12 Dec 2015

Smackdown: 51% of Liverpool fans reject Klopp's plan to sign 'extraordinary' £25m playmaker

Liverpool are currently linked with a January move for £25m-rated Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, but what do Reds fans think about the possibility of signing such an injury-prone player?

In November, Tutto Sport claimed that Gundogan is 'keen' to sign for Liverpool, and when asked last week about the LFC rumours, Gundogan told Sportbild:

"There are no new developments as of yet. Liverpool have a good team, and a great coach. I want to deal with [my future] in a respectful way and will sit down with Dortmund and make a decision".

Gundogan is a long-term target for Liverpool, and with Klopp at the helm, it'll make it easier to seal the deal.

However, this potential deal is arguably a mistake, for one simple reason: Gundogan is as injury prone as Daniel Sturridge.

* 13 separate injuries since the 2010-11 season.

* 501 days (16.7 months) on the sidelines.

* 108 games missed in that time.

* Recently spent a year out with a spinal injury.

To be fair, Gundogan - hailed by Klopp as an 'extraordinary player' - has made 25 appearances so far this season (7 goals/assists/averaging 80 minutes a game), and his fitness appears to be holding up.

However, like Sturridge, the German's history suggests that injury is inevitable. With that in mind, I conduced a poll on the site asking fans if Liverpool should sign Gundogan. The results:



In my view, irrespective of talent/potential, Liverpool should avoid any player with a significant injury history. It's just not worth it, and the club is already crawling with perpetual sicknotes.

That includes Dortmund players like Submotic, Hummels, Reus, and Gundogan. Klopp rinsed this quartet with his intense pressing approach, and, if their bodies couldn't hold up BVB, I don't see how they'll all suddenly become robust and injury-free at Anfield.

Author: Jaimie K


0 Comments:

Post a Comment