11 May 2013

'He'd be great at LFC' - Boss urges 'fantastic' £17m star to sign for Liverpool

PSV Eindhoven boss Dick Advocaat has confirmed that Liverpool are one of the many clubs interested in signing coveted midfield star Kevin Strootman.

Speaking to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf yesterday, Advocaat observed:

"For PSV it would be good that he stays, but for Strootman, it's better for him to leave.

"He is a fantastic player because he knows exactly where his qualities lie.

"The guy would be great at Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, where he could take another step forward"


When quizzed about his future in April, £17m-rated Strootman told reporters:

"There are clubs interested [in signing me], but a club must speak to me first."

Strootman has been on Liverpool's radar for a long time, and in November 2011, Kenny Dalglish sent Steve Clarke along to scout the player during Holland's 3-0 defeat to Germany.

Back in November, Strootman hinted that a summer move may be on the cards. He told NUsport :

"I have ambitions and I sometimes talk to my agent Chiel Dekker about clubs, but first I want to be a champion with PSV. If a club really wants you then they come back in the summer."

Strootman's Agent also confirmed recently that the midfielder has his eye on a move to the Premier League this summer:

"All the top clubs in Europe know about Kevin, but a move to England next summer is his first priority and, yes, Manchester United and other big clubs in Europe have been in touch with me.”

Defensive-midfield/deep-lying playmaker is a position Liverpool need to cover this summer, but £17m seems optimistic for a 23-year old who's never played outside Holland.

Looking at transfer fees for similar players over the last two years, I sincerely doubt that any club would pay more than £10m-£13m for him at this stage.

With Xabi Alonso reportedly planning to stay at Real Madrid, is Strootman a realistic option this summer...?





NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


18 comments:

  1. he would be another great signing but do we have the budget to stretch for him imo no,and other areas of the pitch are going to need covering 1st mainly centerback (although i would keep who we have and gave wisdom and or kelly a go as well)another striker is my main priority plus another world class midfielder,

    ReplyDelete
  2. liverpool4life5653:59 pm, May 11, 2013

    He could be a good signing, if the fee is right then we should go for him, but priority is centre backs then strikers then midfield :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. TBH I feel Lucas is the weak link in the team. He is great at what he does...but it's not enough IMO for a top 4 club. I don't want to sell him but believe it's one position that we can improve on. His passing just isn't good enough, there are players out there that can break an attack up just aswell as Lucas but can also offer something more going forward which Lucas lacks. Saying that, he has been improving on that aspect of his game, but he just isn't quick enough mentally.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dont want him i think there is other players who aremore urgently needed to be put into midfield places before him.
    Erikson and Wanyama are currently linked and if they come there is no way the budget will be stretched to accomodate another mid unless it is a wide player.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Also...In regards to Strootman, I think he is the business and has lots of potential. 17 million seems a bit excessive.

    Personally I would prefer Victor Wanyama, he would be my number 1 realistic choice, obviously Diame is in the mix aswell at a bargain price.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Money aside, he's not a defensive midfielder nor a deeplying playmaker. He's a Gerrard.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lucas has been brilliant despite coming back with 2 serious injuries.
    You have not seen his stats of late obviously

    ReplyDelete
  8. Off topic congrats to Wigan and Ben Watson over coming injury this season to score the winner .
    Sometimes a big heart and belief can over come big money a real fairy tale.

    ReplyDelete
  9. At times, he has been brilliant at what he does, which is unfortunately limited. Other times he has looked lost. It might not come across this way but I am a fan of Lucas.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree, Lucas does a decent job and we are are glad to see success stories, but at lfc we do have to look beyond sentiment. He has been outrun in the midfield several times this year and hasn't looked like a world class defensive mid. Not to mention his passing has been pretty poor as well. We all like Lucas but at the least we must provide competition for his position.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jason, with Rodger's comments about Skrtel's future do you think we will still go for a CB? I think we need a strong CB desperately, but I just wonder if Rodger's realized he may not have the budget to do what he hoped this window...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lucas is only perceived as a "weak link" or "not good enough for a top 4 team" because he is way too exposed. If Henderson (or someone with that type of work rate) is not near Lucas he is always exposed when we lose the ball. It's not his fault, Allen had a similar problem when he filled in for Lucas in the DM role too.


    This happens because BR gets his wingers to cut inside, there's no natural width. So to get width Johnson and Enrique bomb up the sideline. When we lose the ball it all goes wrong because the fullbacks have to get back, the wingers are infield, and most likely Henderson/Gerrard have pushed up a lot trying to attack from deep. This leaves just Lucas and the CB's to deal with a counter attack.


    IMO you can swap Lucas for Diame, the same problem would still occur.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Billy you're absolutely right, he's good at what he does but it will never be enough. If we had a stronger, athletic more forward thinking DM like Diame. There would be a massive difference. I'm afraid the following teams will eat us alive because of their stronger more athletic midfield-Chelski (Ramirez, Mikel, Mata +/- Hazard, Moses), Arsenal (Wiltshere, Carzola & Diaby if fit), Spuds (Dembele, Sigurdsson, Bale floating role), City (Toure, Silva, Milner), Stoke (N'zonzi), Hammers (Diame), Everton (Fellaini, Pienaar), mancs (this is there weakest midfield but Cleverly & Jones do an ok job, Kagawa is the man though) this of the top of my head.
    Bottom line we need some steel in the form of Wanyama or Diame, Lucas I'm afraid is a squad player at best!

    ReplyDelete
  14. i think the budget is going to be tighter than most fans expect,so then the questions will be asked were as all the tv money gone,or is rodgers on borrowed time so they want to see how results pan out before letting him further invest

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mr. Point Of View7:30 am, May 12, 2013

    how many of u believe alonso will coming back? % rate?

    ReplyDelete
  16. he is rodgers favourite player. So many players are up for sale, depending on who goes, we should have a decent budget.
    Enrique, Glen j, martin s, carroll, downing, henderson,pepe, spearing, coates, all rumoured to be up for sale, maybe borini too.
    thats a lot of cash on top of the 25m budget.


    the sergio canales news is a good start anyway, one of the top 10 kids in the world imo.

    ReplyDelete
  17. we haven't bought Sergio Canales... Sergi Canos is a totally different player.

    ReplyDelete
  18. typo. canos is who i meant.

    ReplyDelete