22 Jan 2013

£15m price crash: Moussa Sissoko's transfer fee drops to just £3.5m. Sign him...?

Last year, Toulouse star Moussa Sissoko confirmed that he'd had contact with Liverpool over the possibility of transfer to Anfield. At the time, the energetic midfielder came with a prohibitive £18m price tag, but his transfer fee has dropped dramatically over the last year, and reports this week suggest that the France International is available for as little as £3.5m. With Liverpool arguably in need of a powerful midfield enforcer, should the club be looking at Sissoko?

According to The Mirror, QPR, Newcastle and Sunderland are all poised to to bid for 6'2 Sissoko, and with an asking price of £3.5m, who can blame them?

Liverpool have been linked with the Ligue One star many times in the past, and the most recent transfer link came at the end of October 2012, when the Daily Mail reported that Liverpool were still 'monitoring' Sissoko, whose current contract expires this summer.

The tough midfielder - a full France international - definitely wants to move to the Premier League, as he revealed in a recent interview. He said:

""All these rumours please me. Italy and England are historically among the major championships, but the important thing for me is to play at a high level"

Speaking to reporters in May 2012, Sissoko confirmed Liverpool's prior interest:

"I've had contact with English clubs, notably Liverpool, but I preferred to commit myself to Toulouse, the club where I have been educated, to get more experience"

Soon after that, Sissoko's representative, Bakary Sanogo revealed that he'd received 'interesting offers' for the player from 'Spain, Germany and England'.

In Lucas Leiva, Liverpool have only one dedicated defensive midfielder, and although Joe Allen can player the role, he's been found out recently, which arguably intensified the need for Liverpool to sign a top quality, strong, athletic central midfielder, and Sissoko seems to fit the bill:

* At the age of 22, he fits Liverpool's 'buy 'em young' transfer policy.

* He plays for a club that's not in the Champions League, which should make him a realistic target.

* Liverpool lack real height, strength and athleticism in midfield.

With Yann M'Vila also available for a ridiculously low fee, surely Liverpool should be looking to sign at least one of these top midfielders?



Jaimie Kanwar


48 comments:

  1. I am still struggling to understand why we are/were not going for M'Villa, Sissoko, Debuchy, amd the Mbwia! I mean come on!!!

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  2. He is not a "Defensive Midfielder" (more box-box or the "2" in our set-up). Agree we should be in for him at that price though.

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  3. From what I've seen this guy is more of a attacking midfielder than a holding one and apparently his form in the last year and a half has been quite poor. Maybe the reason for such a low price?

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  4. Yes. we need a strong midfielder who can defend high up as well as attack.

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  5. Sissoko was a lot better when I saw him him playing in a more disciplined role a few years ago, than in the more attacking role that he now occupies. 

    This is why I now prefer his teammate, Capoue. But Sissoko would still be a very good signing for us, nevertheless

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  6. I said all along, while all the rumours persisted, that Sissoko would not cost more than £10m to leave Toulouse. I didn't expect the price to be this cheap though.

    There 's very little chance of better bargains being available in the summer, than right now. LFC need to hurry up and snap up one of these guys while we've got the chance!

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  7. We have a great one who should be in the team Shelvey, we have an absolute star almost ready to do that job texiera. we need another goalscoerer priority no one.

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  8. liverpool has had relatively poor history in signing players from france... it shouldnt be the reason though. a quality player is a quality player. and the ones you mentioned are quality.

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  9. Doubt it'll happen because Rodgers probably thinks that physical strength and height are all in the mind. Also wouldn't want any further competition for Allen. He'd rather play Allen and lose, than not play him and win. 

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  10. cos we have lucas allen and shelvey jokes on us mate

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  11. Shelvey is no Defensive midfielder. He seems to fit the Gerrard role more.

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  12. For that price I would def take him. We need another DM imo, unless BR plans to use Allen for that role when Lucas is out. Which although Allen aint a DM, according to the stats, he has made the most tackles of any player this season.

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  13. Have to agree we should tie up Sissoko and M'Villa whilst they are being touted at 'affordable FSG' prices. The trouble seems to be when another team declare their interest in a player; we are consistently being beaten to the punch and missing out....

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  14. Like Jay, I would prefer Capoue but wouldn't mind seeing Sissoko here at that price as he is a good prospect, has good robust energy about him, bit like Vidal in that sense. Newcastle looking to shop like crazy in France again. Three deals done this window already I think, as well as looking at this guy and Gouffran (work a shot at £1m this guy (contract expires in summer) looked very useful from the few games I've seen whether it be on the wing or up front.

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  15. His contract expires this summer, hence the low price. 

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  16. Why is he so cheap all of a sudden? Ah, his contract is running out in the summer. Why not offer him a contract and get him without paying a transfer fee? And maybe some clubs will realise that prohibitive transfer fees may leave them empty handed after all.

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  17. Another in the extensive catalogue of one time crazily overpriced French based players, all with their evidence trail of agent based tittle tattle boosting their price.

    True value being demonstrated now, as the "interesting offers" we're mysteriously not availed of.

    The rumour mill annoys me almost as much as simulating injury and foul mouthed dissent to referees. It's usually total BS

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  18. sorry I think that this kind of midfield enforcer has been lacking at Anfield for a long time. Not exactly sure if Sissoko an attacking midfielder or defensive midfielder. Right now we've got Lucas as our primary defensive midfielder and Sissoko would be added  security in that position if he indeed is a defensive midfield player. Lucas does a great job in that capacity for us but i think that Sissoko's size would enable him to be a real physical presence in the middle of the park for us. We need some one whose presence can help us win the ball or cause turn overs thus enabling us to break quickly and catch the enemy unprepared at the back. We need a beast in the middle of the park. Someone other than Lucas to do the dirty job of winning the ball and blocking the passing. Joe Allen has shown that he is not comfortable in that role when he deputized for an injured Lucas Leiva early on in the campaign. 

    If he is now cheaper to buy i guess it is a green light for Liverpool right? QPR would have to be the most desperate of all the suitors currently looking for Mr Sissoko's signature. 

    Kind of reminds me of the other Sissoko who played for us under Benitez.  In this case he was Mohammed Sissoko from Ivory Coast who currently plys his trade with Parisian team PSG in League1. Today is his birthday and i remember him as a terror on the field for us. He was a very aggressive player who was constantly in foul trouble. Benitez relied heavily on him to   disrupt the opposition and sometimes just to harass the other team. I liked watching him because he was entertaining to say the least.

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  19. I haven't seen him play, so I can't comment on his playing ability but, from the comments, I'm getting an idea that he's somewhere between Yaya Toure & Makelele, am I right?

    If I am, sign him up as we need that sort of combatative guile in midfield.

    Lucas is good at breaking up opposition attacks and protecting the centre halves but he's not quite reached Mascherano's level (although he's less prone to losing his head and is more loyal).

    Shelvey has still a while to go to learn his trade, as he's seen as the heir apparent to Stevie G, but he can be a bit harsh in the tackle and gets himself into trouble far more than he should be.

    Like a lot of people who post on here, I'm starting to lean towards the opinion that Allen is becoming a problem in the midfield and was an unnecessary purchase. Sure, he can pass to over 90% completion each game but how many of these passes are in the final third, resulting in chances and goals? How many games has he bossed form midfield? How many runs with the ball through the middle does he attempt each game?

    Watch how Y Toure can pick up the ball in his own half and get to the opposition's 18 yard line for a killer through ball or a shot. He's a big, imposing lump of a player and he's also fast. Yet, this is a player who was schooled in tiki taka at Barcelona and does he pass sideways almost everytime he gets the ball? 

    If this Sissoko can bring to Liverpool what Yaya brought to Man City then I reckon we should sign him up. 

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  20. jonjo is not going to be a top player IMO. he's too erratic and his shooting accuracy is poor.
    sissoko is potentially a viera type as he can defend and attack, and for 3.5m id have him over jonjo anyday.

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  21. Fair enough.. Do you think we need him?

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  22. Brendon Rogers is right now on the cusp of his career @ Liverpool , if he reenforces the team well we really have a decent chance of top 4 ...and we will get champs league and retain players like Saurez ...................... if he dilly dallys and doesnt sign anyone he will repeat the mistake he made in july only this time it will be worse cuz it will show that he doesnot learn for them ..............  and we risk loosing Saurez which would be a HUGH BLOW ......

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  23. Listen, at this money we'd be advised to buy him even if we were just to sell him on, because we'd make a profit.

    We could bring this guy in and loan out Shelvey (to someone like Wigan hopefully) because I think his development has stalled of late.

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  24. I agree with all you say except for one thing, I do not believe it is Brendan Rodgers doing the dilly dallying, but FSG themselves; pondering the financial terms and fine combing the details so as not to get 'stung' again. I understand their fear to a degree but they must realise, the premier league is a scary place! Especially if you are trying to gain Champion's League qualification. (And trying to keep hold of your last world class player in his prime!) Some risks are worth the gamble and could reap immediate dividends....

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  25. Having a decent chance of top 4 this season is probably more than any realistic thinking fan could have expected this season. Therefore I disagree with your opinion that Rodgers is now, about half a year into his job with us, at the cusp of his career at Liverpool.

    Reinforcements of the team have to be within our financial means. I'd rather see us being prudent in the transfer market than trying to force ourselves back into the CL at all cost. Leeds are a fine example of what could happen if that goal isn't achieved.

    Should Suarez decided that he wants to play elsewhere then so be it. It would be a blow, for sure, but shouldn't keep players who don't believe in our project.

    And I think it is only fair to recognize that he and the club didn't dilly-dally at all in this transfer window. The mistake in July, as you put it, or rather August, when the last transfer window ended, was that we didn't bring in another forward. Sturridge was signed on the 2nd day of this window. Hardly dilly-dallying is it.

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  26. Couldn't say it any better

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  27. these prices just show how much we overpayed for allen ....id be happy to sign both villa ans sisoko and get rid of allen and a few others

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  28. we could do with some muscle in the middle, if hes anything like yaya toure would be a bonus. the only thing that keeps allen in the side is his price tag

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  29. He would add something different to our existing central midfielders, with his physical box-to-box energy (Stevie G can't do it anymore) but not sure on his overall game being that great/consistent a fit for us, as got to consistently offer more than box-to-box energy for Rodgers' tactics. I think he would be worth a shot at that price though, considering age, potential and would bring something robust and combative to central midfield that we don't have, a la Diame. So I'm not totally sold on him but worth a shot I think. But ideally, would rather have gone for Dembele last summer. 


    Got the power and presence but also very good technical ability when taking on players from central midfield and to pass & move. Its no surprise that Spurs' win rate this season with him in the side is far higher than without (At Dec 1, 85% with him and 20% without) (although Sandro is just as important and his injury could be a huge hit, if Parker doesn't step up to the plate). Would love to have seen him here. Pity.

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  30. Your spot on mate. I've been saying for a while that our whole obsession to secure a Striker shouldn’t eclipse what, imo, is just a desperate need for a DM. As Jamie pointed out, if Lucas goes down we have nobody to replace him and our play at the beginning of the season showed just how fragile out defense are without him there. Allen is too small and its just not gerrard or hendo's game. For me its gotta be Moussa. Great control, good striker of the ball, and an amazing engine. It would be like having our own yaya toure with the only exception that we wouldnt lose him to the cup of nations. Really hope BR brings him but I certainly wont be holding my breathe knowing LFC

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  31. Why is there no mention of gradually easing Connor Coady into the first team?

    It will increase the feelgood factor further still if Buck can successfully bring another baby (namely Coady) through and turn him into a (semi) regular most weeks! 

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  32. I'd be happy with Sissoko, M'Villa or Mohammed Diame who also has a clause for £3.5m even tho we could have gotten him for free in the summer. Diame for me has been so enforcer like this season commanding that midfield and drives forward easily comparable to Yahya Toure deffo a cheaper version. If he hadn't gotten injured against us late on we wouldn't have won at the Hammers. 

    Only thing id say is why aint big clubs interested in M'Villa or Sissoko i mean they've been on the scene and talked about for sometime now makes you ponder but all 3 have valuations on them that are easily in our price range and can be made profit upon.

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  33. Exactly, Capoué is the Lucas - Sissoko is the Gerrard. What I can't help but wonder though is why a player who was supposed to cost 18 million and more a year ago can now leave for 3.5 million? Is Toulouse in financial trouble? Is his contract almost up?

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  34. Rodgers is not entirely wrong there.

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  35. Yann M'villa and Moussa Sisokho now available with bargain price but why LFC refuse to join enter the race to get both players who can operate as holding ball or CDM very effective.They also can assist and able to out scoring the goal.Tough played like combative style.Start walking now and please don't let best target players are missing to another clubs.

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  36. i agree we need another defensive midfielder, but with henderson, shelvey, gerrard, lucas, allen and suso all vying for 3 midfield spots, we already have the amount we need. (ie. 2 for each position). this is why i really dont know why we signed joe allen. not only does he offer very little for the huge fee we paid, but we already have players who can do what he does. we need a player like lucas but we have to sell a midfielder to do so in my opinion or there will be too much competition in there and players will become unhappy like sahin did. i wish we could get rid of allen and replace him with someone like capoue, m'vila or sissoko (all french but they seem to specialise in that type of player), but i know rodgers wont get rid of allen. of course we could just sell downing and suso can compete to play on the right, but i just think hes more effective in the middle. better yet, lets sell allen and downing.

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  37. we've been playing better football with shelvey out of the team and allen.... i would sell both of them

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  38. He was right about aggression being in the mind, but you can't think yourself physically stronger, more powerful, or taller. Especially with regard to Allen who looks underdeveloped, rather than just undeveloped. If he HAS to play Allen, he should only be played in the pockets behind the strikers, to thread balls through. He seems to only be effective if he has space and time. In any defensive position, Allen is a liability and damages the whole dynamic of the team causing undue pressures on those around him leading to errors in their games. I'd love for Allen to turn it around, but I can't see it being possible with his lack of strength being a key limiting factor. I wouldn't play him at all, until he is, what I would consider to be, fit to play.

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  39. This can be said about Remy and M'villa. Probably Debuchy as well. I think the financial realities are hitting french clubs hard. Should note that Sissoko's contract is running down as well.

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  40. yes we have to buy him a really good and strong midfielder

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  41. No you can't think yourself taller or stronger but you can decide not to let yourself be intimidated by someone who is. Messi, Xavi, Sneijder, Iniesta, Makelele. All of them not the tallest people nor the most muscular in the world. The Spanish national team has only 7 players taller than 180cm and only 4 taller than 185cm in it. And they're world and European champions. Most of those are defenders or goalkeepers by the way. Only Busquets and Javi Martinez are not.

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  42. Losing Suarez a blow. Not according to Jamie Kanwar as he has repeatedly said he would sell him. So I'm not entirely sure I would trust his judgement!!

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  43. I don't think were going to get much better than either of them in this window. So I would wait and see how they fare out and if a better option comes assess it then.

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  44. I don't think Allen is intimidated by anyone. I think he lacks the strength to be tenacious in a tackle/midfield tussle, he lacks the strength to shield the ball, he lacks the strength to switch play, he lacks the strength to ping the ball for long passes, he lacks the strength to dig the ball for shots from outside the box, he lacks the strength to drive past opposition players, he lacks the strength to chase down an opponent, he lacks the strength to be effective in any defensive midfield capacity. The players you cite are all significantly stronger than Allen, considerably more talented and more than capable of completing any of the tasks that I've mentioned above. The players you cite are among the world's best and include, arguably, the greatest ever footballer in history. Unless you're willing to put Allen's name alongside theirs, you're not making any valid argument for him. I'm not saying that relatively short players can't be the best footballers in the world, I'm merely stating that Allen is not one of them and, on recent performances, I don't think he should be in the 1st team squad. He needs to add strength to be able to perform to his footballing potential and only then could anyone fairly judge if he is good enough. As is stands, he is not doing himself justice and to play him is not doing justice to LFC. To mention that the Spanish national team only has 7 players over 5 ft 11 in and 4 over 6ft 1 in is totally irrelevant. Joe Allen is 5 ft 6 in and wouldn't get into the Spanish national team for non-height related issues, and unless you think otherwise, there's no point in mentioning it.

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  45. LFC dont do cheap and talented!!

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  46. Yeah, Ian Ayre is embarrassingly slow in transfer dealings and has lost us loads of targets before.

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  47. They're all stronger? What do you organise bench pressing competitions between professional footballers that you know this? Your entire argument is based on nothing but assumptions. The point was that you don't need height and strength to be successful. The Spanish national team proves that point. Or do you think Xavi and Iniesta would beat Robert Huth in a boxing match? Twist and turn all you want, I prefer to stick to the facts.

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  48. They're all visibly stronger and they're all physically able to perform the footballing tasks relevant to their positions because they prove this every time they play. Joe Allen has shown that he is not physically capable and he proves this every time he plays. You need sufficient height and strength to play adult football at the highest levels. These are facts. You're the one who's twisting and turning and who hasn't mentioned Joe Allen once, although my post was specific to him. All you've done is spout random drivel about the Spanish football team and random short footballers, unless you're making the assumption that Joe Allen must be brilliant because other short footballers are. I'll simplify to help you focus and, hopefully, to stop you from going off at a tangent. Do you think that Joe Allen has sufficient strength to perform his defensive midfield duties, to a high standard, for the LFC 1st XI and/or do you think that Joe Allen would be more capable if he gained some strength?  Do you think that Joe Allen should be in the starting XI for the next Premier League match against Arsenal (let's say that he plays against Oldham and plays quite well)?       

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