3 May 2015

'Natural Goalscorer': Liverpool want 'unbelievable' £10m striker and can sign him if QPR get relegated

In recent months, the speculation linking Liverpool with a summer move for Danny Ings seems to have (thankfully) cooled, and with the summer transfer window just around the corner, new reports suggest that Reds are now focusing on recruiting another young British striker instead.

According to reports on Saturday:

* Southampton, Liverpool, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and Chelsea are all considering summer bids for QPR striker Charlie Austin.

* The prolific striker will be available for £10m if the London club gets relegated.

Liverpool were linked with Austin back in 2012, and at the time, the Daily Mail claimed:

"Austin has been watched by an increasing number of Premier League scouts over the past five games. Newcastle have a long-held interest while Liverpool have also taken a look".

In January, I argued that Austin is a better option than Ings, for the following reasons:

* More prolific in the Prem (17 goals in 33 apps).

* Older and more experienced.

* 46 goals/assists in 70 apps for QPR overall.

* Goal/assist every 1.5 apps (vs. Ings = 1 every 2.3 apps)

* No significant injuries in the last four years.

If Rodgers is intent on bringing in a young, British striker, then Austin is clearly the superior option. The proof is in the pudding: Austin - hailed as 'unbelievable' by former boss Harry Redknapp - has 17 Premier League goals, which is a fantastic achievement for someone playing in a relegation team. Ings has 9 in the same number of games, yet the Reds seem to be more interested in the Burnley man.

Additionally, Ings seemingly doesn't appear to have the mental toughness required. In January, Burnley boss Sean Dyche admitted that transfer speculation had 'affected' Ings, and it clearly has because the 22-year old hasn't scored since February 21st, which is a run of 10 games without a goal.

Austin is also the subject of regular transfer speculation, but it hasn't affected his ability to score goals for QPR, which suggests that is mentally tough enough to deal with the pressure of playing for a top Premier League club. Indeed, Arsene Wenger suggested as much in a recent interview, when he told reporters:

"It's good to see that an English striker who had played in lower divisions has managed to come up. That shows mental strength and tenacity, and that is important at the top level"

Liverpool need players who won't fold under the pressure, and of the two, Austin seems better equipped to deal with the
step-up. The striker is certainly confident in his own ability. In an interview this week, he told reporters:

"If you're a natural goalscorer, a real goalscorer, you back yourself nine times out of 10 to score. You're confident, you always back your ability as a centre-forward".

Worth a bid?



Author: Jaimie K



25 comments:

  1. Rohan Anderson8:37 pm, May 03, 2015

    I'll pass.

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  2. I chose Austin for the reasons stated in the article. My concern is that the lack of regular playing time would stifle his career, the way it did Lambert's. His body frame, looks like he'd gain weight or lose fitness quickly for the lack of game time. We need to aim higher!

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  3. Stan Dinaround8:39 pm, May 03, 2015

    This will probably get plenty of derision, but for such a natural goalscorer, I don't care whether he's from England or North Korea, whether he currently plays for Burnley, QPR or Al-Arabi.... Austin, Like Ings is English, and therefore instantly unlikable amongst most.... Little do they know....I call these people, Snobs.

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  4. We have to sell borini,aspas,probably Lambert/balotelli but we certainly need at least a 15-20 goals a season striker.

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  5. For £10m Austin is a bargain. A young, proven and injury free striker; if we don't take him Arsenal or United will. One thing is for sure 17 goals for a relegation team is very impressive considering the lack of service.

    All year we have created countless chances only to see somebody fire at the 'keeper to balloon it over, we need a poacher to finish of these chances. Bring him in!

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  6. You say neither, and I'm sure it seems like an underwhelming transfer at first, but think of all the chances we make that are wasted, we need somebody to finish it off and he has a proven record. At £10m he can either be a a good transfer or a proven back up with good sell on value. Win-win situation.

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  7. We need a world class striker but will end up with one of those because of limited money to spend and not paying wages. Plus no Cl. Forget depay cavaini etc. Austin, trippier are the quality we will be signing in summer

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  8. Wicklow Claret9:19 pm, May 03, 2015

    Certainly not injury free - Austin has a long term recurring shoulder injury and Hull pulled out of a deal to buy him from Burnley because of a "dodgy knee" - so yeah, apart from all that injury free.

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  9. but we already have Lambert ! *sarcasm*

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  10. Jonathan Moloney9:48 pm, May 03, 2015

    I like Austin. I've seen a good bit of him this season - his killer instinct and eye for goal have really impressed me. He doesn't need much developing i.m.o., and thats the type of player we need to add to what's already there. If we get a good offer for Sterling, i'd be inclined to take it - bucket loads of talent but serious lack of end product (looks like a deer in front of headlights so often when presented with good chances). I'd like to see us get Depay as well. Depay and Austin as attacking signings. I hear we might be signing Montoya at RB (bye bye Glen Johnson) and i'd be happy enough with that - devestated for Jon Flan at his latest injury setback but it's a position we need to adress. LB a concern as well with Moreno disastrous at times and Enrique un-interested it seems... I'd like to see us sign a top-class CM to play alongside Hendo too. I'm not convinced by Joe Allen. Khedira on a free maybe??

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  11. Didn't even vote. We need world class players to improve our squad. While he does seem like a good striker, I think there are many more we can go after. Using him as a backup wont be needed, we already have Balotelli Origi and Sturridge next season, and by signing another we will have more than required.

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  12. Theycallmemrburt10:10 pm, May 03, 2015

    Id rather take Jordan Rhodes. Charlie Austin? If this lad signs, (a man who must play with a big man to be effective) then Rodgers has lost the plot....again.

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  13. Jonathan Moloney10:10 pm, May 03, 2015

    Sturridge could be a write-off (crock). Balotelli needs to be moved on. Origi is un-proven. While i'd like to get Lacazette or Cavani, without Champs League i don't think we have a hope. Depay is a more realistic prospect, but he's not an out-and-out striker - Austin is . He's at a good age, seems to have a good temperament, and did very well this season playing for the worst team in the league. Snap him up i say. We need goals!

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  14. Theycallmemrburt10:11 pm, May 03, 2015

    second season syndrome will strike this boy like lightning struck the delorean

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  15. Did Lambert ever score 17 goals in an EPL season?

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  16. I'd prefer a "neither" option

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  17. I will gradly take 5M for Sterling at this rate. Come the end of season i doubt if anyone will show interest again so what he needs is to push out ASAP! . We have a weak manager that is the only reason he's still guaranteed 1st xi

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  18. He scored 15 Premier League goals in a season. Hardly a million miles off. Scored 13 the season after.


    He's scored at a better rate than 1 every 3 games at this level up until this season.

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  19. Ha. Well careful you don't get banned!

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  20. My gut feeliing is that Ballotelli will stay and see out his contract at Liverpool .

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  21. They're Marcus Stewart

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  22. The owners need to back the New manager Or B Rodgers well this summer( With net spend of £70-£80M without having to sell any players first and whatever they can bring in selling the dead wood average 12 players off clubs books should also be invested in the side. )
    The four strikers that need to be shipped out of club as soon as possible are : F Borini I Aspas R Lambert M Balotelli
    Those 4 strikers cost the club £38M, we will be lucky to get £25M back
    Those for strikers need to be replaced by these two strikers in the summer: No D Ings and No Austin ( Average Strikers, Not Top 4 class or Quality)
    1: C Benteke Of A Villa should be brought to club for £20M plus R Lambert going the other way. ( To Replace M Balotelli and R Lambert) To bring a guaranteed 10-25 goals extra to front line a season
    2: L Vietto Of Villareal Or P Aubamayeng Of Borussia Dortmund should be brought to club for £10-£16M ( To replace F Borini and I Aspas) To bring a guaranteed 10-20 goals extra to front line a season
    Those two strikers plus D Origi and D Sturridge should offer the class, quality, mobility, pace, speed and goals.
    The likes of Ausin, Ings and Son Heung Min are not even close to Aubamayeng, Benteke Or Vietto in class or quality.
    And we need to be bringing in guaranteed goal scorers as we have struggled immensely this season for goals

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  23. For gods sake, please can we look at better players than these.

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  24. Both of them Surely better than DS,MB,RL,FB that we have now.........:(

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