Last month, coveted Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente revealed that he sought advice from former Liverpool stars Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres over a potential move to the Premier League. It's no secret that Liverpool are long-term admirers of the Spanish striker, and Llorente himself confirmed recently that representatives from Anfield 'came to Bilbao' to negotiate a possible transfer. Well, Llorente has now confirmed that he is definitely leaving Bilbao this summer, which opens up the possibility of a move to the Premier League.
Llorente has informed Bilbao of his intention to leave, and this was confirmed by Basque public television channel Euskal Telebista (ETB), which announced the following on its website:
"Fernando Llorente wants to leave Athletic and he informed the directors on Friday. The player cites sporting reasons for making the decision"
Llorente - whose current deal has a €36million (£29million) buy-out clause - grabbed 33 goals and assists for Bilbao last season, and he is definitely open to a move to the Premier League this summer, as he reiterated in an interview at Spain's Euro 2012 training base in June:
"I might end up playing in England. I am currently in Bilbao, but who knows what happens. Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres has told me about the great respect that the fans have for the players there"."
£29m seems like a prohibitive fee for Liverpool, but I doubt Bilbao would get that much for Llorente if he was to leave. As a comparison, take Montpelier's Oliver Giroud, who has a similar goalscoring record. The French club's owner, Louis Nicollin, slapped a €50m price tag on the prolific striker a few months ago, but now he joined Arsenal for a vastly reduced fee of £12m.
In April 2012, Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner suggested that transfer funds would not be a problem for the right player:
"I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football"
Signing the Spaniard may appear to be a pipe dream for LFC fans at the moment, but if Brendan Rodgers were really interested, I'm sure FSG would put up the money to sign him, or a striker of comparable quality.
Luis Suarez joined Liverpool when the club was not in the Champions League, so it's conceivable that other top players could do the same. In my view, FSG should pull out all the stops to sign him.
Jaimie Kanwar
Llorente has informed Bilbao of his intention to leave, and this was confirmed by Basque public television channel Euskal Telebista (ETB), which announced the following on its website:
"Fernando Llorente wants to leave Athletic and he informed the directors on Friday. The player cites sporting reasons for making the decision"
Llorente - whose current deal has a €36million (£29million) buy-out clause - grabbed 33 goals and assists for Bilbao last season, and he is definitely open to a move to the Premier League this summer, as he reiterated in an interview at Spain's Euro 2012 training base in June:
"I might end up playing in England. I am currently in Bilbao, but who knows what happens. Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres has told me about the great respect that the fans have for the players there"."
£29m seems like a prohibitive fee for Liverpool, but I doubt Bilbao would get that much for Llorente if he was to leave. As a comparison, take Montpelier's Oliver Giroud, who has a similar goalscoring record. The French club's owner, Louis Nicollin, slapped a €50m price tag on the prolific striker a few months ago, but now he joined Arsenal for a vastly reduced fee of £12m.
In April 2012, Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner suggested that transfer funds would not be a problem for the right player:
"I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football"
Signing the Spaniard may appear to be a pipe dream for LFC fans at the moment, but if Brendan Rodgers were really interested, I'm sure FSG would put up the money to sign him, or a striker of comparable quality.
Luis Suarez joined Liverpool when the club was not in the Champions League, so it's conceivable that other top players could do the same. In my view, FSG should pull out all the stops to sign him.
Jaimie Kanwar
go get him :) Another Fernando Torress type guy up front for Liverpool this season will work serious wonders for the team :)
ReplyDeleteDon't know a huge amount about the player but he does seem to be a skillful and quite profilic striker. Could be a good foil for Suarez and Borini.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the big money should be spent on strikers. To use an american-ism, these are the 'game changers' who can turn draws into wins.
Hate to bring up the whole Net Spend thing again, but would we need to sell Carroll or Agger to finance such a deal?
Fergie will prob. say Utd will get him.
ReplyDeleteNot a sh*t show in he'll fsg are gonna blow that kind of money on a player again, unless we finish top four.
ReplyDeleteWhat has that got to do with net spend? Who did we have to sell to sign Downing, Henderson and Adam for almost 50m? The club didn't sell Torres just to buy Suarez/Carroll - Torres wanted to leave, so the money was there to be spent.
ReplyDeleteAs I noted in the other article I posted today, Tom Werner stated in April that LFC 'has the resources to compete with any other club' - why would we not believe him on that, especially after so much money was spent under Dalglish?
I don't know... its a difficult one as he is obviously a brilliant player but would you not prefer Suarez as the CF and then mobile goal scorers around him? Rodgers teams dont cross the ball so his ariel ability is not required in open play but for corners and free kicks it would be a weapon but at the expense of a true free flowing creative front 3. I know Suarez can play as an inside forward on either side but I think he is strong enough and clever enough to play CF especially with pacey wide players either side. I think this is Rodgers view also so only expect pacey wide forwards like Tello and possibly Walcot or Johnson to arrive.
ReplyDeleteleave allon and sign him.
ReplyDeleteHardly likely Rodgers would go for another big man, who doesn't fit into spains style of play, and therefore is unlikely to fit into LFC's.
ReplyDeleteRodgers comments today about 'being excited about his forwards linking up' included the names, stevie G, luis, borini and downing.
That says to me that stevie me is not earmarked for CM role, which is a good thing. Add to that that we were in for sigurdsson who plays at the front of a 3 man MF, and it looks like stevie g is going to play in the front 3.
clint, another target, is also an attacking MF , which backs up that possibility further. therefore, in my opinion, it looks like an attacking MF like ramirez or clint, plus a wide attacker like theo W or adam johnson are the priorities.
There is 0 chance of llorente coming in as he is just a luxury version of Carroll...imo.
We need competition in the strike force department. Get this guy.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen much of him myself, he seem a big guy, is he mobile/fast or is he as slow as Carroll and will just slow the play down?
ReplyDeleteHe's spoken to Torres and Alonso who are former LFC players seeking advise Fergerson cant have everything he wants and i personally woul like to see Llorente in LFC colours!!!
ReplyDeleteHe is 1000% better than Carroll: great technique, great skill; good at holding up the ball; good passer; good balance etc, plus, he scores goals.
ReplyDeletego get him he is among the best and highest goal scorer at laliga
ReplyDeleteunproven in the Premier League. I don't think BR sees the need in getting another attacker. So i can't see this one happening. Would be nice to think we can still get players like this though
ReplyDeleteDon't see it happening unless Carroll leaves.
ReplyDeleteAs someone mentioned him like Torres. I think he is more like Zlatan or Van Persie.
Anyway, this american striker looks more like Torres
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEvsr8Hbu5I
These are the sort of strikers one would not pass on!!! Get him please even for the said 29m. He will cause problems to a lot of defenders and score great goals. With him, we only do not dream about Champs league but we begin to be realistic about it. These are the sort of players LFC needs to go for to compete.
ReplyDeleteHe's leaving Bilbao cos he wants to play Champions League football so that rules Liverpool out, Man-City, Juventus or PSG most likely destinations IMO. Dont get me wrong, i'd love to see him play for Liverpool, maybe if Carroll goes he could be persuaded but its a long shot, we've bid for him before.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of a big guy,replace him with a older big guy? Point? Might aswell keep carroll, an get a smaller striker in.
ReplyDeleteBecause BR doesnt seem to have 2 p to rub together at the moment, and seems to have to flog our players to get in who?
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes money was spent under Dalglish, but we never strengthened in the Jan window when it was clear we needed reinforcements and it shouldnt be forgotten that we raised substantial fees from transfers too.
would be a top buy, but we wont be able to afford that unless we get rid of a number of players to finance any move
ReplyDeleteunfortunatly i think we will only go for a striker if carroll is sold. as it stands we all agree its gona be a front 3. so thats suarez,borini,carroll,downing,sterling,suso and morgan. with carroll at the club the priority is say 2 forwards but not so much the llorente type although he is alot better than carroll he would be classed as a similer player to carroll and only room for 1 of those type in the squad. right now more realistic targets are walcott,ramirez and johnson. also dont think aggar is going anywhere no club even city will pay 25mil for a guy with his injury record.
ReplyDeleteThey sold Babel, Meireles, Ngog, Jovanovic, Konchesky, Kyrgiakos, Poulsen, Insua, Ince to fund a large majority of those signings.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever have a clue what you are talking about ?
FSG are bluffing Liverpool fans as they are serious cheapskates and are not much better than Gillette and Hicks for new signings
No you are definitely wrong on this. Have you seen the guy play - debateable that he could cut it in the premiership.
ReplyDeleteI'm also pretty sure that pleading with FSG to sign him in your blog will go unnoticed.
i have watched Llorente for quite some years from the time when he began his senior career back in 2005 under Javier Clemente's third spell at the San Mames,then under Jaquin Caparros when he was playing as a lone striker supported by Gaizka Toquero ,then under Bielsa.....i can bet that he is indeed a classic forward who doesn't give room for idleness
ReplyDeleteHe's a Carrol type of a player but he's swift and more prolific far much than him,he best in the air and does magic with his foot...if we sign him,he could make our attack the most dangerous in the league
No, that is your own personal speculation. Show me quotes from anyone connected with LFC that backs up the notion that those players were sold to fund other purchases.
ReplyDeleteThe players you mention were sold because they were either rubbish/not needed/not part of the manager's plans. Additionally, your point makes no sense because the fees received for all the players you mentioned wouldn't cover 20% of the cost of all the signings made under Dalglish.
If you read Paul Dalglish on Twitter you'll find that those players were sold to fund purchases
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to Rodgers. Llorente will have to be a perfect fit in order to justify that kind of price. And while Werner's statement is encouraging, I think there is always a "but". A player must be worth the money we pay for him, without question. We'll match the price and compete with the big clubs but we will not pay over the odds anymore. I think manager and owners agree on that whole-heartedly, I think it would be a part of what Rodgers outlined in his management philosophy that convinced FSG to give him the job. So maybe Llorente is good but being linked with him in the past is meaningless. This all comes down to the manager and what he thinks we need. And despite what the owners say I do think there will always be a reasonable limit on the funds we have to spend. After Borini, Allen, Dempsey and maybe someone else ... would we really be willing to fork out another 25 million on Llorente?
ReplyDeletespeculation ..rumor..call it by whatever name you want ....not gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteif bilbao gets knocked out of the europa league then maybe
ReplyDeleteI lived in San Sebastian for several years and used to regularly watch Athletic. I rate Llorente highly now but I can assure you when he was younger he was not very popular, he was very awkward, not so prolific and he would be criticised for similar things that some criticise Carroll for. He is a target man like Carroll but is older and has had time to develop (27 or 28 now I think). So to me it is a contradiction to want Liverpool to spend spend so much on a player whilst saying Carroll doesn't fit in with the Rodgers way of football.
ReplyDeletestop writing tosh.
ReplyDeleteI can't. I'm genetically predisposed to writing tosh. It's incurable.
ReplyDeleteFernando Torres type hardly, more Fernando Morientes type ! He doesn't fit in Rodger's style if there is any truth in his tika-taka vision of football.
ReplyDeleteLlorente had great season with the club yet he hasn't featured in any of Spain games as they don't use powerful centre-forward.
He wants pace up front and is looking to offload Carroll, his statement's and the fact he didn't give Carroll any minoutes suggest he wants to offload big striker, he doesn't want to add another one.
Even if he would price tag doesn't allow him.
No research or common sense went in to writing this article.
Llorente will go to the gooners I suspect when the RVP move happens of course if it happens. Falcao of athletico Madrid would better suited to LFC's required strike profile, of course cost would play a massive part. Liverpool will have look wider afield for the right strike force cost will play massive part. The scouts will have their job cut out.
ReplyDeleteFernando Torres type hardly, more Fernando Morientes type ! He doesn't fit in Rodger's style if there is any truth in his tika-taka vision of football.
ReplyDeleteLlorente had great season with the club yet he hasn't featured in any of Spain games as they don't use powerful centre-forward.
Rodgers wants pace up front and is looking to offload Carroll, his statement's and the fact he didn't give Carroll any minoutes suggest he wants to offload big striker, he doesn't want to add another one.
Even if he would price tag doesn't allow him.
No research or common sense went in to writing this article.
Liverpool will not be sining this kind of striker while they still have Carroll simple as that if Carroll moves on then there would be money and a place for such a striker with Joe Alan Liverpool will have spent £25m on two players out of a budget of around £35m they would have to sell to buy they would be more likely to sign the young lad from Barcelona and Use Adam in Part ex for the lad from Fulham that would be a good summers work leaving whatever can be raised from Sales to be used in Jan should the player and the need arise If we signed Llorentethen there would be no need for the other two players and it would be that money along with the Carroll fee that would pay for the deal if we cant move Carroll on then player sales might become a need but the players i can see BR wanting at Liverpool would be
ReplyDeleteTielo (spelling)
A Johnson
Dempsey
Allan Moving out
Adam
Carroll
He doesn't fit in Rodgers system at all.
ReplyDeleteWell said Jaimie, but thats only b'cos he didnt mention Torres in the players he mentioned, so you jumped on that one. Add Torres to his list, then gimme a percentage.
ReplyDeleteJohn Henry compete with anyone, in the transfer market, he he he, and we cant buy Dempsey, Allen, Ramierez. Agger is available for the right price, he he. Oh he might rename Anfield, to bring in a few more bucks. post is a waste of space.
ReplyDeletedon't say he doesn't fit into Rodgers system of play because Bilbao played that system perfectly under Marcelo Bielsa last season far much beyond what Swansea did under Rodgers...and he was Bielsa's no.1 in attack....
ReplyDeleteJohn Henry himself admitted that he was happy with the Carroll deal as long as he got "Carroll plus £15m" for Torres. This was widely quoted. Hence a direct link. Does anyone think we'd actually spend £35m on Carroll without selling anyone? I mean I know it's throwing money away, but at least it was money we swindled in the first place!!
ReplyDeleteAs the owner of this web site you must be worth millions. FSG will be delighted to accept you kind offer to finance the deal yourself
ReplyDeletein terms of resource I think that he was talking about potential, which clearly as a global brand Liverpool have... clearly we can't financially compete with the likes of City at the moment... especially since spending massive amounts of cash on players who haven't yet made the grade...
ReplyDeleteI think that Llorente is a none starter... he too similar to Carrol... Rodgers is looking for technically strong players who press the ball and are creative... we won't be looking for another out and out striker.... I think Allens obviously now a shoe in, Ramirez, and a pacy attacking wide man will be on Rodgers list.. not Llorente.. if we wanted someone like that we'd go with Carrol... it just doesn't make sense... especially as Carrol is playing in a stronger league and has shown he can perform, grabbing someone else at a ridiculous price who's in a weaker league, and older, won't happen. I think in terms of Rodgers style of football, Llorente will be about as useful as a c0ck flavoured lollipop.
We got 15 mil. player in Carroll who for Liverpool is not even worth that much, so basically we sold Torres for 30 mil, player we signed for 24 mil. and made him in to best PL striker.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much we will get for Carroll, but I'm not sure if in a year or so we can even get 15 after seeing what has happened with Aquillani...
If Chelsea throws money away Liverpool shouldn't. After their mistake with Torres Chelsea went on to sign Mata, won CL and signed Hazard and Marin too just now, without cashing in on anyone.
They wasting 50 is less of a hit in their finances than Liverpool wasting 35 mil. as their owner is willing to spend a lot more.