Summer transfer possibilities at Liverpool Football Club

With limited funds to work with, and coming off the back of his worst season by a long chalk with Liverpool, this is where the true managing ability of Benitez may come to light. That is if he is allowed to stick around to make the necessary transfers.
It appears Benitez will have to sell in order to buy, and the majority of Liverpool fans would offer the same players to be shown the door. The obvious option would be Albert Riera - a player clearly out of favour at the club. The arrival of an initially impressive Maxi Rodriguez adds doubt to the future role of Ryan Babel at Liverpool. Overall the pacy attacker has not repaid his high transfer fee, and often appears to have very little potential. Many Reds would be happy to exchange Babel for a £10 million transfer fee, or thereabouts, to put towards a fresh face. However, it seems the more popular and creative force Yossi Benayoun may be on his way, to the dismay of the Liverpool faithful. Benayoun was key to Liverpool's impressive 2008/09 campaign and his low number of appearances last season was a mystery to all.
One man often talked about upon the subject of being transferred is Lucas. Often he has been treated as a scapegoat, and he appeared to have an improved season in the last campaign, however that may be due to the drop in team performance. His loss would be one Liverpool could cope with - Mascherano, Gerrard and Aquilani could all play week in week out, and the recent signing of Jonjo Shelvey adds to the midfield roster. The Shelvey signing may reflect what Liverpool will be forced to resort to - buying young players with potential for a low price.
Looking towards what positions Liverpool need to improve most, one immediately springs to mind. Striker. Whilst David Ngog has potential, as does Daniel Pacheco, neither is able to hold a candle to Fernando Torres and be the second striker of the team. The free transfer of Jovanovic from Standard Liege is not likely to be enough for the front line, and suggestions for signings are ripe amongst the media.
David Villa and Sergio Aguero would of course be fantastic additions, but seem unlikely in view of the lack of funds available and the absence of Champions League football. Benitez would have to search through the rough to find a diamond, and show his talent spotting ability. Some options include Juan Mata of Valencia, a young pacy winger/forward who would not break the bank and could replace Ryan Babel.
Another potential choice would be Diego Forlan. At Atletico Madrid the spotlight is mainly on Aguero, and this could give Liverpool an opportunity. Despite Forlan's torrid time at Man United he has clearly improved rapidly to become a fantastic, instinctive finisher, who at 30 years old could possibly be lured from the Vicente Calderon for less than £10 million.
There is a wildcard option for Rafa Benitez that would raise many eyebrows, and that is Kevin Phillips. He has shown throughout his career his natural scoring ability and at 36 years old would probaby be available for next to nothing. He may only have one season left in him, but what an important season it would be at Liverpool.
Moving away from the front line, the role of left full back has a lot of room for improvement. Liverpool's defence appeared more solid in the few games played with centre back Daniel Agger at left back than with Insua there all season. Gareth Bale would be an expensive option and may not want to leave after Tottenham's breakthrough into the Champions League. A more relevant target would be Stephen Warnock. The question arises, 'Why would Liverpool sign a player they happily sold a few years ago?', with the answer being that Warnock has improved rapidly, and Liverpool now crave stability across their entire defence, with all areas now covered bar left full back. Excluding perhaps Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra, Warnock is arguably the best overall left back in the Premiership. Whilst Bale and Baines offer more in attack, they offer less in defence - Warnock offers an impressive ability to do both, which is rare to see in a defender.
Despite all these options, one player that Benitez should do his utmost to sign is James Milner. An underrarted youngster with bags of potential who can successfully play in almost any position; the benefits of his presence at Liverpool would be immeasurable. The only stumbling block is the tight grip Aston Villa would keep on him; a high transfer price may be attached, which Liverpool cannot promise to match.

Of course, these are all just predictions and in the current climate at Liverpool Football Club nothing is even the slightest bit clear. Only time will tell.