Liverpool to Move for Aston Villa Backup Shay Given

There’s no lack of surprises in the transfer window and with reports coming in that Liverpool will make a move for out of favour Aston Villa ‘keeper Shay Given before the transfer window closes, the News Desk is sure there’s more than one of you out there scratching your heads.

With the arrival of £9mil rated Simon Mignolet from Sunderland early in the window, and the departure of Reds veteran Pepe Reina not long after, Aussie ‘keeper Brad Jones has continued to play second fiddle at Anfield as the only obvious backup on the books. That may no longer be the case though if the media has it right; apparently Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is looking towards the 37-year old, who has lost his starting place at Villa Park to American shot-stopper Brad Guzan, to provide an experienced option between the sticks should Mignolet be unavailable. Though it seems a bit far-fetched that the Reds, who have failed to bring in an attacking player of any substance and are currently having a centre-back injury crisis, would be focusing on bringing in a back-up ‘keeper, whatever kind of logic is at play here is certainly eluding us.

Rumour has it that the Reds are still in for a number of players as deals – real or imagined – for central defenders Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori are mooted, as well as bids – phantom or otherwise – for Victor Moses and Andriy Yarmelenko could be tabled, but the news – from reputable sources no less – that a move for Given is imminent seems to be the only concrete piece of transfer business floating around out there. The trials and tribulations of the Reds in the transfer market have been well documented this summer with a number of high profile targets choosing not to make the move to Merseyside. Although Brendan Rodgers has said they will fight to bring in more players before the window closes on Monday, if the last one to come through the entrance is a backup ‘keeper, the word “underwhelming” won’t do the situation justice.