Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

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Internazionale have unveiled their two latest signings, bringing in commanding center-back Martin Skrtel and Spanish winger Ruben Garcia from Liverpool, for a combined fee in the region of £17 million.

After an initially promising start to life at Anfield where he scored 3 goals in his first 16 Premier League games, Garcia was struck by an injury lasting 8 months.

The 24-year-old made only 12 appearances in his second and final season, and was also troubled by injuries that kept him out for a total of up to 3 months.

However, Garcia has plenty to show for his short Liverpool career, with winner's medals from the Premier League, League Cup, and the Champions League. The one-capped Spaniard was part of the team that crushed Chelsea in last season's Champions League Final.

In stark contrast to Garcia's two-year stay, Skrtel has been a Liverpool player almost 10 years, having arrived in January 2008 after being signed by then manager Rafa Benitez.


Since his move from Russian outfit Zenit, Skrtel has made 246 league appearances in a Reds shirt and won various honors with Liverpool.

But the emergence of Eder Alvarez Balanta and Samuel Umtiti as Brendan Rodgers' preferred central defense pairing frequently kept the Slovakia international on the bench.

Inter boss Cesare Prandelli was contented with his signings and revealed as much while speaking to La Gazzetta Italia.

"We really needed more options at the back and in midfield and I very much believe that these two new signings are the right choices for us to make," said Prandelli.

"They have played with some of the best in the world at Liverpool and their experience is going to be vital for us to climb up the league. I think the fans are going to enjoy having them here at the club, because I certainly will."


Inter finished at a rather disappointing 7th place last season and Prandelli has been throwing money to various clubs in a bid to improve his squad. Skrtel and Garcia join a host of other names like Thorgan Hazard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Nerazzurri's newest recruits.

"I firmly believe that with players like Martin and Ruben, we can go on and challenge for a Champions League position this year," the former Arsenal manager continued. "We are much, much stronger than before now."

It remains to be seen if Rodgers will sign a replacement to cover for Skrtel's absence. The departure of the veteran defender leaves Liverpool with only three first-team center-backs.

But it is understood that the Reds boss is ready to call up Lloyd Jones after a number of impressive loan spells.

The England Under-21 international is a product of the Liverpool youth team and has played for sides like Huddersfield, Shrewsbury, Blackpool, and Bristol City on loan. Jones won the League Two in 2015 with Shrewsbury, and also helped to secure promotion from League One for Bristol City last season.

Liverpool enjoyed a brilliant start to 2017/18, crushing their French counterparts Lille in the UEFA Super Cup before obliterating Merseyside rivals Everton in the Premier League. Eight goals in two games is no doubt a very impressive tally.

Liverpool August Player of the Month

Raheem Sterling has been nothing short of fantastic, scoring twice in three games as well as creating another five. The winger also showed incredible commitment to Liverpool outside of the pitch as he flatly rejected approaches from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Manager's Thoughts

With all the transfer business going on, it's great to finally get back to where we belong, on a football pitch. The lads really upped their game in the season's opening month, especially the classy win over Everton. Six goals past our rivals is always something that we can brag about. Now we just have to keep up this form until the end of the season and we can wrestle back that league title from Chelsea.

That win against Everton is just amazing! What better way to start the new league season. Good luck for the upcoming season.

Zap: Thank you!

James: Yeah it was a great win and an incredible way to start off!

Liverpool conducted some major deals this summer, with Lazar Markovic leaving Manchester City for an enormous £60 million fee and long-time Anfield servant Martin Skrtel also departing to play in the Serie A for Inter Milan.

Brendan Rodgers is ready for some of his youngsters to step up, and it's evident by his confirmed squad list for the upcoming Premier League season, with a mixture of academy and youth team players joining the usual first team members. The message seems to be focusing on bringing up youth and it will certainly be interesting to see what these teenagers can do when given their opportunities.

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With Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers having quite a number of academy and youth team players at his disposal, this special report by LFCTV will introduce and compile data on a number of Under-21 players most likely to break into the first team this season.

By looking at his usual starting eleven in recent seasons, it is clear that Rodgers favors young players. The oldest first-choice defender in Liverpool's lineup is Nathaniel Clyne, at 26, while key players like Raheem Sterling and James Ward-Prowse are 21 and 23 respectively.

The Northern Irish boss has gotten the best out of Sterling since he took charge of Liverpool in 2012, molding the winger into a world class footballer.

Other notable mentions are Ward-Prowse, who initially struggled to get a game after joining Liverpool two years ago, but eventually grew under Rodgers to win the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second season at Anfield, and Eder Alvarez Balanta, who came to Liverpool for £8.5 million without much of a reputation, before going on to win 8 winners' medals within 3 years and making 80 Premier League appearances. The Colombian international is now worth about £40 million.

By the end of the current season, Rodgers will be hoping that one or more of these youngsters join the aforementioned three on his prestigious list of young stars.

The 21-year-old was inducted into professional Premier League football last season and is someone with a growing reputation in Europe and England. A part of the youth academy at Wycombe Wanderers, Jordon Ibe made his first team debut at the age of 15 in 2011, setting a record as Wycombe's youngest ever player.


Ibe soon moved on to bigger things, and after being noticed by Liverpool, signed a contract with the Reds at 16. The right winger went out on loan spells to clubs like Birmingham and Derby County, but it was his time at League One side Millwall in the 2015/16 season that landed him his big break.

Ibe scored 6 goals in 34 appearances for the Lions and became an important member of the team, almost winning his first winner's medal after they went all the way to the Final of Johnstone's Paint Trophy, only to lose out to Preston.

He returned to Liverpool at the start of the 2016/17 season, and played in 16 Premier League games, while also netting his first ever goal in a Reds shirt against Merseyside rivals Everton.


This year, Ibe was a part of Liverpool's League Cup winning team and also scored his side's first goal in the Champions League Final, leveling in the 26th minute after Diego Costa put Chelsea in front with his 10th minute strike. Liverpool went on to win 1-3 and claimed their first European Cup in 11 years.

With Lazar Markovic leaving for Manchester City and Rodgers' refusal to sign a replacement, Ibe has been given more opportunities to impress and perhaps reinforce his position as a regular starter, although competition will be high between the England Under-21 international and more established teammates like Mario Balotelli.

Another first team hopeful is Harry Wilson, who can play on either wing and is also comfortable playing as a striker. The 20-year-old hails from the Liverpool academy and has been generally solid on his three loan moves between 2014 and 2017, joining MK Dons, Leyton Orient, and then Charlton, in that order.

Despite his young age, Wilson is already a fully-fledged international for his country, Wales, and has the benefit of playing alongside stars other than his Liverpool teammates like Real Madrid's Gareth Bale and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey. He currently has 12 caps for Wales and 3 goals.


Wilson made his Liverpool debut last season, being chosen by Rodgers to play in 4 Premier League fixtures before being shipped out to Charlton in the Championship. However, he has certainly burst onto the scene this season, scoring his first goal for Liverpool against Everton in their 6-1 humbling of the Toffees earlier in August.

His potential is obvious for all to see, but Wilson faces intense competition in the senior squad, with Mario Balotelli, Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe being able to play in his positions.

The winger has a major point to prove with his contract expiring at the end of the season, and his performances and attitude could determine if he remains at Anfield or not, although his showing in the game against Everton definitely contributed to his case.

Lloyd Jones is a product of the Plymouth Argyle academy, and linked up with Liverpool in 2011. The central defender has been sent to numerous clubs since 2014, and Jones caught the eye with his terrific performances for lower league sides.

The 22-year-old most notably won League Two with Shrewsbury in 2015, helping them to win automatic promotion to League One, and followed this up with a one-year spell with Blackpool where he made 39 league appearances.


Returning to Liverpool saw him make his debut in the Premier League and Jones made an instant impact, scoring his first goal on his first appearance, but went on loan again shortly after, this time to Bristol City. However, he once again impressed and made 30 appearances to help the Robins get promoted to the Championship.

So far in his career, Jones has been noted for his consistency and will hope that he can take his lower league form to the Premier League with Liverpool.

This season, he will undoubtedly have slightly more chances for game time, acting as the club's fourth-choice defender following the departure of longtime servant Martin Skrtel to Inter Milan.

Ryan Joseph was brought up in the famous West Ham youth academy, and made his first team debut for his boyhood club in 2016, coincidentally against Liverpool, and broke the Hammers' record for the youngest player to ever appear in a league game.

He made a second Premier League appearance, before leaving for Anfield in a huge deal worth £16.5 million.


The Trinidad & Tobago-born teenager, 17 this year, has already made the England Under-21 international team, and is clearly someone with massive amounts of talent.

Joseph made 5 league appearances in his first six months at Liverpool, and is expected to be given more game time this season, plenty of those naturally coming in cup games like the League Cup and the FA Cup.

At the same time, the right-back also has the advantage of not having much competition aside from Nathaniel Clyne & Jon Flanagan, and could very well be keeping them on their toes soon.

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Liverpool will be looking to defend their Champions League title this season and have been blessed with a relatively easy group that they will be hoping to take a hundred percent win rate from. The strongest challenger Brendan Rodgers' side have to go up against is Serie A representative Roma, followed by Celtic and Trabzonspor, who both won their respective domestic leagues last season.


After two years of not appearing in the competition, the Giallorossi are back with a point to prove. The Italians will surely be unsatisfied with their previous performance in the 2015 Champions League, where they got knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the First Round, and are looking to go further than that this time around. Roma are no strangers to European success, having played against Lille in the Europa League Final last season only to lose out on the trophy due to penalty shootouts.


Perhaps one of the best signings made for Roma in recent years, Pereyra is currently rated at £30 million, despite coming to the Olimpico on a free transfer just two years ago. The Argentine star controls the midfield for Roma and is comfortable playing in the center of the pitch or further up behind the striker. His dominant performances last season contributed greatly to his side's high league finish and successful Europa League campaign, while at the same time winning him the Serie A Midfielder of the Year, as well as the Roma Fans' Player of the Year award.


Celtic is a club with one of the most decorated histories in football, even winning the Champions League once in 1967. Unfortunately, it is a feat that has yet to repeat itself. The Bhoys are monsters in the Scottish Premier League, and in the last 10 years, have won the title 6 times. Regardless, Celtic need to take this dominance with them to other European opposition, and that is something they will be looking to do in this year's Champions League.


Central midfielder Thomsen linked up with Celtic in 2014 and has been described as Ronny Deila's best buy since he took charge of the club. The Danish international arrived as an unproven 20-year-old without a reputation, but has since blossomed into one of the best, if not the best midfielder in Scotland. Thomsen did not miss a single league game last season as Celtic stormed their way to the title once again, and is definitely one of the dangerous men to look out for in this spirited squad.


Trabzonspor have been tipped as the 'fall club' of Group E, and is perhaps the most unlikely side to emerge as a group stage survivor. Crazier things have happened in football though, and Trabzonspor is a team that's on a steep rise - last season they picked up their first Süper Lig title since 1984.


Dubbed by Trabzonspor fans as the Butterfly, Kıvrak is known for his fantastic goalkeeping ability and incredible saves. The goalie has been an instrumental part of the team since his arrival in 2008, and is also the current captain of the Turkish side. An experienced and reliable man between the sticks, Trabzonspor will not have to worry about conceding too many with their very own Butterfly guarding the net.

Liverpool enjoyed an almost-perfect record this month, tarnished only by a 1-1 draw against rivals Manchester United in the Premier League. Rodgers' side have collected 16 points from 6 games and are sitting at the top of the table, despite Chelsea and United steadily breathing down their necks. They also made a good start to the 2017/18 Champions League with a convincing 3-1 win over Celtic.

Liverpool September Player of the Month

Raheem Sterling picks up the Player of the Month award for the second time in a row and has really been an inspirational figure for the team this month, scoring 3 goals in 5 games and being extremely consistent overall. The winger has not put a single foot wrong so far this season and will hopefully continue demonstrating his brilliance.

Manager's Thoughts

A very good month that could have been greater, if only we put United in their place. Some consider the draw against them as a worthy result but personally I feel that it's two points dropped. But no matter, since we are still at the top of the league, although only on goal difference alone. Nice start to the Champions League as well, and hopefully it can be a springboard for us to succeed in Europe for another year.

Injury Report

Alejandro Moreyra - 10 days (damaged elbow)

Nice start to the season, keep it up!

Liverpool enjoyed their best month of the season yet, running over Aston Villa and West Ham in the Premier League before going on to crush Trabzonspor 7-1 in the Champions League and progressing to the Quarter Finals of the League Cup courtesy of a 5-1 trashing of relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool October Player of the Month

Although faced with huge competition from Richairo Zivkovic who has been superb in his own right, Mario Balotelli takes the Player of the Month gong for October after smashing in 7 goals in 5 appearances. The Italian hit a marvelous hat trick to sink Trabzonspor and was the major factor in his side's triumphs over Aston Villa and West Ham. His form will do nothing to reduce interest in him from Real Madrid and Barcelona, both of whom are very, very keen on adding Balotelli to their star-studded forward lines.

Manager's Thoughts

Fantastic overall team performance this month from the lads and seeing such a scoreline in the Trabzonspor game was pleasing though to be honest it was to be expected. We are also progressing very well in the league but so are Chelsea, we are due to play them in January in what could be a potential title-decider match so I'm looking forward to that. For now, we are going to have to keep our current momentum.

Injury Report

Jordan Henderson - 9 days (gashed leg)
Harry Wilson - 3 weeks (twisted ankle)

Liverpool's 9-game streak in the Premier League without a loss finally came to an end against an extremely unlikely team in the form of relegation candidates Nottingham Forest. With Chelsea failing to drop a single point, they have now edged to three points clear at the top of the table, something that Rodgers will probably not be happy about.

Liverpool November Player of the Month

Raheem Sterling has been ever present in the team this month with his outstanding performances winning him the club's Player of the Month for the third time this season. He was the standout player in his side's poor loss to Nottingham Forest, assisting Liverpool's two goals, and also won the Man of the Match against Blackburn Rovers and Trabzonspor.

Injury Report

Alejandro Moreyra - 4 days (bruised rib)
Steven Gerrard - 4 days (gashed arm)
Jordan Ibe - 2 weeks (gashed leg, bruised rib)
James Ward-Prowse - 4 days (gashed arm)

Manager's Thoughts

Some great football on display this month as we scored 20 goals in 5 games as well as keeping 4 clean sheets, but losing to Nottingham Forest is unacceptable and I have made my feelings clear to the team. We've now gone behind Chelsea and we need to play even greater next month than we did this month to make up for our dropping of points against a team we really should be cruising over. There's also the FIFA Club World Cup coming up soon and it's something I'm looking forward to.

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Ahead of Liverpool's journey to South Africa for the FIFA Club World Cup tournament, Reds midfielder James Ward-Prowse took the time to speak to English media regarding his side and their expectations.

The 23-year-old is one of Brendan Rodgers' most important players and was announced as the club's second vice-captain at the start of the season, behind Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in the captaincy line.

"We are going to play to win," said Ward-Prowse. "It's a chance to win more silverware and it isn't something we are going to pass up. We're in this game to win trophies.

"I strongly believe that we are the strongest team in the Club World Cup and of course I hope to be able to prove that by winning the whole thing.

"There are some very good sides like Corinthians whom we know well since we do have some Brazilians over here. But with no disrespect at all, they are teams that a club of our caliber should have no problems with."


This year marks Liverpool's second time participating in FIFA's club tournament, their first coming in 2005 after the famed Miracle of Istanbul under then manager Rafa Benitez.

However, they lost in the Final to Brazil's São Paulo, and fans will be hoping that history does not repeat itself.

Rodgers will enjoy the benefit of bringing a completely healthy first team squad to South Africa, with Daniel Sturridge recently recovering from his persistent ligament injuries. The striker is poised to make his first appearance since April and his return will be a huge boost for Liverpool.


"Daniel has been slowly getting back into training and he's raring to go. He's going to be on the plane to South Africa so we can probably expect a few goals from him.

"I wouldn't say we've missed him much since we have plenty of other goalscorers here at Liverpool and Richairo Zivkovic has done a fantastic job at filling in for him. But yes, him coming back is definitely going to give us an extra push," Ward-Prowse added.

"First and foremost before being a team asset and a football player, Daniel is a great lad and friend, so I'm very happy that he's got rid of that injury of his and I'm looking forward to playing with him again."

Liverpool are due to arrive in Africa in a few days and will be staying for approximately a week before flying back to England to play Norwich in the Quarter Final of the Capital One Cup.

The Merseysiders will enter the Club World Cup at the Semi Final stage and have been drawn to face Japanese side Okayama FC in their first fixture.

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Liverpool are the newest FIFA Club World Cup champions after sinking Brazilian side Corinthians in the Final 4-1.

A superb Richairo Zivkovic brace followed by goals from Kwadwo Asamoah and Alejandro Moreyra sealed the deal for the Reds, handing them their second trophy this season after the European Super Cup.

The match looked like it was going to be an extremely close battle when attacking midfielder Jadson scored a 28th minute equalizer for Corinthians, just 9 minutes after Zivkovic's opener, but two quickfire first half goals followed to dash Timão's hopes.

Argentinian star Moreyra scored his side's fourth and final goal shortly after the second half kicked off, finishing off his fellow South Americans.


The 21-year-old is a summer signing from his hometown club Boca Juniors, and has impressed many with his quick adaptation to England, despite his measly 5 Premier League appearances for Liverpool so far.

The real star of the show, however, was Zivkovic, who has been on fire this season and continued his fiery form with two great goals as well as picking up the Man of the Match award.

The Dutchman ended last season with 16 goals in all competitions - this time, he has 18 goals, with six months left to go until the end of the season.

Another standout player was Lucas Romero, who took the captain's armband for the day with James Ward-Prowse absent and both Steven Gerrard & Jordan Henderson left on the bench.

The defensive midfielder was pushed further up front to central midfield and excelled in the role usually occupied by Henderson.


In the Final's post-match press conference, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers gave praise to his team, commending them for their "dominating performance".

"We have to play against Norwich in a few days' time, right after landing back in England, so I decided to rest most of our key players. I'm delighted we still managed to give such a dominating performance, and credit has to go to the team of course.

"It shows the amount of squad depth we have here at Liverpool and sends out a message that opponents should be scared of us regardless of whether we have our best players on the pitch."

To a question of how it felt to win the tournament, Rodgers responded, "If I have to be honest, it obviously doesn't feel as good as when we win the Champions League or the Premier League, since we came into this Club World Cup at the Semi Final. We only had to play two games, so in my opinion we didn't really have to work very hard for this.

"But a trophy is a trophy and it's always great to be able to deliver more silverware for the fans.

"Hopefully by the end of the season we are going to get our hands on even more of these trophies."

Liverpool return to domestic action on Tuesday in their Capital One Cup Quarter Final fixture against Norwich.

Liverpool had, simply put, a disastrous December. Apart from a classy 6-0 win over Arsenal and success in the FIFA Club World Cup, they dropped eight points in the Premier League after losses to Manchester City and West Bromwich as well as a poor draw against Sunderland. They have been kicked into third place as a result, with Chelsea now 9 points ahead and leading the charge for the Premier League title. Rodgers' boys also finished top of their Champions League group and will be seeded first for the Knockout Round, despite a terrible 4-0 loss to Roma.

Liverpool December Player of the Month

Super Mario strikes again for his second Player of the Month with a return of 6 goals from 6 appearances this month. Balotelli has been instrumental, running rampant through opposition defences and is not only a lethal goalscoring threat but also a danger man who can create chances out of nothing.

Injury Report

James Ward-Prowse - 6 days (bruised head)
Jordan Henderson - 3 months (torn hamstring)

Jordan Henderson's torn hamstring, suffered against West Bromwich, will keep him out for a total of up to 3 months, and that is bad, bad news for Liverpool, who have to make do without their influential vice-captain in midfield for quite some time.

Manager's Thoughts

Not a good month, not at all. It seriously baffles me as to how we can lose to City and West Bromwich, two sides which I consider inferior when compared to us. Drawing against Sunderland was a huge disappointment too, those were two points we should have very much gotten. The 4-0 loss to Roma was also quite appalling, although in the end we did manage to top our Champions League group. We really need to start improving when the new year comes or we're going to be in real danger of missing out on the title again.