19 Apr 2012

LFC 'negotiating' deal for Bilbao striker with *Five* hat-tricks this season...

Liverpool FC's academy is brimming with exciting young talent at the moment, and over the last few months, the youth ranks have been bolstered by the likes of Joao Teixeira, Jordan Ibe, Mark Pelosi, and, most recently, Dan Smith. Now, the club has reportedly set its sights on bringing free-scoring Athletic Bilbao youth striker Mikel Zaton to Anfield.

According to renowned Basque newspaper El Correo, Liverpool are 'in negotiations' to sign the prolific 16 year old striker, who currently plays for Bilbao's youth team in the 'Cadete Liga Vasca'.

With 25 goals in 28 games - including an amazing 5 hat-tricks - Zaton is the league's top scorer this season, and with a goal return like that, it should come as no surprise that Liverpool are not the only club interested in the youngster.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are also keping tabs on the young striker, who is free to leave Bilbao and join another club at the end of the season.

Mikel Zaton

Five hat-tricks in one season? Yes please! With goalscoring ability like that, it looks like Zaton is a natural goalscorer, which is probably why Liverpool are interested.

Sign him, and then snap up Huddersfield's similarly prolific Jordan Rhodes.

Many thanks to Fernando S for sending the 'El Correo' article across :-)

Jaimie Kanwar


54 comments:

  1. This is the kind of deal Liverpool are doing on a regular basis, the more the better!!!!

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  2. If you read it again, you will see he is 16!!!!!!

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  3. The Anfield Faithfull11:27 am, April 19, 2012

    If Real and Barca are keeping tabs,why in the world would he want to come to Anfield,where no exceptional talent seems to come through the academy??

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  4. Whats the point of all these youngsters when we know whenever they get  older Liverpool simply buys overrated older expensive players who then block their path to the first team.
    Little wonder some of our youngster will look at Chamberlain over at Arsenal at only 18 and signed this season now already a first team regular while our youngsters are put down by management as too young but in a year or 2 they will be deemed too old to break through and farmed out on loan never to return.
    It seems for a youngster signing for Liverpool is akin to career suicide especially if the youngster is not a defender or was not born in Liverpool.

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  5. Septimus_Severus11:51 am, April 19, 2012

    I keep posting this question yet Jaimie and many of you wont address it.

    How come CHAD who were all playing very well for the previous clubs have gotten WORSE since we signed them ?

    What the hell is Dalglish doing in training that is making these players worse than they were?

    This kid will go backwards once Dalglish gets his hands on him.

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  6. Agreed somewhat Gab - Flanno, Spearo, Kelly, Robinson and Sterling have all featured at some point this season which is a really good sign for the future. But we do tend to then play players out of form or position and then wonder why we are crap. I think it just shows that to make the grade from promising reserve to first teamer is incredibly hard - and if we we maybe get 1 out of 4 to come through, that would be an awesome return on a small investment.

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  7. Mikel Zaton (Athletic Bilbao): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT8fBT17WW0

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  8. These deals are an absolute waste of money if none of the players signed get 1st opportunities. Put yourself in the shoes of a Sterling Wisdom or Coady and imagine watching Liverpool sign Downing, Adams and to a lesser degree Henderson what kind of message does that give them.

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  9. Do you really think that Dalglish coaches the Kids and Reserves get off the mans back you blame him for everything that is wrong with the club and give him no credit for anything good that happens

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  10. dalglish training them anything to slag the man

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  11. NO - paying JC £1.3m a year to play for Lille and Aqualilani, Poulsen similar amounts THAT is a waste of money. This on the other hand is the future of LFC....

    We havn't had many youngster come through the Academy in the past 20 years but the chances of that changing are high as:

    1) We are buying the best youngsters in England and from Europe.

    2) They are being coached by Barcelona coach's in a specialised program that has been taken from La Massia and tailored to the requirements of the Premier League.

    Are reseved squad is the 2nd youngest in the league and we are going to finish 2nd. These young players will play together for seasons and the best will stay and learn how to play together shareing the same tactics and style from under 16's to under 18's through to reserves and first team.

    Not many will make it but those that are talented enough and adhere to the work ethic and do not ignore defensive duties will be given their chances in the 1st team.

    We are not buying players for the sake of it, if Borrell and Kenny thinks a player has what it takes, room will be left for him to get his chance.

    Sterling is 17 he is not physically allowed to train to EPL standard untill he is 18, Downing 28 and wont be around for more than 1 or 2 seasons.  

    Coady will get his chance and so will wisdom but only when Kenny knows that they are ready.

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  12. dalglish training the youth grow up

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  13. Yes and people say he does not give youth a chance

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  14. Ooops...looking at it on my iPhone and moved screen over, hey were all human!!!!

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  15. I think you answered your own question there. 

    Two of the four, or 'CH' to you, ARE just kids. The weight of expectation on their shoulders must be huge, especially when you factor in the respective £35Mill and £16Mill price tags (which is not their fault). They were playing in a stable environment for their home-town clubs, so they were probably cut a bit more slack.'D' was in his comfort zone at Villa, whilst 'A' was a medium-sized fish in a small pond. Out of the four of them Adam has been the most disappointing, yet he was the least expensive (of the 4).

    It's not the first time that we have bought a 'player of the season' from another club who turns out to be pants. Remember Oyvind Leonhardsen? Player of the Year at Wimbledon (yes, I know!), useful for Norway, scarily mediocre for us.

    It's all about how the player can handle the pressure of the constant media spotlight, and the demands of the more rabid sections of our support who won't rest until we achieve our Holy Grail again. Some players flounder, others are inspired.

    I mentioned elsewhere that, hopefully, this season will have been a learning curve for them and we should certainly persist with CH, keep D as a squad player, and probably dispense with A.

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  16. Jk I agree that JC Aqua and Poulsen also represent a huge waste of money. maybe we will get something back on JC and Poulsen when permanent deals are done. well lets hope anyway.
    LFC have always tried to sign the best young players that are available going back to the days of Shankly when he signed Alun Evans back then we regularly broke the transfer record for younger players Harrison was signed for Oldham as an 18 yr old for a british record at the time of 250k. the point is we have never had a great deal of success with bringing players through the ones that do make it are the exceptions Owen, Fowler Gerrard Carra etc and Rushy going back in time. Players like Kelly Flanno etc cant yet be considered as they are not regular 1st team players. Look at the success rate of other clubs over the last 30 years LFC are really lacking in bringing players through and furthermore when they are sold very very few of them actually make it at the highest level

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  17. I think its great youth of high quality is being signed and given every opportunity to develop.
    To those who think the youngsters dont get a go thus theres no point i say this how many in recent years have left and made a big name for themselves.

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  18. To be honest, i would prefer if he scored 25 in 28 with no hot tricks

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  19.  I wouldn't mind betting all who are blaming Kenny for destroying the youth in his first full season back are the same people wanting him sacked for Rafa?
     I suppose Kenny ruined Daniel Pacheco one of the brightest prospects coming out of the Bara academy?
     
     

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  20. We haven't had many youngsters come through in the past 20 years, but recently we have had quite a few players coming through, Martin Kelly, Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, Raheem Sterling and that's just this season, all are former academy players and Jay Spearing getting a run, another former academy player. All except for Spearing have had the benefit of playing under Borrell

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  21. You don't think Martin Kelly is an exceptional talent? Or Raheem Sterling? 

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  22. Disagreed, if they are good enough, they will still push their way through, Martin Kelly is a prime example

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  23. How can Kenny ruin Pacheco?  Pacheco is now in Spain and he does not seem to be making any waves. 

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  24. some fans on here will find a way

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  25. He look like Van Persie. lol

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  26. Gaz I agree but the players you name above are not established 1st team players even Jay Spearing who has played a few games now is only getting his game due to the injury to lucas.
    You cannot yet class them in the same way as we say Fowler Owen Gerrard Etc. were youth team products. I will get slaughtered for this next bit look at Man Utd youth under Kidd. Almost together Beckham Giggs Scholes Nevilles 1 and 2 etc where brought into the 1st team at the same time, look at the benefits that club has had from that springboard.

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  27. Chris I agree its the same few all the time who will turn any positive article written by JK into a witch hunt against KD. I am just a normal fan not a super fan or any other label the detractors try to give us just a normal fan. I watch every game i can, in person if i can manage it but then I have for 40 years. Jaimie Kanwar does in all fairness make some great points and provide good articles that are well researched a bit like this one but somehow the same few detract from the point and we always end up with the anti KD brigade.

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  28. I think your argument is flawed Septimus. Firstly, you are cherry picking players who you believe are playing badly - Dalglish also bought Suarez but you don't include him in your list. Secondly, how much did you see of CHAD before they came to Anfield (highlights, the odd game?) It's not like we signed Messi & suddenly he was crap. Thirdly, it takes time for players to settle (moving house, location etc) & also to get used to a different style of play. Fourthly, CH are still quite young. IMO all 4 of these players have done ok for a first season. Finally, ex-pros often say that some players just can't handle the pressure of playing for a big club where expectations are so high. Give these players a chance (& a break) and they may yet prove successful. Time will tell.

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  29. Stop talking stupid FFS!!!!

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  30. Signing top youth alent is never a waste of money, anyone who thinks it is, should stop watching football. Without youth you have no game, think about it!!!!!

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  31. Theycallmemrburt3:01 pm, April 19, 2012

    I actually think that is what our current scouting network were searching for most.

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  32. Theycallmemrburt3:12 pm, April 19, 2012

    Cristiano Ronaldo's evil brother?

    If our philosophy is to use these players in the future, it will all have been worth it.  I sometimes feel we only buy young players as a way of buying cheap and making a quick 1mill profit within a few years.  Stocks and Shares if you like.

     

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  33. the problem with getting world class youngsters is you also need a world class first team otherwise we will become like arsenal. The young lads come through then the world class teams pinch them when they are in their prime. fabregas is a great example;arsenal got him to his prime and barcelona who are truly succesful came in and took him away to become even more successful and leave arsenal happy with CL qualification.

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  34. FFS !!!! dont make ridiculous statements.

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  35. Gaz really ... do you think right at this moment in time kelly and sterling are exceptional talents. Come on mate they both have a lot of potential to be exceptional but not right now. LFC have 1 player who is exceptional now (dubious character but exceptional talent) and we have 1 player right now who was an exceptional talent maybe 2 (Gerrard and Carra)

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  36. it is a waste of money if none of the players you sign as a youth player make it through to the first team. We have not had any overseas player who has made it we have spent 20 million on players who just were not good enough. You are right without youth we have no game but most top clubs let the youth develop elsewhere and then sign the ones who make it for mega bucks

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  37. Theycallmemrburt3:58 pm, April 19, 2012

    become like Arsenal? we're light years away from Arsenal.

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  38. I think you don't wish any youngster to come to the club? They won't get their chance at LFC, right? So, why bother with the "sign him" "sign him"?

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  39. Waste of time.

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  40. Fact is, if our scouts are not finding much, the club has to look far and wide and pick up as many players as possible and hope that 2 or 3 turn out to be gems. Considering that Bilbao are the Man Utd of the Basque country, I would be surprised if he was allowed to move on if they didn't think they had something better coming through. My previous girlfriend was Basque, and one of my good mates is, and it would take a lot for a youngster to turn his back on Bilbao completely, even if he only signed on to play for the first team for a season or so and then be sold at a higher price.

    There are plenty of reasons why a young player from the Basque country in Spain would turn down Real Madrid if they came calling. Barcelona might be something else, however.

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  41. Yes, if we were like Arsenal, we would be ok!

    Definitely should sign up all the young talent we can and hope that we can 'fluke' a future star from time to time, as our scouting doesn't appear great. In fact, it is hard to see which part of our club is running like a top class club at the moment. Transfers? No. Tactics and Coaching? No. Scouting? No. Not even PR? erm.............................

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  42. Iagree with you thats why i was saying about having a world class team. As we have already seen with alonso, mascherano and torress are class players left for better. we need to become the better option again. i refered to arsenal as they are by all accounts a selling club. albeit they keep qualifying for CL they seem to do nothing more. you can bet this year mancity, madrid and the rest will be prizing RVP from them. I would love liverpool to invest in youth but, what i do want to see is that when they come through we keep them for a long period and not just sell sel sell, when they come good, otherwise we will be a club that makes lots of money on tranfers but will always fall short of winning anything, like arsenal!!!

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  43. You is a cunt. Your name is jamie cuntwar

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  44. Nice to see this article didn't have the usual dollop of 'this great talent will never get a chance' negativity! Was that so hard Jaimie? :p

    Good to see we're not falling behind whilst we're looking for a new Director of Football.

    Nice move on including the original article too. Never seen that done before.

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  45. Septimus_severus12:11 am, April 20, 2012

    My main point is the LACK OF STRATEGY in games.
    Anyway what do I know I'm only a season ticket holder of 15 years.
    Not like I pay my money and have a RIGHT to moan.
    I'd better take to watching it as a ARMCHAIR FAN.
    Yeah your all correct EVERYTHING IS ROSEY AND KENNY IS THE RIGHT MAN TO TAKE US TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.
    You can see that in the team that he's building FERGY is Quaking in his boots at the prospect.

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  46. Do you actually watch the games you go to, or just turn up for the banter and to sing songs?
    Fair dues on getting to the games, I've not had a chance for a few years as I work abroad and have very little opportunity but, from what I have seen, the strategy that you say we lack has been to pass & move and make goal scoring opportunities. We HAVE been making opportunities but have been lacking in the finishing.
    Shooting practice and a little more composure from the players will and would have made all the difference this season and will do in the future.
    Try not to be so negative mate and look at the bigger picture.

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  47. If we stick with Kenny, then we will see more youngster will coming thru the first team....

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  48. Kenny should sign him if his mettle is as such. But keep an eye at the wage bill. I know the Americans would

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  49. So that is your answer, don't buy any youth but wait for players to get good them sign them for mega bucks. Great financial sense you have, thank the heavens we haven't got you running our club.

    If the youth are good enough they will get into the first team, Rafa started the overhaul of the youth system and it takes time for a youth system to produce, we are coming up to the phase where this will happen and there will be more and more making first team appearances over the next few seasons.
     

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  50. Just like your post.

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  51. We also need to sign Joel Pohjanpalo who was an trial with us in March. He scored a 3 minute hatrick in his last game. He has 33 goals in 23 appearances for their reserves as well.

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  52.  NATO means No Action Talk Only. My mother's Chi Bai for you.

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