Liverpool will launch an £18m double West Ham swoop this January as Roy Hodgson hopes to take advantage of the poor start to the season the Hammers have experienced. The Anfield boss tried to lure Carlton Cole to Anfield last month but failed in a last ditch bid but will return with an offer for the England international striker as well as utility player Valon Behrami.
Hodgson will initially look to use some of his squad as part of a swap deal, an option that has even more credence given recent comments made by the Liverpool manager who questioned the quality (or lack thereof) of large chunks of his squad. Failing that he will hope to garner funds from whoever is controlling the purse strings by January, to help sign off on the deal.
The likes of Ryan Babel, Lucas and David Ngog may be used as potential make weights in such a deal but a lot depends on how they perform from now until January. Carlton Cole didn’t push for a move in the summer transfer window as he wanted to see what the new regime, headed by Avram Grant, would bring. Four defeats in four have left him wondering if he was right to stick around.
Former Lazio man Behrami was actively seeking a move back to Serie A but was told to stay put, much to his chagrin, and the 25 year old would jump at the chance of a move to the Merseyside club and Hodgson is said to be a big admirer of the adaptable Swiss international.
Again a lot could depend on whether the Hammers boss can pull the club out of it’s nosedive and that too depends on whether the Israeli is given the time to do so by co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold.
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