Three available players Liverpool could've signed but missed out on...

The clock is ticking on the January transfer window and time is running out for Liverpool to bring in some much-needed firepower. The club has been linked with dozens of players over the last few months but with 7 hours to go, here are three available, reasonably priced players that Kenny Dalglish could almost definitely sign if he was so inclined.

I've chosen three players who are:

1. Attacking.

2. Definitely available for a January transfer.

3. Young, and fit Liverpool's transfer policy.

JORDAN RHODES (Huddersfield)

The 21 year old striker has 28 goals and 3 assists in 25 games this season, and banged in FIVE goals in Huddersfield's 6-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers a couple of weeks ago.

The youngster is no flash-in-the-pan either; in the last three seasons, he's scored 72 goals and created 14 more, a record that has attracted the interest of many top Premier League clubs. Huddersfield Manager Lee Clark on Rhodes:

"In terms of his finishing, I bracket him with Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, though obviously he hasn't achieved what they did at their level yet. Certainly when you put the ball in the box he's as good as anything.

"But the thing that pleases me most about Jordan is that his general play is sensational at the moment. He's not just scoring but bringing other people into play, holding the ball up and he's creating chances for other players and his movement is fantastic"

Potential Transfer Fee: £3-£5m



XHERDAN SHAQIRI (Basel)

I'll keep banging on about this until I'm blue in the face: Shaqiri s availble in January, so SIGN HIM! He was in negotiations with Galatasary earlier this week for a potential transfer, but talks broke down and deal could not be concluded. The Turkish giants confirmed on their website:

"Negotiations with the professional football player Xherdan Shaqiri which began on the 23rd January 2012 have come to an end, we have not agreed terms with [Shaqiri] and his club F.C Basel."

Galatasaray vice-president Ali Dürüst added:

"Shaqiri's club Basel wanted a transfer fee that we would not accept and as a result negotiations have come to an end."

Earlier this month, Galatasary president Unal Aysal told reporters:

“We’ve made an official offer for Shaqiri. We didn’t offer €10m; we offered a lower amount, but with bonuses it would come to €13m. The club told us that they received offers from a few other places, and after evaluating them all, they would come back to us”

So, the facts are:

* Shaqiri is definitely available in January.
* He fits Liverpool's transfer philosophy.
* The top bid so far only amounts to €13m (£10.9m)
* Shaqiri himself has confirmed that he wants to leave Basel.

Potential Transfer Fee: £12-£15m



DAVID TEXEIRA (FC Groningen)

In an interview with TalkSport last week, Bruce Grobbelaar said:

"There are two strikers [Liverpool are interested in]. I know that [Kenny Dalglish] is looking at a South American striker who is playing in Holland and I know that he’s quite close in getting another striker".

This site was the first to reveal that Texeira was the player in the question, and Liverpool's interest has since been confirmed by the BBC's South American football expert, Tim Vickery.

Texeira has scored five goals in his last three games for Groningen (including a hat-trick against NEC last weekend), which has prompted the Dutch press to label him a 'phenomenon'. After the NEC game, Texeira spoke to reporters, and shrugged off the effusive praise being thrown his way. He said:

"A phenomenon is a big word. Football is a team sport, so we do everything together. I always try my best for the team and try to make contribution with goals. I am just happy that things are going well for us."

Potential Transfer Fee: £6-£10m

Liverpool could potentially sign all three for about the same price as Luis Suarez, but if I had to choose one of the three it would be Shaqiri.

I wouldn't mind Darren Bent or Jermain Defoe either; either of those has to be a better option than Andy Carroll.

Jaimie Kanwar