Minus 16.5 million man likely to solve Liverpool woes

In January 2011, Liverpool completed the most expensive transfer between British club when they agreed to sell Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £50m. In replacement, they got the minus £15m man, Andy Carroll.

How did both transfers turned out? The lesser said the better.

Fast forward to now, the Reds had just completed another massive deal, shipping out contract rebel Raheem Sterling to Manchester City for a cool £49m.

And if rumours is to be believed, Liverpool had triggered the £32.5m release clause for Christian Benteke and the move will be completed on Wednesday.

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For the best part of the 2014 / 15, Benteke looked like an one-season wonder, scoring just 2 goals in 27 games. However, his form took a massive upturn with the appointment of Tim Sherwood, scoring 11 goals in 9 games. Like they say, form is temporary, class is permanent.

But how did Benteke compare to Sterling, the player he is suppose to replace?

Raheem Sterling - Played 34 Goals 7 Assist 7 *
Christian Benteke - Played 26 Goals 13 Assist 2 *

In the 2014 / 15 season, creating chances was not a problem for Liverpool. Putting it in the back of the net was. Looking at the statistics of both players, Rodgers looked to have solve the issue that derailed them last season.

Both are big. Both are powerful. But can the minus £16.5m Belgian surpass the minus £15m man? There is every chance he will.

* Players' statistics provided by WhoScored.com

Liverpool overhaul squad

After the disappointment of last season, Liverpool wasted no time seeking new additions to try and grab the Champions League spot back.

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The main problem with the Reds last season was the lack of goals and they addressed the issue by signing Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings from Hoffenheim and Burnley respectively.

Despite Bunrley going down, Ings had a breakthrough season and was the shining light for the Clarets. From some of the clips on Youtube, Firmino looks a promising addition. Then again who doesn't look good on Youtube.

If Daniel Sturridge can stay clear of injuries, together with Coutinho and Raheem Sterling (if he is still around), the five of them have the capabilities to set the Premier League on fire.

Beside the attacking duo, Liverpool has also recruited goalkeeper Adam Bogdan (Bolton), midfielder James Milner (Manchester City), defenders Joe Gomez (Charlton) and Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton).

Clyne performed brilliantly last season, so much so that if Calcum Chambers was still at Southampton, he would find it hard to dislodge Clyne from the right back position.

As for James Milner, while he is not regular at Manchester City, he did reasonably well when called upon. He belongs to one of those players that do not come with a high profile but consistently performed beyond what is required of him.

Exciting times for Liverpool? For his own sake, Brendan Rodgers can only hope.

Roberto Firmino
Position: Attacker
Nationality: Brazil
Transfer fee: €41million
Bundesliga: 33 (appearances) / 7 (goals) / 10 (assist) / 7.79 (whoscored.com ratings)
Copa America: 3 / 1 / - / 6.56

Danny Ings
Position: Attacker
Nationality: England
Transfer fee: Free
Premier League: 35 / 11 / 4 / 6.89

James Milner
Position: Midfielder
Nationality: England
Transfer fee: Free
Premier League: 18 / 5 / 7 / 7.02
UEFA Champions League: 6 / 1 / - / 6.60

Nathaniel Clyne
Position: Defender
Nationality: England
Transfer fee: €17.6million
Premier League: 35 / 2 / - / 7.04

Adam Bogdan
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Hungary
Transfer fee: Free
Championship: 10 / - / - / 6.83

Joe Gomez
Position: Defender
Nationality: England
Transfer fee: €4.9million
Stats not available

* Player statistics provided by WhoScored.com

Barcelona and Liverpool, a contrasting difference

When Barcelona hammered Getafe 6-0 at the Nou Camp, Messi and Suarez both hit a double while Neymar and Xavi scored a goal apiece.

Known collectively as MSN in Spain, the trio of Messi (49 goals), Suarez (21) and Neymar (32) has now scored a combined 102 goals in all competition this season. They smashed the club record of a century of goals scored by Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry during the 2009 Treble winning season.

With at least 6 more games to go, who in the right state of mind will bet against them stretching the record further.

What makes this feat more impressive is Suarez's contribution. Due to his ban for biting an opponent during the World Cup, the Uruguary international started his Barcelona career only in end October. It is not far-fetched to suggest the record would have been broken earlier if not of his ban.

Whenever Suarez is being mentioned, one cannot help but bring Liverpool into the picture. Powered by his and Sturridge's goals, Liverpool pushed Manchester City hard for the title last season. Surely, their performances will give their fans plenty to look forward to this season.

But Suarez was sold to Barcelona while Sturridge had an injuries plagued season. New recruits Mario Balotelli had one goal to his name while Rickie Lambert could only double the tally. False number nine, Sterling, who is their top scorer this season, had only 11.

The total goals scored as at the time of posting, 47. With such low tally, getting into the top four will be a tall order, let alone winning the title.

One cannot help but wonder what it might have been had Liverpool kept their S&S strike-force together.

Like they say, goals win you games. But, don't tell this to Jose Mourinho.