With the January transfer window looming, Rafael Benitez must be considering his striking options very carefully. Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League and in a considerably better position, at this stage of the season, than they have been for many a recent campaign.

However, Benitez has a problem. With Robbie Keane still suffering a drought in front of goal and the team’s younger strikers still unproven at top level, is Fernando Torres expected to win every game for them?

The young Spaniard is a brilliant footballer but I don’t believe he is capable of carrying Liverpool to the title single-handed; he needs an efficient and reliable partner.

To add to the pressure, the Liverpool faithful are already expectant after wins against both Manchester United and Chelsea at the start of the season, but recent results have lacked goals and the 3-1 win at struggling Blackburn shouldn’t glaze over a woeful few weeks in front of goal.

The options Benitez has within the club are limited; £20m man Keane still hasn’t settled in and with a return of only four goals in 22 appearances, (just two of them in the Premier League), there is still a monkey firmly strapped to the Irishman’s back.

There’s also the option of the two young forwards, Frenchman David N'Gog and Hungarian Krisztián Németh. However, both are relatively inexperienced at Premier League level and are probably considered by Benitez not to be ready for such a pressured leap into the first team.

The only other choice is Dirk Kuyt or Ryan Babel. Yet Kuyt is a natural midfielder, who works his socks off all over the park and simply cannot be expected to get a striker's goal return without sacrificing the best part of his game.

The same role confusion applies to Babel. He signed from Ajax as a listed striker but since arriving at Anfield has predominately only played on the left wing.  

It's not just Benitez who has a problem placing Babel. The Dutchman himself has also become frustrated at his lack of first-team starts, mainly appearing only as a substitute for the last 20 minutes of a game, and this particular situation took another twist as details of a loan move back to Ajax, engineered by Babel himself, have come to light.

Aside from Torres and Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s attacking players need to find their shooting boots. Benitez needs a reliable second striker and if Keane doesn’t start scoring soon, he could see his place being contested by a new face come January.

Benitez is a manager who plays his cards close to his chest and I don’t believe today’s rejection of the rumoured moves for Keane or Babel will mean much if things don’t improve during the crucial Christmas period.