The writing is on the wall for Fabio Borini. Irrespective of Brendan Rodgers' protestations to the contrary, the Italian is clearly surplus to requirements at Liverpool and the imminent signing of Loic Remy is yet another vote of no-confidence in the striker's ability to make it at Anfield. Sunderland are trying hard to sign Borini, and for the sake of his career, it's surely in his best interests to bite the bullet and go to a club where he'll play regular Premier League football.
Multiple sources over the last week report that Liverpool have agreed a deal with Sunderland (€18m, according to the latest info from Borini's agent), and Rodgers confirmed the agreement on Saturday, when he told reporters:
"They [Sunderland] have offered to buy Fabio and that’s where it’s at. There is an agreement between the clubs, but nothing is agreed with the player as of yet"
On Saturday evening, Poyet also confirmed that a deal is on the table for a player he describes as a 'perfect' professional. He told Sky Sports:
"We've agreed terms with Liverpool. Like any other deal you do, first you sort out the clubs and then you start working with the player. He knows how much it would mean for us to have a player like Fabio."
On Sunday night, however, The Guardian claimed that Borini is 'dragging his feet' over the deal, and will need to be 'persuaded' to sign, as he is not enamoured with the idea of a permanent move to Sunderland.
Borini's agent, Marco De Marchi confirmed this today in an interview with TMW. He explained:
"Sunderland has made an important offer of 18 million Euros, but Fabio wants to stay there [at Anfield]. Liverpool haven't told me anything yet, but he wants to gamble"
To be honest, the reluctance is perfectly understandable. With the greatest respect the Sunderland, Borini probably sees the move as a massive step-down, and with Champions League football on offer at Anfield this season, he will not want to miss out.
I'm sure Borini genuinely believed that if he played well at Sunderland, Rodgers would give him another chance to establish himself, but it's clear that the manager has no real confidence in him. It's harsh, but arguably true. After all, if Rodgers sees Borini as a potential solution, why is he trying to sign Loic Remy, who is ostensibly a direct replacement?
It'll be interesting to see what happens if Borini digs his heels in and decides to stay and fight for his place. Whatever happens, it's a lose-lose situation:
* If Borini refuses to leave, it's probable that Rodgers will still sign Remy (£8m is not a prohibitive transfer fee), which will relegate the Italian to fourth in the striker pecking order.
* With little prospect of regular first-team football, Rodgers will probably send Borini back out on loan again, possibly to Sunderland again. As such, he might as well just go for the permanent move whilst it's on the table.
I imagine it's tough for Borini to accept that he's not going to make it at Liverpool. He probably sees himself as someone who should be playing at one of Europe's top clubs, but the harsh truth is he's not consistently effective enough to warrant a place in LFC's first-team squad.
Bravo to LFC for mugging Sunderland on the transfer fee, though. €18m? That's daylight robbery, but for once, Liverpool are the perpetrators, and not the victims (!)
I fully expected the Reds to make a loss on Borini, but I'm glad to be proven wrong on this occasion.
Author: Jaimie K
Multiple sources over the last week report that Liverpool have agreed a deal with Sunderland (€18m, according to the latest info from Borini's agent), and Rodgers confirmed the agreement on Saturday, when he told reporters:
"They [Sunderland] have offered to buy Fabio and that’s where it’s at. There is an agreement between the clubs, but nothing is agreed with the player as of yet"
On Saturday evening, Poyet also confirmed that a deal is on the table for a player he describes as a 'perfect' professional. He told Sky Sports:
"We've agreed terms with Liverpool. Like any other deal you do, first you sort out the clubs and then you start working with the player. He knows how much it would mean for us to have a player like Fabio."
On Sunday night, however, The Guardian claimed that Borini is 'dragging his feet' over the deal, and will need to be 'persuaded' to sign, as he is not enamoured with the idea of a permanent move to Sunderland.
Borini's agent, Marco De Marchi confirmed this today in an interview with TMW. He explained:
"Sunderland has made an important offer of 18 million Euros, but Fabio wants to stay there [at Anfield]. Liverpool haven't told me anything yet, but he wants to gamble"
To be honest, the reluctance is perfectly understandable. With the greatest respect the Sunderland, Borini probably sees the move as a massive step-down, and with Champions League football on offer at Anfield this season, he will not want to miss out.
I'm sure Borini genuinely believed that if he played well at Sunderland, Rodgers would give him another chance to establish himself, but it's clear that the manager has no real confidence in him. It's harsh, but arguably true. After all, if Rodgers sees Borini as a potential solution, why is he trying to sign Loic Remy, who is ostensibly a direct replacement?
It'll be interesting to see what happens if Borini digs his heels in and decides to stay and fight for his place. Whatever happens, it's a lose-lose situation:
* If Borini refuses to leave, it's probable that Rodgers will still sign Remy (£8m is not a prohibitive transfer fee), which will relegate the Italian to fourth in the striker pecking order.
* With little prospect of regular first-team football, Rodgers will probably send Borini back out on loan again, possibly to Sunderland again. As such, he might as well just go for the permanent move whilst it's on the table.
I imagine it's tough for Borini to accept that he's not going to make it at Liverpool. He probably sees himself as someone who should be playing at one of Europe's top clubs, but the harsh truth is he's not consistently effective enough to warrant a place in LFC's first-team squad.
Bravo to LFC for mugging Sunderland on the transfer fee, though. €18m? That's daylight robbery, but for once, Liverpool are the perpetrators, and not the victims (!)
I fully expected the Reds to make a loss on Borini, but I'm glad to be proven wrong on this occasion.
Author: Jaimie K
You have to feel for Borini. His attitude to prove himself is what you would want from every player. Was looking forward to see him playing in a red shirt this coming season but so be it, we are making our money back and more and signing Remy in return for a bargain price. Onwards...
ReplyDeleteGive him credit for his attitude, no doubt, but £14 million for him is just way too much for us not to take especially for a 4th maybe even 5th choice striker.
ReplyDeleteJamie you say he thought he would be rewarded for playing well at Sunderland last season but I highly contest that comment. Ok he scored a few important goals towards the end of the season but before that he had been poor and his goal return awful. Our 4/5 strikers for next season may well need to come off the bench and change a game and I just don't see Borini having that impact anytime soon.
Luckily this is one of B Rodgers signings that has not been up to scratch or good enough to shine for club that he will actually make profit selling not loss. I hope F Borini(23) all the best , but his is simply not good enough to lead the line or to rely on for goals if D Sturridge(24) is out injured or struggling.
ReplyDeleteSo for £14M B Rodgers should get a chauffeur to drop F Borini(23) to Sunderland, O Assaidi(25) is another signing who B Rodgers may get a slight profit on if he can get £6-£7M for him. That would be two of his poor signings he brought to club that he has somehow got off the books whilst making a small profit.
The likes of I Aspas(26) and L Alberto(21) i am sure no matter how well they perform in spain this season, B Rodgers would have made loss on whatever we paid to bring them to clubs as the loans would have permanent deal in place but sure they will be cheaper than what club paid in for them last season.
So far this summer B Rodgers has cleared some dead wood average players and upgraded:
LW / LWF Moses(23) Out Markovic(20) IN Upgrade
AM: L Alberto(21) Out A Lallana(26) IN Upgrade
FD: I Aspas(26) Out R Lambert(32) IN Upgrade
B Rodgers just needs to spend the £75M Suarez(27) money and £10M on these 3 attacking players:
CM: T Alacantra(23) Of B Munich for £25-£33M
RW/ RWF: M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund for £27-£35M
CM: M Sissoko(24) Of Newcastle for £8-£12M
And then B Rodgers still needs to ship out these players to raise another £25-£40M in Sales and replace them with better players in that position available:
GK: P Reina(31) Upgrade: K Navas(27) Of Levante for £6-£8M
GK: B Jones(32)
RB: M Kelly(23) Upgrade: S Aurier(21) Of Toulouse for £6-£8M
RB: G Johnson(29)
CB: S Coates(23) Upgrade: D Lovren(24) Of Sthton for £15-£20M
CB: K Toure(33) Upgrade: M Richards(25) Of M City ( Loan)
DM: L Leiva(27) Upgrade: E Banega(25) Of Valencia for £5-£8M
CM: C Coady(20)
And B Rodgers should bring in S Umtiti(20) Of Lyon or R Bertrand(24) for £6-£8M to compete with J Enrique(27) for next 2-4 seasons at club
What drivel. When the bid was first made, might have had credence.
ReplyDeleteTop reply, nice to see good banter between fans. not like some others who just want to get a rise. good luck for the season ahead too
ReplyDeleteBorini needs to go I believe. I believe Rodgers will try him in pre-season games and if he doesn't produce he will be going. The pressure is already on him in pre-season. If he can score some goals Rodgers might keep him but to be honest I have seen him playing and he is not the type of striker who will help Liverpool to flourish. Obviously he doesn't want to leave cause as mentioned CL is a big attraction! Good luck to you Borini.
ReplyDeleteSunderland deserved to stay in EPL for the longest time with fans like yourself. I think the deal for Borini is a rip-off for Sunderland even though I'm a LFC fan. Hopefully your club can sign Borini and the player can score more goals for your club so to create a win-win situation for both our clubs and the player himself.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair mate I think the 16m spent on Henderson has been a great buy and I believe he will only get better. Wish I could say the same for the keeper!
ReplyDeleteI quiet remember when jk kept saying LFC spent too much money on Borini and now we are "mugging" Sunderland! Amazing!!! JK needs to learn commerce and business 101!
ReplyDeleteYou've got to admire Borini. His heart and determination are second to none. I fear however that there will just be too much competition for him to get the minutes he'll need at this stage in his development. Wouldn't be against giving him the chance but also agree with the club accepting Sunderland offer
ReplyDeleteApparently Borini earnt sunderland 42% of their points last season.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair mate we will almost double our money on Assaidi....which vindicates Rodgers taking the punt on him even if he hasn't made the grade with us. It's important to remember that's what signings like Aspas, Assaidi etc are....they are just that....gambles taken by the manager as he needed numbers....he knew that after one decent season in Spain there was every chance Aspas would turn out like he did but we needed bodies in and were limited by no CL etc....the squad was still at a deficit from all the players we lost the previous summer..in todays world £7.7m is small money for a bigger club......and even Aspas isn't going to be a total loss, I bet he will be OK again in Seville and we will recoup most of our £7m. Other younger players I think are being written off too early...Alberto is only 20 and was kept for a year to get used to the club before being sent out on loan just like Suso has been....players like him and Ilori are ones for the future and we will see how they develop.
ReplyDeleteI think he has been rewarded for his performance last season, but not in the way he had hoped. Being offered a permanent deal with Sunderland is reward for a player who was pretty much going nowhere fast at Liverpool. He's still very young and if he put in 2-3 good seasons at Sunderland then who knows where that will take him. The same time at Liverpool will sadly come to nowt. He should feel good that Sunderland and Poyet are showing such faith in him to splash out £14m on him.
ReplyDeleteHuzzah!
ReplyDeleteThis is a tricky one. I'd like to see him go as I don't have faith in him. He's currently fourth out of four forwards and I can't see that changing. And we won't get an offer as good as this again. But can you imagine being born in Italy and being too you have to go live there, poor bastard.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what BR has told him and maybe he's not been as honest about his prospects as he feels guilty. But he's got to somehow sugar coat it while letting it be known he won't be playing for LFC as long as he's got a hole in his are.
Maybe, we can insert a buy back clause into his contract if possible. I really do not think that Rodgers wanted to sell Borini but 14mil for him is too good to refuse considering we are paying only 8 mil for Remy.
ReplyDeleteI say Borini should stick it out at LFC. Sturridge will get injured, Lambert, at 32, will get overused if DS does go down and probably get injured also. That would leave Remy and Borini with a squad of really good mid-fielders to serve them up. I think he's smart to drag his feet.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the players that we have bought are that they are tactically flexible. If DS does get injured, we can just switch to a 4-3-3 with Remy or Lambert as striker. Plus, we could recall Origi if things are critical.
ReplyDeleteWhile Borini will probably not get selected ahead of the likes of Ibe, Suso and Teixeira, let alone Sturridge, Lambert and Remy, Poyet will show him respect and will be able to get the best out of him. I don't expect Sunderland to struggle this season anywhere near the struggle they had last season. Poyet is making some good signings and the players clearly believe in him which is the first battle that any manager has to win. It's a difficult one really because Borini seems like a really good guy but he's missed the boat at Liverpool, he should have established himself in his first season at Liverpool. If he stays I fear he will become disillusioned and that's not good for him. Brendan Rodgers should be straight up with him if he's going to be 4th choice at best because you really wouldn't pick him ahead of Sturridge, Lambert and Remy.
ReplyDeleteI think if Rodgers is happy to sell it means he has no need to rely on Borini. I don't think it's entirely that Borini wouldn't do a job but there are less risky options. We could try to use Borini, see how he goes, or we can have Remy who has already proven himself as a superior goal scorer. Borini isn't far off and I think he'd have a good second season with Sunderland. probably get double figure goals and be a very important part of their team. But that's just not quite good enough for Liverpool. He might, just might, be better than that. He has the ability and the basic tools and in an attacking minded team like Liverpool, as a regularly used option, I think he'd score. It's just that fine line between banking on another young player you hope will come good or settling for a more established one. Remy is not going to set the world on fire but as a rotated striker in the line up I think he'll do a good job. If he actually improves then he starts to be considered as a first choice striker. That's clearly less of a risk than Borini.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest he goes. Maybe take the tour with the club, play a few games, have a few honest conversations with the manager, actually see Remy come into the side. It should become obvious to him that he won't get enough game time. Of course if he suddenly starts to click in the team formation and Rodgers sees him working his socks off and actually performing at the right level then we could see a change in heart. Having an extra striker in the mix will never be a problem for us, it's only a problem for the players who have to fight for game time. But if we are still yet to make a signing with the Suarez money and there is ANOTHER attacking player to come in then I just don't see Borini getting his chances. For his own sake he should go. For the money, he should go.
This is where the youth policy has paid off and where some of those "why did we buy him?" questions become less important. Of course you want the players you buy to make a contribution but when there is a risk they won't you should always buy young. If it doesn't work out the player at Liverpool they are still a potential asset for someone else. A 21 year old who needs to grow a bit is usually going to be a better option than a 28 year old who is not going to get any better, even if the 28 year old might seem like the slightly better player. Both could turn out to be duds so you want to make sure you're making a good investment, not just throwing money away. This is a great example and credit to Rodgers for at least getting that part of it right.
Boring has Suarez's work rate minus the goals. Poor fellow won't get a chance.
ReplyDeleteYou've not been proven wrong because Borrini haven't gone yet and probably as I predicted from the start of this going to Sunderland transfer , he's not going to accept and will stay with us which is rubbish for us
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, If Alberto(21) or Aspas(26) was good enough they would have played and certainly this season with us in 4 competitions but they are not.
ReplyDeleteSterling(19) and Flannagan(21) are a huge part of our first team squad , so the likes of Alberto(21), Assaidi(25), Borini(23) have no excuses. They simply are not good enough
I thought Suso(20) was better than Alberto(21) and i still do, so i don't know why B Rodgers wasted £6.7M on him at all. T Llori(20) is going to be one for the future as at the moment he has Agger(29), Skrtel(29), Sakho(24) all ahead of him and with the upcoming arrival of D Lovren(24) he will be shipped out on loan for two more seasons at least.
But Alberto(21) was waste of money due to fact we have two players of similar age who play his position twice the player he is : Coutinho(21) and Suso(20) , also add the class, craft of Lallana(26) and there is no help for Alberto(21) getting in front of any of these three players in next few years at our club. So i feel that the £6.7M was a waste of money
I think you're way off mate.....development between the ages of 17 and 22 is not a uniform scale for all players. They develop at different rates both physically and due to the opportunity they have to play and develop. The comparison with Coutinho you make proves my point. Coutinho was playing top flight football in Brazil from 17-18....and had already secured a move to a powerful European team before Alberto had got a first team opportunity at Barca. Would Coutinho be the player he is at this age had he been there?? No he would have been stuck in their B team like Alberto. The same thing happened to Delefeou (sic) before he went to Everton. Alberto showed for Barca B he has talent and this seasons loan will see how he develops.....I expect him to do well like Suso and come back more experienced. Ypu want another example...Michale Owen was in our first team at 17, David Beckham was on loan at Preston when he was 20.....they both ended up top level players no? Look Alberto may or may not develop into a top level player but to write him of now is ridiculous in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteRetrospective rubbish.
ReplyDeleteBorini is a left forward. If he stayed he'd be competing with Lallana and Ibe. Not Sturridge Lambert and Remy as you are suggesting. Ibe will go on loan if he stays which would make him second choice left forward behind Lallana.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think £12m + £2m add ons is fair for a 23 year old left forward who scored 10 goals for relegation fodder in the Prrmier League.
Please let him go and prove himself in other club.wish him good luck
ReplyDeleteIts actually a very refreshing story, a footballer wants to prove his character and luck at a big club ( no disrespect to Sunderland) or go where his ego will be king. Plus, as you say, LFC rip someone off on the transfer fee! There was an interesting story about 18 months ago that the new owners were aware of our "soft touch" reputation in transfer business and had made a conscious decision to rectify it, even if it meant that for a few windows we would struggle for business, maybe we're seeing the results now?
ReplyDeleteNo he isn't, he is a striker, there is no way in the world he would be used regularly in a wide role at Liverpool as he is not quick enough. So yes he would be competing with the Strikers for a place.
ReplyDeleteThere will be no recall option on Origi if we do sign him and loan him back.
ReplyDeleteSorry mate, have to disagree, we paid £25 mil for Lallana, possibly going to pay £20 mil for Lovren, paid £20 mil
ReplyDeletefor Markovic (unproven) Kross went to Madrid for £20 million, says it all.
If L Alberto(21) was as good as you claim he is would be playing for Barcelona. And Barcelona would have taken the option to buy or keep him. Pedro(26) played for Barcelona B Team and is now a world class winger who is huge part of their first team squad.
ReplyDeleteCan we stop with the Toni Kroos comparisons, Kroos had 1 year left on his contract which is why the fee was so low, you cannot compare that to Lallana that had 4 years left on his Southampton contract.
ReplyDeleteIf Kroos had a longer contract the fee would have been much, much higher.
The comparison is still valid (IMO). Why do other clubs always manage to get these amazing bargains, but LFC always get stiffed?
ReplyDeleteI do feel sorry for Borini, I thought he would of been a good signing for us. But he hasn't had a chance to be one, I think he should go to Sunderland for his career.
ReplyDeleteAs a Liverpool fan, Remy feels like a serious upgrade on Borini, not because he is so much a better player, but because it's a better fit for the more mobile tactics BR employs. Borini is more of a number 9 1/2, popping up with big goals from range as well as poaching around the box - he's not a rip off for Sunderland...where else are you gonna find a striker of Borini's ability and potential for the same money, let alone the fact that he's already bedded in at Sunderland and has a good relationship with the manager. Getting Remy for that kind of money was lucky due to the clause he had.
ReplyDeleteActually its a shame that most of LFC supporters (me included) will love to see borini leave while the player loves to stay and fight for his place, but we're all sad for suarez who never wanted to be at anfield.
ReplyDeleteI'm little worried too as I think 18M euro is a lot of money and if borini insists to stay, we'll face a huge loss
I like Fabio, he's a good boy, I want him to stay at LFC. I'd like to see him open his legs and show us what he's got.
ReplyDeleteNobody can compete with Madrid or Barcalona when it comes to attraction for top stars. Hence when a player like Kroos gets to 1 year left they generally buy them. If he had long on contract it would be different as club could negotiate fee more.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean one was irreplaceable and the other was Suarez..lol
ReplyDeleteA Friggin Men!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete