The players who must prove their worth this season

Mignolet & Reina?
No one seems sure as to whether Rodgers will give Reina a chance to compete for the starting job this season or is just waiting for and/or weighing the best offer for the soon-to-be 32-year-old.  The Spanish International made the trip across the pond as part of the squad for the US tour, but so did Borini.  I think he should be able to stay and fight for the top spot, there's nothing more healthy than a little competition and after last year, Mignolet should know his spot is far from safe.

The 26-year-old Belgian was fifth worst in giving up 50 goals last season and his 93% cross claim percentage was 28th in the league.  The demeanor of Mignolet was what worried me most, he didn't seem too concerned with taking control on defence and a seeming lack of communication between him and his defenders cost us a few goals last year, possibly the league as well.  Personally, if he doesn't show the form that lead us to buy him for £9m from Sunderland last summer, I say start looking for his replacement.

Sakho
The more and more I looked into Sakho's performance last season, the more discouraged I became.  Whenever he was on the pitch, our defence was as fragile as a United fan's confidence, one remote slight and it would collapse.  The biggest piece of the puzzle is what the 24-year-old French centre back did to warrant a -0.52 goals on pitch difference, by far the worst among club regulars.  His statistical output otherwise was good to excellent (92.5% passing success rate), which leaves unquantifiable solutions such as positioning and communication.  No matter what, if he continues the path he is on, which may have been due to game-style adjustment, he shouldn't be in a Liverpool kit by the end of next summer.

Martin Kelly & Glen Johnson
Oh Martin Kelly, too many injuries, too little time, what could have been? And now the clock nears the stroke of your LFC career end.  It's too bad the freshly-turned 24-year-old has not been able to put together a decent amount of appearances since his first team debut in 2009.  He needs a huge season to justify him staying even though his contract is until summer 2017.  I've always thought he had the talent, maybe he simply lacks the physicality to survive English top flight football.

Despite reports of his imminent demise, Glen Johnson did the same things at the same rate he's been doing for the past four years or so.  He set a career high in successful pass percentage at 84.1%, he still posted a 1.11 chance created per 90, and was only dribbled past by 0.82 per 90, his career average is 0.73.  We'll probably never see the kind of season he had when he was 25, but it's a contract season for the soon-to-be 30-year-old, so we should him at his possible best.

Some other players come to mind, but the aforementioned are the most crucial.  If Jose Enrique returns to his form of the previous year and avoids injury, he'll be fine.  Joe Allen will probably stay as long as he wants to be a bit part of a much bigger picture, ditto for Lucas, though the Brazilian, if he is still around come September, will certainly see more pitch time than the Welshman.  It should be business as usual for all else.

Should Andre Wisdom be loaned to West Brom?

Andre Wisdom, like Suso, is a well-liked player that I think all Liverpool fans want to pan out, play the next 10 or so years in a LFC shirt, and retire a legend.  He's a beast and even though he may not have the best judgement behind the wheel, on the pitch he's already a coveted commodity.  His versatility, athletic ability, and skill make the sky the limit for the 21-year-old Leeds native. His loan to Derby last season did nothing but prove how promising a prospect he is, here are his stats from that time:

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0	0.09	0.64	0.09	14.3
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
82.9	36.5	23.1	0	10.4
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd
1.04	1.98	0.94	0.7	0.24
tp90	tack%	intp90	clrp90
1.56	54.5	0.73	3.35
dribpp90	bsp90	adwp90	adw%
0.34	0.52	1.04	60.7

The most impressive stat is in the 34 matches since he joined Derby, they garnered 73 points, and the 12 previous they only managed 12.  Without Wisdom, I highly doubt they would have even made the Championship playoff.

I honestly think we should keep Wisdom and make him the starter.  I understand Rodgers' thinking here, but I don't think hanging on to Johnson for another season when he still has sell value is a good plan.  Johnson will be 30 come August and I doubt he has but a few years left in competitive top flight football.  Wisdom and even Martin Kelly deserve their shot and bringing in another right back is just a waste of money.

The transfer terrorists and their sneaky, little dirty bombs

If you are like me, you are already tired of all the speculations and half-fabrications pertaining to potential transfers involving our beloved club.  The silly season is upon us and since my two pence is worth at least one-fiftieth quid, I figure I'll have a go at deciphering through this radioactive mess.  I don't claim to have an advantage of who we may bring in, but I can at least give my thoughts on who is 'surplus to the cause'.

Lucas Leiva
I'm really on the fence about Lucas.  As much as I think we should keep him, part of me thinks the Lucas of three seasons ago is gone and he shan't return.  His injuries have become too frequent and though his passing and ball-handling skills have improved, he appears slower than ever and that's saying a lot considering pace was never one of his strengths.  At least now, with the addition of Can, we won't have to rely on him as much.

Daniel Agger
Absolutely not, losing Agger would be a greater loss than losing Suarez.  He was our best centre back last year and unless Sakho proves his worth early on next season, Agger should be around for a few more years.

Iago Aspas
Here's an interesting stat concerning Aspas... oh wait, there are no interesting stats concerning him.  Give'em a ticket and say bon voyage.

Fabio Borini
Even without the addition of Rickie Lambert, Borini should be shipped out.  In 2692 Premiership minutes, playing for Sunderland, Liverpool, and Chelsea, he has scored 8 goals, 3 of which are penalties, and assisted on 3 more.  For a comparison, he scored 9 goals in 1680 minutes for Roma in Serie A.  He doesn't have the pace nor the technical ability to make up for the lack of pace to make it in the Prem.  I say sell him to Sunderland or use him as bait to get a versatile defender like Federico Fazio.

Ousama Assaidi
Assaidi had a decent spell at Stoke last season, but not enough to really consider keeping him.  His ccp90 of 1.53, shooting accuracy of 45%, shot % of 20%, and a TTI90 of 8.6 are all respectable numbers, but he'll be 26 in August.  If he was 23, I'd say keep him around for another season, but it's time to cut ties and try to get back at least some of what we paid for him.

Jack Robinson
Robinson's loan spell at Blackpool probably did more for his character development than it did for his skills. Blackpool started the season in decent form, sitting on 31 points 17 matches into the season, than the ship ran aground.  They lost 20 of their remaining 29 matches, even bringing in Barry Ferguson as the manager did little to help their slide.  Was Robinson integral to their fall? Not really.  Despite picking up 3 red cards, 2 of which were in their first 17 matches, Robinson's output was respectable:

npgp90	0	pass%	71.7	gap90	1.44	intp90	2.27
gcp90	0.1	bp%	37.3	gsp90	0.83	clrp90	5.3
ccp90	0.77	sacc%	8.3	gop90	-0.61	bsp90	0.35
ap90	0.1	shot%	0	tgop90	-0.61	adwp90	1.4
ccv	12.5	TTI90	11.7	tp90	1.95	adwon%	57.1
				tack %	51.3

Ferguson even deployed Robinson at left mid for 4 matches with mixed results.  Being only 20, I expect him to be loaned out again and hopefully show more promise than last season.

As for Suso, Wisdom, Kelly, Coady, Yesil, and Ibe, unless they vehemently demand to leave, we should hold on to them.  The first three can contribute now, while the latter three probably need seasoning at a Championship side to improve their game.

DeAndre Yedlin? You must be Yanking my chain.

There are reports that Rodgers may be interested in 20-year-old American International and Seattle Sounders right back, DeAndre Yedlin.  The only interesting thing about Yedlin is that he is of 'Native American, African American, and Latvian descent' (thanks Wikipedia). Look, he plays for the Sounders in the MLS and he's far from setting the place ablaze.  If that were the case, I'd say bring him over.  Here are his stats from the previous and current MLS seasons:

	2013	2014
age	19	20
app(subs)	32(1)	11
mins	2712	959
goals	2	0
assist	2	0
chances	20	12
npgp90	0.07	0
gcp90	0.13	0
ccp90	0.66	1.1
ap90	0.07	0
ccv	10.6	0
pass%	74.6	80.3
bp%	32.9	28.8
sacc%	35.7	0
shot%	14.3	0
tp90	2.5	2.5
tack %	65.7	53.3
intp90	3.6	2.7
clrp90	3.2	3.3
dribpp90	0.83	0.9
bsp90	0.43	0.6
adwp90	1.7	0.7
adwon%	57.5	70
TTI90	12.1	10.7

At first glance, these stats look impressive, but they aren't.  If he posted these numbers in the Prem, Man U would buy him for £30m, but in the MLS, he doesn't even break the top 20 in any category.  Seattle has also allowed 23 goals so far this season, that's tied for 9th, so he isn't contributing to a stifling defense.  

The only positive that I can see is his progression, his passing has improved from last season, all the while lowering his back pass rate, and he is turning over the ball less.  Still no reason to get excited and put in a bid.

What about his World Cup showing?  What about it? He made 3 good passes, but was mediocre at best in his 115 minutes of pitch time.  Here's what Squawka thought about his performance in Brazil:

What about his potential? He'll turn 21 in four days and yes, his development is coming around nicely, but he's not 16 and has shown zero desire to leave the safe haven of MLS.  In fact, he was born and raised in Seattle.

Rodgers can not be serious about signing Yedlin. Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly would both run circles around this kid. Going for players that are products of the World Cup hype machine rarely pan out, Yedlin would be lucky to just to train with our first team.