15 Jun 2015

Done Deal: Liverpool reach 'agreement' over €9m attacker once described as 'part-Messi'

It's official: Celta Vigo have agreed a deal to re-sign Liverpool flop Iago Aspas, who cost the Reds €9m back in 2013.

Over the weekend, Sevilla posted the following statement on the their website:

"FC Sevilla and Celta de Vigo have reached an agreement for the transfer of Iago Aspas after Sevilla FC had acquired his rights on permanent basis from Liverpool"

This is absolutely no surprise as Aspas confirmed his exit in May, when he told ESPN:

"I am a Sevilla player for next season. It is an open secret that everyone knew. The transfer [fee] is to be paid this summer. I came here on a loan deal with an obligatory option to buy. I am going to stay here for some years at Sevilla".

Basically, it's Fabio Borini all over again.

* Like Borini, Aspas is ostensibly a striker, who is most effective playing high up the field in a more central role.

* Prior to joining Liverpool, Borini proved that if you play him as a striker, he will score goals (6 goals in 9 games for Swansea during his loan spell)

* In his first season at LFC, Rodgers constantly played Borini out of position, which predictably led to ineffective performances.

* When Borini didn't perform whilst playing out of position, he became a bit-part player for the club.

* Borini then left Liverpool on loan, and like Aspas, did comparatively well for his adopted club.

Aspas' has followed the exact same trajectory at Liverpool, but unlike Borini, the Spaniard was desperate to leave, and who can blame him?

As I argued at the time of Aspas's signing - and continue to argue to this day - Brendan Rodgers erred in signing an older, experienced striker as back-up for Suarez and Sturridge.

Aspas (by his own admission) expected to play regularly, and when that didn't happen, he (understandably) became frustrated and demotivated.

Liverpool should've signed a young, hungry, inexperienced striker in the 18-21 range; someone happy to play a reduced role, whilst learning from Suarez and Sturridge throughout the season.



If Rodgers had gone that route, Liverpool would (probably) have a developing asset on its hands right now, rather than yet another transfer failure.

Perhaps Rodgers was hoodwinked by the comments of Paco Herrara - Apas's former manager at Celta Vigo (and Rafa Benitez's former assistant at Anfield) - who made the following claim weeks before Liverpool completed the deal:

“Iago is our benchmark. He is part Messi, part monster. He is our star player in his own right, but there are sometimes small things that can affect Iago as a person and a player. But for us, he is like Messi for Barcelona.”

If Aspas is 'like Messi', then Herrera must be referring to a non-footballing part of Messi's body, and as far as I can see, the only similarity is their hair. Oh, and their arms appear to be of similar length.

To be fair, Aspas did okay in Spain (12 goals/assists in 25 games), but even after his decent form for Sevilla, the Reds will still end up making a financial loss on a player who is in the prime of his career.

All's well that ends well, but I still can't comprehend why Rodgers signed Aspas and Luis Alberto. For some inexplicable reason, he decided that £16m on those two was a better deal than £11m on Christian Eriksen.

That just about sums up Liverpool's disastrous transfer performance during Rodgers' reign.

Author: Jaimie K


76 comments:

  1. We waste money like no other club, its not just BR. Rafa, Kenny, Woy and Houllier all squandered millions. But at least all the past managers gave their signings a chance to succeed in there natural positions before writing them off. I really can't understand the thinking of the transfer committee, we pass on the likes of Eriksen who was young, cheap, experienced in the champions league and available, instead signing a player who had been playing for Barca b on loan for ridiculous money and a striker who'd just had an average season for a team who got relegated. Paying more than Spurs paid for Eriksen. BR really is under pressure now, whatever signings he makes during the summer have to hit he ground running and the team perform otherwise I can see BR being sacked before Christmas.

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  2. In all honesty, Aspas and Borini never got the chances to establish themselves. If I am not mistaken, Aspas only played the games when Luis was banned and never started a game after that and Borini has only started 15 games in 3 seasons for the club. That is nowhere near enough time to prove yourself and Luis Alberto has got even lesser time. It is just one of the many enigmas in this Liverpool regime.

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  3. Come on Jaimie, he said ''for us''..

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  4. We should discuss more about our transfer success. Oh wait...

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  5. Yes, wait- the window is not open yet..

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  6. So yes part time Messi

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  7. Matthew Metzgar6:08 pm, June 15, 2015

    Which part?

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  8. the unskill full part

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  9. they had a few chances but where rubbish sid

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  10. Hendo was absolute dogsh*t in his first season for Liverpool and he played almost all the games. When you sign players, at least give them a season to prove themselves and these guys did not get any.

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  11. I think the 'part-Messi' that Liverpool got was his stature.

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  12. What an imperial waste of my British Pounds! He should have been sacked based on that alone! I mean Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto... This is a Swansea would buy, even they sign better players than us.

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  13. How much did we get for him...? Probably not enough to cover wages and fee, but hey ho... all in the name of moving the club forward and developing a sustainable business model.... See Sterling made the European U21's team of the season..... Did they see him play at all... Another name in there that interests me is Johannes Geis... Absolute must for LFC... How badly do we need a DM?

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  14. Celta Vigo didn't get relegated, Aspas kept them up, and they had a great season tis year....But I agree, we burn through money like no ones business and claim we do it to turn the club round.... Totally mental.... Somebody should explain the spend money to make money idea better....

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  15. Both Speak Spanish as a first language....

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  16. they Both Speak Spanish as a first language....

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  17. Yep, and they get better players for free aswell... Andre Ayew has just agreed to sign for them on a free.... And we get linked to his kid brother.... Wrong one again.

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  18. Well like some have said next season will be make or break for BR. I see Klopp coming out of his sabbatical around Xmas and hopefully we'll have a bearded bloke in specs staying for Xmas. Not Santa! If this window doesn't bring the required quality, I think the majority of fans will turn on him, especially if he keeps up with the : Outstanding, he was superb etcetera

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  19. It's amazing how frustrating and demotivating being a liverpool supporter is right now. Honestly I dont get why we just dont fire Rodgers. Why keep him? What has the 3 seasons prior done to justify keeping him? I thought Benitez was bad with transfers with the likes of Kyriakos and all but Rodgers takes the cake. Aspas a flop. Borini flop. Allen flop. Markovic flop. Sakho given price tag flop so far. Lambert flop. Balotelli flop ( although i still feel with the right manager coming in he can come good).

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  20. To be honest with a good manager I think those players would not be flops.

    Aspas, Borini are strikers yet rarely ever play as strikers. Markovic is not and will never be a wing back.

    Sakho is not a flop, not sure why you have even mentioned him.

    Allen is not a bad player, he was just never worth what we paid for him and suffered from the usual hype BR placed on him.

    Balo again is not being played to his strengths.

    Very few players that have been purchased are bad players, its just that they have not been utilized correctly and their confidence must of been destroyed.

    I have said a number of times would a better manager get better results with the same squad of players and so far everybody has said they believe they would have.

    The players are not the problem. How they are being utilized is.

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  21. There is only one answer. Sack Buck, he never was, and never will be upto the job.

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  22. Best transfer so far this summer

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  23. Hodgson wasted money??? What money?? The only player Hodgson spent some money on was Meireles and he remains one of our best transfers in the last six years

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  24. I also feel a lot of our injuries are not helped with being played out of position ,at the highest level just having your body at the wrong angle in a tackle can lkead to injuries and we have ha left footed players on the right midfielder in defence etc etc

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  25. Agreed 100%.


    While I want Rodgers to do well (because that means the club is doing well), if this regime (Rodgers & Transfer Committee) doesn't get it right this summer, Klopp will be waiting in the wings.


    It's not often that a club can fire a manager mid-season and improve. This would be such a rare exception.

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  26. I don't need to see a 3 legged horse run to realise it won't win the grand nash

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  27. You won't believe how happy I am. Absolutely outstanding!

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  28. I never understand why people put sakho in the group, he is actually probably or best defender when playing. To many injuries though.

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  29. The question is when is this shite going to stop?

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  30. Guys Rogers has been the most rubbish manager when It comes to transfers .which liverpool manager in our history has been given over £200 million in 2 years .As pas. Borini. Alberto.toure.macovic.the Welsh guy.the left back from valencia. The defender from soto. The right back .The striker from soto. Baloteli. Origi. The defender from.portugal. ....how the hell do u expect to get the best out of Steve. G.....sterling is leaving cos he knows he will win nothing with this squad and so did SG.

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  31. Not Sakho. I'm sure I'll read on and lots will say the same as me(hopeful).
    Our defenders are asked to play by BR not defend. He hasn't a clue how to set the defence up and despite this Sakho has shown himself to be a good defender with the right mental toughness required.

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  32. Does anyone know how much we got for him?

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  33. How many times do we have to tell the football world B.R fantasises of being a great manager?Not enough.His hopeless.

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  34. Inter fans must have thought the same when laughing Coutinho through the door, what a flop,.. everyone said he had potential

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  35. Liverpool are now following this policy, spend 10's of millions on mediocre players see if it works if it doesn't treat them like dogs. By doing this liverpools so called bringing in potential policy is hurt badly because young players need assurance that they will be given time to settle. If a young players looks at how liverpool handled aspas. They wouldn't want to join liverpool. Because we look like a mercenary like Chelsea but with no real Ambitions

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  36. BR is a lost cause. Just sack him whenever LFC is able to convince Klopp to take over. Initially, I thought BR is an up over KD and KD was an upgrade over Roy Hodgson and it turned out well the other way round.

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  37. Poulsen cost like 5 million. Not even. And he had to buy him because GNH sold Mascherano.

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  38. Deadwood leaving at last. Johnson, Coates, Aspas, Jones. BALO, borini, Enrique, Lambert and hopefully Allen. I assume FSG is insisting on nuking our stupid mistakes as part of funding improvements. Is Alberto still LFC property, anyone?
    Now if could only land 2-3 real skilled, energetic, fast footed, clinical attackers to surround Coutinho and Sturridge if he ever heals. I assume Sterling is a goner since some much I'll will surrounds him now, there is very little chance to salvage things. it's too bad though because for a little guy, he throws his weight around. For us, he just needs decent offensive partners so the other team can't focus on him and Couts. The rest of the team can't score so these two will only take a beating until that's fixed.
    By the way, how can DeGea really be signed for 12-13 m? If that's the price, why not offer 15 and fix our goalie situation instead of a Bolton backup. Have Migs be our backup.....enough with the dream. I'll take 2-3 real strikers/accomplished attackers and a DM like Schneiderlin or Lars Bender. Hello Klopp, are U there?

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  39. If Aspas scored 12 goals for us he would be our top scorer for the year

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  40. To bring Klopp? Where was his Borussia this year?

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  41. How can be someone hopeless when being second in a league?

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  42. So, it's not Rodgers. It's squad which is not good. You said it yourself.

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  43. Are trying to compare the both or what? Your questions do embarrass you

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  44. original-gideon9:51 am, June 16, 2015

    Rafa was villified for his transfers. Yet, for the most part thought he did reasonably well in the market. Reina Aurelio Agger Skrtel Arbeloa Alonso Masch Gerrard Torres Benayoun and Riera were a vastly superior team to the one we have now and only Gerrard was a homegrown. That doesn't mention the others who were decent players who could come off the bench. The only real world class transfers BR has made ones a permanent crock and the other ones still unfinished. Surrey was tracked by Hodgson and bought by Kenny.

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  45. That means the people who write against Sakho don't know facts and are not knowledged.

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  46. I'm just asking you where was his Borusia this year? Simple question.

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  47. Next up, we sell Ilori back to Sporting for 4 million and Luis Alberto back to Sevilla for 3.

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  48. It's quite simple really - Brendan is out of his depth at Liverpool.

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  49. That's why Rafa compared to BR was a Don. To be honest Rafael also had his duds & wasn't the best man-manager.

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  50. surely most of these players. like Aspas, Alberto, Balo, Llori, Sakho, maybe even Marko, where bought by the transfer committee.
    I am not defending Rodgers for playing people out of position etc and also some of his players are not that great, but who is running the transfer commitee, some bloody gobshite director from FSG.
    They are buying players and expecting Rodgers to make them into world beaters, neither Klopp or anyone else could do that.
    I think if we actually find out what is going on at Anfield then Rodgers may not get so much of the blame, its not like he is going to come out into the press and say I didnt want him or him etc.
    Anyway the bloody transfer window has not even opened yet and people are already blaming Rodgers and saying that LFC's season is over before its started.
    Rodgers doesnt negotiate for players and IMO he has virtually no say.
    .
    Some supporters want to try supporting LFC and not constantly following the tabloid press who are trying to make us look stupid constantly, by linking us with everyone and then when another club especially united get a player, they have somehow bought an LFC target.
    Also just because a player or manager is not British doesnt make them automatically a superstar. Look at the long list of foreign players that have gone through Anfield, In the same way not all British players are crap. God knows what some of you would have said about the signing of, Clemence, Rush, Highway, Whelan, Hansen, Yates, St John, Nicol, Grobbelar, Keegan. Souness, Emlyn Hughes.!!!!!

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  51. agents make money from strange transfers and who else....

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  52. agents making money and some unknown 3 rd parties

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  53. Anrde Ayew> Ings
    all f @kin day

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  54. Stupid headline. No wonder i don't bother clicking on this site anymore. All this site do is report B.S
    Who gives a toss about Aspas.

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  55. 4eva LFC, LFC 4eva12:21 pm, June 16, 2015

    Well said sid, funny how the British talent that we have seem to keep getting starts even when they seem unlikely to hit the side of a barn when shootung or passing.

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  56. Suarez anybody?

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  57. Congratulation on the top gear job anyway

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  58. So 5 million wasted then.

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  59. Christ, are you STILL peddling that rubbish?
    we scored 70 goals that season WITHOUT Suarez' 31 goals.
    Did he assist all 70 and decide tactics too?
    Blame the manager for the bad years and credit the player for the good year
    Why was the manager suddenly not responsible for 13/14, if he was responsible for 12/13 and 14/15?
    Because he had a great player?
    News flash- the other teams also had world class players, some had several , We had ONE.

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  60. Larry, Aspas had TWO league goals last season.

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  61. Sorry was following the article info

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  62. For the first three years, yes. For the last 3, a disaster
    Riera? useless. Aurelio more of a sicknote than Sturridge ever was, All the others were pre 2008

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  63. Yeah JK likes to do that.
    Aspas scored 4 or was it 5 in some cup game against some minnows.
    In La Liga it was 2 goals in 10 for a 1 in 5 ratio
    What a missed opportunity.

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  64. The fans who want to see his fee used to help get some good players.
    If you don't like the site, don't use it..

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  65. What are you on about? You make it sound like I'm wrong about Aspas' goal tally, which I'm not. He got 12 goals overall last season; why should I single out just league goals?

    And Larry is almost right: if Aspas got 12 goals, he would've been 2nd top scorer behind Gerrard.

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  66. The article info is correct: Aspas got 12 goals last season.

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  67. Aspas' big cup goal tally, earned mainly in a single one sided game skewed his figures especially when assessing his likely PL strike rate using his overall goals to game ratio
    I've seen you singling out Sterling's PL figures to make your point , even taking a sample of his last x no of games so don't act as if that's not a reasonable assessment .
    My figures are also correct; they just don't paint quite the same picture as yours

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  68. My post is also correct:
    Aspas scored 2 goals last season in La Liga

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  69. Yes, but you made it sound like 12 goals was incorrect.

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  70. No, that's your interpretation
    I was simply pointing out that a closer look at the figures in more detail shows a more accurate (imo) indication of Aspas' goalscoring ability (or lack thereof)

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  71. You think 5 million is a lot of money for a DM? The difference is, Hodgson got no money to spend from G&H and had to get what he could get. 5 million for Poulsen was a fair price. As was 5 million for Konchesky. He is the only manager in the last two decades (at least) who spent less than he sold.

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  72. Riera in the 08-09 season was a great player and gave much needed balance to the team. His attitude let him down. Pre 08 or not it's irrelevant. My point was Rafas team is vastly superior. Would you swap today's team for Rafas?

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  73. I would swap the 13/14 team for 08/09 yes.
    08/9 had better players. But 13/14 played better football
    More exciting
    Rafa showed that his ability in transfer choices had deserted him after 3 of his 6 years here.
    That's relevant.

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  74. The guy was a disaster and only started 10 games, yes he only cost 5 million but that doesn't matter because he wasn't a success. So that £5m was wasted.

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  75. Yes. Basically that is exactly the same as spending 35 million on Carrol.

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