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Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge & Thomas Ince close to joining

By Ben SmithBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments613

Chelsea and England striker Daniel Sturridge

Liverpool are closing in on the signings of Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge and Blackpool winger Thomas Ince.

England forward Sturridge, 23, is expected to cost in the region of £12m.

Ince left Anfield 18 months ago under previous manager Kenny Dalglish but is set to move back for £6m.

Neither player has finalised personal terms but Liverpool are hopeful both deals can be completed in the first few days of the January transfer window.

Rodgers speaking in August about Sturridge

Liverpool have put a deal in place with Chelsea for Sturridge, who has fallen out of favour with the London club.

The former Manchester City striker has only made seven league appearances for Chelsea this season, scoring one league goal against Tottenham in October.

His last league appearance for the Blues was in the 2-1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion on 17 November - Roberto Di Matteo's final league game in charge of the club.

Sturridge has not featured since Rafael Benitez arrived at Stamford Bridge, due to a hamstring injury.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is an admirer of Sturridge and tried to sign him on loan in August, but the Chelsea frontman wanted a permanent move.

Liverpool are currently 12th in the Premier League, with only 23 goals - 10 of which have been scored by Uruguay striker Luis Suarez.

Rodgers is keen to add to his striking options after letting Andy Carroll join West Ham on loan in August and then missing out on former Fulham striker Clint Dempsey on deadline day.

Ince, the 20-year-old son of former Liverpool midfielder Paul Ince, came through the academy at Anfield.

He has scored 13 goals for Blackpool in the Championship this season and attracted the attention of his former club who let him go to Blackpool for a compensation payment of £250,000 in August 2011.

Ince made one first-team appearance for Liverpool, coming on during extra time of Liverpool's league cup defeat by Northampton in September 2010.

The winger has five England under-21 caps.

Rodgers has put his faith in youth this season with Raheem Sterling, 18, a regular starter and 19-year-olds Andre Wisdom and Suso also featuring in the Liverpool first team.

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613 comments

  • Comment posted by Spurtle, at 13:05 19 Dec 2012

    Given how bad Liverpool's recent transfer history has been, it might be worth double-checking that they're not trying to sign Dean Sturridge and Paul Ince.

  • Comment posted by jarvish, at 12:28 19 Dec 2012

    After Carroll, Downing and Henderson you would have thought they would have learned about buying ridiculously over-priced English players......

  • Comment posted by User0225016611, at 12:30 19 Dec 2012

    paying 6 mill for a kid we just let go for free sums us up, totally mis managed top to bottom

    and if sturridge was top drawer chelsea wouldnt sell, pain me to say mid table signing

  • Comment posted by Mattvicki89, at 14:19 19 Dec 2012

    @7ChubbyPandas
    Podolski cost lest than Sturridge :-/


    Messi cost less than Bebe - what's your point?

  • Comment posted by Sam, at 16:17 19 Dec 2012

    Great business by Liverpool as usual.

    Selling your best young players for a pittance and buying them back at inflated prices.

  • Comment posted by Complete and utter horse, at 12:57 19 Dec 2012

    I wouldn't pay £12 for Sturridge in honesty. This is doing Chelsea a favour.

  • Comment posted by User0156226528, at 13:30 19 Dec 2012

    Liverpools beloved King Kenny put them in the state they are now Rodgers has had to pick all that up and as for Sturridge (coming from a chelsea fan) i think he has done well for us just hasnt been given the chance he deserves like every other youngest at chelsea

  • Comment posted by pdh, at 18:25 19 Dec 2012

    Wow! This is Liverpool making a big statement of intent... They're really looking to nail that midtable spot!!

  • Comment posted by User0974112158, at 13:57 19 Dec 2012

    Sturridge, good riddance, we never wanted him at the bridge, he was always a selfish ,
    self centered walking ego, he couldnt score, ran away from every tackle, if the reds want him they must be really desperate . put the crazy fee towards a class act Falcao

  • Comment posted by User0202722621, at 16:08 19 Dec 2012

    £12m for Sturridge? Did Liverpool learn nothing at all from the transfers of Henderson, Carroll, Downing?

    Sturridge will add nothing to the team, he's a replica of Ngog.

  • Comment posted by D1681214452881, at 12:44 19 Dec 2012

    Same old Liverpool buying over rated, over expensive strikers. Wher's Dirk Kuyt when you need him? Keeping Carroll this season would have been a big help to Liverpool I think.

  • Comment posted by User0796413487, at 01:09 20 Dec 2012

    As a liverpool fan of more than 30 years, I'm so disheartened to read about these signings. Where are the days where everyone wanted to come to our club? At present we're bringing in scraps and rejects that can't break into our rivals' teams. It's embarrassing to see such a once great club in a mid table position and only looking to get worse. Our only good player is the most hated man in football

  • Comment posted by User0849798129, at 12:31 19 Dec 2012

    Ince was not deemed surplus to requirements, the club offered him a new deal but he wanted to go and play games somewhere else, hence why he went to Blackpool. I read somewhere that Liverpool get 35% of any transfer fee paid out, so a 4 million net outlay. Not the best business but not outrageous.

    As for Sturridge, no thanks. He is such a greedy player and Walcott would be a better bet.

  • Comment posted by D1679377095813, at 18:08 19 Dec 2012

    @393
    @386
    Liverpool scouse support?

    Average gate at Anfield for 2009-2010 = 42,000
    Eyjafjallajökull Ash Cloud started April 14th 2010 - Scnadinavian airspace closed from 15th April 2010
    Home game 19th April vs West Ham - attendance = 36,500
    By my assumption 4,500 Norwegians couldn't fill their season ticket seats

    Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%9310_Liverpool_F.C._season

  • Comment posted by Jack M, at 12:21 19 Dec 2012

    Decent signings, they should be able to push for a top half finish now.

  • Comment posted by Graeme, at 13:13 19 Dec 2012

    dunno why I ever look at the comments on here for LFC stories. Like to see what other LFC fans think and all there ever is are reams of comments from other clubs fans bashing us. Why are we the most hated club in the country. I wouldnt mind too but every single one is always miles wide of the mark and clueless. Get your facts right before you comment on other clubs or stick to your own team!

  • Comment posted by grahame, at 19:10 19 Dec 2012

    While it is off topic, it does concern Liverpool. Congratulations on the result today regarding the quashing of the inquest verdicts. Let's hope final justice is not too far away. This is from a Utd fan

  • Comment posted by User0544515176, at 18:05 19 Dec 2012

    I was a bit disappointed when LFC got rid of Ince, from watching reserve and underage games he impressed me the most of the crop now starting to come through, he also seemed to do well while out on loan. So accepting the obvious financial issue I would be glad to see him back.
    I don't know enough about Sturridge to make a decision yet, seems alot of trolls have him down to fail (shock horror).

  • Comment posted by waitedtoolong, at 12:44 19 Dec 2012

    Tough times for us but we are where we are - we simply can't attract the Falcoa's when we're at this level so we buy young and develop for next year or the year after.

    May take a couple of years to get back to CL level but these kind of players + Sterling etc are the way to go.

  • Comment posted by Loinsy, at 13:19 19 Dec 2012

    It is fascinating how much interest fans of other clubs take in Liverpool FC. Personally I have no interest whatsoever in having discussions on the threads of other teams. It's quite flattering really.

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