22 Mar 2012

Manager raves: Exciting £8m Liverpool FC target is playing 'out of his skin'...

Anfield legend Alan Hansen recently described Liverpool target Junior Hoillet as 'absolutely sensational', and over the weekend, the youngster showed again why he is set to be one of this summer's most coveted players. Blackburn manager Steve Kean is understandably worried about losing Hoilet, but he's warned the left-winger that the grass may not necessarily be greener at a bigger club.

Speaking on Match of the Day, last week, Hansen praised Hoilett's 'poise, pace, balance, and technical ability' and insisted that in the summer, he'll be snowed under with offers.

Earlier today, Blackburn manager Steve Kean conceded that lots of teams will be in for Hoilett when his contract expires, but made it clear he wants the youngster to stay at Ewood Park, and warned that bench-duty may await him at a bigger club. He told The Mirror:

"If someone is out of contract and is playing the way he's playing, there's going to be teams interested. We want him to stay here because he's playing out of his skin. Would he play week in week out if he went to another club? I don't know. We hope that we can get ourselves into a position of safety and then make him an offer."

Bayern Munich are reportedly in pole-position to sign Hoillet in the summer, but Liverpool must surely be in with a chance? After all, we're not talking about an international superstar here, and and at the age of 22, Hoilett's development would surely be better served by staying in the Premier League for another few years.

If Hoilett came to Liverpool, would he - as Kean implies - spend most of his time on the bench? If Stewart Downing was still at the club then I suspect the answer would be yes. Downing is clearly one of Kenny's favourites and I doubt he'd relegate him to the bench to accommodate Hoilett.

Having said that, Kenny has given Jordan Henderson plenty of chances this season, and he is a year younger than Hoilett. Additionally, with Dirk Kuyt coming to the end of his Liverpool career, we could see Downing spending more time on the right-wing, which would open up a slot on the left for Hoilett.

I think he would be worth a bid, but not at an extortionate price. Liverpool have been ripped off enough on players over the last year (!)

Jaimie Kanwar


41 comments:

  1. Hoilett will be a free agent in summer and Liverpool will only have to pay compensation to Blackburn. I think he is massively underrated, if he was English then he would already be a superstar. Only thing Hoilett lacks is consistency but no question marks about his quality. I would be delighted if Liverpool can sign him. 
    I don't understand why Bayern would want him when they already have Ribery, Robben and now Shaqiri too.

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  2. Rumours that Robben may leave as his contract runs out in 2013 but I doubt it. Bayern is a top club and financially can afford to spend big on wages. Lahm is the highest earner out of all the full backs around in the world, in a recent article by France Football. Ribery and Schweini also in the top 20 best paid footballers in the world (although Lahm earns more than them two!). 

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  3. It really says something about our pitiful right wing situation when Kuyt is our best option on the right wing along with ageing Gerrard, despite using new £15-20m each signings Hendo and Downing out there.

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  4. Why come to us KD wouldn't play him!

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  5. Sure he would if he is good enough!

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  6. J.Henry would be mad too give Kenny any money or say in any buys this summer!!!!!!!!

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  7. If we aren't offering Hoillett stupid money, due to his virtually free transfer status, then that should be a sackable offence immediately. I thought this was the type of player the board were meant to want? And one who would cost about 900k? It's a no brainer, but we've got so many no brainers wrong lately that I'm certain we won't bid for him.

    If we have any kind of scouting network, the club should already have a list of players that we can get for this kind of deal and be actively pursuing them. But we are notoriously slow in the transfer market. And we wonder why Torres left......

    As the for the grass not being greener, I doubt there are many places that the grass is not greener than Blackburn and their second rate manager. Just don't rate Kean at all, I'm afraid. But then i start to wonder how he would do if he lost Torres and Babel but had 115 million to spend?

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  8. i like this lad!! i aint seen him play properly, only snippets of him on match of the day!! but, he looks the shiz!! he strong, pacey, can pass as well as shoot!! good physical presence!! i know you've mentioned he a left winger, but i think he can play anywhere across a front three!! i know i seen him on the right too!! we need a right winger in my opinion, i like downing, but i think he far more effective on the left, him and enrique, have a good understanding, down that side!! i know his contract almost up, sometimes, it makes me a little cautious, buying a player, who's in such good form, cuz his contracts about to expire!! and he trying to impress!! but, i think cuz he will be cheap, it must be worth the risk!!

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  9. From what I have seen, Downing has been in and out the side as much as anyone. Still not prepared to say he has improved over last 5-6 games JK???
    Im convinced Downing will come good and time will tell!!!

    henderson has been left out lately which should have happened a few weeks back as he still very young and learning at such a big club!!!!

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  10. It's March! It's seven months since the season began. Who cares if he's slightly improved over the last 5-6 games?! The damage is already done. We needed Downing's goals and assists over the last 7 months (the same applies to Carroll, Henderson, Adam, Kuyt, and to some extent, Suarez); now, it's too late.

    Downing is 28 this year; he should've 'come good' already. You don't spend 20m on a 27m player in the hope that he will 'come good' do you?!

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  11. So did we sign him on a 12 month contract or over 4 years???? Some players need kick up the arse, some an arm around them, Downing is renowned for being a confidence player.

    I care if he has improved along with Henderson, Carroll, as I know and buy into our project, some players take time to settle, others not so long!!!
    Expecting too much too soon, had this debate before so cant be arsed with it, I have my expectations, you have yours, I know what i am happy with and view as progress as do you???

    time will tell but be very careful what you wish for JK, as Chelsea are testement to that by not replacing their old players and chopping managers too soon!!!!!!

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  12. Assuming its a 4 year contract, one would expect Downing to perform in year 1, year 2, year 3 and year 4 of his contract as he is, after all, a seasoned Premier League professional, hardly a puppy. 

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  13. all players are totally different and take different times to adapt at bigger clubs!!!!
    The lad is an established England international so surely not as bad as the negative bunch are portraying!!!!

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  14. SWP has 30-odd caps and Micah Richards rarely picked by Capello. I think that says it all really about using international football as some sort of reliable standard here, especially with bloody England, who don't exactly have a great pool of talent to pick from :(
    Of course, different players at different ages take different length of time to settle in but I don't think its harsh either to expect some short term (year 1) positives from a player who is in his late 20s and has been in the PL for ages. 

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  15. Downing was Man of the match in the carling Cup, knock it as an inferior cup but it will still be on our honours board

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  16. Lucky that we were playing Cardiff City, man of the match and he hardly destroyed them, did he? Shame Swansea don't have more confidence players, they wouldn't be breathing down our neck. Bet they can't believe their luck when they see how poor we've been.

    And you mention Chelsea? They are still going for Champions League and, thanks to our capitulation last night, real sign of progress there, we are not. Even though Spurs and Chelsea both failed to win and we were 2-0 up. And those two sides meet at the weekend and we have no interest in the result at all. To be honest, we've had all the luck going this season, no european games to distract us, our competitors shooting themselves in the foot every other week and we still have not been good enough to take advantage. Just an extremely poor show and i doubt those teams will be as generous next season. It's not being 7th that is the problem, it is the fact that we clearly deserve to be where we are and are not showing any signs of doing better when the competition gets stronger next year. By then, teams like Norwich might even be challenging us in the carling cup, so where do we go then?

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  17. We paid 20 million for a 27 year old who is going to take a season to adapt? Clever signing!

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  18. Do you think Newcastle will look to improve next year? Or do you reckon they will wait for us to overtake them? How about Chelsea and Arsenal? Or Tottenham? Will Swansea and Norwich go quietly and not use their new found wealth to strengthen and maybe even try to win a cup next season? Will Stoke not look to improve? We are one summer of more poor signings away from all those clubs overtaking us.

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  19. jamie, can i ask you a question!! being that this year, is really considered as being a transitional year!! where did you think/expect us to finish?

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  20. eh?? we have got two world class players!! we have players the likes of enrique, agger, skyrtl, kelly johnson, god i could go on forever!! none of those teams come close to us!! the only reason we not far in front of them, is because this is what they call a transitional season, where you bring in new players, manager, do you not understand what this means??

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  21. the lad played really well last night!! are you all forgetting his first 5 or 6 games,everyone was really impressed with him, then he struggled for form, he been bk on it for the last 4 games or so!! it can be difficult for a seasoned prem player to saettle in  the team after a move, even more so, when that team itself, has another 3 new signings in it!! all of them, learning a new way to play!! i swear you lot know nothing about proper footy!! is ALL you know is how to quote stats!!

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  22. You do understand that transition takes place outside Liverpool as well, don't you? How many new players do Newcastle have? How did Swansea make the transition into the premier league? Even Arsenal and Chelsea have new players, don't they? Tottenham seem to always be adding players to their squad. And they seem to settle in pretty fast. Chamberlain, Parker, Cahill, Cabaye, how long did these guys take to settle in? And there are a lot more we could mention. Are we the only club who bought new players in? And, even worse, we paid over the odds for them to make sure that the transition period would not be so long. And, guess what, while Henderson flounders, Arsenal have an 18 year old that people are touting for England. Newcastle's new striker looks twice as good as the one that we paid them the money to buy him. Cabaye and Tiote cost less than 10 million between them!

    But i'm starting to worry that it is not the players, it is the coaching, tactics, man management and team selection that is the problem. If that is the case, then it really doesn't matter who we sign.

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  23. We paid the inflated prices that we did for Henderson, Adam, Carroll and Downing because we did not think that they would take as long to adapt, surely? Suarez? He might have needed time, and Enrique, well he was not expensive. But the others? If they needed this much time to bed in, we should have been scouting Europe for cheaper and better alternatives.

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  24. I hope you are in my local when the apocalypse arrives, it will turn out to be a right knees up!! Nothing to worry about, move on!

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  25. All of our Problems stem from Moores accepting an offer from the snake oil salesmen in instead of DIC

    The club nearly went into receivership

    How lucky are we to even have been seriously considering that we could get 4th this year?

    A few of our signings haven't worked out, Downing has been awful but seems to be growing in confidence recently, Carroll seems to be a real "money ball" signing - fast wingers might give him the service he craves.

    Hendo has done alright and is a long term replacement for Gerrard - sometimes doing a job on right mid

    Enrique has been very good, but needs a fast dedicated left winger ahead of him so he can get into more dangerous positions like Evra or Baines

    Adam has become unstuck since Lucas got injured, can he hack it at Liverpool, hopefully

    I have heard murmurings that a rift is developing between Reina, Gerrard etc and Adam, Carroll...... If this is true there could be big changes in the summer

    Let's get realistic - we all probably knew deep down that we were missing a few pieces of the puzzle early on in the season

    We will get there, plenty of very young players to come through over next year or so

    Carling Cup win was excellent, don't anyone say it means nothing - Man City would have loved to win it

    And we've knocked Man Utd out of FA cup on the way to a semi

    Another final, on top of CC win, regardless of league position is an improvement

    The owners, as is their right after saving the club with their hard earned cash, will decide if the financial hit from loss of Champ League revenue for next season really affects things that much

    We have the new jersey maker coming in for mega money, and still have the super Standard Chartered sponsorship

    We are shaping up nicely for FPP rules and for any changes in rules on homegrown talent by filling academy with quality English players

    Cheer up all, we are in a good place

    YNWA!

    (just played 9 a side and we came back from 3-0 down to win 5-3, I set up 4th and scored 5th - maybe explains my more positive usual outlook :)

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  26. I felt we would finish above Spurs and that could have scraped 4th

    Wagered 20 spondooligs on it

    We possibly "should" have done! But league table doesn't lie

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  27. Chi Bai lu, NATO ( No Action Talk Only)

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  28. Swansea team has been in progression for years since Martinez was there, the way they play football and retain the ball any player could walk into their system.

    If you have watched our performances this season you would have to accept we have deserved better than we have got!!! we have won 1st trophy in years, maybe a 2nd, next season we can forget the cups as our 6 year wait is over and focus on Champions league qualification.

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  29. I will bet any money wahtsoever we will progress further unless wew chop and change managers.

    Money Chelsea have spent in past 10 years and are CHASING 4thth, don't make me laugh. trouble is with some of you lot is Benitez gave it you too good, Champ League every year, Quarter Finals, Semis; Finals, Winners and even that werent enough fore some morons as he like everyone made a few mistakes and we finished 7th!? Even fergie has to rebuild teams and accept it takes a season or two!!!!!

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  30. you thought that we would finish top four?? and above Spurs?? can i ask , how did you come up with this?? seeing as one, spurs have one of the best teams/ squads in the prem?? a excellent manager, who has been there a few years, pushing his ideas on the team!! like i said, this being a transitional season, it seems a little stupid/ unrealistic, that we would finish above an etablished top team??

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  31. henderson young, at his age gerrad was a full english cap, ronaldo, messi were winning titles, micheal own was scoring goals for fun....need  i go on, why does everybody treat him as if he has just come out of his dippers very expensive pampers ad if you ask me, maybe we should ask them to sponsor him, what u reckon...joke

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  32. your argument dont hold up!! you can't compare, a new one, or two new players, already coming into an established team!! we have about 4 or 5 new players, tryin to bed in, into a team, which is not establisshed, a newish manager, different tactics, different style of playing!! and, when you look how we are playing, even tho we have struggled to get the results, i can see that we playing really positive, attractive football!! which, doesn't just happen overnight!!

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  33. when was the last time your english team won anything. wake up mate.

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  34. yeh he is good angainst teams like cardiff cos thats about his standard.

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  35. Got higher standards for my club than what Downing has put in, in a Liverpool shirt as well as generally in his PL career.

    Your stat jibe is just so typically stupid of you, that there is no point me countering that as the idiocy of your jibe does it all for me.

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  36. You should look at other football more often, Newcastle have introduced 4 players into their team. So what's your point? Ba, Cisse, Cabaye, Santon, Ben Arfa. Is that enough new players for you?

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  37. Well Arsenal are managing, after losing three of their best players, so why are you making out it is so impossible?

    You have low esteem issues if you think that we cannot finish ahead of Spurs and call them an 'established team'.

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  38. When Swansea beat us, at their place, and go onto the same points as us, I hope some of the people saying we are progressing start to realise what they have been saying!

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  39. Still believe that, after Wigan? Are our players too tired to beat Wigan at home?

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