Out of favor in Barcelona and four appearances into his year-long loan spell at West Ham United, defensive midfielder Alex Song is eight months away from finding a new permanent home. Per Caughtoffside (via Goal Transfer Talk), Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is keen on signing the 30-year-old in the next summer transfer window.
Rodgers is said to be interested in a permanent deal and not a loan spell of any kind.
The question is: Would the move upgrade Liverpool's defensive midfield role currently held by club captain Steven Gerrard?
Poor form brought intense scrutiny to the 34-year-old, forcing Rodgers to defend his performance. "I have no concerns about him," he said following a 3-1 loss to West Ham United in September (via BBC). "We have managed his recovery really well in the last two seasons, even when Steven was playing international football."
"If you look at his numbers and games, it has been as good as ever," Rodgers added. "He is at the age where we need to treat him individually. We want him to be involved in the big games because of his experience and we will always taper that recovery to allow him to be at the very best he can be."
He hasn't been the "very best he can be" in 2014, but the captain is still miles ahead of Song. In seven appearances, Gerrard's pass completion percentage (87), total forward passes (274), key passes (17) and average pass length (22.71 meters) are all significantly higher than his Cameroonian counterpart.
With an average of three tackles and 1.5 interceptions per match, Song would provide Liverpool defensive potency in the central part of the pitch, but the 30-year-old must improve his distribution to become a suitable replacement for Liverpool's icon.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via Squawka).
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