Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is hoping to bring Kolo Toure to new club Celtic, according to reports on Sunday.
The Ulsterman took charge at Parkhead in May, having had a break from management following his sacking by the Reds last October.
Rodgers has been linked with a number of former players already, including Joe Allen and Andre Wisdom, and it now appears that Toure is very much on his radar.
The Scottish Daily Mail report that Rodgers sees the 35-year-old as someone who can significantly bolster Celtic’s back-line, as they prepare for another Scottish Premier League title charge and Champions League football in 2016/17.
With Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata both out of Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers next month, Rodgers is well aware that additions are needed at centre-back as soon as possible.
Toure was released by Liverpool at the end of the season, following three years at Anfield, and it may be that a new challenge in a new country would appeal.
The Ivorian would bring an undoubted winning mentality to the Scottish giants, with multiple honours won throughout an illustrious career.
It is believed that Liverpool considered the idea of offering the former Arsenal and Man City man a coaching role at the club, but he is not ready to retire as a player just yet.
Toure made 71 appearances for the Reds in total, and proved to be an enormously popular figure among both teammates and supporters.
The veteran always gave his all on the pitch, and despite age creeping up on him last season, he produced some exceptional performances in the absence of Mamadou Sakho.
His only Liverpool goal came in the 6-0 win over Aston Villa in February – a memorable moment for anyone associated with the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp's men made light work of the visitors in a stellar 4-1 win, giving them the perfect platform to build on ahead of the German side's visit to Anfield
It was difficult to shake the feeling thatLiverpoolfacingStokeat Anfield on Sunday was like begrudgingly rolling out of bed when you really had to wake up, but absolutely didn’t want to.
Sandwiched in-between both legs of the Europa League quarter-final against Jurgen Klopp’s old side Borussia Dortmund, it seemed like an unwanted distraction and the kind of game Liverpool would have sleepwalked through in the recent past.
To avoid exactly that, the Reds boss made seven changes to his side that drew 1-1 at the Westfalenstadion in a tireless encounter, and the combination of fresh legs and players determined to prove themselves saw the hosts superbly oust Stoke 4-1.
Liverpool may have had an eye on Thursday’s all-or-nothing clash against Dortmund, but it didn’t sidetrack the players selected. Daniel Sturridge, who started on the bench last Thursday, provided a goal and his overall play looked sharper with more steel.
Divock Origi, chosen ahead of the England international at Signal Iduna Park, continued his stellar performance at Dortmund by netting twice against Mark Hughes’ men. He came off the bench to replace teenager Sheyi Ojo, who on his first start for the club, sent Xherdan Shaqiri to buy his dinner as he danced past him to deliver the perfect cross to Sturridge.
Kevin Stewart, back from an injury lay-off, worked well in tandem with Joe Allen, who won the most interceptions and made the most tackles. In a stat that perhaps summed up the fun Liverpool had, Kolo Toure attempted and completed their top tally of take-ons in the game.
And the four players that started against Dortmund, were selected again versus Stoke and who should line up from the off again on Thursday - Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Alberto Moreno and James Milner - were brilliant.
The goalkeeper did well to tip a goal-bound Geoff Cameron effort over, while the right-back created two chances and was a constant supply of attacking third passes. Moreno opened the scoring with an scorching shot that had a wicked bend and Milner, wearing the armband, assisted that strike as well as Origi’s first of the evening.
Adam Lallana had told Goal that with four games in 10 days, Liverpool would need to look to the squad in order to stay fresh and that worked brilliantly against Stoke. It was a cunning display by the collective.
Thomas Tuchel had the same idea, making eight changes to his Dortmund side for the Revierderby with Schalke, but that finished in a 2-2 draw.
It was the perfect preparation for Liverpool as they welcome the Bundesliga side to Anfield on Thursday night. They got the job done on Sunday and will be determined to do the same under the floodlights as another top European night awaits.
NORWICH, England -- Three points from Norwich 4-5 Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp's men won after trailing 3-1 and drawing 4-4 in injury time at Carrow Road.
1. Lallana settles incredible match for vulnerable Liverpool
This was a Liverpool victory that took in all aspects of their chaotic current incarnation.
A cool finish in the 75th minute from James Milner, following a suicidal back-pass from Norwich captain Russell Martin, looked to have sealed a remarkable 4-3 Liverpool win. But then came a Sebastian Bassong equaliser in the second minute of injury time. That, incredibly, was not the last of it. Substitute Adam Lallana, scuffing a shot into the ground, broke Norwich hearts to secure an even more remarkable 5-4 Liverpool win, with seconds remaining of the five minutes that had been added on.
Having exposed Liverpool's defensive vulnerabilities with two superbly executed first-half goals to soar into a 3-1 lead by the 55th minute, Norwich exhibited even greater deficiency in conceding three goals in 20 minutes and then that final blow. Alex Neil's team will be relegated if they continue to defend anything like that.
Few could have predicted the madness lying in store when Roberto Firmino scored an 18th-minute opener. Eventually the high-octane Liverpool revealed itself, as opposed to the lackadaisical, lethargic outfit that appears far too regularly in red shirts, though that guise was evident for the period between Dieumerci Mbokani's equaliser and Wes Hoolahan putting Norwich 3-1 up from the penalty spot.
Mbokani's outrageous improvisation with a back-heel flick had halted Liverpool's dominance and when Steven Naismith grabbed a 41st-minute debut goal to celebrate his £8.5 million signing from Everton, Liverpool's defensive problems were again laid bare. Another piece of penalty box imagination, this time a flick from Hoolahan, and Naismith thrashed past Simon Mignolet.
It was Naismith's determination that took Norwich into a 3-1 lead they held for just 96 seconds, as Jordan Henderson went up the other end and pulled one back. Naismith's recovery of the ball on the byline tempted Alberto Moreno into an idiotic tackle, winning a penalty that Hoolahan converted impudently.
But then Liverpool skipper Henderson smashed in from close range. If Liverpool were suffering defensive problems, Norwich embraced catastrophe in a match that pinged from one end to the other in a truly breathless second half. As Firmino scored Liverpool's equaliser after a move the Brazilian had begun and finished, a Liverpool goal became by far the more likely result, but there would be another twist beyond that.
If Liverpool's season is headed for disappointment in terms of qualifying for the Champions League, at least their fans will remember this day. They then celebrated in disbelief as Lallana grabbed three points at the last.
Adam Lallana scored in injury time after Liverpool had been pegged back to 4-4 minutes previously.
2. Klopp's defence struggles again
A double-page spread in the match programme reminded fans of Liverpool's previous visit to Carrow Road, back on Easter Sunday in April 2014, when a Brendan Rodgers-led team were league leaders honing in on a title destiny that they fell catastrophically short of.
"We go Norwich," Steven Gerrard famously said as part of his on-pitch team talk that had followed a 3-2 defeat of Manchester City the previous week.
Gerrard and another nine of his colleagues have since moved on, the 18-man squad list from that day confirming the huge change that Liverpool have undergone since those days in the spring of 2014. And only one of Klopp's 18 men at Carrow Road, defender Steven Caulker, on loan from QPR, had been signed on the German's watch.
The presence of Kolo Toure at centre-back betrayed the injury problems that Klopp is currently having. The 34-year-old had been playing well since he was called into action but is an emergency option and he struggled badly with the physical power of Mbokani, who also proved a handful for Mamadou Sakho. When the Congolese striker supplied his moment of magic to make it 1-1, it came between Liverpool's centre-back pairing.
Like West Ham's Andy Carroll three weeks previously and Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini's part in Wayne Rooney's winning goal at Anfield last week, a tall, physical presence caused severe problems for a defensive unit that has kept two clean sheets in its seven matches so far in 2016. And one of those came against League Two Exeter. Liverpool's vulnerability to the crossed ball and at corners is now an open secret.
If Klopp is unable to improve that, Liverpool's hopes of challenging for a title again will become even more distant.
Steven Naismith scored on his debut and Norwich were in charge at 3-1 but Alex Neil's men blew it.
3. Naismith's promise
If Norwich are teetering above the relegation zone, the club appears determined to spend its way out of trouble. Neil's starting lineup featured two new signings in Naismith and Portuguese right-back Ivo Pinto, signed from Dinamo Zagreb, while Swiss international Timm Klose, landed from Wolfsburg, was on the bench.
Pinto began brightly on the overlap but an early alarm was sounded by how easily he was outpaced in the 13th minute by Jordon Ibe down the wing for Liverpool's first attack. It was from his flank that Firmino's goal came and it was an obvious weak spot against which Liverpool repeatedly pressed.
Naismith, who scored his first goal in English football for Everton against their Mersey rivals in 2012, had pledged his determination to sign off from Goodison Park, where he remains highly regarded, with a goal against his now-former club's old rivals. In a little-and-large combination, he played off Mbokani and had begun to cause problems for Liverpool's leaden defence even before that first-half equaliser.
The initial signs are that Naismith is determined to play his part in rescuing his new club from relegation and he showed little sign of being nervous with his new colleagues as he issued frequent instructions and encouragement to those around him.
Norwich will require such leadership to haul themselves from trouble. And a defence worthy of the name, too.
Liverpool have been handed a major injury boost as striker Daniel Sturridge is set to make his longawaited return to the Liverpool side against Manchester City in their next English Premier League match next weekend as the striker is reportedly back on a return to first-team training with the Reds.
The England international and Liverpool striker has been struggling with a knee injury in recent weeks and has not featured for Jurgen Klopp’s side since the 1-1 draw with Everton back at the start of October.
However, the Daily Mirror is claiming that Sturridge is set to resume full training this week ahead of Saturday evening’s trip to Manchester City in the English Premier League.
Meanwhile, Liverpool midfielder and Vice-Captain James Milner recently said that he is also hopeful of being fit to face Manchester City following the England international’s forced vacation due to a hamstring injury.
Liverpool players currently out:
Jordon Ibe (knee)
Mamadou Sakho (knee)
James Milner (hamstring)
Kolo Toure (hamstring)
Daniel Sturridge(knee)
Jordan Rossiter (hamstring)
Danny Ings (knee)
Joe Gomez (knee)
Jordan Henderson (metatarsal)
Jon Flanagan (knee)
Jordon Ibe was also substituted late during the 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace after sustaining a knock to his knee. However, the injury is not thought to be too serious and therefore he too might have returned against City.
It remains to be seen if these returning players will be just the key to ensure Liverpool get a win against Manchester City on matchday.
