It has been reported in several outlets this morning that despite his team's impressive 2013/14, Brendan Rodgers is planning a mass post-season clearout at Liverpool in an attempt to make a serious challenge for both the Premier League and Champions League titles.
According to The Times, as many as 15 players could be offloaded, with Daniel Agger, Lucas Leiva, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto among them. The 15 would not leave in a single transfer window, but there will be a definite prioritising of quality over quantity. Two of those, Victor Moses and Aly Cissokho are on loan from elsewhere and are likely to return to their parent clubs in any case.
Kolo Touré's lack of playing time is likely to be a contributing factor in his exit, while Pepe Reina is expected to leave the club permanently after spending the past season on loan at Napoli.
Of the eight players signed by the club in last year's underwhelming spend, they claim that only Simon Mignolet, Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori will definitely be kept on, with 21-year-old Ilori making the most of his year-long loan at Granada.
As far as indispensable players are concerned, the paper report that Liverpool have denied that Luis Suárez has a clause in his contract that can only be exploited by Real Madrid or Barça.
The Guardian put the number of unwanted players at "up to a dozen", excluding Leiva and loanees Moses and Cissokho. They also say that the club is open to offers for Fabio Borini, Oussama Assaidi and Suso who have each spent the season out on loan to, Sunderland, Stoke City and Almería respectively. It is hardly surprising that they report that Sebastián Coates is likely to be shown the door, along with Martin Kelly and Agger.
Meanwhile, it has been reported elsewhere that Arsenal are keen to acquire the services of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. The Spanish giants are thought to be considering selling the Frenchman to facilitate a £70 million bid for Suárez. In any case, Arsène Wenger is a known admirer of Benzema, regardless of whether the Reds could be tempted by Real's advances.
Liverpool themselves are believed to be vying with Manchester United to acquire the services of Southampton stars Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana.
