With Jamie Carragher out three months with a dislocated shoulder and the mending Daniel Agger the subject of Anfield exit rumors, very little is sure in Roy Hodgson's central defense.
Accordingly, the manager is looking for Stoke City's 23-year-old captain Ryan Shawcross for a January transfer. The 6-foot-3 Manchester United youth product is valued at $10 million (6 million pounds), but it will likely take a heftier price than that to convince Tony Pulis to let his captain walk. His former club, United, may also be interested, and would have the first option to do so, says Daily Mail.
Shawcross is known for his tough-tackling style — particularly in light of his leg-breaking tackle on Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey last season. Hodgson is also said to be interested in Bolton's Gary Cahill, a similarly promising young English defender likely to make a move to a bigger club in the imminent future.
As for Agger, the Danish international lashed out at the rumors on Saturday, saying, "Liverpool can't force me out of the club even if they want to as I have got four years left on my contract. I expect Roy Hodgson to have the guts to tell me face to face if he doesn't want me."
