Liverpool have already been heavily linked with moves for Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen and Hatem Ben Arfa of Newcastle United. Now, Brendan Rodgers has added Henrikh Mkhitaryan to his target list, with the Shakhtar Donetsk forward admitting he was looking for a move away in the summer.
Liverpool have already brought in attacking reinforcements in the shape of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in January, and Rodgers is now keen to add to that list.
Eriksen is thought to be the No.1 target of Rodgers, but if the 21-year-old, who is also interesting the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona, decides to move elsewhere, the Liverpool manager might turn his attentions towards Mkhitaryan.
Ben Arfa is also an option, but Newcastle are reluctant to sell and the France winger's injury problems is also a cause for worry.
Mkhitaryan has progressed well at Shakhtar, and is being watched by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with Liverpool heading the queue according to reports in both Russia and Great Britain.
The 24-year-old revealed he would be open to a move away from Ukraine in the summer.
"For every player, to play for the strongest clubs in the world is a dream, and the main goal," Mkhitaryan was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
"I will do everything possible to move this summer to a different team."
Mkhitaryan will not come cheap though, with reports suggesting Shakhtar will demand a fee in excess of £20 million ($30 million).
Meanwhile, Rodgers gave an update on the injury situation surrounding Joe Allen, who has been ruled out for the season with a shoulder problem.
"Joe has had his operation and it went well," he told the club's official website. "It's interesting because when it was looked at, the surgeon said that if you touched it with your thumb you would have broken the shoulder.
"So that just shows you how flimsy it was and also how much pain he was in for a period of time. But thankfully that went well and he has started his rehabilitation.
"It will unfortunately keep him out for the rest of the season."
Rodgers, however, is hopeful of Martin Kelly returning towards the end of the season, while Fabio Borini is unlikely to be involved.
"Martin may well be back towards the beginning of May but that will be to join training," Rodgers added. "I'm not sure if he's going to be available to play this season.
"The feeling with him and Fabio was that they would probably miss a big part of the season."
