7 Mar 2015

'World-Class' star to Liverpool? Boss confirms that transfer for £25m striker is 'impossible'

Last month, Anfield legend Steve Nicol urged Liverpool to sign Lyon goalscorer Alexander Lacazette, and with LFC reportedly favourites to sign the 'world-class' striker ahead of Arsenal, the Ligue One club's chairman has poured cold water on the Reds' chances of sealing the deal.

When asked on Friday about Liverpool's interest, Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas dismissed the possibility of a deal. He told reporters:

"Impossible. He [Lacazette] will be with us at the Stade des Lumieres and in the Champions League."

With 32 goals/assists in 31 games, Lacazette - recently described as 'world-class' but ex-Reds boss Gerard Houller - is achieving Suarez/Sturridge-style creative stats this season, and given his speed, mobility, and finishing ability, he'd clearly be a logical signing for Liverpool.

Steve Nicol seems to think so, and in a January interview with ESPN, he insisted that Lacazette 'fits the mould that Liverpool are looking for', and strongly urged his old club to pursue the striker:

“Liverpool have an opportunity to sign this guy [Lacazette] and I think they should. He loves to go forward [and] score goals and he reminds me of [Luis] Suarez. I think this would be a superb signing".

According to BT Sport expert Julien Laurens, £25m-rated Lacazette is a perfect fit for Liverpool, and when asked recently about the striker's suitability for the Premier League, he told The Sport Review:

“Brendan Rodgers really likes him [Lacazette]. He likes those types of players that can play anywhere up front and with a lot of movement, so I think he could eventually fit in well there".

If the price is right, there's no such thing as an 'impossible' transfer, and if Lacazette continues his stunning strike rate this season, there are sure to be a whole host of clubs in for him this summer, including Liverpool.

Is Lacazette worth £25m, though? Luiz Adriano us reportedly available for less than half of that fee, and it could be more cost-effective for the Reds to sign the Brazilian instead. Both strikers are prolific, and fit Liverpool's style of play, but given the choice, which of the two is the best option?

Author:


57 comments:

  1. luiz adriano doesnt have the greatest of scoring records, which he probably should have playing for such a dominant, attacking team in shakhtar and given his age there isnt too much room for improvement. also he is a pretty selfish player and more of a poacher than all rounder. i think he has a bit of an inflated ego too. other than that he is a good player but definitely not right for liverpool in my opinion although i do like him despite all the negatives i mentioned (if that makes any sense)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Could we have both? That'd be nice. Just give Lyon Balotelli, Borini and Aspas. And 25 million!

    ReplyDelete
  3. They'd have no use for them, and that's not even considering the fact that those 3 probably wouldn't want go there in the first place.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LACAZETTE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR 25m! Why the hell would they sell him for so little? I really do believe if their transfer committee have half a brain they will not sell him for lower than 40m, and that's if they even want to sell him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Get the cheaper one...both good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think you took me a bit too literally.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, uhh... Touché

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wonder if we have our own Lacazette in Sterling? Similar styles but Lac obviously scores more but if I remember rightly his stats before last season were not all that impressive. He is now like 23? Could Sterling up his game to that level over the next two years? It will be interesting to find out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. him and danilo and we good to go next season .....

    ReplyDelete
  10. If he improves his swing, then yeah.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I doubt it ,and Liverpool cannot afford to wait that long ..

    ReplyDelete
  12. Would be 2 great signings, probably need CM and backup GK. As those two would be costly, Khedira and Neto on frees would be ok.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Id break the transfer record for him if needed

    ReplyDelete
  14. hearing that henderson rejected an offer for a new liverpool deal at 80 k per week..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lacazette made a leap from scoring fourteen goals on two seasons from ages 20 to 21. Sterling has twenty in two seasons already having just turned 20. Do we know if Sterling WILL make that quantum leap next year to scoring twenty odd? Can't be sure. Do we know Lacazette will have similar form for a new club in a new league straight away? Can't be sure. Giroud was franchise league top scorer before coming to the prem and I think we are only just seeing the best of him. We don't know how long we will wait with any player. Also i think £25m will be a minimum we would have to pay. £30m plus would be my guess.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Personally I think Sterling is going to fall down the pecking order behind Lallana , Coutinho even Markovic and Ibe

    ReplyDelete
  17. Considering habeas scored more goals than all of them they may have to improve their shooting first.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm pretty sure he was positive about Suarez. His judgment is flawed though.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Integral to the team and less consitent players are on more.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sterling will get at least 100k, so why should Henderson, considering he's the next club captain, accept 80K?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Only just seeing the best of Giroud? He's always been the same. Needs about 10 chances to score. Will get you the goals agains the small teams, usually goes missing in the big games.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I thibk his all round game looks better this season.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I just fear we would spend thirty million or more and he would take a season or two to settle if at all. I would prefer someone who guarentees goals over Sterling but not sure that person exists. Or not in our price range anyway. Sterling could conceivably end this season with fifteen goals. Would a punt on hin bettering that be worthwhile next season?

    ReplyDelete
  24. From a goalscoring perspective however, not really...

    ReplyDelete
  25. First Sterling was a winger, then he was an attacking mid, now he's a striker. All in the space of a year.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hasn't Lacazette had a similar trajectory?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yeah he has a way to go to better his 22 of last season but is well on course to better his 17 of his first.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dont see Liverpool shelling out 30 million plus for a player whose only experience at club level is in Ligue 1 as it sounds to me Aulas is going all out for all he can get.
    The major concern though is if we dont achieve C.L football then he would go elsewhere anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  29. BR out if he doesn't play Ibe ;)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Jaimie , stop randomly deleting posts, there is nothing in there that breaks any rules.

    ReplyDelete
  31. me neither.. from what i hear both henderson and raheem are eager to stay at liverpool but they feel they need to be adequately compensated for their services to the team.. i dont see a lot wrong with that.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Yeah he may have good stats, but stats can be misleading

    ReplyDelete
  33. Remember Ings is also coming in.

    ReplyDelete
  34. No surprise there, Lyon don't want to let go of their top scorer and prize asset. Plus they fancy keeping a hold of him seeing how well they are doing in the French league. That means a possible league trophy and CL football next year. Of course if that all goes wrong then maybe Liverpool will be an attractive option. Anyway, this is just the usual response you'd get from a club president. No, they don't want to sell him. Who would?


    He's having a breakout season and two things could happen: he could be on the path to becoming a brilliant world class striker or he could be already at his peak with no room to improve. Suarez similarly dominated a smaller league before coming to Liverpool. Torres wasn't quite a world beater when he signed, in fact many were not totally convinced he'd live up to the hype. Liverpool paid over 20 million for both of them so I don't see this as much different. The question is simply whether or not Lacazette is the real deal. My guess is that he's on track to become something very special and whatever transfer fee would be required would be well worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Well he gets it on target 57% of the time which is better than Sturridge this season. So while I do think he needs to improve he is still our top scorer from open play, gets it on target more than our best striker not to.mention his assists. I think to suggest he will fall down the pecking order is ignoring the facts. Only time will tell like.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Every season we get 2 or 3 names that catch fire and dominate most supporters thoughts (we never get those players).Alexandre Lacazette is the latest player on top of the Liverpool most wanted charts.
    Marco Reus had the number one spot for most of this season.Sanchez was very popular in the summer until he made his Arsenal intentions clear.There have been countless others.
    I wonder who will take Lacazette off top spot...

    ReplyDelete
  37. Yes but he shoukdnt start hes not good enough. He can do a job as a sub but outher than that he in affective when we signed him for 16million I thourght bargin now I think we could of bourght 3 strikers for 5million each and all 3 would have been better done more and wed still have money in bank I really think he is a pure waste of money and even worse hes wasting a tallent and the gift he was given, he could be such a good player but his arrogance and attitude is all wrong.we should not even waste are time talking about him its so unfair on all the guys who are working there socks off to get in the team while he beleives he has the god given right to be there because he is mario. Haha wake uo sunshine the youth set up are better placed than you as they work hard to learn and earn there place at one of the greatest clubs on the planet

    ReplyDelete
  38. Give the lazey twat away im sure kiddieminster harriers are after a striker to make the numbers up

    ReplyDelete
  39. Longs a better option and cost 4mill less!!! I hopevim wrong and he does better for us but I just see ballo as a mistake that we must sort he overshadows a great squad attitude

    ReplyDelete
  40. Id take john barnes back over ballo I bet hes still better 20 years on

    ReplyDelete
  41. If he wants to go back to italy I will give him a pigy back him there to get rid of him

    ReplyDelete
  42. My digestive system was starting to reject the tirades of Raheem Sterling being greedy.At least we'll be given a new Hendo meal:)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Ibagree he needs to play and he is a great player who works hard for the team but also these kids comming through are so exciting they have also earned there chances in the youth teams so please dont doubt these lads they are our heart and soul for futer years, great conversation though we have a headache who to play marco a expensive quality foreign import or a home grown talkented exciting youth the futer is verry bright

    ReplyDelete
  44. He is? That's news to me... Hardly certain.

    ReplyDelete
  45. And you know that how?

    ReplyDelete
  46. Everyone is expecting a comfortable win.. Remember what happened to stoke!

    ReplyDelete
  47. If you read what Ian Ayre is saying about changing the wage structure at Liverpool to be incentive based with lower wages and more performance driven

    ReplyDelete
  48. Starting 11:

    Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Johnson, Markovic, Coutinho, Henderson, Lallana, Sterling, Sturridge

    ReplyDelete
  49. Right. That's what we'll offer. But there is no guarantee that Raheem will accept it. He's clearly holding out for the best deal possible, but I doubt LFC will give it to him (and rightly so). If he get's his head on straight, he'll sign, but LFC are no longer restricted by his demands. With Sturridge back, the emergence of Ibe, and several young players on the fringe, his value to us has gone down, which mean that if he truly wants a big contract he'll end up not signing and sold for a good price.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I don't have pre-conceived notions about Balotelli, I've got eyes and have been watching him at different clubs since he was 19. Here's a newsflash for you... He's been rubbish, overrated and trouble at all of them. At least you know what you'll get from Shane Long. He may not be as talented as Mario but he'd be a more valuable asset to our squad imo.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Before he fell out with Mancini he scored 30 goals in 50 matches for City. People like to trot out the stat the he only scored 1 in his final 20 after they fell out but he only start 5 of those matches and played wide. His output before that was excellent for a 21-22 years old in a foreign country for the first time. His record for Milan was 34 in 56 matches, and this is the worst Milan squad I can ever remember who he fired into the CL in the first 6 months of his career there. His scoring record for Italy is also impressive considering everything that goes wrong with them is apparently his fault. Shane Long can't lace his boots. He is flawed, he knows that, but he is only 24 and we are expecting him to be the finished article. He is listening to Rodgers or he would not be near the team, and if he ally an intelligent workrate with his undoubted talent we could have a real player on our hands. He hasn't done aanything wrong or got sent off since he got here, and he has knuckled down and not made an issue of not making the squad. I think he knows this is his last chance at a top club, hence the massive pay cut, much like Sturridge did and I just don't understand why people can't get behind him to be honest mate

    ReplyDelete
  52. If you remove set pieces from his stats, they look significantly less impressive.
    Listen, when he got here I was against the signing but I will give every player a chance. Fact of the matter is, my fears were realised. On the pitch he is tactically clueless, totally unpredictable and always giving away silly fouls.
    Off it he is controversial as always. You say he hasn't done anything wrong and while I would agree he's done nothing major, the constant cryptic social media messages after games, where he takes swipes at people but leaves everyone guessing who he means... It's pointless but it keeps his name in the papers even when he hasn't played. I've always felt he's divisive, every manager and club he's been at more or less confirm it and he's done nothing to suggest otherwise in his time with us

    ReplyDelete
  53. Jaimie, You see ,its all your fault with your 4-1 prediction !

    ReplyDelete
  54. I just feel as though he is a squad player at best and 120k is too much for a player of his abilities, regardless of the savings on his transfer fee. If he wasnt available on a free I don't think anyone would advocate us going after him. He is a good player but not a great one.

    ReplyDelete