Reds boss worried about replacing Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that the club may find it difficult to attract top names as he prepares to replace the departing Steven Gerrard at the end of the season, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Liverpool manager is adamant the club’s status is such that top players still aspire to join the club, but he acknowledges the recent track record in the transfer market has not brought like-for-like replacements for high profile departures.
The Reds have lost the likes of Jamie Carragher, Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger and Luis Suárez in successive seasons with Gerrard and Glen Johnson set to follow this time around.
“Last season, after nearly winning the league and qualifying for the Champions League and playing a game that excited people, we were in a great position to attract a high level of player,” Rodgers said.
“We have to believe that the status of this club and the idea that the club moving forward will make players still want to come here. The team has changed and the players have changed but the great name of Liverpool is still the same. For a lot of players it’s two things – game time and money, simple as that. That’s the way of the modern game – how often are they going to play and money that they’ll earn.
“There are cases when players will forfeit the financial side to come to a project that they feel they can play a big part in. It’s difficult of course because players will opt, for whatever reason, to go elsewhere. Some may prefer to go to Spain, some to London. But you just have to keep working and finding the players who can make you the best you can be.
“There have been some outstanding players who have come but there is no doubt that we need to replace them either through some of our young players getting an opportunity or our players stepping up to the mark, but also bringing in that quality. Time will tell on that.
“Over the last couple of years some of our top players have gone. I want to work with that elite level of player, as a coach and a manager. I enjoy working equally with the stars and world-class talent as I do with young players. This is Liverpool. We have to be in the running for the world’s best.”
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