15 Dec 2014

'I hope LFC sign him': Carra insists BR must buy 'unplayable' star 'for £25m'. Agree?

With Liverpool's strikers struggling to fill the Luis Suarez-sized hole at Anfield, the Reds are once again being linked with a January move for unplayable' Swansea City star Wilfried Bony, and LFC legend Jamie Carragher is the latest ex-Red to hail the Ivorian striker.

In November, reports claimed that Liverpool will 'consider' a January move for Bony, and Carra is desperate for his old club to seal the deal.

After watching Bony score against Spurs on Sunday, Carra told Sky Sports:

"I hope Liverpool sign him [Bony]. He is worth £20m or £25m. I wish Liverpool got him this summer and I hope they're looking at him in the future."

Ex-Swansea star Ian Walsh recently claimed that Liverpool made a 'big mistake' signing Mario Balotelli ahead of Bony, and in a recent column for the Daily Mail, Jamie Rednapp outlined the striker's main qualities. He enthused:

"Bony is a powerhouse. Monk has kept the passing philosophy and Bony fits in with that, but provides strength too. He bullies defenders, loves a shot [and] it's no surprise to see him score in his last three Premier League outings".

Despite his obvious (and consistent) quality, some LFC fans still retain irrational antipathy/indifference towards Bony, and often baulk at the possibility of LFC signing him. Well, in my view, he has the quality to be a top signing for Liverpool, and here are some reasons why:

* After proving his quality in Holland, Bony has done the same in England, and his creative stats prove this:

- Swansea Totals: 45 goals/assists in 66 apps.
- Goal/Assist every 1.4 games.
- League only: 32 goals/assists in 50 apps.
- Goal/assist every 1.5 games.

* Bony is the Premier League's top goalscorer for 2014. A striker's primary role is to score/create goals. On that basis, Bony is one of the best strikers in English football, whether fans choose to accept it or not.

* Like Suarez, Bony is a man of steel, and is seemingly impervious to injury. His amazing body strength is clearly evident, and with Daniel Sturridge susceptible to regular injuries, it's beneficial to have robust players in the squad.

* According to Swansea boss Gary Monk, Bony has a fierce desire to improve and win. In a recent interview, he enthused: "He [Bony] is a proper professional. He's not the sort of player to take it easy. Every single day he pushes himself and everyone around him. The more players like that you have in your squad, the better you're going to be.". Sounds familiar? I can think of another recent LFC player who constantly pushed for the best, and always demanded 110% effort and commitment.

Bony recently signed a one-year contract extension, but that means nothing. Contracts are worthless in modern football, and the Suarez-Arsenal situation from last season is ample evidence of that. Money talks, and if Liverpool make the right offer, Swansea will sell.

Monk even admitted this a a week *after* Bony signed his new deal, when he told reporters:

"He [Bony] is still a Swansea player, money dictates things but it would take an astronomical fee for him to go anywhere"

I'd take Bony over Balotelli, Lambert, and Borini every day of the week, but not for £25m. That's way too much of a risk, and there are no guarantees he'll do the business for LFC. £20m is the max LFC should pay, but that may not be enough to convince Swansea to sell.

surveys & polls


Author:


38 comments:

  1. We were supposed to have been looking at Bony ages ago - I can't remember could it have even been before he joined Swansea?


    But players who seemingly do great when expectation is that they should just survive the league and anything remotely near a fight for a european spot is a bonus - just capitulate when arriving at Anfield/Melwood wherever they come to sign for us...


    At the prices bandied about for signing and wages you would have thought even a few hypnotherapy sessions to overcome expectation anxiety would be a wise decision and a way forward, but from the looks of it - as Ash said in the previous thread - the 'Sadim touch' overrides all........

    ReplyDelete
  2. said in the summer,bony and remy would of been good signings and good enough and the our main concern was our shambles of a back 4 mainly the centre backs and sure enough,,,,,if it were possible its worse!!
    basically cost us the title last season.
    bony and remy are capable of playing loan strikers, mario and lambert are not and never will be we all know that,, but rodgers to blind to see it.
    borini is probably our best option,, yet doesnt even make the bench, he would have pulled the defences about all game and has got the legs for it.
    sanchez was the only player close for a like to like for suarez and he snubbed us. liverpool were not going to be mugged off trying to sign cavani and falcoa. so to sign some proven premiere ship strikers like bony and remy made sense.
    and they actually would of been more than happy to sign for the reds

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was calling for Bony even before we got Sturridge. Now I'll admit that I'm glad that we went with Danny, but If we had Bony instead of Balo, Borini, Lambert, or Aspas, I have a feeling we'd be much better off than we are now.


    Bony is everything we were supposed to get in Balo and Lambert. Great strength, good with his feet for a big man, and most importantly, a finisher. If we offload Balo for even just 8-10M, Aspas for 3-5, Alberto for 1-3M, Assaidi for 2-4M, Owners only have to pay 5-10 M more. Good deal imo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't mind him, I just think there are potentially better players out there. However if we go for a striker in January and no one else is willing to come here then we should snap him up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The owners don't pay a cent, the club will pay the difference. The money doesn't come out of the owners pockets, that's not how it works. If the club doesn't have enough money they'll borrow the money from a bank. The owners will simply sign off on that arrangement. That's how most businesses work.

    ReplyDelete
  6. £20m and Borini going the other way.. But, I'm one of the irrational mob who don't really fancy Bony in a LFC shirt... As an alternative to no goals, I am willing to sway my opinion abit.... Would prefer Paco Alcacer though...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, I nearly agreed with everything you wrote, until you mentioned the price. What's 5 mil? A risk at 25mil is still a risk at 20mil. The problem we have is we fanny about over price. Just get him, and worry about how he does after. I'm sure Man u aren't bothered about the 29 mil they've wasted on Luke Shaw, or the loan fee on Falcao

    ReplyDelete
  8. They have it to spend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Money they've wasted on Shaw?? At least they spent it.....What about 20m wasted on Markovic.....Or 16m wasted on Balotelli!!! Dumb comments!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Seriously.. who cares what he thinks.. he also thought lallana was a must buy as well. He thinks henderson is a great player.. he thought Lamber was a great pickup.. and they are all average crap...

    ReplyDelete
  11. haha nice :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. If we had Bony would we have beaten Sunderland? Ludogorets?Newcastle? CP? I believe we would be way better off.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I apologize? It still seems like good business regardless where the money comes from...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just trying to set the record straight. Some people seem to think that owners spend their own money on clubs like it's a hobby or something. Then when the club doesn't spend money the owners are accused of being stingy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Actually I should apologise, it's a recurring issue for me and I probably over-stated the case when you weren't really saying anything about the owners at all. I stand by what I said but I probably need to relax a bit and not jump all people like that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You do make a good point though. I've actually thought about it that way in the past, but it was more of my own logical thinking (my parents own a business) rather than actually knowing what goes on in a club, so I assumed that I was probably wrong and just went along with what everyone thinks..


    Haha :D Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  17. He will be at the African Cup of Nations in January plus that one year contract extension he signed most probably contains a fat buyout clause so i would say you are looking at no less than £30m and Bony ain't worth that.

    If we are spending that amount of money then look no further than Alexandre Lacazette.

    ReplyDelete
  18. FSG have been making interest free loans to LFC since they have taken over the club. They have spent crap loads of their own money. Recently the £115m for the stadium expansion. They will not see all of that money anytime soon.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Got a reliable source for that? I'm genuinely interested to know what the club is doing in that regard. Abramovich did the same thing for years and then just wrote it all off. The thing is, as best I understand if FSG as an entity are not asset heavy and don't necessarily have tons of free cash sitting around.

    ReplyDelete
  20. African cup of Nationals.... Bony will be gone for up to a month if lfc sign him.... This season he looks more lethal....

    ReplyDelete
  21. OK, not too hard to google. Seems like the majority of the loans actually from FSG themselves are in relation to the stadium costs. That does fit with what I expect in that they will invest capital directly against a capital asset like the stadium, but not against players. So indeed, all up FSG have loaned to the club well in excess of 100 million pounds but most of that is related to the stadium development. It does make me wonder then how they manage the spend on players.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Is this not an odd time to be demanding a huge pay rise? mid-table, out the CL, manager under pressure ... odd! and I'd go so far as to say somewhat selfish. He should accept the very generous 70K, get his head down and help the team through this sticky patch.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Jay Jay already said it, Sterling has scored 3 in the league this season. Everyone getting on Sterling's back is not the right way to go, he is 19. Sounds like his agent is pulling the strings in the contract debate. Also agree that players do pay lip service to the fans, they don't really care, they say it just so the fans don't get on their backs. At the end of the day it's not Sterling who is causing the problems at Liverpool this season, sure he missed a few guilt edged chances the other day against Man Utd, so he should really be practising his finishing which is not good enough to demand £100K per week. The problem and Brendan Rodgers should have realised this in the summer is that no top team can survive without a top class defensive midfielder. Gerrard doesn't think defensively, Lucas is a good player but not one that you will ever win a championship with. Lovren has been exposed but to be fair, he was great at Southampton because he had Wanyama protecting him in front so he could do his job. How many times this season have we see opposing midfielders running past our midfielders into attacking positions? Too many.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Couldn't agree more Jamie, he's done nothing bar have a good 2nd half to last season. His finishing is truly awful as is his final ball. He may well go on to be the next Ronaldo but at this stage he shouldn't get a new contract. If he shows some form and improvement and desire and dedication than sure his contract can be reviewed but until then no way, and like you said , if he doesn't like it, sell him for £30 million or whatever and move on. Where will he go? Chelsea or Madrid and wallow away on the bench. It would be a Mo Salah or Isco (who is miles better) type of situation.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Enough of this madness--why shouldn't he ask for more? Before anyone reading this comes to a decision, look at Sterling's salary vs. all other current Liverpool players. Once done, look at his contribution vs. the others. His age has nothing to do with it.

    ReplyDelete
  26. 70K is not massive in todays game. In fact, for a player of his ability and contribution, it's an insult! Ricky Lambert is on 65K a year..Lucas is on 65K a year....

    ReplyDelete
  27. Good luck with that :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I wonder what you had to say about him last season....I wonder what you had to say about him at the start of this season. Liverpool do not have a player that comes close to Sterling, save, Sturridge. However, Sturridge is good for 1/2 a season and Sterling plays very game!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Last season he did ok so he was given a 40 grand a week pay rise - this season he's average and doesn't deserve 100 grand a week- if he doesn't like it then leave along with Johnson and 5 or 6 others

    ReplyDelete
  30. I agree. He is currently the outstanding player in our team and should be paid accordingly. Pay should be performance related - it has nothing to do with age. Next offer should be £100K and let's see what response we get from that. This lad has played every match this season and should not have been forced into a strikers position on Sunday. Sterling & Coutinho (IMO) are wingers and will always give their best in that position.
    FSG should stand-down Rodgers immediately and invite Tony Pullis to take over, initially, on a short term basis because Liverpool need a 'Red Adair' who can light the fire rather than put it out. If Pulis is not attracted by that proposition Steven Gerrard should be given control until the summer break assisted by Jamie Carragher.
    LFC do not need to spend money in the next transfer window if they use the loan system effectively.
    I believe they could exchange (loans) Mignolet for Stoke City's Begovic and it would be worth proposing Mamadou Sakho and/or Dejan Lovren for Ryan Shawcross. LFC could stiffen their midfield by selling Joe Allen or loaning Emre Can for Lee Cattermole of Sunderland. They should also try to revive the sale of Fabio Borini to them.
    That would leave The Reds to put big money in a top line striker to get back on the rails.

    ReplyDelete
  31. But Jaimie he is basically a winger - like Courtinho, as I've said above. He can chip in (pity he didn't on Sunday) with a few goals but he is a supplier. Sturridge has scored goals wherever he's played but he is no threat in the sick bay. We need him back quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  32. That is my point. And JK's too. He's 19. Does not contribute with goals and assists regularly yet he feels he should be making 100k a week. You can say it's the agent but it's Sterling who hires the agent. He can accept any deal he wants. It's his contract, not that of his agent. And he only just got one last year. Why do we need to be negotiating his contract every couple of months?

    ReplyDelete
  33. If there is any truth to this our transfer policy is more in shatters than I had believed. Why do we make so poor signings (dear i mention lovren and aspas)? Indeed we need a class goalie and if we cannot get one use our own academy players like Ryan Fulton instead.

    ReplyDelete
  34. If this is the reality of modern football, as you have stated, then we have to accept. Isn't unwillingness accept reality the very definition of delusion?

    ReplyDelete
  35. We do need an experienced number 10 who can knock it around like a boss for Coutinho et al to learn from. Gerrard was never a playmaker in the Coutinho/`Sneijder mold, so we still need someone else. Sneijder would be ideal. Well, Iniesta would be ideal, but Sneijder is as good as we can hope for. Which is pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
  36. To paraphrase Megamind, Sneijder is about six times better than any of our wingers and attacking midfielders, so I'm all for his signing.

    ReplyDelete
  37. How is this even worth writing about? There are a million stupid transfer rumors about LFC...this one is clearly absurd, I saw it somewhere too and it was there for about a day and then I haven't seen it again. It's pretty obvious we're not going to go after John Ruddy. How about a real tactical analysis for once, instead of reproducing every garbage rumor?

    ReplyDelete