21 Jan 2013

'Be careful' - Steve Nicol warns that £16m LFC target is 'not that great'.

With Pepe Reina's long-term future at Liverpool seemingly under threat, manager Brendan Rodgers is reportedly planning a summer move for outgoing Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who recently confirmed that he is not renewing his contract the Nou Camp. The Spaniard has been a fine servant for the Catalan giants, but Anfield legend Steve Nicol is not convinced that he's the answer.

According to a report in The Mirror, last week:

"Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is plotting a summer move for Victor Valdes.

"Barca will listen to offers of around £16million, and the situation has sparked interest at Anfield"


Valdes is definitely leaving in the summer, and his Agents confirmed this in a statement to Spanish national news agency Efe, which read:

"The agents of Victor Valdes have communicated to Barcelona in a meeting held this afternoon the irrevocable decision of the player to not renew his contract"

Discussing Valdes' future on ESPN last night, Nicol observed:

"The grass isn’t always greener, and wherever he [Valdes] goes, he’ll have a hell of a lot more work to do than he does at Barcelona. I personally don’t think he’s that great of a goalkeeper, so just be careful what you wish for"

Nicol's view conflicts with the opinion of Barca boss Tito Villanova, who rates Valdes very highly indeed. He told Marca recently:

"After playing a key part in three of the four Champions League victories in the club's history, I believe he [Valdes] is the best keeper in the world and, more importantly, the best to have played at Barcelona by far"

Is Valdes a better goalkeeper than Reina? Who knows, but it seems like both keepers need a new challenge, and new surroundings might push them both to a higher level of performance.

Jaimie Kanwar

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy


69 comments:

  1. I rate Valdes as the best spanish keeper. If he would come to us, though I am not sure, but if we let Reina go it would be nice to get a decent amount for him, then get someone else who is cheaper to replace him. I`m not sold on Butland as a no 1 just yet. I think he can be good, but isn`t ready right now. Jones seems to be doing ok, and I actually feel more comfortable when he is in goal instead of Reina. Personally I would prefer to keep hold of Reina till the end of the season, so we have more time to get a top replacement.

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  2. £16 million pound for a goalkeeper dont make me laugh we have not got that kind of money to spend on a striker nevermeind a keeper,also agree with nicol hes not that good anyway

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  3. The best Spanish Keeper? I sorry but I believe that position has to be Casillas.

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  4. Asmir Begovic is the goalkeeper we should go for !

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  5. Dear God I find myself agreeing with Nicol...don't be too surprised if you see pigs flying by when you drive home tonight folks.

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  6. i have said on many occasions that he's not up there with the best keepers and barca certainly wouldnt miss him. i have to applaud the fact that he wants to challenge himself at another club, because lets face it, he could have stayed there and won many more trophies in the coming years. personally i would like to see how he will do playing week in week out for a team that conceads more chances than barca do, in my opinion he will be exposed as a good, but not great keeper. for me, thinking about liverpool, we should look no further than germany for our next keeper. take your pick from adler, baumann, ter stegen, zieler or leno. all quality keepers and adler aside, they are all young. (even adler isnt that old in gk terms). i certainly wouldnt want valdes but i do think its time for reina to move on and he clearly seems to feel the same way.

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  7. Much too high a price. Naturally it will be no surprise that the Barcelona chief rates him as the greatest since sliced bread  - after all he is trying to sell him!

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  8. I disagree, I think Casillas is good, but Valdes is better. I think just like in so many countries Casillas being the superstar hero gets picked above Valdes for that reason. Just my view.

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  9. i agree with you on casillas, but valdes is no better than him. in the past, when he was at his best, i actually thought reina was better than them both and deserved to play for spain but they preferred the spanish superpowers ie. madrid and barca to prevail in the national team. thats not me being biassed towards an lfc player, i just genuinely dont rate casillas or valdes as highly as most seem to. right now i think all 3 of them have declined and really none are world class any more, certainly reina hasnt produced for the last couple of seasons. out of the sapnish keepers, joel, who has signed for wigan on loan, seems as good a prospect as any.

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  10. Hmmm, interesting. Except that Reina gets picked ahead of Valdes in the Spain squad too, not just Casillas.

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  11. He's not to clever... just ask Bellamy ;) !

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  12. On Reina's current form maybe yes Valdes may look better than Reina or is it because Barca keep the ball so well that their opponents hardly get a shot at Valdes and at 16M too its just too mush too ask, Begovic is a much much better option if Reina decides to leave i this window.I don't want to see Valdes at Liverpool and just don't see it happening.

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  13. BRAD JONES &PETER GULASKI ARE BETTER THAN VALDES..£16M..NO WAY.

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  14. Valdes is not worth half that money . At Barcelona he does not have that much to do as they normally dominate possesion. When he is called to action nothing spectecular or impressive .

    If Brendan really is interested in Valdes it will be another Allen like mistake.

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  15. I honestly can't see it happening both Reina and Valdes are around the same age. Even though Valdes has not agreed on a new contract why would you let a GK who knows the system Barcelona plays go and replace him for someone who has struggled recently to adapt to a similar style. I think Reina has given the over the years the stabilisation Liverpool have needed to build the spine of a team from the back. However, since Rodgers has come in Reina has struggled with the school of football which Brendan Rodgers wants. So what I'm saying is why would Barcelona let Valdes go and then bring in Reina? Reina loves to boot the ball up instead of playing out from the back. It just does not make sense or is it just me?

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  16. Personally I think Brad Jones has done enough to get a shot as first choice keeper if Reina goes. He doesn't command his box quite so well as reina, but that can be improved with game time. It would save a lot of cash and be a sign of loyalty from the club to one of its players. 

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  17. I think that vorm would be perfect. Plays the same style football so wouldn't take long to fit in. Probably one of the best reflex keepers in the premier league. Would probably cost a lot after recently signing a new contract.

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  18. Valdes only looks good because the team around him make him look good. He'd be a disaster for us our defense is competent at best and shaky most of the time when Enrique is injured. 

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  19. i rate valdes as low as robert green and other keepers..

     the weak point of barca...
    he makes just too many errors .. and sometimes even more than one could resist ... he's good at his best.. but his best days donot come too often ! 

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  20. I personally don't rate Valdes - his stats make him look better than he is because of the players in front of him.  I remember back when Barca weren't as dominant and Valdes made some shocking howlers, and there's a reason he's Spains number 3.  IMO Reina is better despite the dip in form, and if we were to offload him we should bring in someone who appreciates playing for LFC and is a bit more humble than Valdes.

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  21. Your right mate, butland ships a fair few goals & aint ready to be our no 1, i like the look of some of the bundesliga keepers over valdes

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  22. Valdes definitely isn't the best keeper in the world right now. He's not bad either. Anyway, it wouldn't make any sense at all to let Reina go for 10m and then spend 16m on Valdes. There is better talent to be had out there, and on lower wages, too.

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  23. Not so sure about your last comment mate, i think reinas been garbage for a few years but his distribution can actually be ok at times

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  24. It was a surprise to me too, but Jones is already 30 years old...

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  25. Valdez to be honest is a prick who always gets sheltered by the barca backline and attack ofcourse. He's been quite horrible with his blunders putting them into frequent trouble unnecessarily. If there s one thing he is good at, its putting himself as a savage when it comes to confrontations with Real madrid players and other. To be fair, he and Reina (who is anytime a better GK) have both lost their focus, one because of being the worst player in the barca team and the other for thinking he is too good and deprived of glory at Liverpool. Period.

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  26. i was strucked when i watched youtube bit about the other keeper we are linked with. Guillermo Ochoa , mexican keeper. I dont think ive ever seen saves like he pulled on that video, was just amazing... i know players tend to look good on youtube, but this guy might be a real deal.

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  27. Off topic i know but as a parent rodgers must be under a lot of strain with his son being up in court for being a peeping tom, sooner its sorted one way or another the better for lfc, more stuff rival fans will take the p**s with

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  28. I was just going to post about him, Guillermo Ochoa, does look like a decent keeper, and reportly only 5mil. If we can get min 10mil for Reina, thats a nice 5mil in the bag to go towards a different player. Still a risk changing keepers though, as you can never tell if it will work out

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  29. According to The Mirror .. says it all really .

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  30. dont see why we need another keeper if he goes.
    Valdes def do not rate at all, barca dont need to worry about a keeper too much cause he has very little to do. Never had faith in him but a keeper i thought always did a job when he was playing was Jones. Give em a go. Always played well for Boroug i thought consistent which is all you want in a keeper.
    When hes filled in for Reina he never had a bad game
    Jones for me unless something came up for nothing but my god Valdes not a hope

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  31. Its nothing to di with the mirror mate, the lad is up in court, it aint a porky theyve made up

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  32. Probably not only rival fans. Anyway, as long as we don't sign his son there's nothing we should worry about.

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  33. 16 millions + is hes Right Price.-

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  34. The  Price is Right   16 m. + for Mr. Valdez.-

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  35. brad jones came to a crap club in ireland for a season long lone when he was younger and got sent bak after 6 weeks as he wasnt up to it and i dont think anything has changed hes still ok at best,but i wud sell reina if we can get anywhere near 10 million for him he has let in around 7 or 8 alone dis season he cud of done better with  celtic keeper forster wud be my pick watch his 2 games v barcalona top class

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  36. not a chance!! wrong age, too much money and in my opinion, not great. it's the norm now to link us with every player who is: available, maybe available, not sure if he wants to be available, speaks english, doesn't speak english, has blonde hair, red hair,  dark hair, no hair, breathes, forgets to breathe, needs to be told when to breathe........the list goes on and on and on!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  37. sorry m8 cannot understand what your trying to say no offence :-)

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  38. Nicol also said that Sturridge wasn't capable of playing upfront for liverpool?? He's always giving out. In this case I would have to agree with him. I honestly don't mind if Reina goes, he was been fantastic for us for years and if he gets the chance to play for Barca then fair play to him. I just hope we get atleast 10mil for him.I don't want Valdes tho. Begovic maybe??

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  39. 16m for valdes.........b*llocks.......you can get better goalies from germany for half that

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  40. Or we could always use bras jones for now n spend the money elsewhere the lad hasnt put a foot wrong in every game ive seen him in

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  41. I agree with most written - I do not rate Valdes very highly.
    I would have rathered we went for Neuer or Lloris a couple of seasons back, but obviously that would be very hard with them in Bayern and Spurs respectevely now.
     Ochoa is a decent option but a pretty big risk at the same time, since he is usually tested in the inferior Mexican league.

    If Reina were to leave, I wonder if Krul could be an option? He was immense last season, though this season he has conceded 1.5 goals per match.

    The people who are calling for Brad Jones to fill in the gap, here are some statistics that should talk you out of it:
    Reina has conceded 10 in 24 matches this season, 7 in 18 league matches. Jones has conceded 4 in 5 PL matches and overall 13 in 12 matches.
    I think we are lucky to have him as a solid #2, but we deserve better for a #1 keeper.

    *By the way, for general information - Valdes have conceded 32 in 27 matches overall this season, 23 from 20 matches in the league. Casillas conceded 29 in 28 matches, 17 in 19 matches in the league.

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  42. £16 million...... HahAhaha

    He is 30 with 18 months left on contract.

    Valdes would be an awful signing, can't see us going for him. He is really bad at crosses.

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  43. Pepe will not be a loss. Go for Bergovic of Stoke City. By far the best goal keeper in the Premier League.

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  44. you must be joking!?!?! when was the last time youve watched Barcelona VS. X and Real Madrid VS. X ??? the stats say in Valdes favor! no doubt about it, but the question is WHY?? how many times did the opposite side breach Barcelonas deference? NOT MANY TIMES, reason for that is because Barca killes them with passing game, they have no idea whats happening to them, ofcourse one GK is not gonna get so many goals !!! on the other hand Real M. plays different style of game and therefore you have other results there! my opinion is that Reina is at the same lvl like Valdes, if we are about to sell Reina then why not go for somebody better!?!?! i, personally dont see any point in replacing one GP with the other one with the same quality!  

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  45. Guess your right mate but i know id be having a little giggle if it had been purple conks son

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  46. That's for sure. :-)

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  47. Think we should really avoid signing players who need to be told to breathe :-)

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  48. joking aside, i've met a few who really don't have the ability to think for themselves. i don't know where people get this image of 'pampered prima donnas' from!!

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  49. Just heard on Belgian telly that Barca are considering buying Courtois from Chelsea to replace him. If Courtois is really available I say cash in on Reina and break the bank to get him!

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  50. can't really see where your coming from what do you mean casillas being a superstar hero i mean what he has done speaks for itself he has captained his country to 3 major trophys and is captain of real madrid so if he was unfairly getting picked then im sure there would be an out cry but the truth is he is head and shoulders above valdes and most keepers and he will go down as one of the best off all time i mean if your going 2 critize the guy at least give evidence

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  51. To be honest, most footballers are a bit thick. I'm not talking about having a kick with mates though. When I was at uni I also made the observation that usually decent and quite intelligent people turned into thugs and idiots as soon as they entered a football pitch, myself included. Maybe those pros appear a bit thick because they play every day. It's obviously bad for things like common sense, and maybe even for remembering to breathe.
    Prima donnas? There are a few footballers who behave like them. Thick to the bone, but good at kicking a ball. Makes them think they are demigods. And we adore folks like that. Doesn't put us in a good light either.

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  52. We do if he under 24 ;-)

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  53. what about Iker Casillas he is way way better than Victor Valdes.
    Sure Casillas won best keeper or something like that five times in a row 

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  54. I do agree with you that he looks a great keeper but his handling seems a bit suspect and some of the saves he made he parried which he could have easily caught. However handling is a technique that can be taught in to you. His reactions were decent so if his handling improves he will be an amazing keeper!

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  55. Pepe Reina has won the golden Gloves more times than any other keeper in the premiership. (3 times). When rumours were circulating last summer about Arsenal offering 20 million for him I really thought that Rodgers would let him go for that sort of money...He obviously wants to stamp his own brand on the team annd that includes the keeper. I'm not too worried as the mancs have shown it to be a problem position for them for years now...solution ...give the keeper less to do by defending better

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  56. I didn`t say go for valdes, but that I think he is better than both the other two in the spanish squad.

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  57. you can`t see where I am coming from? Cas is there icon, which is why IMO he has always had the number 1 spot. To defend him with the fact he has won 3 major trophys with them seems a little off the point, how could either Reina or Valdes win major trophys with them if they don`t play? That was my whole point, which you missed. It happens in every single country in the world that some players get picked due to there status, even when better are available. Please though point out how I have been critical??? you lost me on that one. Saying I think one player is better than the other, isn`t being Critical or putting down the player, of course they are all great, otherwise non would play for top teams, that don`t mean I don`t feel one doesn`t get picked more for other reasons than football.

    Many pundits have suggest that too.

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  58. Valdes is POOR he would be exposed in the PL, he is rubbish under pressure and in the air I know Reina was a bit lapse at first when he came out to catch but Valdes is worse. I rather see Vorms as our next GK or maybe Maarten Stekelenburg if he doesn't leave for Arsenal or Fulham this month

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  59. He's an amazing shot stopper (as you say, he has pulled off saves as good as anything I've ever seen) but I'm not sure about the rest of his game. The rest is particularly important in the Prem.

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  60. Valdes used to be shite, but a few years ago he really stepped up his performances. I think he is nowhere near as bad as people make out. People are just determined to pick a weak link in Barca's insanely strong side. Some said Abidal was crap until he got cancer. I think Valdes suffers from not being one of the best ever, which about half his team mates are.

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  61. reina is better than valdes, who is only average...the team he plays for have helped him...not the man for liverpool...and when he does move we will all see how good he is not.....

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  62. I agree and, at 30, he'll go elsewhere if we do sell Reina. And what's happening with Doni, is he back with us?

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  63. Yeah, we're not Man City - I'm sure "Souper" Mario has had lessons on this!

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  64. Is that the Royal or Collective "We"?

    The worst offenders in the prima donna argument, imo, are Cristiano Ronaldo and Ashley Cole. And Robbie Savage.

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  65. He is one of the few GK that can get an assist through distributing the ball from the back (lofting the ball up). However, when the ball is passed back to him he seems to be uncomfortable on the ball. Just watch him couple of times. Maybe that's because our defence ain't tecnnacally the best in passing around the ball the way Rodgers wants and that's making Reina hesitant. Reina is good GK but I feel he is struggling in his new role Rodgers has given. Maybe I'm wrong perhaps with a team like Barcelona and tecnnacally stronger defence Reina will feel more comfortable. But that's a huge risk after Reina has not played the Le Masia style of football in quite some time.

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  66. Erm, "we" as in "football supporters", not meant as an statement towards any specific individual.

    C.Ronaldo, prima donna? Absolutely. But how about Balotelli?

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  67. It appears as if Mario doesn't have a brain, so he may not need to breathe at all (his muscles may take up oxygen through his skin).

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  68. I was referring to their journalistic credibility in transfer matters .. nothing else.

    As for

     

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