Since the end of Liverpool's disastrous league season, rumours have surfaced about the future of Martin Skrtel, who reportedly wants to leave the club this summer. It's probably just unfounded paper talk, but if the Slovakian was to leave, he would need to be replaced, and Torino's Angelo Ogbonna could be a viable option.
Ogbonna - who is currently on international duty with Italy at Euro 2012 - has been linked with Liverpool several times over the last year, and in November 2011, he confirmed the Reds' interest:
"I am flattered by the interest from clubs. Liverpool is a dream club. If they are interested in me, that is awesome. I love the Premier League and one day I might play in that league".
Yesterday, Torino director Gianluca Petrachi was asked if the club would sell Ogbonna this summer, and he said:
"We have already spoken about this several times: only a sensational offer will shift our stance"
He was then asked if a bid of €12 million would be acceptable, to which replied:
"I believe that it would require much more [than that]"
Given Torino's comparatively lowly status in Serie A, I doubt they have the bargaining strength to demand a bigger fee than €12m, and Liverpool could probably get him for a lower fee than that.
24-year-old Ogbonna can also play at left-back, which would be useful for putting some pressure on Jose Enrique, who doesn't really have any credible challengers for his role at present.
I'm personally not fussed if Skrtel leaves; he's been at the club for 6 years and this is the first time (IMO) that he's shown signs of consistent form and genuine progress. Perhaps it would be wise for the club to cash in on him now and make a profit...?
Jaimie Kanwar
Ogbonna - who is currently on international duty with Italy at Euro 2012 - has been linked with Liverpool several times over the last year, and in November 2011, he confirmed the Reds' interest:
"I am flattered by the interest from clubs. Liverpool is a dream club. If they are interested in me, that is awesome. I love the Premier League and one day I might play in that league".
Yesterday, Torino director Gianluca Petrachi was asked if the club would sell Ogbonna this summer, and he said:
"We have already spoken about this several times: only a sensational offer will shift our stance"
He was then asked if a bid of €12 million would be acceptable, to which replied:
"I believe that it would require much more [than that]"
Given Torino's comparatively lowly status in Serie A, I doubt they have the bargaining strength to demand a bigger fee than €12m, and Liverpool could probably get him for a lower fee than that.
24-year-old Ogbonna can also play at left-back, which would be useful for putting some pressure on Jose Enrique, who doesn't really have any credible challengers for his role at present.
I'm personally not fussed if Skrtel leaves; he's been at the club for 6 years and this is the first time (IMO) that he's shown signs of consistent form and genuine progress. Perhaps it would be wise for the club to cash in on him now and make a profit...?
Jaimie Kanwar
skertl is a very good defender who wasn't getting the chances but has played well with cara previous season and this season argueably the best defender in the league alongside agga we need to keep him
ReplyDeleteIf Skrtel does go then we should pull up trees to get Kjaer. His partnership with Agger for Denmark is solid.
ReplyDeleteDon't agree with your logic of selling Skrtel who was Liverpool's the most consistent performer last season. Skrtel is reaching his peak and that is not the time to sell the player and besides why break the defensive partnership between Agger and Skrtel which was one of the best in the league.
ReplyDeleteUnless Skrtel wants to leave, Liverpool shouldn't sell him.
Can certainly see the logic, alongside Johnson and Downing, theyre the only 3 players they can afford to lose and get decent money for. If they got a substantial bid i would take it, buy a cheaperr replacement and still have Coates and Kelly for back up
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure we would get decent money for Downing would definately lose money, if we were to sell.
ReplyDeleteGreat point. Totally agree.
ReplyDeleteWeakening your defense when it has been the sole shining light in a disappointing season is not a progressive move. It takes time to build an understanding between central defenders, and Agger and Skrtel have that now. Skrtel needs to be retained unless he agitates to leave.
ReplyDeleteCan certainly see the point about an understanding but if he wants to leave and they got an offer in the region of 20mill it would be hard to say no
ReplyDeleteas for downing, they would certainly take a hit on any resale but because hes had many years in the league, England international they would still be able to get 10/12 mill back much like Darren Bent leaving Spurs
Why do we forget Coates ? When will he get a chance to play in the first team ?
ReplyDeleteWe need another central defender anyway so just get a decent centre back like Ogbonna anyway without selling Skrtel or as mentioned above go for Kjaer who looks to have a great understanding with Agger.
ReplyDeleteVery true but I think even £10-15m may be optimistic for Skrtel, especially if he does wants to leave as that drives the price down. At that price, it may prove a wiser move to play hardball (a la Daniel Levy and Luka Modric) as it will be hard to find a suitable replacement for a similar figure. That said, I do like Simon Kjaer a lot. He reminds me of a young Ronald Koemans. And the understanding with Agger is negated as an issue.
ReplyDeleteVery true but I think even £10-15m for Skrtel would be very optimistic, especially if he wants to leave as that drives the price down. At that figure, I would be tempted to play hardball (a la Daniel Levy and Luka Modric) because finding a suitable replacement at a similar cost would be very difficult. That said, I do really like Simon Kjaer as he reminds me of a young Ronald Koemans, and there would be issue of having to forge an understanding with Agger.
ReplyDeleteDitto.
ReplyDeleteKjaer is rubbish, if he was any good he wouldn't be at Roma! We should be going for players like Andre Schurrle
ReplyDeletei dont think they have the option of just buying more back ups, theyll be lucky to have more than 30 million to spend and after siggurson and hopefulyl adam johnson, thats most of it gone so they need to recoup and spearing etc aint gonna do it
ReplyDeleteAbsolute Madness!!
ReplyDeleteSo we will sell our arguably best defender and rely on a crocked Carragher, an injury waiting to happen Agger, and an inexperienced Coates.
O and of course we can replace him with a guy who covers left-back as well. What a bonus!
Kjaer is much more realistic and a better player. Plus he would probably jump at the opportunity to join us..
i agree with u their
ReplyDeleteAgree that if, after one good season, Skrtel feels he needs to move on and the club get a good offer, then we should cash in. He's been good for the last couple of season but hardly irreplaceable. With Kelly able to play the centre and Wilson still knocking around and Coates needing more games, it is not such a huge loss. Main problem is keeping Agger fit.
ReplyDeleteIn the unlikely event that Skrtel were to leave this year, I'd happily see him replaced with Christian Zapata, who I wanted last year before he left Udinese to have a nightmare in Spain.
ReplyDeleteAgger/Zapata/Coates/Kelly/Wisdom would be a pretty a good set of centre-backs to me, with mobility, athleticism & technical ability, and for me would at least compare favorably to what Man U have been built around this year following the absence of Vidic (Ferdinand/Evans/Jones/Smalling)
to slow never be good enough
ReplyDelete