With the soap opera in full swing I thought I would take a look at what areas we can expect Benitez to look to strengthen this summer. Considering it was a lack of goals that cost Liverpool so dearly last season I thought I’d start with the attack.

To say the lack of goals is the fault of the strikers is true, but a little unfair. Crouch’s 18 goals, Kuyt’s 14, Bellamy’s 9 and Fowler’s 7 are a healthy enough return. If the rest of the team had chipped in with their fair share of goals it might have even gone unnoticed that none of the four strikers at the club had passed the 20 goal mark.

The midfield needs to look at itself as while Lampard and Ronaldo scored bucket loads for Chelsea and Man Utd respectively, Liverpool’s highest scoring midfielder was Steven Gerrard on 11 with the next being Luis Garcia on 6. The supply to the strikers must also be a concern for Benitez this summer, but the fact remains that of the four strikers on the clubs books last season none of them could be relied on to score the big goals regularly.

Since Michael Owen’s departure in the summer of 2004 Liverpool have lacked a number one striker. Someone who stands up and takes the responsibility to score the important goals. It is vital that Benitez finds this kind of striker this summer.

Fowler has already been released and replaced by Andriy Voronin, and Bellamy is waiting, with his golf clubs packed, for someone to match Liverpool’s £12m valuation. Kuyt and Crouch are sticking around, but their involvement will depend on the type of striker that is brought in, and indeed on how many.

So what are Benitez’s options? If the media are to believed it’ll be someone from David Villa, Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, Michael Owen, Darren Bent, Diego Millito, Jermaine Defoe.

The Villa deal seems a non starter as he has a very high buy out clause and neither the club nor the player have expressed any desire to part company as of yet. Eto’o looks ready to leave Barcelona but there are sure to be plenty of takers even if the price goes as high as £35m. Just how much money Liverpool have to spend on a striker is unclear so I have my doubts that they can compete at that price. Of course if the likes of Chelsea don’t get involved it might be a more reasonable £25m. Still, it might be out of Liverpool’s price range.

Fernando Torres on the other hand looks very likely. He’s been linked with a move away from Athletico Madrid for the last few years now and their failure to qualify for the UEFA Cup should be the final straw for player and club. His price should be the right side of £20m and therefore has to be within range. Having “You’ll Never Walk Alone” writen on the inside of his captain’s armband and accidently letting it be seen earlier in the season is as clear a “come and get me” as you will ever see. I think that he is up for the move if Benitez decides to take him.

It’s hardly a secret that Michael Owen and Darren Bent would like to move to Liverpool. Owen’s return would, I believe, be a good thing for Liverpool. I don’t go along with the “he screwed the club” way of thinking or the “injury prone” nonsense. Michael Owen has always scored goals and is proven in the Premiership. Liverpool know what they would be getting with Owen and at £9m only a fool wouldn’t be interested. Bent is younger than Owen but isn’t proven at the highest level. I doubt he is Benitez’s no.1 target, but he is certainly under consideration. £17m is a ridiculous price for a player who has struggled to score against the big teams and who is unproven at the highest level. Rumour has it that Liverpool bid £10m for him (and that is why he rejected West Ham) and are willing to go to £12m. The fact that Bent was willing to reject £75,000 a week for a chance to play for Liverpool is a sign he has the type of character we like at Liverpool, but Owen still seems a better option.

Millito is the one I know least about. Those who have seen him play tell me he has a good eye for goal, is good in the air and while he isn’t the quickest is not slow either. He has a good goal scoring record in La Liga, but I find what passes for defending over there to be most amusing! A story emerged on the net yesterday that Liverpool have offered £13m for him so he looks to have done something to impress Benitez. The name of Jermaine Defoe keeps cropping up whenever the transfer window opens. I would be surprised if he was signed. He looks a decent player, but he has done so for a few years now without much improvement.

Goal scoring ability has to be what decides the striker Liverpool buy this summer. With Bellamy leaving they have a front line that isn’t exactly blessed with speed so some pace would also be a nice addition. Whether that means signing two strikers or whether they can land a man who has both in his locker remains to be seen.

For me it would be Eto’o and Owen. Eto’o is big and fast and knows how to use those attributes. His goal scoring record is one of the best in the World so in short he is just what Liverpool need. There is the danger that it could take him a while to adapt to the Premiership and he is off to the African Nation’s Cup in January/February so I would also sign Owen to take the pressure off him and cover for him during the Cup. The signing of Eto’o is unrealistic but Torres would do fine. I’d still sign Owen as well to give Torres time to adapt.

There is one other striker who has been linked to Liverpool this summer and that is Thierry Henry. Obviously this would be a dream signing. I don’t care that he is nearly 30 or that he was injured for large parts of last season. Thierry Henry is one of the best strikers the Premiership has ever seen and he would link the midfield and the attack beautifully at Liverpool. It’s one of those transfers you should not let yourself even consider. If the price was right though, you just never know in football…