Liverpool Legend Advises Rodgers to Sign Tottenham's Creative Midfielder

John Aldridge believes that his former club Liverpool should look to strengthen their midfield in January by signing Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Mousa Dembele.

The Belgian was quoted as being unhappy at his limited game time this season as manager Andre Villas-Boas attempts to find the right balance in midfield after making a number of high profile signings in the summer.

Villas-Boas has a host of central midfielder in his squad and Dembele is forced to compete with the likes of Sandro, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Glyfi Sigurdsson, Christian Eriksen and Lewis Holtly for a regular berth in the middle of the park.

He did start in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United but Aldridge feels as though he could be tempted to leave Tottenham if he does not feel as though he will receive regular game time.

The former Liverpool striker also feels as though Rodgers needs another creative player in midfield, as they struggled to create opportunities against Hull City without Philippe Coutinho in the starting line-up.

"I often see Premier League managers moaning that the January transfer window is a horrible place to try and do business - but I would beg to differ with that sentiment," Aldridge wrote in his column in the Sunday World.

"Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers banished the notion that decent deals are impossible to come by mid-way through the season with his shrewd captures of Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho last January and I'm hoping he can draw inspiration from that as he eyes up his transfer targets for next month.

"Sturridge's ankle ligament injury has highlighted the fragility of the squad and one name I would want at the top of my shopping list if I was Liverpool boss and the first of those would be Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele.

"Liverpool's midfield is lacking balance, with Steven Gerrard, Lucas and Jordan Henderson all doing similar jobs and all of them lacking the mobility you need to take on the very best in the Premier League.

"With Belgium in the World Cup for the first time in many a year next summer, I'm sure the former Fulham midfielder will look to get out of Spurs in January if he is not getting regular first team football and he would be a fantastic signing for Liverpool if they could seal a deal.

"It would also be nice to nick a player off Spurs as they seemed to spend most of their summer outbidding Liverpool for the likes of Christian Eriksen and a few more players who Rodgers may well have been in for!"

Rodgers has admitted that he hopes to sign players in January who can make a huge impact immediately, much in the same way that Coutinho and Sturridge were able to do when they arrived at the start of the year.

Dembele certainly has plenty of experience in the Premier League having excelled while at Fulham before making some 44 appearances for Tottenham in his first season with the club.