Liverpool Prepare £15m Move for Seydou Doumbia Amid Mario Balotelli Woes

Liverpool are preparing a £15m move for CSKA Moscow striker Seydou Doumbia in January after the Ivorian impressed in their Champions League game against Manchester City, according to the Sunday People.

The forward scored twice as Moscow pulled off an unlikely victory over the English champions. Liverpool scouts were at the scene as Brendan Rodgers look to ramp up his frontline, as Mario Balotelli fails to impress following his much touted move from AC Milan in the summer. The Italian has scored only one goal in 22 appearances, which has raised frustration among Liverpool fans, who are eagerly waiting for the return of Daniel Sturridge.

Sturridge, who was their lead scorer last season after Luis Suarez, has been in and out of the squad with injuries, which has hit Liverpool badly. Ricky Lambert has failed to live up to expectations and has found himself on the bench more often than not, leaving the Reds without a frontman to rely on in these tough times.

Doumbia's arrival will give Liverpool some much needed depth for their stuttering attack, with Balotelli unlikely to last more than a season if he persists in his present form. Suarez's departure has left a huge void in Liverpool, which needs to be filled as soon as possible, failing which will see the Merseyside club miss out on Champions League football next term, for which they have waited so long.

Doumbia is reported to have a release clause in the range of £30m, but Liverpool are confident they can prise the striker away for half that and rebuild their campaign.

Meanwhile, Rodgers is under pressure after losing 2-1 to Chelsea on Saturday, having rested most of the first team for their game against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The result means that, the Reds are currently eighth in the league with 14 points, 15 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.