da stake casino： Despite the departure of two invaluable players over the summer in the form of Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s transfer business in the off-season has most of the Anfield faithful entering the new campaign with positivity in mind.
da betsson： Brendan Rodgers has been backed by the Merseyside club’s owners and money has been spent to bring a host of new players into the Northern Irishman’s squad with Champions League qualification once again the goal in 2015-16.
Liverpool’s goal-shy attack from last term has been bolstered by the arrivals of Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings, while James Milner has the unenviable task of replacing Gerrard in midfield.
Nathaniel Clyne’s acquisition fills the troublesome right-back role, with all-in-all most people being impressed with Liverpool’s swift moves in the transfer market this summer.
However, with Manchester United strengthening considerably this summer also and Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea looking as strong as ever, it will be a big ask for the Reds to break into the top four.
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One position that Rodgers may well feel like he still needs to strengthen if his side are to return to English football’s elite is at centre-half.
The former Swansea boss likes to switch up his formations and as such has used three centre-halves and a back four on countless different occasions. There is an argument to suggest that a dominant central defender would really improve Liverpool, regardless of the system deployed.
Martin Skrtel’s contract renewal was a piece of important business this summer by the Merseyside outfit, with the Slovakian continuing to be the club’s best defender and a leader of men with his never-say-die attitude and no-nonsense approach.
However, there is a feeling that the Reds are one centre-half short to make either a 3-4-3 or 4-4-2 system work.
In a back three, Emre Can has been used to good effect as a ball-playing centre-half on the right-hand side of the defensive trident.
Although the German is a midfielder by trade, the ex-Bayern Munich youngster has the capabilities to fill in at the back if he has two other centre-halves to help carry the defensive burden.
Can is not a good enough defender to be used at centre-half in a back four though and as such another defender is needed in both systems.
Mamadou Sakho is a French international and has a sizeable reputation in European football, meanwhile the fact that he is left-footed offers balance at the back for the club. But, as yet the former Paris Saint-Germain defender has not shown adequate consistency to convince that he deserves an automatic starting berth.
Other options include Kolo Toure and Tiago Ilori, who are at opposite ends of their careers and as such either too long in the tooth or too inexperienced to be trusted week-in, week-out.
Dejan Lovren at his best would be a terrific player for Liverpool, but the Croat has not showed the form at Anfield that made him such a success at Southampton.
As such, if Rodgers was to complete his summer business by landing an experienced and able central defender that could play alongside Skrtel in a back four and with Can and the Slovakian in a back three, the Reds’ hopes of finishing in the top four would be boosted significantly.
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