Liverpool are prepared to allow Daniel Sturridge to leave the club this month, but this will mean fellow striker Danny Ings is to remain on Merseyside.
Neither Sturridge or Ings have featured regularly for Jurgen Klopp‘s first team this season, with Roberto Firmino preferred as first-choice striker.
Summer signing Dominic Solanke has also made more senior appearances (18) than the duo combined (17), with the 20-year-old’s development a priority for the Reds.
This has led to suggestions both Sturridge and Ings could leave Anfield in the January transfer window.
But according to the Telegraph, while the former could be afforded an exit, the latter is set to stay as part of Klopp’s squad for the rest of the season.
Sturridge is courting interest from both Sevilla and Inter Milan, and while Liverpool would prefer to negotiate a permanent move, there are suggestions a loan deal could be agreed.
This would see all of the England international’s £120,000-a-week wages covered, while an obligation to buy could be included.
Given his drop down the pecking order under Klopp, it comes as no surprise Sturridge is seeking an exit, as with the World Cup looming he will need to play regularly to earn a place under Gareth Southgate.
The start of the month marked five years since Sturridge joined from Chelsea in 2013, with the 28-year-old scoring 63 goals in 133 appearances.
Both Sturridge and Ings have been ravaged by injuries since joining the club, with Ings featuring just 14 times for the first team so far, scoring three goals.
As it stands, however, he could be in for a bigger role in the second half of the season, vying with Solanke for the role of Firmino’s understudy.
This is in line with Klopp’s apparent stance of trusting his current options rather than seeking reinforcements in the wake of Philippe Coutinho‘s move to Barcelona.
Liverpool have also opted to turn down a loan bid from Sunderland for Ben Woodburn, with the versatile 18-year-old now in line for another six months on Merseyside.
Given Woodburn has made just one appearance so far in 2017/18, alongside Ings in the 2-0 loss to Leicester City in the League Cup third round, this is a questionable decision.
But with the Reds prepared to wait for their top targets, namely Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, Klopp seems set to make do with the players already at his disposal between now and May.
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