Liverpool FC chase Carlos Bacca and Fernando Llorente after cooling interest in Christian Benteke.
Liverpool need to bolster their squad with a quality striker and the need became even more imperative after Daniel Sturridge underwent another injury that will keep him out till October or November which means he could effectively miss 10-15 games.
The Reds were linked with a move for Belgian and Aston Villa striker Cristian Benteke. However, the Reds’ reported offer of A?20million did not meet Benteke’s A?32.5m release clause and Liverpool are not ready to offer more for the 24 year-old, report The Telegraph. They write: Benteke is 24 and although he emerged as Liverpoola s Noa 1 target the club do not want to meet the release clause which was inserted when he signed a A?50,000-a-week deal two years ago after initially submitting a transfer request amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool want to pay closer to A?20a million, it is thought.
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The English media outlet add that the Merseysiders have instead, decided to turn their attentions to the Juventus striker Fernando Llorente and Sevillaa s Carlos Bacca.
Juventus are reshaping their attack and the arrival of Mario Mandzukic to the Turin club means that Llorente is further pushed down the pecking order as youngster Alvaro Morata and summer signing Paulo Dybala will both likely be preferred to the Spaniard. The report adds that while Juventus may try to hold out for as much as a 20a million (A?14.3a million) for Llorente, he could be sold for lesser than that sum.
Fernando Llorente has enjoyed some great seasons in his footballing career but he has failed to do too well since his move to Juventus. The 30 year-old scored 9 goals and grabbed a solitary assist in 40 games (12 substitute appearances) for Juve. Llorente could rejuvenate his career at Anfield but the 30 year-old certainly doesn’t look like he would be an ideal choice for a first choice striker at the moment. He bettered all of Liverpool’s strikers last term but it is highly unlikely that the Liverpool owners would spend in double figures for a 30 year-old who failed to hit double figures last season.
Carlos Bacca, meanwhile, has been linked with a move away from Sevilla where he won the Europa League this season. The Spanish club has maintained that their striker is not for sale but the Colombian’s release clause “is understood to be at a 30a million (A?21.4a million)”.
Both the players are definitely attainable for Liverpool but the deal they need to push for is Carlos Bacca. The player scored 28 goals and provided 9 assists in 56 competitive club games for Sevilla. He also scored two goals in the final of the Europa League helping his side to the title. While landing a 28 year-old Bacca will be a different route for the Liverpool owners who have preferred to focus their funds on younger players, manager Brendan Rodgers made several comments during the season arguing that Liverpool needed experienced quality to strengthen his squad.
“Wea ve enough potential and players we can develop and improve. But I think it is definitely starters we [now] need and we have to be really forceful to get thema , Rodgers said quite rightly back in April.