In November, Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann heaped lavish praise on Schalke star Julian Draxler, a player with whom the Reds were linked during the summer 2012 transfer window. Earlier this week, the 20-year old attacking midfielder - who is also wanted by Manchester United and Arsenal - recently hinted that a transfer over the summer is likely, and it appears that Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is starting to take notice of the German's extensive talents.
According to the Daily Mail today:
"Brendan Rodgers personally flew to Germany last night to watch Julian Draxler star for Schalke in their Champions League victory against Basel. The 20-year-old German international is a long-term target at Anfield, and Rodgers says he sees [Draxler] as a potential successor to Steven Gerrard"
It's also possible Rodgers was there to watch Basel's €18m-rated attacker Mohamed Salah, who is also allegedly on LFC's wanted-list.
In 2012, Liverpool reportedly considered a double-swoop for Draxler and Spurs midfielder Lewis Holtby, but nothing came of the alleged interest.
When quizzed about his future at Schalke recently, Draxler emphatically ruled out a January transfer, but seemed open to a summer switch. He told reporters:
"I have to look what is the best for me and I will do in the summer again and we will see what happens. I have always said English teams are very big clubs. You never know what happens in the summer"
Fellow German Dietmar Hamann is a fan of Draxler, as he told the Daily Mail recently:
[Draxler is] an outstanding talent in midfield. He is a big lad, maybe 6ft 2in, but his touch is fantastic, as is his awareness. What I like most about him is that he can play the game at his own tempo and makes things happen".
Schalke have reportedly slapped a €40m price-tag on Draxler, which is utterly ridiculous for a 20-year old player who's done nothing of note in the game.
That's not to say Draxler isn't talented; he clearly is, but €40m? You're having a laugh! If he's worth €40m, then how much is the similarly-aged Philippe Coutinho worth? Draxler's stats last season are, admittedly, very promising, especially considering he was 19 at the time:
* 13 goals/5 assists in 39 apps (32 starts)
* Goal/Assist every 2.1 games.
Draxler clearly fits FSG's infernal transfer template, and with the German expressing a clear preference for English clubs, hopefully Rodgers will pursue him. Whether FSG will stump up the cash, however, is a different story.
Author: Jaimie K
According to the Daily Mail today:
"Brendan Rodgers personally flew to Germany last night to watch Julian Draxler star for Schalke in their Champions League victory against Basel. The 20-year-old German international is a long-term target at Anfield, and Rodgers says he sees [Draxler] as a potential successor to Steven Gerrard"
It's also possible Rodgers was there to watch Basel's €18m-rated attacker Mohamed Salah, who is also allegedly on LFC's wanted-list.
In 2012, Liverpool reportedly considered a double-swoop for Draxler and Spurs midfielder Lewis Holtby, but nothing came of the alleged interest.
When quizzed about his future at Schalke recently, Draxler emphatically ruled out a January transfer, but seemed open to a summer switch. He told reporters:
"I have to look what is the best for me and I will do in the summer again and we will see what happens. I have always said English teams are very big clubs. You never know what happens in the summer"
Fellow German Dietmar Hamann is a fan of Draxler, as he told the Daily Mail recently:
[Draxler is] an outstanding talent in midfield. He is a big lad, maybe 6ft 2in, but his touch is fantastic, as is his awareness. What I like most about him is that he can play the game at his own tempo and makes things happen".
Schalke have reportedly slapped a €40m price-tag on Draxler, which is utterly ridiculous for a 20-year old player who's done nothing of note in the game.
That's not to say Draxler isn't talented; he clearly is, but €40m? You're having a laugh! If he's worth €40m, then how much is the similarly-aged Philippe Coutinho worth? Draxler's stats last season are, admittedly, very promising, especially considering he was 19 at the time:
* 13 goals/5 assists in 39 apps (32 starts)
* Goal/Assist every 2.1 games.
Draxler clearly fits FSG's infernal transfer template, and with the German expressing a clear preference for English clubs, hopefully Rodgers will pursue him. Whether FSG will stump up the cash, however, is a different story.
Author: Jaimie K
Rodgers needs serious backing in January from the owners: No more players for potential next 2-5 years, we need class, quality players who will hit the ground running from January 2014, not January 2017.
ReplyDeleteAnd these are the 6 players Rodgers should bring to club: A DM, 2 CM, 2 Wingers and a FD
Not J Draxler(20) Of Schalke as he would cost the club between 18-25M, we can and should bring two centre midfielders for that amount who will hit the ground running now.
1 Defensive Midfielder:
Y M’Vila(23) Of Rubin Kazan for 9-14M to compete , Cover and to keep Lucas on the Bench
2 Centre Midfielders:
M Diame(26) Of West Ham for 3-5M to compete , Cover to and to keep Henderson on the bench
Y Cabaye(27) Of Newcastle for 14-18M to compete, Cover and to keep Allen on the bench
2 Class, Creative, Direct, Goalscoring pacey quick skilful wingers for each wing:
M Salah(21) Of Basel for 10-15M to compete and Cover Sterling RW / RWF
D Capel(25) Of Sporting Clube De Portugal / Lisbon for 3-6M to compete and Cover IBE LW / LWF
One class good quality Forward/ Striker:
L Remy(26) Of Qpr ( On Loan at Newcastle) for 6-9M to compete and Cover Sturridge
These are the 6 players who need to brought to club in January
We need to forget about the Tello’s, Pastore’s, Matic’s, Pedro’s, El Shaarwaay’s. We are not in Europe or Champions league, so getting these players to club now is a very hard task.
The 6 players i mentioned we should bring to club in January would cost club 60-74m, but those 6 players would bring our CLUB Champions league football and a trophy this SEASON for sure.
With those 6 players at club:
We could field many sides capable of combating small mobile creative quick sides: Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea, Swansea, Norwich.
Line Up: 4 2 3 1
Mignolet
Johnson Skrtel Agger Cissokho
M’Vila Cabaye
Salah Coutinho Capel
Suarez
Or Against Mobile physical sides: Man City, Tottenham, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke, West Brom and West Ham
Line Up: 4 3 3
Mignolet
Johnson Skrtel Sakho Cissokho
M’VILA Cabaye
Diame
Salah Remy Suarez
or 4 4 2
Mignolet
Johnson Skrtel Agger Cissokho
M’Vila Gerrard
Salah Capel
Suarez Remy/Sturridge
rodgers has most likley gone to watch salah
ReplyDeleteAgain, no chance. If he is going to be joining the Prem any time soon it'll be Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteYa. He went to watch Salah, for he is already at the team, and the manager has to know him for real and all. But hey, i am probably wrog, and the guy up stairs as it all sorted out. Too bad is not working for LFC.
ReplyDelete35 million should only be spent on proven top class goalscorers not midfielders, if he costs that much its far too much.
ReplyDeletewhat else do you want from fsg?? the millions rodgers has spent on unproven talent is whose fault.remind me who signed borini alberto sahin aspas ilori allen for over 50m
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's gonna happen. My bet is BR was scouting Salah.
ReplyDeleteCissoko?
ReplyDeletedid some one just....cos i swear when first read this artical it was just about drax.... ahhhhh some one missed a trick!!!
ReplyDeletedont agree with some of these transfers we need to look forward not backwards diame is shcoking for liverpool standard and the only players i would agree with are cabaye and remy and personally think if we can get draxler for a decent price we should go for it.
ReplyDeleteNeil,
ReplyDeleteM'Vila(23) is a much better defensive midfielder than Lucas. He is younger, more mobile, quicker, has physical presence and stronger than lucas. 8-14M
Capel(25) is left footed pacey quick bags of skill and would offer more class, creativity and goals on left hand side than V Moses(22) and IBE(19). And he would cost club 3-6M
Diame(26) is a beast, he is in the mould of M Sissoko(24) of Newcastle and Y Toure(30) of Man City, whereas Coutinho(21) would glide past players with skill and quick turn of pace.
Diame(26) bursts through with drive purpose pace and power. And he would cost club 3-6M , Everytime we have played against Diame(26) he has caused our centre midfield problems. And he would be a good cheap addition to club, he would create more chances than Henderson and be more of a threat than Henderson in the centre of park.
Salah(21) would trouble any full back in the world with his mobility, movement, electric pace and trickery, he just needs to score more goals. But Capel and Salah are much better than any of the wingers we have at club. And both wingers would bring club 10-15 goals a season, whether created or scored.
Draxler is being watched by all the top sides in Europe, so for him to go cheap is not happening. Like Gotze , he will go for 25-40M
Moussa Sissoko(24) Of Newcastle not Aly Cissokho(26) we currently have on loan from Valencia
ReplyDeleteJessie, I am with you on that. Rodgers has wasted millions millions on potential and they have been waste of time. But i hope he does not make the same stupid mistakes, he has been buying all these players supposedly for future. But we need players who are going to hit ground running from January 2014 when the put the shirt on, not in January 2017. We need to be back in the Champions league as soon as possible, as we have been out of it for over 5 years now and that is where all the millions are and the best players and the best teams.
ReplyDeleteAnd when we get back in it , hopefully this season If Rodgers brings in those 6 class, quality players then trust me we will make champions league and have slim but out side chance of winning league.
If FSG are serious about wanting success for the club, They should back him well in January with 60-75M . And those 6 players will bring club success this season and squad depth.
Name me one team in the league who would want to contest with a midfield trio of M'Vila, Cabaye and Diame.
Even Fernandinho, J Garcia and Yaya Toure would struggle against them three in the centre of the park.
Thank You, I lol hard.
ReplyDeleteIt's not FM it's real life, no one of player you want is better what we have now ... Have you recently see Mvilla playing, Capel playing , Diame playing. Those three are not better than Lucas, Sterling or Henderson.
We need quality not another shit player like aspas/borini/cissokho who are only fulham level not liverpool.
Wht get Remy when you have Sturridge.
Only cabaye cant be on the bench, but not type of player we seek.
Go play Football Manager.
Think salah will be the first lfc signing this January...
ReplyDeleteso you want moussa as a lb? i dont get it ..
ReplyDeleteArsenal doesn't need yet another MF. However, we do...and so does ManU.
ReplyDeleteEverybody causes our central mid-field problems...that's why we need a new central mid-field
ReplyDeleteIts an odd comparison. Barnes was surrounded by Beardsley and Aldridge - the 1988 team was the complete team. Suarez for the most part has been surrounded by mediocre talent. Norwich maybe poor opposition but will anyone else this season nab 4 against them?
ReplyDeleteWith the greatest respect, that is such a tired excuse :-)
ReplyDeleteSuarez has Gerrard, Sturridge, Coutinho etc in the same team, not to mention a lot of other good players. Barnes' genius didn't arise because he played with Aldo and Beardsley; he was just an amazing player, and would've been amazing whoever was around him. Barnes made other players around him play better, and enhanced the team as a result. Suarez is the same to an extend, but Barnes was a more selfless player.
And you think we can integrate 4or 5 players into the side from foreign sides mostly all before February?
ReplyDeleteIt takes TIME for teams to gel.
Better with 2 or max 3 proven performers methinks
PS Diame didn't exactly lock up West Ham's midfield last week did he?
Exactly what problems did Diame cause us last week?
ReplyDeleteLet's take a closer look via Squawka shall we?
(Diame first Lucas 2nd)
Shot accuracy 24% v 100%
Duel success, 50% v 45%
Pass accuracy 78% v 91%
Ave defensive actions per game: 2 v 6
Chances created: 9 vs 6
Performance score 174 v 252
Not exactly what you claim is it?
M'Villa would be decent if he grows up mentally. Cabaye pretty decent but not for too big a fee.
ReplyDeleteDraxler, go for it ...
I was going to mention this, hopefully it's a faux pas.
ReplyDeleteI watched the U21s 2-3 defeat to Bolton on Monday, Cissoko was playing and he looked very average, at best.
Yep, Barnesey all day long
ReplyDeleteThe problem with percentages is that it doesn't indicate the possibility that Lucas' 100% shot accuracy could be one easily saved shot from long range that didn't threaten the keeper.
ReplyDeleteDiame's pass stats would also no doubt be higher if he was at Liverpool over West Ham, purely based on quality of teammates and style of play.
Finally the stats indicate the differing styles of footballers that they are, with Diame's attacking ability being emphasised by his greater chance creation and Lucas's greater defensive stats.. Diame is a great explosive box to box player (which I believe we definitely need to bring in) and Lucas being a holder.
I know you're using these stats to prove that Diame didn't cause us issues, but they don't paint the whole picture.. Hendo and Lucas are in a better overall team and were on the winning side.. Both factors that would influence these statistics.
and you go and spoil it all by having cissokho at left-back thrice!
ReplyDeleteThe thing about the money that Rodgers has "wasted" on young talent is essentially that it will take time, if ever, for such investments to yield the benefits of such foresight. I do not disagree that some key areas do definitely need strengthening, midfield for one, in which case, savvy, experienced midfielders might be a good option. Question is who can we attract? Spending to buy does not seem to be an issue, seeing as we seemed willing to fork out the dosh for the likes of Mkhitaryan and Costa, but they are luxury players. What we need now are hungry competition which will boost the team, pushing us into the top 5 for longer than just a good start, players who know we aren't in Europe but want to help the club back up to where it ought to be. The irony is that we will attract top players if we are on the up, but we need top players, or at least good ones to sustain our position near the top in order to catch the attention of the "Champions League Charlies" who know they are good enough to earn offers from more "there" clubs as opposed to "up and coming" ones like us.
ReplyDeleteThat's weird as well
ReplyDeleteI think I said this before but the only player that i'd put on the same level as Barnes peak years is Thierry Henry's peak years at Aresnal. Suarez reminds me of Mardonna, not in the skill department where Mardonna was out of this world but they share that "will to win" which is kind of frightening if your facing a player like that on the opposite team. Suarez is the most cunning footballer that i've ever seen at the club with Robbie Fowler 2nd and for me that's why are both wonderful players to watch because both are/were capable of doing the unexpected.
ReplyDeleteTired excuse or not it's still the truth. Suarez never played with a younger brilliant Gerrard, and Coutinho is still learning the game. Suarez doesn't have world class delivery from a team of top players that dominate nearly every match. Your list of things Barnes is better at than Suarez is wrong imo. Barnes played in the premier league too and had a goal return of 5, 3, 7, 3, 4, 6, 0, 0 from 1992 - 1999. Suarez the better player for me.
ReplyDeletei think u get the wrong end of the stick. Indeed throughout the 80's and 90's barnes was my favourite player too.
ReplyDeleteI disagreed with you in the sense that we cant compare the 2 as they are from different generations. Further Barnsey played in a much better team - that is a simple fact. Suarez has played with downing,hendo, carrol - all three wouldnt make any of our teams of the past. I saw several times last season suarez create chances for the likes of hendo and shelvey for them to fluff them. Had they gone in he would have been appreciated for the assist.
I realise suarez isnt your fav person - but to me the man is one of a kind- i have never seen such a talented footballer try so hard. Ofcourse there will be other talented players in the EPL i.e berbatov but you wont see any that work as hard as him and who have the win at all cost mentality.
If BR grows this team with better players especially in midfield - I think we can win this league sooner rather than later.
Barnes would be like Ronaldo is now if he played in today's game, only with better dribbling skills. His ability to beat players is more similar to Messi than Ronnie. He had flashes of sheer genius in his play just like Suarez.
ReplyDeleteSuarez is not quite at Barnes' level with free kicks if we're comparing them at JB's peak. He could run away from a man whereas LS can't. Suarez is more unpredictable though, and NO-ONE EVER completed as many successful nutmegs.
If I had to chose, it would still be Barnes. But if Suarez can keep his nose clean, and play at his current level for some years in an LFC shirt, that could change in terms of our best (not greatest, that's a different thing) ever player