and Christian Poulsen I think we have solved the problems that Mascherano and Aquilani leaving have given us because we've lost some quality midfield players in Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Aquilani and Mascherano.
"Meireles and Poulsen are two quality players who will boost our squad and who are much-needed otherwise we would have been short in that area.
"If we could get us a striker who could really take the pressure off Fernando Torres from time to time that would be very useful.
"I think it could be the icing on the cake but I'm anxious not to bring in people who I don't think are good enough.
"Just spending money to bring someone in to say we have another player could be a mistake."
Hodgson, however, still has a couple of options up front. Those options are those of David N’Gog, who is still a bit raw but developing fast, and that of Ryan Babel, who has not yet played in a central role for Liverpool but seems like he wouldn't have a problem adjusting to it considering he has proven that he is a goal-scorer on numerous occasions in the past.
"Babel has never been given a real chance up front to show what he can do and N’Gog is a player who is making progress," added the former Fulham boss.
"I would have to be sure anyone we bring in is clearly better than those two players so they could take a step back. You are not going to bring people to Liverpool who are not playing at the right level."
The manager seems more than content with his squad and this can only mean that he is obviously aware of where he sees the team in the future. If he continues to manage the team the same way he did at Fulham, then it is safe to say that Liverpool could actually make it back into the Champions League by next season.
However, the manager has the next couple of months to prove his worth; it is now just a matter of time before the football-world discovers whether the manager manages to live up to his expectations or not.
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