With Fernando Torres‘ future at Liverpool hanging in the balance, Liverpool is now faced with creating last-minute contingency plans for using some of the £50 million potentially heading to Anfield if Torres departs to replace the Spanish star.
While Luis Suarez is en route to Anfield and Nicolas Anelka has been tipped as a makeweight in the potential Chelsea deal, the club would surely still be looking to acquire more elite, young striking talent with which to replace Torres, and Atletico Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente and FC Utrecht’s Ricky van Wolfswinkel have been the names most frequently linked to a move since the Torres standoff came to rise.
According to Metro, Harry Redknapp has made a £26 million bid for Llorente, but Liverpool may again be in the running for the 6-foot-5 Spanish international. Llorente was declared “not for sale” by Bilbao, but said offers from Tottenham have clearly contradicted that notion. Llorente is valued at £17.6 million, according to TransferMarkt.com.
Another target shared by Spurs and Liverpool, Van Wolfswinkel, has also been linked with a move to Anfield this weekend. Agent Louis Laros again issued a “come and get me” to Liverpool, and hinted that a move could be possible on Monday, the January window’s final day.
“The last day of the transfer period is when most of the deals are completed. At the moment I don’t have to think about because they have not mentioned anything to me, but if Liverpool come in for Ricky, of course, we will talk and think about it,” he told Sport.co.uk.
“Liverpool is a huge club, and he is hopeful for them. If they come we will think about it. But first they must talk to the club.”
A Sunday report from Sportingo also linked Van Wolfswinkel to a £14 million Anfield move, but that report has not been corroborated by other sources.
All of the aforementioned moves, of course, hinge on whether or not Chelsea are willing to pay £50 million for Torres, and whether or not Liverpool has time to forge any deals thereafter before the window closes at 11 p.m. GMT on Monday.
