Anatoliy Tymoschuk – The Ukrainian has endured a nightmarish time in Germany with champions Bayern Munich and with manager Louis Van Gaal going on record as stating that the holding man would be best served looking elsewhere for first-team football, going on to highlight an impenetrable route into the first team of the partnership of club Captain Mark Van Bommel and the in-form Bastian Schweinsteiger, and it would appear on the surface of things that a deal can be done, and cheaply to boot. The 31 year old would most probably only be a stop gap option, due to his age, but it would seem from what Van Gaal has stated that he’d be available either on loan or for a lot cheaper than the £12m that he cost Bayern last summer. Brutal in the tackle, a fierce competitor and a leader with a wealth of experience, the scrappy midfielder could be an able replacement for Mascherano, for the time being at least and he was instrumental in Zenit St Petersburg’s 2008 UEFA Cup win. One concession I would make to any such deal though, would be that he arrives with at least one other central midfielder so as to enable a sharing of the burden.
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Sulley Muntari – Another player on the fringes of first team action at the current club, Sulley Muntari also has experience of the Premiership after thriving at Portsmouth in happier times for the club in the 2007/8 Premiership season. Sold to Inter Milan for around £13m in the summer of 2008, after an initial bright start in his first season in Italy, he found first-team opportunities harder to come by at the European champions last season with the arrivals of Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder pushing him further down the pecking order. A combatitive midfielder to say the least, it’s safe to say that the Ghanaian midfielder isn’t scared to put his foot in, and whilst this is a commendable attribute, especially when replacing a player such as Mascherano, he lacks positional discipline and has a penchant for getting into bother both on and off the field. He has the ability to play holding man role, although not in the same manner as Mascherano and with a point to prove, in a league he excelled in and suits his natural game, it could be a win/win situation. He has been rumoured to be used as a makeweight in any potential deal involving Mascherano to Inter, and as long as the club get 20m as well as Muntari, then a move for him would represent a sound piece of business and at just 25 years of age, he could be signed with a long-term vision in mind, something which you could hardly boast of his rivals mentioned above so far.
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Lassana Diarra – The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth midfielder’s future at Real Madrid looks uncertain. Jose Mourinho has an array of midfield talent at his disposal and it is questionable whether Diarra features in his plans. He spent the second half of last season mainly on the bench, and although there is a possibility that he will recover his first team place under Mourinho, it is likely that Real will listen to offers. Out of the five listed here, he would be my favourite to replace Mascherano if he was available. Firstly, he is 25 and has many years left ahead of him, and secondly, most importantly, he has abilities in both the attacking and defensive third. A solid tackler, Diarra also has a range of passing that will benefit any midfield. With the sale of Mascherano for a sizeable amount, Diarra’s transfer fee should not be a problem. The only small problem could be the revelation that he possesses asthenic syndrome, a type of sickle-cell anaemia which affects the shape of red blood cells. It was only discovered during altitude training for this year’s World Cup and he had to miss out on the tournament to recover. It shouldn’t have any long term affect on his career though.
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Ever Banega – The young Argentine has emerged to be a very effective midfielder over the past year for Valencia. Bought for a hefty €18million back in January 2008, the young player failed to settle in Spain in his first year and half, and became somewhat of a rebel with his constant breaches of discipline. He was loaned to Atletico Madrid for the 2008/09 season with an option to buy, but his indiscipline meant the Madrid declined to take up their option to purchase the player. Last summer was make or break for the player, and it was rumoured that he was to be loaned out to Everton. The player however knuckled down for pre-season training and proceeded to impress coach Unai Emery who included him in a Europa League match which made him cup tied for any other club. He became an important member of Valencia’s starting eleven last season, impressing greatly in a holding midfield. The player is however more similar to Xabi Alonso than Mascherano with his raking long diagonal balls and his ability to control the pace of play with his passing. He could be available quite cheaply though because of Valencia’s financial situation.
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Scott Parker – The English option on the list, Roy Hodgson may opt for an Englishman to replace Mascherano in the squad and improve the squad’s home grown quota for the forthcoming season. Parker had an impressive season for West Ham last season as the London club struggled and Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan has said he would be the only player not up for sale this summer. It hasn’t stopped speculation that Roy maybe interested in the player. Like Banega though, Parker would not be a like for like replacement for Mascherano; he can play the holding midfield role but his strengths lie in passing and creating chances for others. He can tackle but he would not be a player who would solely be there to protect the back four from opposition attacks.
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Christian Poulsen – Certainly the cheapest option on the list, Poulsen would be best described as solid if not spectacular. The central lynchpin of Sevilla’s two UEFA Cup triumphs, the Danish midfielder was transferred to Juventus two years ago. He has however struggled to hold down a first team place at the Italian club though as former red Momo Sissoko has more often than not taken his place. Recent speculation has suggested that Juve are prepared to offer cash plus Poulsen for Daniel Agger, but any such deal should be rejected in favour of a direct cash deal for Poulsen. Most likely available for £6million, Poulsen would be the option to go for if Roy is looking for a short term fix; somebody who is solid, reliable and could do a job for the team.
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Tiago – The former Chelsea midfielder has been strongly linked with a move back to the Premiership this summer after being frozen out of Serie A giants Juventus’s plans. He was sent on loan to Atletico Madrid last January, where he was able to start 18 league games and compete in the Copa Del Rey final. He was also a rare bright spark in a faltering Portuguese campaign at this summer’s World Cup and he has an excellent range of passing. What may count against him are his former ties with bitter rivals Chelsea and a certain blatant handball. At 29 years of age, Tiago has had a long and pretty distinguished career but he’s not a commanding presence in the middle of the park, which is what is needed at this present time, and any move for Tiago is in all likelihood, is only destined to be a short-term switch.
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Gilberto Silva – Speaking of short-term switches, former Arsenal enforcer Gilberto Silva has been strongly linked with a return to our fair shores. At 33 years of age, 34 in October, Gilberto is no spring chicken, and if memory serves me correctly, he was truly awful in his final season at Arsenal, lacking the engine to get around the park anymore, as well as being poor in possession and constantly dragged out of position, so it’s no wonder he swapped the hustle and bustle of the Premiership for the sunnier climes of Panathanaikos in Greece, and with it, assured Champions League football and semi-retirement. Gilberto to his credit, did look decent at this summer’s World Cup, and would most definitely represent a cheaper option, but a move for him smacks of a lack of ambition, a regression and just the sort of signal the club doesn’t want to send out a week after clinching the signing of Joe Cole. Swapping Gilberto Silva for Masceherano is like swapping an Aston Martin for an Austin Allegro, and the thought of two clueless Brazilians operating in Liverpool’s engine room next term is enough to turn even the hardiest of stomachs.
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Esteban Cambiasso – This is certainly a long shot this one, but if we were to do a deal with Inter Milan for Javier Mascherano, I don’t think it would hurt if Liverpool asked whether Cambiasso could be added as part of any deal. Although he wasn’t picked for the World Cup by Diego Maradona, the 29 year old had a superb campaign last season helping Inter to the treble. Like Diarra, he can be just as affective in the final third as in his defensive duties, tackling well in his holding midfield role while scoring a few important goals for his team. Most likely Inter will refuse to sell the player but it would be an excellent addition to the squad, if a deal was possible.
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Felipe Melo – It’s a sad indictment of the Juventus’s board’s planning that three of their central midfielders occupy this list, and that all the club are willing to listen to offers for all three of them. Melo was having a fine World Cup with Brazil this summer, putting a terrible first season with his new club behind him, where he was unofficially voted the worst player in Serie A last term after receiving the Golden Bin award, until the quarter-final defeat to finalists Holland. Melo scored an own goal and then, much like his manager and the rest of the team it has to be said, proceeded to lose his head and was sent off for a shocking stamp on Arjen Robben. The occasion got to him and he was shown up as being mentally fragile. He is being seen as symptomatic of his current club’s ills and to an extent has been used as a scapegoat for their recent failings, and while harsh, he has more than played his part in his club and country’s respective downfalls this year, and so the Turin club are once again willing to cut their losses on the former Arsenal target with Juve director Bepper Marotta stating that the club are “carefully evaluating the situation and will listen to any offers that come in.†Signed from Fiorentina last summer with a burgeoning reputation for a hefty fee of around the £22m mark, Melo has seriously disappointed and could be available for as little as £10m. Melo has a intimidating physical presence and although not the best on the ball, he can retain possession effectively while providing a decent shield in front of the back four. At 27 years of age, a move to a different league could benefit Melo, but whether it should be at Liverpool, I’m not so sure. The club, although undoubtedly in dire financial straits cannot afford to turn itself into a rehabilitation centre for formerly decent players, and perhaps with Melo at least, it’s a deal they should stay clear of for the time being, as he may find the pace of the league difficult to cope with.
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Gokhan Inler – The 26 year old Swiss international midfielder is not your archetypal holding man, and can be seen as less of a destructive Mascherano sort, but more in the mould of a Xabi Alonso. The Udinese man’s reputation has sky rocketed in recent seasons after forcing his way into the national team set up after some great form in Serie A. The Swiss national side are famed for being stringent in defence after they went the whole of the 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal, and they carried on this rich vein of defensive form at this summer’s World Cup and they managed to concede just the one goal this time around with Inler operating and pulling strings from the middle. He wouldn’t come cheap, and the rumoured former Arsenal target could cost up to between £12-15m, but at 26 years of age, he’d make a sound investment for the long term.