The central midfield dilemma we don't actually have.

There has been much speculation about Liverpool will capture another central midfielder somewhen over the summer. These include Celtic's Ki Song-Yueng and Blackpool star Charlie Adam to name two. The central midfield role has been one Liverpool have strived to improve since the loss of Mascherano and Alonso, and there have been many rumours and targets along the way.


However, I'm not convinced this area is a problem for Liverpool at all. The recent signing of Jordan Henderson, from Sunderland means that this is one of the few areas on the pitch Liverpool have strength in depth already, so do we really need to make another signing there? Here are some of the players Liverpool already have at their disposal.

Steven Gerrard - Captain and talisman.

- Steven Gerrard - The captain and talisman has only just turned 31, and still has years left at the top of his game, he is still quite simply the best out there and has been for years. With Carroll, Kuyt, Suarez and whoever else we sign in the forward position, Gerrard will be playing in his most natural and best role next year, centre mid. Of course he will be another first team regular for us next year because he simply cannot be dropped and is an inspiration to those around him, and no doubt will have another spectacular year at the club.

- Raul Meireles - The Portuguese was Hodgson's one successful signing last year. He was bought not as a replacement for Mascherano but for Alonso, a point I have argued before and will again. With his solid defending and ability to hit a pass to anywhere on the pitch, he is a player Liverpool should look to keep. I did not agree with his use on the wing for some of last year, strongly believing he is best in a central role as he plays for Portugal and did for years at Porto. Charlie Adam is a similar player, but I believe that Raul's extra experience at top level and class mean he has the edge of that battle.

Raul Meireles and Lucas

- Lucas Leiva - Has come into a lot of criticism over the years but has come good, proved by the fact he won player of the year at Liverpool last campaign. The Brazilian has become a lot better since Mascherano has left, he has looked revitalised and has new energy about his game, his passing ability has increased no end. After his recent performances, it would be foolish to sell him on and waste his ever developing talent at only 24 and fully adapted to the English game.


- Alberto Aquilani - For anyone who doubts my total faith in Alberto's ability, read the article on him below. He possesses the skill and ball control to take the game away from an opponent, and although he has struggled to get into the English game, I believe that given the opportunity could become one of the best in the league.


- Jordan Henderson - The young man from Sunderland has attracted much attention after Liverpool splashed so much cash on him at the age of just 20. Having turned 21 last week whilst playing for the England U21's, he is on a high wage at about £65000 a week. This may well buy his happiness whilst he sits on the bench making a handful of appearances and develops his talent, or possibly Kenny will throw him into first team action. Either way, Henderson is going no where for a few years and promises to become a great player under Dalglish, although he is by no means a finished article.

£16 million man Jordan Henderson

- The Acadamy - Players such as Jay Spearing. Now whilst I think he is outclassed thoroughly by every other player here, his sheer endevour and passion for the club warrant his place here, and he never puts in less than 110%. May well develop into something better in the future. We also have Jonjo Shelvey, a canny buy from Charlton for under 2 million and looks to posses some real class and leadership skills as well. Was very impressed when seeing him in the reserves, as I was with Spaniard Suso who i genuinely believe will develop into one of the best in the world. Shelvey is not only English but 19 years old. Suso is only 17 and I was over impressed in his displays of passing and other skills in the reserves last year.


So Overall,  this is not an article to criticise Charlie Adam or any of the other central midfielders we are linked with. It is merely saying that whilst we have our largest budget for years, we cannot afford to buy expensive players we don't need when we have so much re-building to do. I would much rather see a centre back, left backs, wingers and forwards added to our books before we strengthen this area with players we don't actually need. We have a nice balance of experience and youth and players who can pass shoot and create as well as ones who are stronger defensively, and all of them want to play for the club and try every game. There is nothing wrong with competition for places in a side, but there is no point in having players on large wages not needed by the club.

5 Players that could give Liverpool top 4 Football again.

1. Eden Hazard, 20, Lille - Winger - I genuinely love this player. He is one of the best raw talents I have seen in a long while, combining ball control skill when running with the ball with a great ability to supply balls in the box, with players such as Andy Carroll benefiting from this. He also scores a fair amount of goals from the wing, with 12 club goals to show for last campaign, impressive for a player of only 20 years of age. His age means that he is not yet the finished article, but Kenny can easily mould him into a great player and he posseses all the ingredients to become a legend and great player at any club. However, he is footballs worst kept secret and everyone wants him, so Liverpool face stiff competition and need to move fast if they are to pounce on him. Although John Henry may well need to pull out his cheque book to fight off these other clubs, any amount of money is worth it for Hazard.


2. Sergio Aguero, 23, Atletico - Forward - Possibly one of the most technically gifted players in the world today. The only thing preventing him from being a star in the Argentinian national side is the fact that he happens to play in the same position they play a certain Lionel Messi, and not even Aguero can displace him from any side. Atletico are rumoured to want £38 million for him, which considering we have a healthy transfer budget and need the quality players like sergio bring to a club, is a bargin. I have heard that he also has a £40 million buyout clause, worth matching for his ability and the fact that in the 40 games he played for Atletico in all competitions last year, he scored 26 goals and set up 3. This kind of goal ratio combined with Luis Suarez, Gerrard and Andy Carroll most certainly has the ability to put Liverpool back on the world stage and into the top 4 places next year. The most expensive player on this list, but you pay for quality and at the end of the day, Liverpool need quality. He would fit beautifully into the free flowing attacking side that Kenny is clearly building.

Navas in action for Spain

3. Jesus Navas, 25, Sevilla - Winger - The second winger on my list. Navas impressed me at the World Cup for Spain. Although he did not start most of the games, purely because of the talent Spain posses throughout the squad, he was a player who made an impression on every game and always looked like he was going to change the course of a game, which I love in a player. I think this is the type of raw quality in a player Liverpool need, the ability in a player to change a game in a second - I think all of the first three players I have listed here can do this multiple times each game, the reason they are great players.  The very look he possesses and the fact he has been a shining star in la liga in a struggling Sevilla team shows his talent. As well as this, he is the oldest player out of the five here and is still just 25, this fits in with what looks like Liverpools transfer plans - buying young players with raw talent and moulding them into stars of the future.


4. Mahamadou Sakho, 21, PSG - Centre Back - Sakho was quite simply born with greatness and talent. He was made captain of his boyhood club Paris Sait-Germain just 8 months after his 17th birthday. He is the youngest captain ever in the entire history of the French league. This demonstrates both his natural talent and also ability to control and lead a team. Something Liverpool could certainly do with in front of Pepe Reina in the coming seasons, and like all the other players here, he has plenty of years left in him.I believe he could become an integeral part of a great Liverpool side under Kenny Dalglish, he already has just under half a dozen caps for his countries first team after impressing in the U21's side after his debut in 2008. Sakho is exactly the sort of centre half Liverpool need to strengthen, as a leader and talent. I believe he could form a great partnership with someone like Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel or Jamie Carragher, because as well as being a strong, physical player, he shows the intelligence and nouse of a player much older than his years. Again Liverpool will need to dig deep in their pockets for him, but it is worth it for the amount of years we could utilise his full talent for.

Sakho playing for PSG

5. Marcelo, 23, Real Madrid - Left Back - Now personally, my choice of left back for Liverpool is the man who is looking ever more likely to head to Real Madrid - Fabio Coentrao. The young Portuguese left back was one of the few people who really genuinely imnpressed for portugal at the world cup, with a combination of solid defending and an ability to get forward and cross a ball, something Liverpool have lacked since john arne riise. However, he is almost certain to head to Real Madrid so I turn my attention to another fine prospect already at the club, who also attacks and possesses great ball skills, making up for whatever he lacks defensively. Anyone who can get capped by the Brazilian national team at the tender age of 18 is clearly a quality player, and Marcelo not only did this, he scored on debut. Liverpool would surely benefit from his work rate up and down the wings, and with some more defensive work he could become one of the best full backs in the world.

The age old Alberto Aquilani debate

Aquilani has had a difficult start to his Liverpool career.

When Rafael Benitez signed Alberto Aquilani in the summer of 2009 he was widely touted as the next big player to grace the Anfield turf. Since then, he has had a stop start beginning to his career which ended up in him being sent on loan at Juventus last season. Having spent £20 million on him, most Liverpool fans were extremely disappointed in his performances during this first season at the club. 


But not everyone adjusts to a foreign climate easily. Especially when going from somewhere such as Italy with Roma to somewhere in England. Even great players like Carlos Tevez have taken time to get used to it all. However, unlike some of the players who struggled, Aquilani was never given a fair chance to adapt his game and bring his greatness through to the English game. My prime example of this is a time in March 2010, when Aquilani managed to earn a first team place for the visit of Portsmouth. Liverpool were totally dominant, with Aquilani running the show, coming away with a goal and an assist to show for his efforts. He was easily man of the match, despite a certain Fernando Torres bagging 2 goals, and some of the Liverpool fans decided his time may be about to arrive in a red shirt. Later in the week we visited our old rivals, Manchester United. So my question is, why was Aquilani on the bench for that game? Just when he was adjusting to the English climate and getting over a virus ridden first few months, he was barely given another chance at our great club.


The first mistake in Roy Hodgson's short spell at the club was to send him out on loan, meaning that in the first part of the season we lacked the final ball Aquilani could have provided whilst Raul Meireles was acclimatising to the Premier League. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Hodgson's time at the club was so short. The class and flair Alberto could have offered would have pushed Liverpool further up the table and made life so much easier. As it is he spent the time at Juventus, where he impressed and broke into a competitive first team, but did not do enough to impress the change of management, therefore a transfer there looks unlikely. 


Although Liverpool now have Jordan Henderson, Raul Meireles, Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva - who has proved his worth through winning LFC player of the year 2011 - I would suggest that keeping Aquilani could effectively be, one of the best signings of 2011/2012. And there has never been anything wrong with several players fighting over one position, as long as they are all motivated and given fair chance to prove they are the right player. Aquilani has lacked this chance since he has been at Liverpool, will King Kenny be the man under which he can prove his worth?