Liverpool to Trim the Wage Bill as Cole and Sahin Head for Exit – Report

Liverpool are set for a busy month of activity with the news that Joe Cole and Nuri Sahin could both be allowed to leave the club in January.

The Reds announced that they had completed a deal for Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge on Tuesday afternoon and are said to be in advanced negotiations with Blackpool over the proposed transfer of winger Thomas Ince.

However, in order to bring new players to the club it seems as though Liverpool will need to trim the fat from their underperforming squad, with Cole and Sahin both linked with moves away from Anfield.

Sahin, who is currently on a season-long loan from Real Madrid, is said to be one of the higher earners at the club and Liverpool would prefer to his deal to be cut short in order to free up space for new arrivals.

The Independent believes that Sahin's former club Borussia Dortmund would be interested in landing the midfielder, while Italian giants Inter Milan are also said to be interested.

Sahin has failed to make an impact at Liverpool and has made just seven league appearances and scored one goal. Nevertheless it seems that Dortmund are keen to offer him a return to the Bundesliga.

"Of course we are following Nuri's career - he's one of our lads," Dortmund's director of sport Michael Zorc told German newspaper Bild.

"We said to him back then (when he left), if Nuri says that he wants nothing other than to play in Dortmund, then we will deal with the issue. But it has got to be manageable, and nothing has changed in that regard."

The Daily Mail also believe that Cole could be heading for a reunion with a former club as West Ham have been heavily linked with the out-of-favour midfielder.

QPR boss Harry Redknapp has already admitted that he would like to sign Cole but the former Chelsea star's wages of around £90,000-a-week may cause difficulties for the struggling London club.

West Ham have a good relationship with the Reds, having secured Andy Carroll on a season long loan deal, and may hope this goes in their favour if they decide to move for Cole.