27 Dec 2014

Ex-Red: Exciting €20m striker 'has the quality' to play for a club 'like Liverpool'. Sign?

A few months ago, reports in France claimed that Liverpool scouts had monitored France international Alexandre Lacazette 'for most of the season', and were 'impressed' with his performances for Lyon. A summer transfer was mooted, but nothing came of it, but according to ex-Red Aly Cissokho, Lacazette has the quality to succeed at Liverpool.

When asked this week about Lacazette's ability, Cissokho enthused:

"Clubs like Liverpool have a lot of competition [but] it's up to him to see if he's ready to take it on. We'll see what happens in the summer, but he easily has the quality to play in teams of that stature."

Liverpool need another striker during the January transfer window, but according to head coach Hubert Fournier, €20m-rated Lacazette wants to stay at Lyon. Last week, he told RMC:

"If it was only up to me, of course I would like him to stay. The president has rather reassured me, and above all, I don't get the impression Alexandre wants to leave during the January transfer window."

Some info about Lacazette:

* 23 years old.
* Can play on the wings, or up-front.
* Spent his entire career with Lyon.
* Three trophies with his club so far.

* 58 apps for various France youth teams.
* 2 apps for the senior national team.
* 2010: Winning for for France in the Under-19 European Championship final.

* STATS: 57 goals/34 assists in 170 apps for Lyon.
* Goal/assist every 1.8 games.
* 2009-2014: Goal/assist every 119 minutes (League only)

In June, Lacazette's Agent, David Venditelli hinted that a transfer away is a possibility. He told reporters:

"If Alexandre were to leave, he will leave for a team which plays in the Champions League, or at least one which is very close to it.”

In a recent interview, ex-Lyon boss Remi Garde praised the striker's progress last season:

"He [Lacazette] has made great strides, and shown that he is the best French striker. His scoring record is not far from Zlatan Ibrahimović, which shows the progress he has made"

From having watched him play in Ligue 1, Lacazette is faster and more mobile than, say, Wilfried Bony (who is also linked with LFC), and he's probably more suited to Liverpool's style of play. He's more of a link-man that a typical lone striker, and it wouldn't surprise me if Rodgers deployed him on either the right or left of a front-three.

Of the two, I'd still rather have Bony, for the simple reason that he is Premier League-proven, and (in theory) won't need any settling-in time.

survey tools


Author:


43 comments:

  1. Won't need any settling in time, famous last words.... but as you say, in theroy he would be best placed to make an instant impact... But, I just don't fancy him playing for LFC... Lacazette on the other hand... I do remember in the summer though, Lacazette said he was wanting to stay put because he relished the idea of being the main man at Lyon... I'd say he is definately that... A summer move is the most likely, and maybe a punt on Grenier and Gonolans aswell just for good measure...
    People keep saying there is no way FSG will back Brendan this January, but I think they would be reckless not too... They have their investment to protect, and that is the ongoing success of the club, and financially, we are a more attractive package for sponsors and the like with quality players helping push us up the table and into Euro contention... If they don't back him, they should've just sacked him and brought in someone they will be willing to back.... But I think that just what ifs, and I can see a couple of necessary additions being made next month, hopefully the right ones....

    ReplyDelete
  2. We either need to buy a proper GK and striker this transfer window at the going rate or don't even bother. No haggling. No temporary stop gap or moneyballing or that will be more of the same.


    We need a striker that can be a starter and a goal keeper that will be with us for 3-5 seasons that are both better than what we've got already.


    Lacazatte is possible. Bony is not bad but he should've been the striker we got instead of Balotelli, I don't know if he's good enough to be first choice. I feel if we got Bony we'd still need another top striker given that we should assume Sturridge will only be available about half the time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. this kid would crumble like a wet digestive with the pressure to carry the Liverpool attack coupled with the fact that rodgers will have no idea on how to utilize him

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think Lacazette looks our best option out of all the "realistic" strikers out there. He would hopefully give us that pace, trickery and unpredictability that we lost from Suarez. Of course he may not settle but every transfer has that risk. We've seen many players move between English clubs and fail, including established stars like Torres.

    If a decent offer for Lambert came in I'd say yes and use that money to bring Origi back. Assuming Borini is also sold we could have a quartet of Sturridge, Lacazette, Origi and Balotelli. We'd have 3 players with pace and directness to suit our style and cover injuries. This would hopefully put less pressure on Balotelli to perform who could give us something different in certain games or at certain times.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lacazette looks like he'd be perfect for us. Most of those 57 goals were scored after he was switched from primarily playing wide to playing more centrally. He'd be devastating with Sterling and Coutinho or Sturridge.

    Unfortunately, I don't think we could afford him and I don't think he'd leave Lyon for us.

    ReplyDelete
  6. hes doing the bare minimum to keep his job, if we had lost yesterday ,and lets be honest they could have been two up i think fsg would have sacked him ,i genuinly think he is a loss away from the sack depending who we lose to

    ReplyDelete
  7. Voted Bony because we need a finisher, not a winger. That said, I think Bony is too slow. Much like Heskeytelli

    ReplyDelete
  8. Last season Lacazette was moved to a more central position and scored 15 in 33 and this season so far he's got 17 in 19, he's definitely a finisher.
    Completely agree with you about Bony

    ReplyDelete
  9. "if we had lost yesterday ,and lets be honest they could have been two up"



    This line makes me so angry
    We could ahve been 5-0 up vs Man utd


    so you cant ahve it both ways Gilly

    ReplyDelete
  10. The things is big striker or strikers who depend on strength have just not worked at lfc:


    1) Heskey
    2) Mellor
    3) Crouch
    4) Ngog
    5) Carroll
    6) Lambert
    7) Balotelli
    all flopped big time hesky and crouch flopped to a lesser extent then rest but were still flops

    ReplyDelete
  11. you can right this season off for sturridge it will take him months to get match fit and sharp

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'd love to see us put an offer in for him on the 1st of Jan, but I bet you're right and it'd be peanuts. I wouldn't be surprised if it took 40 or 50m euros to turn Lyons heads, but even then I don't think he'd move to us.

    ReplyDelete
  13. crouch was no flop and should never have been sold

    ReplyDelete
  14. My ideal January.

    IN: Lacazette, Cech, Origi and Khedira
    OUT: Borini, Lambert

    Khedira is unlikely, not necessarily the transfer fee (contract expiring) but wages and attracting him. Imagine that window though we'd be loads stronger.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Its because his name is not fancy sounding

    ReplyDelete
  16. At the time, Suarez was supposed to be paired with a GOOD Torres. That attack would've been deadly. Little did he know he would be partnered with that donkey Carroll. On the other hand, Sahin was only supposed to be going on loan until he recovered his form. He chose LFC because he thought he would easily be our #1 mid and he gets the opportunity to work with Stevie.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't think Lacazette is a "one club player" to the extent of Gerrard or Carra (or Totti, etc), but he does have that sense of loyalty to his current club. He'll only leave Lyon if the club can offer more than Lyon can (which we can't, at least not at the moment) or his sale will benefit Lyon in some way.


    Lyon has no need for money right now, so the latter point has no substance. The big thing we have going for us is our potential. I know we're tired of hearing about it, but for a young striker, playing with other young stars with the potential to be a powerhouse in the future is pretty tantalizing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. If i were Lacazette i would love to play in front of Sterling,Coutinho and Lallana

    ReplyDelete
  19. Smaller teams tend to get that extra kick up the bum against teams like Liverpool. Add to that the fact that they have their backs to the wall and need results. But in the end they didn't have a shot on target. They largely shot from outside the box. We were sh!te but United have been for a while but have ground out results. No one wants Van Gaal sacked. Lets see how results go.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Spot on comment

    ReplyDelete
  21. Spot on comment too

    ReplyDelete
  22. I dunno, he was born in Lyon and came up through their youth system. A big enough bid would see if he's a Gerrard or a Torres (boyhood fan who moved after 9 years with Atletico) one club player.

    I think you're right though that he won't leave for what we can offer right now. I don't think our current potential would attract him, our potential is not consistent in transferring to improving performances.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I wont contest that but the strength we had last year was that Suarez and Sturridge kept defenders and midfielders away from our goal because they would murder them on the break otherwise. It's much more difficult to defend when you're moving backwards than when standing still. Bony is a brill striker in his own right. I'm just not sure if he could play in this system

    ReplyDelete
  24. Would love Kheidra!

    ReplyDelete
  25. i just dont think rodgers can man manage certain players....where talking about balo so ill use him as an example ....instead of saying he doesn't fit the system he better get used to the bench ...why not say to the press etc hes been out the team through injury and suspension so he has to re earn his spot ....its the same thing its just less confrontational and embarrassing for the player and it gives the media nothing

    ReplyDelete
  26. It's a classic case of media encephalopathy, a brain condition where the individual laps up everything the media spews & sees it as truth. Reality is that both Heskey & Crouch contributed to LFC's history in a positive way, they were also valued international careers. Well done Jay Jay on the correction! Sheikh sorry to call you out but even Ngog had a credible LFC career so either back up what you say with facts or at least clarify your opinion!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey wot a name-code boy said he was too young to remember him - surprising he hasn't googled the sh*t out of him.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Would be a super window.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Give me Laczette anyday just what is needed to unclog the congested track to goal and have us sit that little more comfortably.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Lacazette any day over Bony. Bony's game is very limited - good in the air and holds up the ball well, but technically he is found wanting. Lacazette is a superior allround player. There's no telling that Lacazette can't hit the ground running. A lot of players have done so. A certain Luis Suarez didn't need any time, and so did others, so I'm not going to sign a player with less ability simply because he has EPL experience. Also, since Bony plays in the EPL he'll probably cost more. Lacazette = better and cheaper.

    ReplyDelete
  31. In my opinion if we could only sign 1 player in January I would go for Lacazette. Another pacey striker is our biggest need at the moment

    ReplyDelete
  32. We are NOT going to see many (if any) new faces. FSG has given BR enough, as much as possible for "conventional" owners without Oil or Mafia money - now either they 'll ask him to deliver or replace the man.


    My logic is simple - BR spent 120mn+ almost unconditionally, now, is looking for players in positions where he either has spent lot (CB, GK, CF) or hasn't even tried (DM, CM). Now, what if FSG gives him 50mn, he does the same & FSG has to go through the same cycle of "rehabilitating next Manager" at premium.


    KD to BR transition cost us heavily & I am sure if a new Manager is appointed, he 'll clear out the "Ranch" for 40/50 % loss & 'll demand similar amount. Unfortunately, now we don't have a Torres or Suarez to sell.


    It's simple, either BR has to deliver within or the next Manager 'll get the money - I would have done the same (I 'll not mind BR remaining as Youth Team/academy coach, but we badly need someone like Rafa or FD Boer.)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Well Torres' is off the table now. Deal to Milan has been made permanent and it seems they will swap him for Cerci at Atletico in January

    ReplyDelete
  34. I don't know. I can't see the benefit myself and maybe Rodgers is handling it as wrong as he can but alternately Balo has worked under enough top managers and coaches and non have ever gotten out of him anything close to his potential. All have complained in one way or another about him either at the time or after re referencing hos attitude, intellect, will or all of the above. I'm sure burning the lad us is not new. Like I say he has been spoken out in the press before. The fact that Rodgers has thrown a few players under the bus suggests it's a tactic or je has no proper knowledge of how it all turns out but as he is a student of mourinho I would say it was the former.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Where's VermHat? He rates Mattia Perin, and I have to say I agree. He looks like a top, top 'keeper, and he's already a full international. Perin has such presence and agility. Really commands his area. Him or Cech would be most welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  36. So would I. I was just explaining the instances you gave above... They did make sense.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Is Sheikh Shamsy just 'nevergonnacrackthecode' in disguise?

    ReplyDelete
  38. If that is the case
    then i expect Origis loan to be cut short

    ReplyDelete
  39. 35m net spend is not a lot
    similar to what we spent last 3 seasons
    but we were promised when we get back in cl we will have more money to spend we have not been given that promise

    ReplyDelete
  40. 1 st result we needed spurs and utd draw


    we also want arsenal - west ham draw
    chelsea to beta southampton


    and we will beat Swansea we will be 4 points off fourth and only 3 points off main challenger arsenal and spurs
    8 points off utd

    ReplyDelete
  41. I actually don't agree with net 35mn theory. BR had the fund for a top class striker. But, instead of going of a top quality (35mn+) striker, he went for squad depth, when easily he could have filled players like Illori, Aspas, Enrique, Can from academy. No team can operate conventionally if it's to maintin a high profile academy & then Manager spree around 7/8 mn for U21 squad players. Even Mignolet is a waste when we had Pepe. Also, I feel, BR isn't confident to bring a 38mn striker from a top club. He always look for his known players or lower/mid table clubs.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa5:19 pm, December 29, 2014

    Yeah, now BR is looking to play Can as a right-sided CB. WTH is that???

    ReplyDelete