New Year, New Help

If you’re looking for a realistic list, you’re probably in the wrong place.

There will be no mention of Daniel Sturridge or big name pipe dreams like Fernando Llorente and Arda Turan. I have not considered how well these players would fit into Brendan Rodgers’ 4-3-3 “tiki taka” style attack.

These are simply players who fit Liverpool’s greatest need: scoring.

They also have one other thing in common: They shouldn’t break the bank for John Henry And Co.

Heung-Min Son

In 16 Bundesliga appearances (15 starts), the 20 year old South Korean striker has six goals on 24 shots for Hamburg. If nothing else, Son has been consistently accurate. Of those 24 shots, 11 have been on goal (roughly 50%) and of those 11, six (slightly above 50%) have ended up in the back of the net.

Tim Matavz

Napoli failed to reel in the 23 year old Slovenian striker this time last year and now he is the subject of rumors involving Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 11 league matches for PSV Eindhoven this season (five starts, six substitutions) Matavz has scored seven goals. His league form has transferred over to international duty as well. Matavz has started in four Slovenia World Cup qualifiers in 2012-13 and scored twice. He has recorded 8 shots for his home country and four have been on target with two winding up in the back of the net.

Chris Wood

Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem possible as Wood is reportedly on his way to Leicester City once the window opens. But he’s been consistently accurate thus far for Millwall. More importantly, however, Wood scored 15 league goals after I signed him at the start of 2012 in my Football Manager 13 (mobile) campaign.

Gary Hooper

Celtic’s No.88 has scored eight goals in 16 league appearances (15 starts) to go along with three assists. The 24 year old English striker also scored twice in five appearances (four starts) in Celtic’s UEFA Champions League campaign. Of these four players, Hooper is attracting the most interest from big name clubs and may be the most difficult (a.k.a. expensive) to obtain.

Although it remains to be seen how much money Brendan Rodgers will have available to him, the Welshman will almost certainly need to purchase at least one forward/striker strictly for the sake of having enough bodies to put out on the field. Despite the roller coaster ride Liverpool have taken their fans on these past few weeks, the Reds are within striking distance of a Top 4 spot if they can just add a second dependable goal scorer.

If you ask me to pick just one of these players, I would have to go with Matavz. While Gary Hooper is arguably the most talented of the four, Matavz may be the best value pickup.