Smart thinking from the Gaffer.

Sports - September 25, 2007

Rafa Benitez has switched his search for defensive reinforcements to Ryan Shawcross and is considering a £5million bid for the 21-year old Stoke centre-back.
Already linked with Hull central defender Michael Turner and Portsmouth’s Sylvain Distin, the Liverpool manager’s need for cover at the back became more urgent after Jamie Carragher limped off with an ankle injury against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
He joined Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger as doubts for next weekend’s Barclays Premier League launch.

In demand: Liverpool are weighing up a move for Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross
Shawcross is 6ft 5in and was snapped up from Manchester United 18 months ago, quickly proving his worth in Stoke‘s first Premier League campaign last season.
Carragher, meanwhile, will have a scan today and Benitez’s assessment that there was an 80 per cent chance of at least two of his three injured central defenders being fit to face Tottenham at White Hart Line on Sunday.
Spanish youngsters Danny Ayala and Mikel San Jose, who went on for Carragher in the 16th minute, were pitched in against Atletico Madrid, but Liverpool need proven Premier League pedigree if they are to go one better than last season and finally carry off the title after a 20-year wait. (Daily Mail)

Given we need cover at the centre of our defence and given that we don’t have a huge pot of cash to draw from it seems very sensible to look for up and coming young talent that can be purchased for a relatively small fee, either that of the boss looks for experienced campaigners who would equally not break the bank. This is why a move for a player such as Ryan Shawcross makes far more sense than continuing to chase after Hull City‘s Michael Turner.

The Chester born centre back is of course a product Man United‘s youth system and he has bounced back superbly from being offloaded to the Potters, achieving promotion in his first season at the club and last term showed that he was more than capable of dealing with anything the Premier League could throw at him.

Now capped at England Under 21 level the youngster would surely jump at the chance of moving to Anfield and his solid calm and assured displays are even more impressive given his age and he has the kind of maturity that could see him go a long way.

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