Rumour Mongering: Wood You Like Another Bobby?

In an admittedly weird one, 24-year-old American striker Bobby Wood is the latest name to pop up in the ever-turning Liverpool rumor mill, this time courtesy of the German newpaper Bild. They must have finally ran out of strikers to link to the Red half of Merseyside. The Hawaiian born American international (I know, low bar to clear) is currently plying his trade with Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

Wood has hardly lit the German league on fire, finding the back of the net only 5 times and creating 0 assists in his 20 league appearances. However, his rate of return is a little better in the DFB Pokal—Germany’s cup competition—scoring 4 in 4, and he has scored 4 times in his last 10 times out.

Hamburg is struggling this season, currently residing in 16th place out of 18 teams in the Bundesliga, well clear of the automatic relegation spots, but currently in the relegation qualification spot. They also have the 4th-worst goal scoring record in the league with 24 goals, and a -22 goal differential. So, you could make the argument that Wood hasn’t gotten a lot of support from his teammates. Or you could argue, that despite leading the team in goals, he’s not doing enough to help the side push up the table. Probably a bit of both.

Regardless, seems like a risk for a player whose most charitable compliment might be, “pretty good for an American.” That said, the risk wouldn’t be terribly expensive in today’s market; Wood reportedly has a buy-out clause of only £10 million. Still, it seems that money could be better spent toward bringing in a proven goal scorer to lead the line.