20 Dec 2014

Top Target: LFC favourites to sign 'massive' £15m star Carra hailed as 'outstanding'

The future of Liverpool star Steven Gerrard remains up in the air right now, and Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is reportedly planning for life without LFC's long-time captain. Who can fill the Gerrard-void when he leaves, though? According to reports this week, Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph is Rodgers' preferred choice.

Last month, The Mirror claimed:

"Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs are monitoring Delph’s situation. [Delph] is not happy about the direction of the club"

Today, The Mirror further claims that:

* Liverpool 'head the race' for Delph, and Rodgers sees him as a potential replacement for Steven Gerrard.

* Villa boss Paul Lambert may cash in on Delph next month to prevent him leaving for free in the summer.

£15m-rated Delph is currently stalling on signing a new 4-year contract with Villa, which means he'll be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club in January.

Lambert is desperate to keep Delph at the club, and in a recent interview, he argued that the 24-year old midfielder is destined for greatness. He told the Birmingham Mail:

"He's been excellent over the course of the 18 months. There's massive potential there to be a really top player and if he keeps his feet on the ground, keeps learning, keeps doing what he's doing then we'll see where he goes"

Lambert also suggested that Delph can take Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's place in the England team:

"With [Steven Gerrard] retiring, it gives him [Delph] the opportunity to get in. He has started the season really well so it's great for him and it's great for the club."

Reds legend Jamie Carragher is a fan of Delph, and in a recent column for Sky Sports, he hailed the midfielder's 'outstanding' talent, and argued that he deserves a regular place in the England team. Carra explained:

"Delph is playing every week for a big club [and] he gives a side real energy and aggression. Plus, because he is left-footed, offers you nice balance in the middle of the park, while he has strike on him, too"

Please, for the love of God, no more overpriced, under-achieving British players. Liverpool need an experienced, European-class midfielder to pick up the slack when Gerrard leaves, and although Delph is a good player, he is not (IMO) someone who can go straight into the first team and have a transformative impact.

Additionally, Delph's injury history is a major concern. Over the last four years, he's suffered seven injuries (including a cruciate ligament tear), and spent over 400 days on the sidelines as a result.

Delph may be Villa's current 'player of the year', but like Adam Lallana, he would be an expensive gamble, and when it comes to the crunch, his transfer fee will undoubtedly inflate to much more than £15m.

If Delph is genuinely Rodgers' choice to replace Gerrard, then it's yet another sad indictment of his judgment in the transfer market. Are we to believe that after 2.5 years in the job, Rodgers' answer to Gerrard leaving is...Fabian Delph?

Delph is a good option if the idea is to replace Lucas or Allen, but Gerrard? It really beggars belief, and it's choices like this that will ultimately cost Rodgers his job.

Author:


52 comments:

  1. Unless the player is a big, big personality who has proven his 'bulletproofness' on the Euro champions and world stage then it is a big risk.


    All these guys with so called premiership provenance and experience have just been eaten alive when moving to a club with any sort of expectation at all - ie. us...


    From people like Charlie Adam through Dejan Lovren, all have capitulated.


    At best it's a 50:50 for success. If we are spending the money I'd love to see some of our more exalted ex-players get involved in 'selling' the club to some of these high calibre footballers to start coming our way.


    Fabian Delph, man, really.......?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Borini Aspas Alberto Allen Assadi Lovren we were told massive players for future .
    We need world class players Which will cost players needed is Isco Pogba Type of players problem is they don't come cheap wont come cheap.
    FSG have given Rodgers massive money Wasted players we need cost 30mil plus I wouldn't give Rodgers one cent if I was FSG.
    We wont attract players in January or next season what is attractive about Liverpool nothing but the past . We are living in the past.
    Delph no offence to him or Liverpool fans that's no different then the players I have listed already .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Delph is okay and we could get him on the cheap, but with his injury record, I'd be against it. If Lucas is to leave, which seems a case of when rather than if, then Delph could be a decent understudy (on a free, or for cheap in January) for someone else like Kramer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Agree here to the hilt. Shows lack of ambition from the club. Very depressing if we sign these types of players.
    Is Rodgers buying his way out by getting the sack? Big payout for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. As a Villa fan, please take him, please sign him. He's nowhere near as good as claimed, though he does have the legs I guess. He's nowhere near good enough to replace Gerrard, though Pool aren't getting world class players so I guess he might be the best Pool can get. Though as a fan of a mid-table team currently, I don't even want him here so... Yeah.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Except Pool couldn't get him cheap, Villa wouldn't sell him cheap. lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. delph is a top player but unless he is signed along with world class players like Vidal and we get him on a double deal with Benteke. £30M should grab the superstar. some people at the club prefer Bony, tbh i like them both alot. but because we wasted time on Balotelli and Lambert we missed out on both of them and we could have got them for £44M. £19M for Bony release clause at time and £25M for Benteke. if we were to take just one i'd be happy, but Benteke has shown unbelieveable strength and ability in the PL on a regular basis with Villa and is only 23. he is fast, incredibly strong as in he can throw a man to the floor(smalling), good in the air, skillful, wonderful shooting and intelligence to link up with a striker as he does with Agbonlahor or Wiemann. in my opinion it is not easy to play for the lesser clubs, especially when the top teams are on form and Benteke has turnt Villa into competitors despite being so young, without him theyd be relegated. Bony is a top class centre forward. tbh we tried for Sanchez and Pedro but if BR was gona go for lower class level players he should have just signed Bony, Remy and Benteke and ship out Borini. then along with Sturridge we will have 4 top class strikers like when City had Aguero, Dzeko, Tevez and Balotelli(on top form), or when Utd had Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Saha. we can still buy Benteke and if Rodgers wants to complete the puzzle we should Benteke for £25M, Clyne for £20M and Vidal or Marchisio(2 world class proven midfielders) for £35-40M. £85M in total. that will come up to £200m spent. this is the only way to save our season. try to go on a unbeaten run January to end of season and win every game. Benteke has the passion to lead the front line and score goals in abundance whilst lifting the crowd. Vidal is like Luis Suarez in Midfield. animal. proper box-to-box midfielder with the best work rate in world football along with Sanchez and Suarez. and Clyne is one of the few top right backs in world football and whilst being very young he can become one of the best.


    ----------

    ReplyDelete
  8. Too many lightweights in the team, from Henderson too allan too lucas a very week midfield

    ReplyDelete
  9. Being a key part of a team that's ahead of us in the league?

    ReplyDelete
  10. No I meant when he was at Liverpool

    ReplyDelete
  11. Rakitic, Pogba or Vidal can be classified as replacements for Gerrard. Delph? What a joke.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This can't be serious. Have we set our sights so low? These rumors are all idiotic. First there is Benzema (I wish), then the usual assortment of unproven kids and and then throw in Delph as if he is a titanic player. What sort of madness has befallen LFC's front office? Does all this crap sound like a coherent game plan to anyone else???? Wow...........where on earth are we heading?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Delph will not come cheap, he is British but we seriously need to stay clear of players like these.

    Lucas is most likely to leave. I would much rather see Emre Can being given a proper chance and then also promote Rossiter than waste £15m to £20m on Delph.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The first thing that needs to be done regarding transfers is to stop purchasing players from teams who finish below us in the league. You either get ripped off with the price or that player has one good season and then comes to LFC and struggles.


    The only notable signing we have got from a team below us recently was has been Henderson but we paid an arm and leg.


    We have to bring in a manager or coach & DOF who can attract better players. That is the only way forward.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Pogba would be a dream signing. Strong & skill & he hates Man Utd for how they treated him!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I keep hearing ppl saying we r signing the next Gerrard.
    For goodness sake we need to move on fr Stevie G. Did Manure signed the next Keane?
    Forget abt Europe we need to focus on the league and be consistent. Europe can wait.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lucas to Inter Milan rumour making the rounds again, on loan though.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Just saw BR's press conference he had a face like a smacked arse any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  19. would be crazy but who does crazy better than LFC?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh being a key part of a team that WAS ahead of us in the league

    ReplyDelete
  21. Delph is a good player but he is no replacement for Gerrard. We need some real quality to replace a player of Gerrards quality.


    However for January I would concentrate on a quality Goalkeeper, this would give the defence more confidence and allow them to play to their best.


    We also need to upgrade our strike force, sell Borini as he clearly doesn't fit into any plans, if Origi comes in its then down to how much longer we give Lambert & Balotelli to step up.

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a load of cobblers!
    We won't be spending 50M on any one person, doubtful we'll even spend 50M in total during Jan window.
    Karim Benzama, IF he comes to England, would be going to Chelsea or City, maybe Utd or Arsenal, not a club in the bottom half of the league with no chance of UCL footie.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Get over it! Do you think Liverpool have the divine right to be world class? Liverpool have not been world class for a number of years now. Why would Benzema consider it an honour to play for Liverpool? Because you think our beloved Liverpool is the best club in the world?

    And of course Jamie is a United supporter and hates Liverpool, everyone knows that! He is such a big United fan that he owns a Liverpool news site and teams everything Liverpool.

    Learn to accept someone's opinion and don't question their loyalty to a club based on your opinion of how a fan should act.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Yes, but you're a Liverpool FAN and he's just a Liverpool FC employee. From his point of view, we're just another (foreign) club, just like Sunderland were and Stoke are. It'd make no difference to him who he plays for as long as his wages are being paid.
    The same goes for the rest of the squad. If Steven Gerrard is considering leaving, then believe for a second that Raheem Sterling or Daniel Sturridge will give it a second thought if/when they get a better offer.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Gerrard upped his rent

    ReplyDelete
  26. So I seem to be in the minority with my view that Delph would be a good addition to our midfield.

    As a Gerrard replacement - of course not, but we shouldn't be looking to replace Gerrard man-for-man in any case. We should be looking to rebuild our midfield to a high level. I feel Delph would fit into this plan of a squad's worth of really good midfielders, plus any of Juventus' current midfielders. Come on, January. Come on, transfer committee.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Delph could easily come cheap as his contract expires in the northern hemisphere summer of 2015.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nevergonnacrackthecode10:37 am, December 20, 2014

    According to Wenger he personally went to Brazil to meet Sanchez agent
    and that helped sway the deal.
    What was Brendan doing , holidaying in Spain with someone elses child and wife

    ReplyDelete
  29. Nevergonnacrackthecode10:43 am, December 20, 2014

    Yep Rodgers and pascoe laughed at them
    when they said we would loan sterling to swansea when he was playing first team

    ReplyDelete
  30. Nevergonnacrackthecode10:45 am, December 20, 2014

    i would not class Lovren with Adam
    he was good in his last season at Lyon Frances biggest club bar Paris st Germain
    Southampton are a different club to blackpool they were buying players like Osvaldo,Ramirez,Wanyama etc

    ReplyDelete
  31. You're not his agent are you?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Oh no don't say that, you've so much to offer

    ReplyDelete
  33. Now just one more code to crack.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I see your still insisting on blaming one man for the decision of a collective.
    Your such a great critic. So good at pointing out where things are wrong. (it's a shame you never say anything positive)
    Come on then genius....Instead of just telling us the club has got it targets wrong. Tell us mere mortals who we should be buying to replace Gerrard.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I understand you're reticence in comparing the two....


    But, I was only saying that arriving at a club like ours for the price quoted by Southampton for Lovren, one would expect him to hit the ground running, or at least show signs of positivity with one or two issues.....


    Instead we've got a guy in Lovren (who I highly regard and actually think will become a stalwart for the club in the near future) who has just capitulated in the face of a new, high expectancy environment....


    Players who show that they're able to thrive in high pressure matches around Europe are the ones we should be going for - if only to reduce the odds of them starting badly for us.........

    ReplyDelete
  36. Geezer, so you think London had nothing to do with it....?


    That and a possible little backhander which can only be done in person these days due to social media and hidden cameras.....


    And yes, I also think we could have tried harder - cos the kitchen sink is still where it is when I saw it last..........

    ReplyDelete
  37. Delph is out of contract in the summer.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I get what you're saying but...


    What if Brendan was trying to keep our scoring record up rather than trying to emulate what we had last year in terms of playing style - something he clearly could not do with Suarez gone and then Studge got injured...


    So what if playing style went out the window somewhat in trying to play to the strengths of Balotelli?


    Looks like Brendan tried to coach Balo into becoming a bit more mobile and making more zigzagging runs like we did last year - I feel it was like two elements trying to somehow meet in the middle somewhere - Balo and his new way of working, and then the rest of the team and their new way of passing, movement and trying to accommodate said Balo.....


    I wonder did Brendan just try his damnedest to try and have a goal scorer of Balo's 'reputation' on the field in case it paid dividends and meanwhile tried to raise his confidence by showing confidence in him.....


    I wonder if Brendan was trying to find a way of keeping us in the goals and instead shot himself in the foot - and now having realised the player mentioned has let him down has reverted to accepting Sterling as a striker - perhaps something he didn't want to thrust on a 'boy' who has just turned 20....


    I'm not really in favour of buying from clubs like Villa just because our whole setup puts pressure on the incoming player - whether they are good, bad or indifferent - they just seem to heap pressure on themselves to prove they can star.....


    We don't have 'galactico's' around the field who can cover for new arrival mess-ups so we need crazy good proven players even if we buy them one at a time to create an environment for others to flourish.....


    Just as they do in all the top teams around Europe, where a lot of new arrivals tend to have the breathing space to flourish.......

    ReplyDelete
  39. Who should we get to solve the striker situation then?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Clearly someone needs shooting or nuking

    ReplyDelete
  41. I agree...would be a good replacement for Allen, but who wouldn't. I'm sure we'd all prefer Carvalho though who is a top class player.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I honestly think we have the players 1 @ least finish top 4, but for some reason they seem clueless on the field, They look like they do not know what position they are playing in, As for this one striker up front scenario, it is obvious that it is not working, along with Zonal defending. who do we buy 2 fix this ? Nobody, it is down to the manager and coaching staff.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Aren't you always going on about how Stevie is a fading force? How he should be benched and yada yada, what then is the issue with Delph?

    ReplyDelete
  44. Even if he has any intentions of leaving RM, why would he come to Liverpool of all places? I think the likelihood of him moving to PSG is higher by tenfold. We don't even have the funds left to buy him, let alone pay his wages.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Why would Stoke trade Begovic for Mignolet? I see absolutely no sense in that.


    Toure has been performing well, and Sakho has been injured. Why would a team want underperfoming Lovren in exchange for a better Centreback?


    Like I said, what you're saying makes absolutely 0 logical sense.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I don't think he'll want to move (Liverpool probably won't get top 4 this season). I think Pedro is a better option. All round player like Suarez, Sanchez. Left foot, right foot and has an eye for goal. Plus he shouldn't cost more than 30 million.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Stuart,
    You HAVE been paying attention!!! I know you agree though. Like Logan said, we should be looking at Rakitic, Pogba and Vidal for adds. We are not going to get Bony from Swansea or Reid from Wst ham while both are having good seasons. their fans would be pissed and rightfully so.....just like us at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Coaching staff that have a clue.

    ReplyDelete
  49. 4eva LFC, LFC 4eva11:40 am, December 21, 2014

    Simply put Benzema is not worth 50mill no way. Would not want him anyway need some one who can create more problems for the opposition back line. Even though Sterling isn't scoring he creates more of a threat with his pace and trickery.

    ReplyDelete