Armenian striker shows why he was linked with Liverpool

Yura Movsisyan was previously rumoured to have caught the eye of Brendan Rodgers and though an Anfield move failed to materialise, he still looks sharp. HITC Sport reports.

With Mario Balotelli struggling to score regularly for Liverpool during a stop-start season at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers must be wondering where it all went wrong.

One potential starting point may be the day the Reds manager opted against taking a gamble on Spartak Moscow striker Yura Movsisyan.

Last term the 27-year-old was nothing short of a revelation for the Russian outfit, scoring 16 goals in 26 games to spark speculation that he could soon be heading to England.

An Armenia international who actually started his career in Major League Soccer with the Kansas City Wizards, Movsisyan grew up in Los Angeles, having emigrated to the US as a child with his family.

After a spell with Real Salt Lake, he headed to Europe with Danish side Randers, where a return of 12 goals in 30 games caught the eye of Krasnodar.

In two seasons at the Russian club, Movsisyan scored 32 goals from 57 outings with Spartak eventually coming in for the well-travelled forward.

Back last summer, Sky Sports were among the first to report that the striker was attracting interest from England, with the Armenian star all too happy to court the rumours.

"I've heard there may be some interested teams in England and Germany," he said at the time.

"If an offer is made for me, I can't control the outcome. Spartak know my ambition and all parties need to be satisfied."

Soon enough, Liverpool emerged as a target with CaughtOffside claiming that Reds manager Brendan Rodgers was weighing up a bid for the player that same summer.

Yet no move was forthcoming and with the Reds coming close to signing Loic Remy and later settling for Balotelli, it appeared the deal was dead and buried.

But with the Italian failing to impress at Anfield, a change of heart could yet be on the cards with Movsisyan still in good form for both club and country.

The 27-year-old was on target in Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Albania and though the underdogs ultimately went down 2-1, the one-time LA resident looked as sharp as ever.