What might have been: No 3 - Three players Liverpool FC SHOULD have signed instead of Alberto Aquilani

Liverpool's squad has clearly been weakened by Rafa Benitez's failure to adequately replace Xabi Alonso over the summer. As a result, the team is struggling. It didn't need to be this way though - there were players available Liverpool could have (and should have) signed. Here are three of the best candidates, all of whom were within the club's budget.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me clarify:

1. I do not doubt that Alberto Aquilani is a good player. I question the wisdom of signing someone who cannot make an impact for the first few months of the season.

2. By the time Aquilani is fit and has adapted to the Premiership, the league title (and quite possibly our CL chances) will probably be gone.

3. Liverpool needed someone in Alonso's place from day one. That hasn't happened.

4. Benitez did not need to sign an injured player; he *chose* to do this, despite knowing that this would weaken Liverpool's squad in the short term.

It's not like there weren't other options out there, and in my view, Liverpool should have moved heaven and earth to sign one or more of the following players instead of Aquilani:

Lorik Cana

Went to Sunderland for £5m (!), a price definitely within Liverpool's budget. A tough, dynamic midfielder who would have really shaken up the team. Imagine Cana in the team instead of Lucas...



Yoann Gourcuff

Bordeaux signed him from AC Milan for £13m over the summer. Skill, creativity and within Liverpool's budget. I wrote an article in April arguing that Liverpool should sign Gourcuff. Once again, we've missed out.



Alexander Hleb

I've been arguing for over a year and half that Liverpool should sign Hleb. Barcelona signed him last year for €15m, and now he's gone on loan to VFB Stuttgart. Why couldn't Liverpool have taken him on loan for the season with a view to a permanent contract?



I'm sure that if the club really put in the effort (or the priorities were in the right place) Cana could've been signed for 5m and Hleb could've been taken on loan for the season. Imagine how different the team could have looked.

Given the fact Aquilani cost £20m (installments + appearance add-ons) it is even conceivable that Liverpool could have signed all three players:

Cana - £5m (Who is he going to choose - Liverpool or Sunderland?!)
Gourcuff £13m
Hleb - Loan

Total: £18m

We could have been looking at a team like this:

------------------- Reina

Johnson ------- Carra -- Skrtel ------- Insua

------------- Masch ----- Cana

Gourcuff ------- Gerrard ---------- Hleb

---------------- Torres

or this:

------------------- Reina

Johnson ------- Carra -- Skrtel ------- Insua

Gourcuff ----- Masch -- Gerrard ------- Riera

---------------- Hleb

---------------- Torres

Or this:

------------------- Reina

Johnson ------- Carra -- Skrtel ------- Insua

------------- Cana ---- Gerrard

Gourcuff --------- Hleb ---------- Riera

---------------- Torres

With the likes of Kuyt and Benayoun also available, the possibilities are very exciting. Instead, our threadbare squad is struggling to keep its head above water, and as usual, there is a disturbing lack of real flair on offer.

I know one thing for sure - if we had signed Gourcuff, Hleb and Cana, Liverpool fans would be a whole lot happier right now. Most importantly, all three players would have been available from the start of the season, which would have made Alonso's departure a lot easier to deal with.

We lost out to Arsenal for Andrei Arshavin in January; we've now lost out on three players who would've undoubtedly improved the team.

Five years into Benitez's reign and we're still not prioritising the creative side of the team.

When is this going to change?

When are we going to have a manager that actively seeks out these kind of players?