1 Oct 2014

Top Transfer: Carra urges LFC to sign 'exceptional' £16m superstar. Terms agreed. Medical tests this week

Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for Ex-Barcelona star Victor Valdes, and according to Jamie Carragher, the Spaniard is an essential signing for for the Reds.

In September, multiple reports claimed that Liverpool had agreed personal terms with Valdes over a possible one-year deal, and when asked last night if he'd be a good signing for the Reds, Carra said:

"Yes - all top clubs now have 2 keepers contesting the number one spot".

Carra also dismissed suggestions that Mignolet should be dropped, though to be fair, it's not as if he'd say anything else in a public forum. Besides, at this point, there's no one better to come in and take the Belgian's place, but that may change in the coming months.

Brendan Rodgers has specifically denied any Liverpool interest in Valdes. When asked in his pre-Aston Villa press conference last week, Rodgers claimed that 'this is the first I've heard of' the Valdes rumours.

However, given the manager's penchant for deliberate misdirection with the press, it's doubtful he was telling the truth. Indeed, reports on Tuesday suggest that the deal for Valdes is in the closing stages. The Daily Express reported:

"Rodgers is keen on bringing Valdes to Anfield [and] the 32-year-old set to undergo medical tests in the coming weeks"

After his knee ligament injury, it makes sense to rigorously test Valdes to ensure he's fully recovered, as the last thing the club needs is another sick-note in the squad. If the Spaniard signs, Mignolet's place in the team will come under intense pressure, but when asked about his future this week, he told reporters:

"If I have to look into all the people and players who are linked with Liverpool, then there will be another team on the pitch. Every week there would be a different 11 playing."

Valdes seems to be maligned by some Reds fans, but he conceded only 0.8 goals per game in 500 appearances for Barcelona, which is an excellent record. By comparison, Mignolet in his debut season conceded 1.28 goals per game, and this season so far, it's 1.6 goals per game.

A player with Valdes' history - and winning mentality - will be a massive boost for the squad, and to get him as a free agent - when only a year ago he was valued at £16m - would be a major transfer coup.

polls


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65 comments:

  1. Yeah totally agree with Carra there. I'd love to see Valdes at the club. Many doubt his actual skill as a keeper, but as someone who has watched most Barca games over the last 7-8 years, he is IMO one of the best in the world, even now. People argue that he can't be that good if he could never usurp Casillas for Spain, or that he had the best team in the world at the time in front of him.

    Firstly, who the hell could top Casillas? There would be two
    players in the world that I would pick in goals over San Iker, that would be Buffon and Neuer. At his peak, maybe Pepe, but there’s no-one else that came close. Second, he had the best attacking team in front of him, but has been cursed with a short, usually slow defense that presses extremely high, leaving him exposed to 1v1s and 2v1s a lot of the time. Just look at some of Barca’s best years, when it was Valdes-Abidal-Pique-Puyol-Alves-Busi-Xavi-Ini-Messi-Villa-Pedro, none of the
    midfielders (even Busi) are back trackers, both full backs bomb forward and pique is essentially alongside the midfield for most of it, if not further forward. Puyol also pushed up for a lot of set pieces and such, so very often it was either a striker vs Valdes or a front 3 vs Valdes and maybe Puyol or Abidal.

    Honestly I think he is perfectly suited to our style of play, he is brilliant with distribution, is stunning 1v1 due to a lot of practice, he can actually start off attacks and is also very decent in penalty situations.

    Vote Valdes for Number 1.

    PS: Please don’t take this as a ‘Mignolet Out’ post, I support Simon, but he needs a good kick up the backside and maybe even some tuition
    from the Spaniard.

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  2. Marc Andre Ter Stegen would be good option.He's only played twice for Barcelona so far.Enrique prefers Claudio Bravo.I know he was only bought this summer but surely he would want regular first team football over being a bench warmer.
    Stegen commands his area with authority and organises the back four.He's in constant communication with the backline barking orders.Excellent at shot stopping and his distribution is good too.

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  3. Valdes was never a great keeper and still isn't, where the logic in replacing an average keeper with another average keeper. Mignolet needs to improve or hell get the bullet. If we are to replace him replace him with genuine quality

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  4. I personally think Valdes would be a great signing and should go straight in the first team. This will test mignonets character and might actually improve him as a keeper. The sort of experience Valdes has of actually WINNING trophies would be invaluable at the club.

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  5. Bring him in for competition, but not a replacement.
    You don't want to replace your no1 with a keeper who is 6 years older.

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  6. If nothing else he adds quality to the training squad and can be a mentor for Mignolet. If he gets his fitness back and proves himself good enough then sure, give him a run in the team, but at his age that might be more of a challenge than you'd think. I assume the player would have enough motivation - it would be his last chance to be first choice keeper at a big club - but nothing is certain. Any athlete coming back from knee reconstruction has to make a massive commitment to get back to their previous level, it can be a devastating kind of injury to overcome.


    If he's willing and interested to come to Liverpool that would be a good sign, maybe. He'd have to prove himself every single day and Mignolet isn't just going to be dropped because Valdes has years of experience, he has to demonstrate his capability first and maybe a cup game or two would be his chance.


    All seems very speculative to me, too many questions.

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  7. Spirit of the Shadows9:09 am, October 01, 2014

    Somehow get cech from chelsea

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  8. I had a feeling CIty will step in

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  9. After watching Gary Nevilles assessment of Mignolet on MNF I've got to say I agreed with it 100%, aren't goalkeepers supposed to make themselves big in the goal? Not as small as possible like Mignolet was at the point when Jagielka made contact with the ball, or as Neville pointed out when Ramsay smashed the ball nearly above his head last season. Admittedly both were great strikes but neither was right in the corner, surely were entitled to expect our keeper to get somewhere near to saving them? As Neville and Carragher pointed out, in the big games the best keepers make big saves to keep the team in a position to go on and win but Mignolet, who is not a bad keeper fails to make any noticeable contribution. If Valdes has proved his fitness and is 100% then I say sign him, bring in the competition for Mignolet and maybe Mignolet might improve his technique learning from Valdes. We just can't carry on conceding the way we are at the moment.

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  10. Barca were absolutely shambolic at defending set pieces last night

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  11. At the very least Valdes provides stiff competition for Mignolet and another option if his form becomes so bad he needs to be dropped. At the moment we have no option

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  12. Sorry, I'd argue that Brad Jones IS as good, if not better than Mignolet. Mignolet is a below average quality keeper. It speaks volumes that he's second fiddle to what was up until recently Chelsea's fourth choice keeper, for Belgium.
    We've let plenty of better goalkeepers go, some of whom now play in the Championship.
    Quite frankly, right now, Scott Carson and Chris Kirkland would be better options than Mignolet.

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  13. Any deal with Napoli for Higuain will see them get first bidding for Borini.

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  14. Ter Stegen is overhyped... There are many young german keepers/bundesliga-keepers that are far superior to Ter Stegen

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  15. Chelseas "fourth joice keeper" is just the best u25 keeper in the world, won the spanish league last season and got to the CL final....

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  16. Scott Carson??? You are having an absolute laugh. Chris Kirkland can't even get a premier league club!!

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  17. hendo at DM what are you saying?? he gave two very good assists till now and since then he has been deployed to protect gerrard..Liverpool need his energy to press high up the pitch

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  18. There are plenty of other good keepers from the Bundes to go after besides Stegen...

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  19. So Suarez left us because of Sturridge's jealousy and BR is s lower league level manager? That's fairly obvious nonsense to me.
    I'll be glad to debate any football point you may have but while you're just making badly punctuated, unsubstantiated comments I think I'll pass

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  20. Clinton Max Walker1:16 pm, October 01, 2014

    Add Sturridge and Allen to the games we've struggled in and the games would not have been as disappointing. The last thing Liverpool needed with so many new players was injuries to the older ones. The injury to Can has had little effect, although Lallana's at the beginning of the season wasn't helpful, but Skrtel, Johnson, Allen, Sturridge and now Sakho have hurt. Sometimes experience, no matter how awful they're playing (Johnson) helps the newer faces adjust.

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  21. I can only select one. not three

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  22. Overhyped.Maybe to you mate but coming from someone who follows the Bundesliga he really impressed me at Monchengladbach.Having a German or Austrian sounding name you should be able to name the many young keepers you said are far superior than Stegen?
    I have maybe Bernd Leno as a young German keeper who's better.You seem to have a long list...

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  23. u dint get me..i was not saying he is right..i was saying u talk nonsense most of the time u make a shout here so its okay for him to do same once..and I knew your next comment will start with 'so' so I left a 'so' at the end of comment for you to continue..guys like you are fairly predictable :D

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  24. you're right I'm from Austria and i'm also following the Bundesliga regularly. Despite having a soft spot for Mönchengladbach i was never a fan of Ter Stegen. His abilites are really good and he has huge potential but hes far to inconsistent if you ask me.
    I'd say Bernd Leno, Kevin Trapp are well ahead of him. Zieler and Fährmann are just as good as Ter Stegen if you ask me :-)

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  25. Mings has had a bad start to the season.
    I wonder though if Valdes comes in and concedes as many goals as Mings, whose fault is it?

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  26. There are a few things that could be fixed IMHO. Let's start at the back. Mignolet is not good enough. He's too shaky on crosses, he doesn't help his defence, he just shouts at them when they're in the 18 yard area. The best goalkeepers in the world shout at their team even when they're much further up the field. Full backs are not a problem, Manquillo and Moreno are excellent additions. Defending is the most important part of their role. Lovren is a good acquisition but he clearly needs someone else as good as him playing next to him and we don't have that at the moment. If BR is truly unhappy then unload Skrtel or Sakho and bring back Ilori. That boy has height, physical presence, pace to burn and skill and could learn from Lovren. Better to go that route as a footballing team than stick with Skrtel and Sakho who are limited as footballers with the ball at their feet. Look what playing Varane at Real Madrid has done for him, sure he's not regularly playing but he has played in massive games such as last season's CL final and showed up well. There's nothing better than having a real pacey centre back, witness our years with Lawrenson partnering Hansen. The midfield maybe needs a strong defensive presence a-la-Mascherano when he played for us at his peak. Other than that, the midfield is fine in terms of talent and depth. Up front Balotelli has the basic tools but someone has to teach him to up his game as he is too static. For someone at his age and fitness he should have much more movement in his game. Finally, we miss Daniel Sturridge. People have short memories on this board. We seem to forget that after 3 games we had 6 points, having played City away too. Since we lost Sturridge we've lost that element of movement in our game and have managed to get one more point in the next three games. By the way, I had to laugh at the post on here that said Sturridge forced Suarez out of Liverpool and that Sturridge was full of jealousy. Artigas, more like full of gas LOL. Okay, I've run out of gas now LOL.

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  27. It's 6 league games by the way.


    We aren't actually conceding that many more goals than the likes of Chelsea (I think it's 2 more).


    What we aren't doing is scoring in the manner we should do.


    I'd like to see Suso instead of Markovic if we're playing with a 5 man midfield.


    Really though I'd like to see a fully fit Can playing in the same team as Henderson. Both have a good pass and both have seemingly endless energy. They'd give us a strong base to build off and allow us to take more chances going forward.

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  28. I think our primary weakness is offence currently, defence is secondary.

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  29. I think we are agreeing.

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  30. good one haha

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  31. I voted poor transfers because it's not losing Suarez that is the issue, it is not replacing him adequately that is. Clubs sell players all the time. Man United sold Ronaldo and didn't miss a beat. Martinez confirms what I said the other week.When we had Suarez up front clubs would keep players back and play closer to goal because it would be suicide to do otherwise. With him not replaced properly though there is no longer that threat so teams are more confident to attack us which exposes the weaknesses of Gerrard and our defense more. Our defense or Gerrard have not got worse. They are just more exposed and that is costing us dearly up front and at the back.

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  32. do you really think so? once sturridge comes back, lallana gets back to full fitness and we switch back to our beloved diamond formation there wont be any more problems regarding offence...

    i personally am still very positive about finishing in top 4.
    Even though none of our new signings has hit the ground running (apart from moreno and manquillo), all these players are talented enough to push us in the top 4, after they have settled in properly

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  33. No - Valdes is just as bad as Mignolet. Good shot stopper, cannot handle crosses and free kicks. He did fine at Barcelona because they don't play Stoke or Everton etc. For our league we need someone like Muslera or maybe even Cillisen or Stekelenburg

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  34. Once Sturridge comes back is right and what will we do when he gets injured again around January?

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  35. It's only necessary to shout when people you address are hearing impaired. I would like those that feel Steven Gerrard is 'fair game' for all the woes of LFC to back off before it is too late and lend their support to just one of our many great captains when he and his team most need it. - Reflect on his many performances which bailed out LFC in their hour of need. Steven is a creative engineer not a defensive labourer. - Sssh, please return him to that role. Louis Suarez and Steven Gerrard had great mutual respect derived from their outstanding ability to perform on the pitch..

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  36. I wouldn't refer to it as 'support' every club has its moaners!

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  37. The many young German keepers you said are far superior turns out to be two and one of them i mentioned.I knew you'd have Zieler on your list.Ralf Fahrmann too... I think your reaching with both.I rate Stegen higher.
    I like Kevin Trapp but well ahead of Stegen... Not for me.On the same level? Maybe.

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  38. Its not so much that Valdes is better technically then Migs, its more his experience in commanding a back 4 and his distribution.

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  39. That isn't my point. My point is when Suarez and Johnson are removed from our side, with the exception of Lallana and to a certain extent Coutinho (who I dont think can handle the pace of the prem) , Suso and Can we have no natural flair within the squad whatsoever. Before Suarez and GJ, the last real player of flair we had was Jari Litmanen. A Real off the cuff player who made things happen with a moment of sublime skill. Without genuine flair we are relying on skill and work rate. These two ingredients alone will never take us to the top.

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  40. I suppose they do. I just find it abhorrent that our captain and figurehead of our club for so long and with such distinction should have to say in his post match interview that some of the criticism levelled at him has been a bit extreme.
    Every one of my favourite Liverpool memories over the last ten years has Gerrard at the heart of them. He could've earned more and won more if he'd left us but he stayed loyal to us, surely the man deserves a bit of respect.
    He does, after all already have 2 goals this season. How many have the rest of the team got?

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  41. Age is not a big issue with keepers, if anything they tend to get better with age

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  42. The loss of Suarez is massive and has been felt but it's been made a lot worse buy the loss of Sturridge, we have started the season both our proven goal threats gone. Mario isn't the sort to run behind like them two and it's numb our attack going forward the hole team will improve with the return of Sturridge, we will see a different coutinho and I think balotelli will look better. Lallana looks to be settling in well Marlo I'm convinced by him . I do think Allen has been a miss as well

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  43. Also think the defence needs a solid run of games together without injuries and some of the fans slating b.r are an absolute joke and need to come back into the real world it's impossible to get it right every time

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  44. Is this glen Johnson in disguise, your on crack mate he hasn't been the same attacking force for at least 2 years and defensively he's an absolute clown, your off your head... Skill the amount of times he does a step or tries the cut on the inside and runs straight into a player beggars belief

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  45. Abhorrent? Why? Is Gerrard above criticism now? The criticism against him is not extreme - it's mostly fair and accurate (from where I'm standing). Just because he's a legend doesn't mean he's immune to criticism. For me, your overwrought intolerance to opposing opinions on Gerrard is the bigger issue.

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  46. I'm not talking about reasonable debate about whether he still justifies his place as that conversation is inevitable in every players career eventually. But some of the stuff I've been reading about him from supposed fans has been shocking and in a number of instances, downright abusive. I don't just mean on this site but on the Internet in general so a fair amount must be reaching him personally and while he's no doubt used to it from rival fans but he surely never expected it from Liverpool fans and personally I think it's shameful

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  47. Abusive comments about Gerrard on this site? No chance. Personal abuse is outlawed, and deleted when found. Show me comments that contain personal abuse of Gerrard and I will delete them.

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  48. So Sterling, Sturridge, Markovic and Moreno have no natural flair?
    I'm not sure what the answer to Liverpool's problem is but I am sure that it's not Glen Johnson

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  49. Totally agree with you but with the more I watch migs this season the more I cozy up to the idea of having Valdes between the sticks.
    To be honest, Id rather us sign someone else entirely. A promising young kepper like Bernd Leno or Kevin Trapp and we'd be set I think. Would love to know what it feels to have confidence in your keeper when a tricky ball bounces over the defense into the 18 yard box

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  50. The really abusive things I've read weren't in this site, sorry I should've made that clearer.
    However some people on here have gone overboard in their criticism of him which compels me to remind people just how important Gerrard has been to Liverpool and that he deserves our respect regardless of whether or not he deserves a place in the team.

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  51. where did you get £16 million from ??????? another misleading headline

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  52. I agree, he deserves respect for his achievements. We're privileged to have experienced a player of Gerrard's genius in our lifetimes, just like previous generations were blessed to live through the Liddell/Dalglish eras. I feel the same way as you (re Gerrard) when it comes to players like John Barnes, Sami Hyypia etc.

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  53. Disagree...last year was the result of the first transition. Suarez leaving and fresh CL money means building a deeper bench, which we clearly didn't have last year. Those two salient facts means this is a transition year...again.

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  54. Just because you buy a bunch of good, new players doesn't mean they're comfortable playing with each other yet. I believe we will end up in the top 4 again. Nobdy is wowing the PL except Chelsea. There's plenty of season left...but we do need Studge back...yesterday.

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  55. We have needed a settled front line as much as a settled defence and we have been able to have neither one this season. Suarez was never going to be easily compensated for but we are behind schedule getting the team up to speed; when we do I don't see a repeat of the start of the season over the next 6 games.

    Funnily enough, I remember a JK article about how we were actually better off WITHOUT Suarez last season. Blimey.

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  56. For the period of time covered by the article, LFC were better off without Suarez (in terms of points gained etc). Such articles are localised, not a general rule to cover every situation.

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  57. Privileged is a good way to put it

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  58. they have a certain amount of flair. maybe 13 on football manager, but they're not flair players......no way. they mainly on physical attributes.

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  59. Clinton Max Walker9:56 pm, October 01, 2014

    What kind of salary is Valdes going to expect and how different would it have been to Reina's? I'm confused, I thought Reina left because of his salary being too much for Liverpool. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

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  60. To be fair to Sturridge, his season hasn't really started yet.
    We were woeful tonight

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  61. Defence starts from the front, but even at set pieces and in the final 3rd, if the fullbacks don't give enough cover, no keeper can keep a clean sheet .Problem also is opposing wingers are able to put crosses in -stop them from doing so and you ciuld cut down no. Of goals

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  62. Valdes still won`t solve the overall issue of LFC sliding down the EPL table and out of the CL quick smart on current form.Afraid we have done a `Tottenham` with our last transfer window...who will want to come to us in Jan when we`re out of the CL and mid table (forget top 4 completely ! )....certainly no one of Marco Reus` stature .... 2nd in EPL last season seems so far away to replicate....unfortunately,with our soft,toothless displays,we a quickly going backwards again.....sound familiar ??????

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  63. Providing he's recovered from that awful injury, he might be just what we need, as right now what the squad seems to be lacking apart from goals, is experience. He's been there and done that a few times, and his presence would ideally inspire all those around him.

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  64. But that's not where we keep conceding goals from. We keep conceding from crosses, corners and free kicks into the box. Valdes won't fix that

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