Liverpool‘s latest transfer rumours focus on movement in midfield. Brazilian anchor man Lucas Leiva could be headed for the exit, while the Reds might ask him to leave the door ajar for AS Roma‘s technical wizard Miralem Pjanic.

Beginning with Leiva, the 28-year-old is reportedly being eyed up by Serie A side Inter Milan. Daily Mirror reporter David Maddock suggests Inter will pay £7 million to secure a permanent deal.

That’s a figure Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers has to seriously consider. When everybody’s fit, he has little need for Lucas.

That reality is reflected by how little Rodgers has used the one-time Gremio man this season. Lucas has made just 14 appearances in all competitions, per WhoScored.com.

Lucas’ battling qualities and physicality can provide balance in a midfield mostly populated with small and slight schemers. However, the Brazilian just seems to lack the necessary technical guile Rodgers covets for his quick-paced and fluid brand of football.

However, Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph believes Rodgers may still be tempted to keep Lucas a little while longer. Bascombe has cited the difficulty of signing a replacement during the January transfer window as a major stumbling block.

Yet Rodgers hardly needs a replacement. After all, his midfield is already amply stocked.

He still has veteran deep-lying playmaker Steven Gerrard, at least until the end of the season. Rodgers can also call on tireless runner Jordan Henderson.

But his most intriguing option might be Emre Can. The former Bayer 04 Leverkusen bruiser has the rugged qualities Lucas can offer the Liverpool midfield.

Can just needs to stay fit and receive more playing time. Along with Gerrard and Henderson, Can will offer credible support for attacking midfielders Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Lazar Markovic.

One player who would add even more craft and flair to Liverpool’s midfield is Pjanic. The Reds are being linked with an ambitious bid for Roma’s chief creative force, per Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Mirror reporter Aaron Flanagan).

The Italian source credits Liverpool with a possible £30 million bid. That’s a hefty sum even for a player of Pjanic’s talent.

However, this could be a swoop with Gerrard’s exit in mind. The club’s skipper will leave this summer.

Filling the void will certainly be tough for Liverpool, but Pjanic is an interesting target. He won’t ever offer the power and drive Gerrard displayed during his peak years.

But the mercurial 24-year-old is an artist in possession. He boasts skill, close control and excellent vision. Like Gerrard, Pjanic is also deadly from set pieces and has a real flair for spectacular goals.

Luring him from Italian shores will be tough, though, especially before the end of the season. But it would represent a massive coup if Rodgers could pull this deal off.

However, Norwich City‘s young star Nathan Redmond seems like a more realistic immediate target. Liverpool maintain a strong interest in the £10 million-rated winger, according to Mail Online writer Joe Bernstein.

He states Redmond is seen as a great replacement for flop loanee Oussama Assaidi, currently floundering with Stoke City. Redmond certainly has the pace and trickery Rodgers loves to release from wide areas.

This isn’t the first time a winter bid from Liverpool has been mooted. Back in late November, Daily Star reporter Paul Hetherington suggested Rodgers was intent on a £10 million move.

He may finally be ready to get his man.

Rodgers still has enough numbers and talent in midfield to let Lucas go. Unfortunately, he’s unlikely to be able to tempt Pjanic to Anfield just yet.

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Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette has admitted he is happy to secure a transfer to either the Premier League or La Liga if he’s to move away from France.

This is potentially good news for Liverpool, who are reportedly ready to battle with Arsenal for the £15 million-rated marksman, per Yahoo (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express). Lacazette appears open to offers, as he noted: “Between England and Spain, I don’t have a preference. I dreamt about Barca when I was little, but once you grow up you know you cannot be on just one club. I will not be leaving for the sake of it, I have medium and long term aims, after that we will see what is best for me.”

Manager Brendan Rodgers may be looking to strengthen his striking options after Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert‘s combined total of one Premier League goal at the halfway point of the season. Lacazette is a prime candidate—he is fast, skillful, makes quality runs and is lethal in front of goal—to aid the side’s quest to retain Champions League football next campaign.

The 23-year-old has scored 20 goals and provided five assists in 25 appearances across all competitions this season, per WhoScored.com. He averages one contribution to a Lyon goal every game and is five strikes clear of Andre-Pierre Gignac in the Ligue 1 top scorers chart.

Lacazette believes it is “more likely” he will head abroad than join French powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain, per Short. Liverpool’s rumoured interest in Wilfried Bony, per Barry Glendenning of The Guardian, is all but dead with the news he is likely to join Manchester City, as reported by BBC Sport, meaning Rodgers will likely need to find an alternative source of goals as the business end of the year arrives.

The stern manager could also use a pair of helping hands when trying to stop the ball going in at the other end. Alex Harris of the Daily Star believes the Reds are in “pole position” to sign Marc-Andre ter Stegen from Barcelona, but significant obstacles are also likely to stand in front of this deal.

Barca‘s transfer ban stops them from signing players until January 2016, so it’s unlikely the club will want to let their young stopper depart. Granted, Ter Stegen has failed to oust Claudio Bravo from the starting lineup this season, but the 22-year-old is nine years the Chilean’s junior and should be viewed as a long-term investment.

Rodgers missed an excellent opportunity to replace Simon Mignolet and Brad Jones with Victor Valdes heading to Manchester United. The World Cup winner possesses the leadership skills and all-round quality Liverpool need. Instead, he is set to challenge David De Gea’s No. 1 spot at Old Trafford, per United’s official website.

Supporters may also be anxious by the confirmation of Steven Gerrard‘s exit at the end of the season. Rodgers believes he can unearth suitable quality to replace the Liverpool captain, however, per David Maddock of the Daily Mirror: “It is the critique for this club. This is Liverpool—we have to be in the running for the world’s best. There is no doubt that we need to replace that quality. Either through some of our young players getting an opportunity or players stepping up to the mark, but also bringing in that quality.”

B/R UK pundit Andy Brassell recently considered possible January signings for Rodgers’ side:

Liverpool have already missed out on Xherdan Shaqiri during the current window, per talkSPORT. Although the Swiss star cannot be considered a priority for the club, his transfer to Inter Milan is a reminder that Rodgers and the board don’t have time to waste in the open market.

Lacazette has the power to significantly improve Liverpool’s goalscoring chances. His impressive season all but ensures it won’t be long before one of Europe’s elite snap him up, so if the Merseysiders want him, they must act with haste. 

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Nobody could accuse Erick Thohir of failing to back his new manager. Less than a week has passed since the opening of the January transfer window, and already the Inter owner has added two international forwards to Roberto Mancini’s squad.

Lukas Podolski arrived from Arsenal on Monday, making his debut against Juventus a day later. Xherdan Shaqiri is set to complete his move from Bayern Munich on Friday, as announced by the Bundesliga club on Twitter.

Both players are initially joining on loan, although Inter have committed to making Shaqiri’s deal permanent, at a cost of €15 million plus bonuses, in the summer, per La Repubblica (in Italian). That could prove an absolute steal. At 23 years old, Shaqiri has already played 41 games for Switzerland, but he still has his whole career ahead of him.

It is easy to see why Mancini would be keen on his signing. A versatile talent, Shaqiri has experience of playing on either flank, as well as behind the attack in a deeper-lying role. An exceptional dribbler with rare close control, he is also an effective crosser and delivers a vicious free-kick—unleashing the power of his preposterously muscular frame.

Nicknamed the “Alpine Messi,” his physique more closely resembles that of Roberto Carlos, both players standing roughly 5’7” tall but offsetting their lack of height with broad shoulders and chunky legs. Shaqiri’s bulging quads achieved international exposure during the recent World Cup, but they are old news back home, where the Swiss tabloid Blick reported (in German) in 2009 that the 60-cm circumference of his thighs compared favourably with Carlos’s 58.5 cm. 

Shaqiri even played a few games at wing-back for his first professional club, Basel, and it is conceivable that Mancini could try him in a similar role at some stage. In the immediate term, the player is expected to line up on the right of attack in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, with Podolski on the other side and Mauro Icardi playing through the middle.

The prospect is enticing. Shaqiri has endured two-and-a-half difficult seasons at Bayern, stuck behind the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze in the pecking order, but he still managed nine goals and 11 assists in 52 Bundesliga appearances—only half of which were starts, per Whoscored.

A hat-trick for Switzerland against Honduras at the World Cup reminded fans what he is capable of at his best. This is still the same player who carved apart Manchester United in December 2011, providing both assists as Basel eliminated the English side from that season’s Champions League. 

Podolski, too, has plenty to offer, as he demonstrated after coming off the bench against Juventus. The German’s powerful and direct running style is a rare commodity in Italy, and more than once he exposed the champions’ defence. His assist for Icardi in the 81st minute ought to have led to a goal, but the Argentinian misread his intentions and arrived a fraction too late, sliding the ball wide at the far post.

Both new signings have been well received by the Inter’s fans, with hundreds gathering to greet Shaqiri at Milan’s Malpensa airport on Thursday evening, just as they had to welcome Podolski at Linate a few days earlier. But the question on everybody’s lips is: Will those two players be enough to carry Inter back into the Champions League?

For now, it looks like a distant goal. With 17 games played, the Nerazzurri are joint-11th in Serie A, eight points behind Lazio and Napoli—who sit level in third. Although that is not an insurmountable gap, the quality shown by both clubs lately suggests neither will easily be caught. 

Inter do have an alternative path back into the Champions League, via the Europa League. On that front, Mancini has a tough decision to make. Uefa rules stipulate that only one player who has participated in another European tournament this season can be added to a squad before the knockout stage. Both Shaqiri and Podolski have played Champions League games this season, meaning one will have to be left out.

Mancini is not necessarily expected to return to Europe’s top table at the first time of asking. Inter’s owner, Erick Thohir, said last month that the minimum objective was simply to get back into the Europa League (quotes in Italian, via Gazzetta dello Sport). But even this cannot be taken for granted in a year when the competition looks fierce. 

For all the quality that Shaqiri and Podolski bring to the side, they should not be expected to provide an instant fix. Both may experience some challenges in adapting to a new league in the middle of a season, especially when their team-mates are themselves still adjusting to the new tactical systems introduced by Mancini since his appointment in November.

And it must also be noted that Inter’s greatest weaknesses this season have been in defence, not attack. Full-backs Dodo and Yuto Nagatomo are both prone to getting caught high up the pitch, leaving open spaces for opponents to counter-attack into. Given that both Podolski and Shaqiri have reputations for not tracking back as often as they should, that situation could even be exacerbated. 

The situation at centre-back is little better, with Nemanja Vidic dropped from the side after a disastrous start to life in Italy and Andrea Ranocchia yet to fulfill his potential at 26 years old. Only five other Serie A teams have conceded more goals than Inter this season. It is a situation that needs to be addressed.

None of which is to diminish the new signings. Podolski and Shaqiri are fine players who will make Inter better. The speed and decisiveness with which they have been acquired also feels like a statement of intent. But this is a starting point, not a conclusion. There is still much work to be done.

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Lukas Podolski didn’t waste any time taking shots at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after completing a loan move to Inter Milan, slamming his former manager for a lack of respect during an exclusive interview with The Sun‘s Charlie Wyett (subscription required).

According to the 2014 World Cup winner, the Gunners boss never even called the forward to say goodbye after he completed his move to Italy:

He said nothing to me. He did not call me or say goodbye.

I don’t need flowers or a kiss from him. But it is about respect, about saying goodbye. For me respect is important.

I did everything for the club I possibly could have. I don’t believe I did anything wrong. I did not get drunk in a club.

I wish all of Arsenal and their amazing fans the very best for this season and I see myself as a Gunner. Nothing from him to me, though, but that is his way.

Podolski and Wenger‘s relationship took a big hit during the first half of the 2014-15 season, with the 29-year-old repeatedly asking for and not receiving more playing time.

The situation reached a breaking point on New Year’s Eve, with the Germany international leaving training and not travelling to Southampton with his team-mates for a match a day later, via the Daily Mirror‘s John Cross.

The forward took to Twitter to refute said claims:

He moved to Serie A soon after, and, as one might expect, he was eager to prove Wenger made a mistake in not playing him more. Despite coming off the bench, he had a big impact on Inter’s 1-1 draw against Italian champions Juventus, via OptaFranz:

Podolski is still technically a Gunner, on loan with the Nerazzurri until the end of the season. His contract doesn’t run out until the end of the 2015-16 season, via Transfermarkt.co.uk, and on paper at least, he should just return to the Emirates at the end of the current campaign.

A happy reunion in north London appears unlikely, however, and per the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust’s Tim Payton, these latest comments won’t help his case:

Podolski‘s reception in Italy couldn’t stand in a starker contrast to his last few months with the Gunners. Thousands of fans greeted him at the airport, he gave a big press conference upon joining and he even had an official presentation after the match against Juventus, despite having already played for the team.

He’s fully expected to make his San Siro debut against Genoa on Sunday, making his first competitive start since the Champions League match against Galatasaray, in which he scored twice. That fixture was a turning point in his decision to leave Arsenal:

Wenger said to me I was the best finisher at the club. Let me play, then. If you always play ten or 15 minutes, you can show nothing. I was coming on at either 0-0 or 2-0 or 3-0 down. My team-mates were asking me what was going on, but this is the life of a footballer.

The big moment was after the Champions League game. I played a very good game against Galatasaray and then I was on the bench again. I knew I had to move.

Wenger isn’t known as an affectionate manager, and opinion on Podolski‘s transfer and his subsequent slamming of his former manager was divided on social media. Some suggested Podolski didn’t receive a fair shake—others believed he should just suck it up.

One thing stood very clear in the German’s interview, however, perhaps best encapsulated by Sport Witness:

Podolski was ever a particularly good fit for Wenger‘s system, and there’s likely a reason the manager refused to give him an extended run of matches apart from personal dislike.

For all of his ability as a finisher, the World Cup hero never put in the work defensively or showed enough proficiency holding up the ball to be an effective lone striker. A departure from the Emirates seemed likely by the time December came around and taking shots at a former manager after the dust has settled achieves very little.

Follow @ReverschPass

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It truly is “Silly Season,” as now that we’re well into January, wild rumours are surfacing by the day. 

Arsenal are ready to splash the cash, apparently, Barcelona are set to raid Manchester City’s coaching staff and there are even more wild Lionel Messi rumours. 

Mirror Sport report that Arsenal are looking to spend £51 million on Borussia Dortmund duo Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan. They also run with the rumour that Barcelona are targeting Manuel Pellegrini and City’s coaching staff. 

Tomorrow’s Daily Mirror back page #mcfc #Arsenal #mufc #Chelsea #LFC http://ift.tt/14wf26N

— Barry Rabbetts (@BRabbetts) January 8, 2015

Sun Sport run an even more bizarre rumour that Lionel Messi can be Chelsea’s for the not-so-thrifty price of £500 million. Additionally, they have a story that new Inter Milan man Lukas Podolski thinks that Arsene Wenger didn’t respect him at Arsenal. 

SUN SPORT: Messi – I’m all yours for £500m #tomorrowspaperstoday http://ift.tt/14wf26R

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 8, 2015

Lastly, Star Sport report that Manchester United are set to follow up their signing of Victor Valdes to extend the deal of No. 1 goalkeeper, David de Gea. 

STAR SPORT: Double your dosh #tomorrowspaperstoday http://ift.tt/1xMBbts

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 8, 2015

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