Striker back on the radar

It seems Manchester United will try to test Liverpool's resolve over Pepe Reina with a bid for the goalkeeper in January, or at least so the Metro report.

On the other hand Roy Hodgson has again stated that he does not want any of his first team players to leave, and that he only wants to buy "first team material", in the January tranfer window...

And what seems apparent is that Liverpool looks set to capture a new forward in January...

Again it has been revealed that Ivory Coast forward Gervinho could be making the trip from Lille to Merseyside for as little as €12.5m (£10.7m) before the window closes.

IMScouting relayed the news, explaining that Lille had originally demanded around €15 million (£12.8 million) for their star striker.

However, the clubs have fostered a good working relationship over the last few years and Lille have allegedly lowered their asking price in a friendly deal, Metro reports.

The Ivorian international has been on top form and has so far scored no fewer than seven goals in Ligue 1 this season.

If predictions come true, it could bolster Liverpool's steadily-building league campaign and perhaps help close the gap with Chelsea, where Gervinho's fellow Ivorian Didier Drogba plays.

In the spirit of NESVs stated desire to bring in young talent to Liverpool, it looks as though Roy Hodgson is ready to battle with his old club Fulham for Crystal Palace’s exciting young striker Wilfried Zaha, according to The Mirror.

Kop chief Hodgson wants to take the young Eagle as part of the club’s long-term planning - with Kenny Dalglish also involved in the recruitment of top talent for the future.

Zaha has been a hit for Palace since making his breakthrough this season and Liverpool want to snap him up after landing other prospects like Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling this year.

Hodgson’s spies have been checking on Zaha, who will ironically face his team in the FA Cup, while other calls have been made to register their interest.

However Hodgson’s old employers at Fulham are also on the hunt for Zaha, who may be sold by George Burley’s club if they need to raise funds to bring in new faces to beat the drop.

Palace would want around £2 million for Ivory Coast-born starlet Zaha, who is still just 18. But in their ideal world he would be left with them for the season.

Liverpool are reportedly considering a move to bring Hatem Ben Arfa to Anfield and will attempt to beat Newcastle United to sealing the French winger on a permanent deal.

The 23 year old is currently on loan at St James’ Park but is sidelined with a long term injury after breaking his leg against Manchester City early in the season and Roy Hodgson is hoping to pip the Magpies to securing a deal to bring the Marseille man to Anfield in the summer, Caughtoffside reports.

Alan Pardew’s side are hoping to seal a £5m deal to bring the French international to the club on a permanent deal but Liverpool may hope to be able to persuade the speedy winger to move to Merseyside but clearly any hope of doing so would depend very much on what kind of finish Hodgson can get out of his team.

A reported Liverpool transfer target is German defender Robert Huth. He now says he plans to snub Liverpool and commit his future to Stoke.

Reds boss Roy Hodgson is keen to land the stopper to beef up his backline and is willing to pay £5million.

But the German is happy at the Britannia Stadium and wants to remain a Potter, we can read in The Mirror.

He said: “I had some texts telling me about the story. It doesn’t bother me because it’s great here at Stoke for me.’’

Elsewhere the agent of Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler cannot rule out a move away in January.

Inler has repeatedly been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

"Gokhan will certainly change club in June, but it is not out of the question that it could happen in January,” confessed agent Dino Lamberti, TribalFootball writes.

“The lad has many offers from Spain and England, but would prefer to stay in Italy.”

Ryktebørsen: To franske spisser?

Liverpool skal vise interesse for to unge, franske spisser som spiller for Lyon.

 I følge Sportingo melder flere medier at Liverpool skal være interessert i de to Lyon-spillerne Hatem Ben Arfa og Karim Benzema.

De to unge spissene skal ha vært linket til de fleste lagene som spiller i Champions League, og et totalbeløp for begge på £40m har blitt nevnt.

Ben Arfa er 20 år, har kommet gjennom systemet hos Lyon, og fikk sitt gjennombrudd på førstelaget for omkring to år siden. Han har scoret 15 mål på 22 kamper for Frankrikes U21-lag, sammen med blant andre Karim Benzema.

Benzema er også 20 år, både spiss og mulig ving på begge sider, og har debutert på Frankrikes A-landslag.

 I følge bloggen Soccerlens skal Newcastle jobbe for å forsterke forsvaret sitt, akkurat som vi trenger. De skal se på skotske Rangers' Alan Hutton (23). En spiller som visstnok også Liverpool skal ha på blokka si.

Hutton er i følge Wikipedia præmert en høyreback og skrev under ny kontrakt med Rangers i sommer. Noe som vel kanskje gjør han både dyr og uaktuell?

 Avisa Birmingham Mail forteller at Aston Villa-manager Martin O'Neil likevel IKKE er spesielt opptatt av å kjøpe Scott Carson til Aston Villa i Januar. Carson har imponert som lånespiller i Birmingham-klubben, og har til og med fått sin England-debut. Men O'Neil sier det ikke har vært noen konkrete samtaler mellom Villa og Liverpool..

- Vi har en avtale som gjelder for en sesong. Og det er det. Vi er fornøyd med denne avtalen. Men hvis Liverpool kommer og vil snakke med oss (om avtalen), blir det en annen sak. Vi har ikke satt oss ned og snakket om hans langsiktige framtid, sier O'Neil til avisa.