Why former Man United striker won’t wind up at Liverpool

Daniel Sturridge has just returned to first-team action after his latest layoff. Divock Origi showed the first glimpses of his talent with a Capital One Cup hat-trick against Southampton. Christian Benteke is just 15 appearances into his Anfield career and Danny Ings is still to return from injury. Do the Reds really need another heavy outlay on a frontman?

According to the Daily Star that is exactly the Reds’ plan, as they prepare an eye-watering £18m bid for Fiorentina star Giuseppe Rossi in January.

For a man that missed the entirety of last term with a knee injury and has managed just two goals in 11 all-competition starts for the Viola in the current campaign, £18m is a lot of money. It’s £2m more than Liverpool paid for Mario Balotelli, with no guarantee that the purchase would be any less catastrophic.

Thanks to his chequered availability for the Serie A side, Rossi has managed just 30 league appearances since signing for Fiorentina in January 2013. In his one prolonged period of fitness during the 2013/14 campaign, he notched 16 goals in 21 games for them, but has been frustratingly absent for the majority of his stay in Florence.

In Sturridge, Liverpool already have a striker of fragile makeup and it makes little sense to add another to the squad now Jurgen Klopp is around to promote his high-octane style. Rossi is two years older and is simply not worth the risk.

Rossi’s unsuitability to the Reds aside, the Merseyside club rarely dip into the winter transfer market anyway. Since the 2010/11 campaign they have bought just four players in January and with three of those – Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Sturridge – turning out to be roaring successes, it suggests the Anfield outfit aren’t ones to make rash impulse buys, Andy Carroll apart.

After a listless display against Newcastle, Christian Benteke is gaining a reputation as being a poor fit for Klopp’s system. However, he deserves more time to try and adapt to his second new manager in four months before being cast aside.

Origi has shown he can be an effective piece of the German tactician’s plan and Ings is yet to feature for the former Borussia Dortmund boss, so the need for new recruits up front is simply non-existent.

Despite their chastening defeat at St James’ Park, Ladbrokes still make the Reds 4/5 to finish inside the top four this term.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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