17 May 2015

LFC 'wanted me': €19m attacker who 'dreams' of Anfield confirms Liverpool transfer attempt in 2014

Liverpool have lost on some major signings over the last two years, with FC Dnipro attacker Yehven Konoplyanka one of a long line of high profile transfer fails. Konoplyanka recently revealed that he's leaving Dnipro this summer, and on Saturday, he reiterated once again that the Reds tried to sign him during the January 2014 transfer window.

Speaking to Ukrainian newspaper Sportske Novosti last night, Konoplyanka mused:

"I am sorry I didn't join Liverpool when they wanted me, but this Europa League final will help me get over that!"

Liverpool were heavily linked with the Ukrainian attacker throughout 2014:

Feb 2014: FC Dnipro owner Andriy Ruso blamed Liverpool for failing to tie-up a proposed €19m deal, but suggested that a deal could be done in the summer:

"I am a thousand per cent sure that Liverpool will try again in the summer and then we'll let him go. If Liverpool report to us, Yevhen will still go to this club."

Apr 2014: Konplyanka confirmed that he almost joined the Reds, and seemed very enthusiastic about the club. He told reporters:

"I talked to Brendan, and talked about the move, but the transfer didn't go through. Liverpool is one of my dreams. I support them, and will keep on supporting them".

Last season, Brendan Rodgers reportedly sent three 'trusted' scouts to watch Konoplyanka in Dnipro's Europa League home victory against Spurs, and after watching that game, Red legend John Aldridge tweeted:

"We really missed out on Konoplyanka. Top player!"

Reds hero Mark Lawrenson doesn't appear to share Aldo's enthusiasm, though, and in a column last season for The Mirror, he observed:

"Even if Brendan had brought in winger Yevhen Konoplyanka from Dnipro, I don’t think he would have got into the side ahead of [Raheem] Sterling, who has improved beyond recognition"

I totally disagree with this. Konoplyanka (arguably) would've provided intense competition for Sterling, who has failed to make a consistent impact this season, especially in the final third, where he's contributed one measly goal in the last 15 games.

Konoplyanka is older, more experienced, and far more consistent than Sterling, and averages one goal/assist every two games for the last three seasons.

Additionally, the Ukrainian would've been a significant better - and cheaper - option than Lazar Markovic, who has made zero impact at Anfield this season.

Liverpool were last linked with Konoplyanka in January, with the Daily Express claiming:

"Yevhen Konoplyanka has turned down a move to Roma in order to join either Liverpool or Tottenham this summer".



At the time of the report, Konoplyanka confirmed that he 'refused' Roma, and reiterated his desire to play in the Premier League:

"Last time with Liverpool was different. I wanted to go there but the clubs could not agree terms. My goal as a child was to play in England. The leagues are stronger and I still want to try my hand there."

Soon after, Konoplyanka told reporters:

"I want to leave. I would like to play for a top club, but have been unable to reach agreement with the president."

Should Liverpool go back in for Konoplyanka this summer?

Author: Jaimie K


57 comments:

  1. Absolutely, sign the man!

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  2. Not only Is he free but he also supports the club, Bolasie shouldn't even be considered.

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  3. voice of reason8:20 pm, May 17, 2015

    and suarez wins the league with Barca while we stay marooned outside of the CL spots due to a poor use of the Suarez funds.... what possible excuses do u have BR??? u cant deceive us no longer with the demise of this LFC team a creation of your poor managing efforts... he had all of us fooled but no longer I hope everyone else sees BR for what i see him to..... BR OUT!!!

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  4. Definitely. And Kono is hardly just a winger anyway. He's more than capable of playing central if we need him too.


    We really only have Marko and Ibe as true wingers. Having a senior option in Konoplyanka would be good business. On a free, why not?

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  5. Everyone goes on about kono but how many of you have actually seen him play to rate him as highly as you do ?

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  6. Well, most of us actually watch football outside of the EPL, so yeah, we've seen him.


    Not to mention he played in Europe this season, so he's gotten great exposure vs. big teams that even casual fans would watch.

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  7. Give palace 10 million plus lambert for bolasie he's a quality player he's got everything other than finishing lol

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  8. Yeah I'm sure a lot of Liverpool fans watch Ukrainian football it's me second favourite league after the Chinese league

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  9. voice of reason9:02 pm, May 17, 2015

    mine too

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  10. Sterling would've been much better had Konopljanka signed. Still not too late to sign him, but not sure same can be said about the little mercenary..

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  11. National team and Europe. Plus when you are betting and their game is on TV, why not.. Watched him, he is good..

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  12. Ya, Wu Lei over Kono all day long.

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  13. It's Wu Lai you ignoramus...

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  14. Can we please, please just sign this fellow?

    And Lawro must have been watching the radio commentary to come up with that inane opinion.

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  15. Seen him plenty of times bud, long before he was linked to Liverpool. He's the business.

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  16. Liverpool should sign Konoplyanka. He is more efficient than Sterling in the final third which is LFC'S bane.

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  17. Anybody thinks this is great piece of business on behalf of Liverpool? This is what I read from all these reports-


    We persuaded him we are the club for him.
    We offered a fair price for the player.
    They refused the offer.
    We said we won't be ripped off.
    We got the player for free.


    If he comes, that's some great news..

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  18. It's not even worth discussing (Lawro).

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  19. Ibe, Lallana, Markovic. We need a winger even if Sterling stays. Positions you mention are in greater need for sure, but that is excatly why a free lancer is the way to go.

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  20. The available wingers right now are not producing results, so we need replacements. We need a prolific wide man like the Ukrainian-messi and then a central striker plus 2 defenders. Kono is better than Sterling for now.

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  21. Great for next season, but we could've done with the extra bit of class to win the league last season.

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  22. Yes, but I like the logic behind the move..

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  23. Sounds good but if they had got it right last summer, the way the league went, we would of easily made CL. Definitely good business tho.

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  24. It's definitely good from a transfer fee point of view, yes.

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  25. Had Lallana played few more games and had Sterling been just a bit better(not to mention Daniel) we would've been in CL now. Can't blame Rodgers for gambling on getting him for free..

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  26. voice of reason9:34 pm, May 17, 2015

    he is i wanted him so badly in the january window

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  27. He might get sent off

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  28. Nope.. staring at both your and my post and not getting it..

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  29. Only blaming him and this illusive TC for doing a complete spurs with the suarez money.

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  30. Much has been saaid on that matter.. The point is I think Lallana and Can will have a terrific career here, and possibly Markovic. This season was supposed to be top4 and I would say great, but hopefully it will work out anyway..

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  31. Didn't know ant so Googled and got Wu Lei footballer and Wu Lae Mortal Kombat - Nothing for Wu Lai though ;-)

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  32. Bit left field, this one: Red Cliff. Great war film set in ancient China. Otherwise last year's Exodus (with Moses and Ramses) is quite nice.

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  33. Free, loves LFC, quality, creative and won't see Liverpool as a atepping stone. Perfect if you ask me. I'd love him. Maybe also give Sterling a kick up the backside if he stays, also more saved funds for a striker or a DM.

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  34. Always sitting down10:47 pm, May 17, 2015

    At the time, it was a fairstatement from Lawro, for a change, but only now and with hindsight can we say he could and probably would displace Sterling.... Reading between the lines, I think we could still get Konoplyanka...

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  35. Always sitting down10:49 pm, May 17, 2015

    Question is, will they be desperate to buy?

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  36. Always sitting down10:52 pm, May 17, 2015

    I agree, we have no wing play in the traditional sense, all our wide players insist on cutting in and reducing our options, that, and non of them can cross a ball to save their lives... Sterling against Palace was diabolical.

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  37. Konoplyanka does look a quality player and if he is on a free then it's a no brainer. We will still need at least 2 strikers, 2 fullbacks and 1 if not 2 central midfielders a long with a central defender (unless Lovren remembers how to defend ).


    Would love Lacazette & Vietto but heard rumours of Jovetic for £12m which may not be a bad shout and appeals more than Ings. Montoya at RB for £7.2m and Illarramendi for £12m again sounds good business. If Illoris can come back he must be an upgrade on Toure.


    Carvalho would be my choice for defensive midfield although again would be good to see if Can can actually make a stake for midfield position next season.

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  38. Can has a long way to go to convince me in midfield, watched him closely against Palace and saw lots of surging runs withg no end pass/ product. criminal lack of recovery pace too but good composure and a big heart.


    Happy with your list if it came true though. Illaramendi would be a bargain as would Montoya, but we REALLY need that top striker in place. Lacazette? Perfect, but unlikely. Son would be a good alternative.

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  39. This summer Owners need to ship out I Ayre, The abysmal, comical and diabolical transfer committee and Mr Excuses.com and Yes Man Rodgers.
    Whilst J Klopp should be brought to club and given three year deal, owners need to change the philosophy for at least three seasons.
    And over next three Transfer windows manager should £200M Net to spend:
    This summer: The New manager hopefully, should be given £70-£80M Net spend and whatever else he can bring in selling these players below should be allowed to spend on players:
    13 players need to be shipped out this summer: May bring in £35-£50M

    GK: B Jones CB: S Coates CB: K Toure

    RB: A Wisdom RB: G Johnson LB: J Enrique
    CM: J Clue/Useless Allen AM: L Alberto AM: J C Teixeira
    FD: F Borini FD: I Aspas FD: R Lambert
    FD: M Balotelli
    They should be replaced by these 10 class players this summer:
    GK CB RB LB DM WCM CM RW / LW FD FD
    GK: A Begovic Of Stoke for £7-£10M to compete with S Mignolet
    CB: T Alderwierld Of A Madrid Or S Kjaer Of Lille for £9-£12M to compete with M Skrtel
    RB: M Montoya Of Barcelona for £5-£8M to compete with Manquillo and Flannagan
    LB: J Obita Of Reading Or M Olsson Of Norwich for £4-£6M to compete with A Moreno ( a Left back who can defend and show Moreno how to defend first and foremost)
    DM: Lars Bender Of Bayer Leverkusen Or M Schneiderlin Of Southampton for £18-£25M to compete with L Leiva
    WCM: Y Cabaye OR M Verratti OF PSG Or T Alacantara Of Bayern Munich for £10-£36M to compete with Henderson
    CM: R Nainggolan Of Roma for £15-£24M to compete with E Can
    RW / LW: Y Bolaise Of Crystal Palace, S Mane Of Southampton or J Montero Of Swansea should be brought for £10-£15M to compete with R Sterling
    FD: C Benteke Of A Villa for £20-£25M plus R Lambert going the other way to compete with D Origi
    FD: P Aubamayeng Of B Dortmund Or L Vietto Of Villareal for £10-£16M to compete with D Sturridge
    Those ten players would transform our whole squad from top 5-8 side, to a top 1-3 side
    Our Main Rivals : Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Man United
    Their key areas they are better than us : GK Defence Centre Mid FD
    Ospina, Courtois, Hart and De Gea are all much better than S Mignolet
    Defence: Our centre backs are as good as the teams in front ( Lovren, Sakho and Skrtel are awesome but do not have the protection they need in front of them and our full backs have been diabolical all season
    Our Full backs are not as solid defensively as our rivals full backs:
    Bellerin/ Debuchy and Gibbs/ Monreal, Ivanovic and Azpilicueta, Zabaleta/ Sagna and Kolarov/Clichy and lastly Valencia/ Raphael and Rojo / Shaw
    Have been solid consistently more than Manquillo/Markovic/IBE/ Sterling and Moreno/Johnson
    Midfield: Centre Midfield:
    Arteta, Cazorla, Coquelin, Diaby, Oxlaide - Chamberlain, Ramsey, Rosicky and Wiltshire
    Fabregas, Matic, Obi Mikel, Oscar and Ramires
    Yaya, Fernandinho, Fernando, Silva and Nasri
    Carrick, Blind, Herrera, Mata and Fellaini
    Are better than Allen, Can, Henderson, Coutinho and Lallana our last two players onthe list have the class and quality to play for teams aboves midfield. ( But Allen is poor, Can and Henderson are Average)
    Out wide: in Ibe and Sterling we have two top class quality wingers who will only get better and are close to the class and quality of our rivals wingers
    Up Front Up Top: Our Rivals have many Top Class and Quality choices:
    Giroud, Walcott, Wellbeck and Sanchez
    Costa, Drogba and Remy
    Aguero, Bony, Dzeko and Jovetic
    Falcao, Rooney and Van Persie,
    All our Rivals forward line is three times better than ours:
    Balotelli, Borini, Lambert and D Sturridge. ( Only Sturridge guarantees the club goals , but he is injury prone and not reliable to last whole season, he will be out injured at some time every season )

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  40. Those signings + milner on a free and they could could play the 442 diamond like last year. Pick up Konoplyanko on a free also and there would be a relatively experienced quality player at every position no matter the formation. And plenty of quality young players to come off the bench.

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  41. Milner on a free and Konoplyanka looks like good business to me but the hard part is going to be selling our deadwood at good prices and getting a top striker.

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  42. He is awesome in skills like suarez sure I prefer lfc do everything possible to buy the best in the world

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  43. For sure we need Kono, however les not underrate Bolasie he's been a thorn in our defense to two seasons. For Rogers he has till December that high pressing system was King Kenny's.

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  44. 4eva LFC, LFC 4eva1:53 pm, May 18, 2015

    Forget getting Klopp and any players from Southampton just bring in Koeman and give him whatever money we have. He is a fantastic manager who will not only attract marquee signings but will buy the right players to play in europe.

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  45. Losing 3-1 to Palace at Anfield... The most important signing this summer is a new manager!

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  46. Mike Aitcheson5:10 pm, May 18, 2015

    Then we'll switch our console off.

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  47. Mike Aitcheson5:25 pm, May 18, 2015

    Koeman needs to repeat the trick before being acclaimed the Messiah




    Plenty of managers have overachieved massively for one season. Big Sam. Curbishley. Moyes. Rodgers.


    Let's see what happens next season..

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  48. I have 2 big regrets about Kono. Maybe he (or Salah) was a missing link in Jan 2014 to win the league last year. In the summer 2014 are arrogant manager told it's bigger market and he bought Markovic. Kono and Ayew both Liverpool fans are free in the summer and proven players. But our manager and some fans thinks we have better wingers and attackers in Sterling, Ibe, etc.

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  49. Exactly, sometimes i have a feeling Rodgers is affraid to substitute Sterling.

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  50. This made me chuckle

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  51. It would be negligent NOT to sign Konoplyanka...My two pennies worth.

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  52. Good comments re Can, feel his stamina will improve if he plays in midfield more often and he is still young so again will improve.


    Totally agree that Lacazette unlikely. Question is do we feel either Benteke or Jovetic who is being mentioned are good enough, if not who out there who is good enough and would come to Liverpool.

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  53. So since how many world class players has Van Gaal brought to United in 1 transfer window?


    How Many world class players has Mourinho brought to chelsea since he came back?


    Thing is whilst the teams ahead of us are always bringing in top class talent, we keep bringing in complete upper garbage players whilst we have too many average dead wood players on clubs books.


    Any side that loses to teams like Hull, A Villa, Crystal Palace twice, Newcastle , Basel and West Ham during seasons do not deserve to play Champions League football.


    Losing to likes Of Arsenal, Chelsea twice, Man United Twice and City once is bad if we want to challenge for title but acceptable as they have much better squads than us.


    But the other teams we have lost to that mentioned above is shocking


    And like J Redknapp said after crystal palace game, there palace players were probably thinking i could get in that Liverpool side and club need huge re build.

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  54. I agree with all of that. Kono or Salah would've added a lot to our title challenge. Not sure what the Konoplyanka issue was last summer, but it's surprising we didn't go for him. Hopefully we get he and Ayew this year.

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