24 Dec 2014

I Want LFC: €12m star wants to 'go to Liverpool' & will 'not say no' to transfer. Sign?

A year ago, Lazio star Ogenyi Onazi publicly admitted that he'd love to play for Liverpool, and the Reds were linked with a move for the midfielder over the summer. Nothing panned out, but based on his comments this week, the Nigeria international still has his heart set on a move to Anfield.

In November 2013, €12m-rated Onazi enthused:

"Liverpool? They are a huge team and are attractive to any footballer. I could see myself playing for them. I would jump at the chance to play in the Premier League"

Brendan Rodgers reportedly held talks with Lazio over the summer and 'made it clear' that he planned to 'make a bid', but that was probably curtailed by the broken leg Onazi sustained during the World Cup.

Liverpool still need another top-quality defensive-midfielder, and when asked this week about his future, Onazi name-checked Liverpool once again. He told Supersport:

“If the opportunity to go to Liverpool presented itself to me I could not say no. We’re talking about a big club, and I’ve always wanted to play in England. There will be a lot of offers from all over the world but it’s a complicated situation.”

Some info about Onazi:

* 78 apps for Lazio (4 goals/6 assists)
* 26 apps for the Nigeria national team.
* 2013: Helped Nigeria win Africa Cup of Nations
* 2013: played every minute of the knockout phase (incl. the final)
* 2013: Won the Coppa Italia with Lazio.

Despite being (ostensibly) a defensive midfielder, Onazi still managers to score/create goals for Lazio, which is something Lucas and Joe Allen are seemingly incapable of doing.

Whether he'd be able to achieve a similar rate in the Premier League is debatable, but given the defensive nature of Italian football 10 goals/assists for defensive player is an impressive achievement.

Onazi wants to play for LFC, so should the club pursue him during the January transfer window?

Author:


42 comments:

  1. Rafa Benitez is the right man to take over at Liverpool again should they dispense of the services of Brendan Rodgers, writes David Lee Wheatley.

    Benitez tasted Italian Super Cup glory once again with Napoli on Monday evening in Doha to further showcase his uncanny knack of lifting trophies, whilst also putting his name firmly in the frame for numerous top jobs that could become available over the coming months.

    The Spanish tactician secured a 12th top-level honour garnered throughout a remarkable coaching career that has taken in largely successful stints at Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli amongst others.

    The 54-year-old seems to be a magnet for glittering prizes wherever he goes, and his latest triumph in Qatar won’t have gone unnoticed at clubs across the continent – especially former club Liverpool, where he cultivated a proud 56 per cent win rate in all competitions.

    His CV boasts almost every trophy imaginable, including two league championships won in Spain, two domestic cups and two UEFA Cup/Europa League titles allied to the memorable comeback which claimed the Champions League crown for Liverpool. Napoli’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over reigning Italian champions Juventus sealed yet another shining example of Benitez’s untarnished golden touch.

    It hasn’t always been plain-sailing for the ex-Tenerife head coach, as troubled spells at Inter and Chelsea were characterised by an unhappy relationship with both clubs’ sets of board members and fans during short-lived stays – but success was duly delivered in spite of it all.

    Now, his mooted contract extension talks with Napoli,which were reportedly underway in November, have stalled as the Partenopei languish 12 points behind Juventus in the Serie A standings, whilst significant problems on Merseyside have inevitably led to calls for his return to a club where he is absolutely adored.

    An increasingly strained channel of communication with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has only briefly been revived by victory in the Super Cup and remains close to breaking point; a potential call from Liverpool would likely stand a very strong chance of taking Benitez off Napoli’s hands.

    Current incumbent Brendan Rodgers came closest to grabbing that elusive Premier League title which has frustratingly escaped the Reds’ clutches, but Benitez wasn’t far off achieving the same goal when ending as league runner-up in 2009 and would dearly love the opportunity to finally go one better.

    Surely a man with Benitez’s significant amount of overall experience, plus the great affinity he shares with the legendary club’s vast support, would make him the perfect choice to take over the Anfield hot-seat in such trying circumstances.

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  2. Yet he went out in the Champions League a round before Rodgers

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  3. On the fence with this player, the Lucas and Gerrard partnership has been miraculously yet underwhelmingly been working the past few games

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  4. Not really a fair comparison since one had to play qualifying rounds and one didn't. It's like criticising Rodgers for not getting as far in the Coppa Italia.

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  5. Out: Rodgers and his team...give them both keepers as leaving present
    In: Klopp, Simone or Rafa (only 3 managers in Europe with proven track record of beating top teams to win the league.)
    Keep; Mario and give him run of games with Daniel to form striking partnership

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  6. Pepe and Agger,,,How we miss you :(

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  7. It'd Never happen under BR coz he's the full version of "EGO"...o

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  8. Don't forget Cisse and pongolle

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  9. Here hoping Klopp gets the sack over Xmas period :)

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  10. maybe o nazi can help us march through europe

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  11. Should have poached their transfer budget.

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  12. your not rafas agent by any chance are you ,talk about laying it on thick reading this summary he should skip anfield and head straight to the whitehouse and broker a world peace deal

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  13. The Gerrard half might decide it's too tired to track back before long, though, so I'm all for adding somebody like Onazi to the ranks.

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  14. He is good that he wants to be at lfc
    i say if its cheap why not
    can he be worse then Allen or Gerrard?


    Simple answer NO

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  15. Don't forget Pongolle in earlier rounds

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  16. I ain't Jewish but i am offended so i am telling the FA.




    You're in trouble mate


    : )

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  17. with rodgers track record you may want to revise that answer

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  18. Can't disagree with anything except I would keep Sakho. I think he's pretty solid.

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  19. I agree with sakho - he's a good player but he needs to play with a 'leader' in defence. I hear varane is available from real Madrid and in our current (3-4-3) formation sakho, toure and varane would be terrific. For me, skrtel is too error prone

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  20. Robbie Keane, Albert Riera, Alberto Aquilani, the list goes on, Both are culpable for wasting money, atleast rodgers doesn't pay them obscene wages aswell like Rafa did.... The people who want Rafa back need to take off the rose tinted glasses... He was devisive and difficult...Going backwards is something I as a Liverpool fan, don't wish to see.. and Rafa is going backwards, hell he wanted to replace Xabi Alonso with Gareth Barry for Christs sake....

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  21. I dont know what it is bob but is see glimpsed of real quality and if it was all to jus come together he would grab us 15-20 goals aswell as the link up ay he can provide

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  22. How is Johnson worth 10 m to the club he is 32 and on a free as he has not been offered a new contract he will defo go to Roma in jan for a big fat 0

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  23. Skrtel is totally unsuited to the style of defence LFC what to play, he wants to drop off where Sakho, Lovren want to press up, Sakho is clearly the best CB we have by a large margin, BR doesn't want him because it was a committee buy. Ranocchia and Schar are Bosman CB's who would walk into the team

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  24. Sell Sakho&keep Skrtel smh

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  25. Collymore was excellent.only the early days of depression that was misdiagnosed as collywobble hampered his lfc career.went to villa .spain and leicester .couldnt settle really.was unhappy with life.such a shame.your right too.people really havent got a clue.how can people comment on lfc when they are so ill informed on past

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  26. 25mn for Lallana or 14mn for Lekazzette or 19mn for Griezmann or 10 mn for Dimitry Payet - I know whom I 'll go for. Even at 30, Valbuena for 5mn.


    I have picked only French - didn't bother to go to Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina or Holland. And I don't know the wage Lallana is bullying out, for a role given opportunity, Suso 'll do better.



    English football is over hyped, over priced, over paid, over estimated, over discussed - no talent, no skill, no flair, no passion. And now no Manager either - Rogers is the best among English mother tongue Managers in UK, so you can understand.


    Luke Saw is overpriced by 3 times, if not 4, that doesn't make Lallana deal any intelligent. Going back to France again (I know it hurts for an English football fan), Lucas Digne is a better choice than Shaw for even 15mn - PSG paid 9mn for him. Had RVG been appointed early, he would never have wasted that amount on Shaw.


    To finish with, unlike most posters, I said that Southampton 'll do much better this year, because they bullied some dumb clubs with 60mn worth of English meat (& the wage) & 'll invest that outside UK, now that RK has good contacts. Unfortunately, we swallowed the bait, like we did with Carroll & Downing.


    Sorry for my long & harsh response, but reality bites.

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  27. Cause the papers know..... whatever!

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  28. Rodgers not good enough? The man nearly took us to the title last season and won Manager of the Season, some people have very short term memories. I keep hearing Rodgers slagged off and it annoys me.

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  29. Ok, I stand corrected, Sturridge did score that night, but last time I checked, football is a team sport of 11 players on the park, not 3 players and last season all 11 players contributed to us coming second in the league.

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  30. You say 14m for Lacazette (who now would be more like 20m), 19m for Griezmann (he in fact cost Atletico Madrid 24m) and 10m for Payet. Let's take a look at that, Lacazette is a different type of player than Lallana, as he is a striker, Payet isn't as good as Lallana and is primarily a winger, Lallana isn't and Griezmann is a very good player, but again is primarily a winger, Lallana isn't. Out of those 3 players, the one I would take is Griezmann. We have better players in Payet's position and there are other striking options that are better than Lacazette, I would rather us go for Benzema or someone of that ilk.

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  31. And btw, I'm not an English football fan, I'm a football fan, if you have seen my posts previously, I don't harp on English talent alone or the English league alone, but I know a good player when I see one and although you criticise Lallana for having no flair or no talent, flair and talent is exactly what he has. If anything, he breaks the mold of the stereotypical English player. How did Southampton bully us? Rodgers is known for only paying for what he thinks a player is worth, if the selling club is quoting too much for his liking, he will walk away. He has proven that before.

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  32. Neither I am anti English/British - we are same, LFC Fan. I mentioned only few French players as it came to my mind instantly, you can pick 7/8 other countries. Payet made a very good French side & almost a regular starter now - he might win the EURO 2016 with his French countrymen; Lallana doesn't make a pathetic English side, which is only good at hammering lower sides in friendlies, when teams play a safety first game.


    I watch every LFC match mate, even sometimes bunking office. What talent/flair you are talking about Lallana is fundamental for most Latin players. I am sure you have seen the ball skills of some Spanish & French U21 boys (Germans play a different game), no need to mention Latins. Regarding Lallan's position, I am sure that is the last position we should have invested 25mn. Apart from Suso as I mentioned, we could have used Coutinho even Sterling and there are few kids in academy as well. At 26, I don't think Adam can improve any further, & what I can see at his prime, isn't enough.


    Regarding BR paying the justified value, I go back to the main discussion point - he is a trainer, not manager. He has no clue about players, what he is looking for & what is the justified price. Once Suarez left, FIRST thing we should have done was to secure a top class CF - we had the money & CL for that. You see, JM knew what he was needed, bought Costa before the season ended. BR bought Lambert (for Suarez (:)) & then panic buy of Ballo. I understand, BR has Zero pulling power outside UK, but LFC has. This gentleman couldn't solve the defense in 5 windows & 70mn+ spending, still buying/selling CBs & GK. Just count how many CBs we have inquired last 2 years?

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  33. no more southcoast geeezers8:57 am, December 25, 2014

    yer and what a bad choice of scouts

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  34. It's not coaching or management. You can't polish a turd!
    There's a certain type of player that all premiership winning sides have had. CB's - Terry, Vidic, Adams, Kompany etc. We had Carra but he hasn't been replaced. Goalkeepers - Schmeichel, Petr Cech, players that command their area. Midfield - Roy Keane, Viera, Toure etc. We did not replace Mascerano or Alonso. Too much dead wood still at the club and has been for too long. Would Brad Jones ever be first choice at Man Utd, Chelsea or City if he was there? NO CHANCE.

    Jones, Enrique, Johnson, Suso, Toure, Sakho, Mignolet, Wisdom, Allen, Lucas, Balo, Borini, and there's more.

    Rodgers has been awful in the transfer market.

    FSG, please step in and hand over control of transfers to a committee of former players. Most LFC pundits seem to know better than Rodgers when it comes to player profiles.

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  35. I agree. He is a very good coach and with the right personnel he can win us the league. Our back 4 is crap. We should have replaced Suarez with a 20 goals/season forward. Sakho panics when pressed. Awful. Reina had no hunger. Agger was awful at defending set pieces. Mario is lazy. Rodgers is a very good coach but is terrible in the transfer marker. We need a keeper and CB (or 2) who can shout their lungs off and give their back 4 a good rollocking when needed and a good DM. Not Lucas or Gerrard. A Mascherano type.

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  36. Lucas is awful. He doesn't track runners. A bit like Coutinho but at least Coutinho has more to his game. Mignolet will not go for more than 7M. Alberto 5M. Allen is useless. Why do some fans settle for mediocrity? It annoys me. Our squad players should be as good as our starters. That's the only way our starters will be worried about their places. Prime example Mignolet and Jones. Stopp accepting mediocre players like Allen and Lucas. They're not good enough for a club like LFC.

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  37. Suarez. Luis Suarez is the one who made us dream.

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  38. Crikey. If you're gonna axe a load of deadwood, why aren't the likes of Aspas, Borini, Alberto, Balotelli and Assaidi on the list?


    It would probably be easier to pick a list of players we should keep!


    One of the problems we have this season is that we brought in too many players at once, like Spurs did. Now we're going to have to do it again and be mid-table next season too? Great.


    The people running our club (Rogers AND FSG) are utterly hopeless. They need to go first!

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  39. The players on that list should be kept on are as follows:

    CB: M Skrtel(30) but should compete with Lovren week in week out to play as RCB

    CB: M Sakho(24) should no where near be even on that list, he may look suspect at times on ball, but he is the best defender we have at club by a country mile. And until he has 12-18 games consistantly playing without injury and suspension alongside Lovren(25) to prove his worth he should be nowhere near that list.

    RB: Manquillo(20) and Flannagan(21) should both be kept at club to battle it out with one another week in week out to be the first choice RB.

    All these dead wood average/ poor players should be shipped out and sold over the next two transfer windows:

    Outs : January 2015:

    GK: B Jones (32) RB: G Johnson(30) DM: L Leiva(27)

    CM: J Allen(24) AM: Suso(20) FD: F Borini(23)


    Ins: January 2015: Some top class experienced foreign players:



    GK: A Begovic(27) Of Stoke for £10-£14M to Compete with S Mignolet(26)

    DM: M Schneiderlin(25) Of Southampton for £17-£21M to displace S Gerrard(34) as DM in first 11 week in week out.

    CM: I Rakitic(26) Of Barcelona for £20-£27M as he is struggling to get a game, like how Fabbregas(27) was used. And he should be playing game in game out, he is world class player who creates, dictates, dominates and scores goals from the centre of the park.

    LW / LWF: K Bellarabi(24) Of Bayer Leverkusen for £7M or sign on Pre Contract for summer transfer

    FD: P Aubamayeng(25) Of Borussia Dortmund needs to be signed for £12-£17M to come and compete with Balotelli(24) and Sturridge(25)

    Summer OUTS: June - August 2015:

    CB: K Toure(33) CB: S Coates(24) RB: A Wisdom(20)

    AM: L Alberto(21) RW/LW: O Assaidi(26) FD: I Aspas(27)

    FD: R Lambert(32)


    Summer INS: (June - August 2015: ) Some Home Grown Potential:


    CM: D Alli(18) Of Milton Keynes Don for £6-£9M ( Now and Future)
    To come and compete with J Henderson(24) and E Can(20)

    LB: A Robertson(20) Of Hull for £8-£11M ( Now and Future)
    To come and compete with A Moreno(22)

    RW/ LW: R Aarons(19) Of Newcastle for £7-£11M ( Now and Future)

    To come and compete with L Markovic(20)

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  40. You do realize Suarez himself came out and gave credit to Rodgers. Specifically stating he set the team around him to have the greatest influence possible, that it was his tactics that made him excel. Clearly look at the radical differences between LFC and Barca. He plays with far superior and more experienced players but the tactics aren't built around his qualities so he doesn't have the same impact.

    Rodgers and LFC have had a ton of change. It hasn't completely fired on all cylinders yet, but it gets better every week. We the only team that control games and just can't seem to finish. That is down to players executing and Rodgers can't control that. Defense I think is bad organization and lack of trust/communication. Which again is players.

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  41. Keep Sakho and wisdom surely

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  42. Outs should be all on there except these Four:


    CB: M Sakho(24) the best defender at club by a country mile, looks like he is abyzmal on ball if he is on it too long, but an awesome defender and beast of a defender who is only going to get better with experience, game time and stable partner at the heart of defence.


    RB: Manquillo(20) and Flannagan(21) should both be kept at club to battle it out with one another to be first choice RB


    CB: M Skrtel(30) should be kept as a back up, to come off the bench he has 1 or 2 years of good football left in him.But B Rodgers needs to start playing Lovren(25) as the RCB and Sakho as the LCB Week in week out if they are both fully fit, injury and suspension free. ( for £14-18 games on trot and they could become solid defensive partnership)


    The owners need to back B Rodgers with at least £70M in January and then whatever he can sell shipping in these dead wood average players he should be given also to spend:


    Outs in January 2015:


    GK: B Jones(32) RB: G Johnson(30) DM: L Leiva(27)


    CM: J Allen(24) AM: Suso(20) FD: F Borini(23)




    B Rodgers needs to bring in these five class experienced players in January 2015: To Make us top 1-3 side again:


    1: GK: A Begovic(27) Of Stoke for £10-£15M ( No other GK)
    ( Commanding, Dominant Aggressive Trustworth GK)


    2: DM: M Schneiderlin(25) Of Southampton for £17-£20M
    ( Mobile, bit of pace, good tackling, ball playing DM)


    3: CM: I Rakitic(26) Of Barcelona for £22-£27M
    ( World class box to box, creative, Dominative, Game Changing and Goal Scoring Central Midfielder )


    4: LW / RW: K Bellarabi(24) Of Bayer Leverkusen for £7M or he should be signed on pre contract so we can get him free in the summer ( Class, Creative, Goal Scoring, Lively, Mobile, Pacey and Quick winger)


    5: FD: P Aubamayeng(25) Of Borussia Dortmund for £14-£17M
    ( Class, Creative, Mobile, Pacey and Quick Goal scoring striker in similar Mould to D Sturridge(25) )


    So his mobility, pace, speed can used in attack and to defend high up pitch whilst pressing for the ball.

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