Pepe Reina has until January to show Brendan Rodgers he can fit into the new Liverpool and stop the club searching for a rival first-choice goalkeeper.
And Liverpool have moved to try to avoid future transfer deadline disasters by attempting to complete their new recruitment set-up ahead of schedule.
Goalkeeper Reina has made a disappointing start to the season, making bad errors against Hearts and Arsenal. The Spaniard also looks uncomfortable with Rodgers’ style of encouraging his defenders to pass to and receive the ball from the keeper.
Reina has been a wonderful servant to Liverpool and has often performed heroics since signing for the club from Villarreal for £6m in 2005. But there is a feeling he lacks serious competition from reserves Brad Jones and Alexander Doni.
Rodgers could look for a promising up-and-coming keeper to put pressure on Reina. But if the 30-year-old does not improve, then he will also consider trying to take his former Swansea keeper, 28-year-old Michel Vorm, to Anfield.
Liverpool are confident they will perform much better in the January transfer window and will immediately start work on identifying targets.
Rodgers wants the men who will be responsible for finding new talent, Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter, to start work this month.
It had been expected Fallows and Hunter would not formally join Liverpool from Manchester City until 2013. But, following the botched summer transfer window, the Anfield club are trying to rush their appointments through.
Fallows will be head of scouting and recruitment. Hunter will be chief scout.
Rodgers said: “Hopefully, this month our scouting team comes together and there will be a lot of great work between now and then, finding the targets that will fit into the way we are going to play going forward.”
