The news may not be as bad as initially feared for Liverpool fans, but Philippe Coutinho will miss the entirety of December and the first couple of weeks of January with his ankle ligament injury set to put him out of action for around six weeks.

When the Brazilian crumpled to the Anfield turf after a 50/50 challenge with Sunderland’s Didier N’Dong – whom we hasten to add did nothing wrong – the diagnosis on social media was a bone break or fracture that may effectively ruin his season.

Instead, his absence is measured in weeks rather than months, but there is now a real problem for Jurgen Klopp, whose side has been largely built around the creative ex-Inter Milan man. Indeed, with Sadio Mane set for a New Year exit to represent Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, the German will be short of options in the early weeks of 2017, and that’s without factoring in another potential injury problem or a suspension.

It makes sense, then, to chase a new signing. The German himself has alluded to drafting in a fresh set of legs and has previously talked up the need for a winger, so we at FootballFanCast have pooled together FIVE potential January transfer window options for ‘the Normal One’…

Felipe Anderson

Brazilian stars make up two-thirds of Liverpool’s main attacking triumvirate – Coutinho and Roberto Firmino – and they could complete the set with a move for Lazio’s Felipe Anderson. We hasten to add there have been no concrete links with the flying wide-man, but he offers the sort of pace Mane provides and with 19 goals over the course of the past two-and-a-third Serie A seasons, he clearly has the potency Klopp wants from his attacking players.

The stats (via Squawka) show that no player in Serie A has attempted more take-ons-per-game than the Brazilian, whose 43 (58% of which have been successful) put him ahead of AC Milan’s Giacomo Bonaventura, who has made the same amount but played one more game. This shows that Anderson is not afraid to drive at defenders, making him a direct threat and a player who can both fill in for and offer a different option to Coutinho.

He’s also made 34 tackles – a mighty tally for an attacking player – illustrating that he likes to press from the front.

Christian Pulisic

Once again linked with the Reds in the wake of Coutinho’s injury, the 18-year-old America international is clearly a player Klopp wants. A late summer bid was reportedly submitted by the Merseysiders and rejected by Dortmund, but the Premier League high-flyers are unlikely to be deterred by this minor set-back.

Indeed, Liverpool have the cash to chase the teenager after making a profit during the last transfer window, and it’s hard to see any club, even one as big as Dortmund, turning down £25m – £30m for an albeit talented, largely unproven young player. Signing Pulisic would be a gamble, but he really does have raw talent.

Max Meyer

Aligned with the Reds of late, Meyer of Schalke is becoming one of Germany’s finest talents. The fleet-footed ‘No.10’ offers the sort of pace and work-rate that are synonymous with the nation’s top attacking midfield talents, and at the age of 21, has plenty of years ahead of him to further develop.

With Schalke huffing and puffing in midtable in the Bundesliga, a move away from the Gelsenkirchen club this winter may somewhat appeal to Meyer. But Liverpool should expect to be quoted north of £35m for the starlet.

Ante Coric

Already being talked about as one of Croatia’s best talents since Luka Modric broke through, Coric was linked with Liverpool during the summer and is a player they’ve been keeping their eye on since. The pint-sized attacking midfielder has netted three goals for Dinamo Zagreb in league action this term, but with the normally dominant side – they’ve won the league title each season since 2005/06 – sitting second in Prva HNL, he might be tempted to jump ship this winter.

Paul-Georges Ntep

Pacey and powerful, Ntep seems to be a player tailor-made for Klopp’s high-tempo system. There remain doubts about his positional awareness and ability to function in an ‘elite’ league – he’s spent his entire career in France – but the Rennes man has the tools to become an effective Premier League winger-forward.

The France international has bagged five goals in ten Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, whilst averaging an impressive 1.9 key passes and 2.3 successful dribbles per match – ranking 12th and 10th throughout the division respectively.