Why didn’t Brendan Rodgers sign one of these stars, instead?
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Dejan Lovren had one of his better performances against Everton in the 1-1 Merseyside derby draw, but still didn’t look the top notch centre-back Liverpool thought they’d spent £20m on in the summer…
In previous matches against West ham and Aston Villa, Lovren’s been woefully poor – and here’s six players the Res should have perhaps the money on instead.
6) Mehdi Benatia
The Moroccan joined Bayern Munich from Roma for a similar fee to the one Liverpool spent on Lovren, and is, simply, a better defender than the Croatian. Would he have moved to Anfield? Debatable, but the Reds should have tried…
5) Bruno Martins Indi
Porto acquired the Dutch centre-back, who starred at the World Cup, to replace Eliaquim Mangala. He cost £6m, and prides himself on his power and aerial presence. He’s good with the ball at his feet too, and is looking like far better value for money than Lovren.
4) Stevan de Vrij
Signed by Lazio in the summer for a measly £7m, de Vrij is on very small wages in Italy, and would have been a far, far cheaper option than Lovren. He’s already captained Holland, which aged just 22, proves his undeniable potential.
3) Miranda
One of the best centre-backs in La Liga, Miranda would have hugely improved Liverpool’s defence. Atletico were selling nearly all their best players in the summer, and the Reds should have targeted the Brazilian, or his partner in crime Diego Godin.
2) Jan Vertongen
The Belgian made noises last term that he’d prefer to leave Spurs if they didn’t qualify for the Champions League, but nobody came in for him during the summer. Vertonghen and Lovren are similar in their ability on the ball and left-footedness, but the former is less error prone.
1) Daniel Agger
Liverpool sold the Dane for £3m, and spent £20m on Lovren. Could they not just have trusted last season’s vice-captain to re-find the form that saw him rated as one of the best in the Premier League not too long ago…?
