Prior to the start of the January transfer window, the Agent of Vitesse Arnhem star Wilfried Bony confirmed Liverpool's interest in bringing the striker to Anfield. The Reds ended up signing Daniel Sturridge instead, but reports today suggest that the club is still monitoring the Ivory Coast international.
In October 2012, a report in respected Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claimed:
"Wilfried Bony wants to leave the Eredivisie to play in the English Premier League. Liverpool scouts came to watch Bony. They want him".
In November, Bony's Agent, Dalimor Traore, seemed to confirm the story when he told Reporters:
"Liverpool are one of the clubs who have been considering him.
"We have been in talks with them. It is clear that Bony has attracted interest due to his good performances and consistency.
Bony is already well-known at Anfield - he came for trial in 2007, but Rafa Benitez decided not to move ahead with a deal.
The Ivory Coast international is in superb form this season, and so far, he's grabbed 18 goals and 2 assists in 19 games for Vitesse, which is a fantastic return. Some more stats:
* Last season: 17 goals/8 assists in 32 league games.
* Goal/Assist every 108 minutes.
* This season: Goal/assist every 73 minutes.
Chelsea and Newcastle are also interested in the £15m-rated striker, whose current contract expires in 2015.
Bony's goal record may be good, but as we've seen with the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Mateja Kezman and other players who came from Holland, scoring a shedload of goals in the Eredivisie doesn't always mean the same will automatically happen in the Premier League.
Worth a bid in the summer?
Jaimie Kanwar
In October 2012, a report in respected Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claimed:
"Wilfried Bony wants to leave the Eredivisie to play in the English Premier League. Liverpool scouts came to watch Bony. They want him".
In November, Bony's Agent, Dalimor Traore, seemed to confirm the story when he told Reporters:
"Liverpool are one of the clubs who have been considering him.
"We have been in talks with them. It is clear that Bony has attracted interest due to his good performances and consistency.
Bony is already well-known at Anfield - he came for trial in 2007, but Rafa Benitez decided not to move ahead with a deal.
The Ivory Coast international is in superb form this season, and so far, he's grabbed 18 goals and 2 assists in 19 games for Vitesse, which is a fantastic return. Some more stats:
* Last season: 17 goals/8 assists in 32 league games.
* Goal/Assist every 108 minutes.
* This season: Goal/assist every 73 minutes.
Chelsea and Newcastle are also interested in the £15m-rated striker, whose current contract expires in 2015.
Bony's goal record may be good, but as we've seen with the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Mateja Kezman and other players who came from Holland, scoring a shedload of goals in the Eredivisie doesn't always mean the same will automatically happen in the Premier League.
Worth a bid in the summer?
Jaimie Kanwar
Mateja Kezma?
ReplyDeleteWell, I wont be coming to this site again after that error.
:-)
ReplyDeleteI changed my mind.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like he'd do well in England, Bony, but as you say, you're always weary taking strikers from the Dutch league.
If Liverpool want to become a big team again, we're going to have to take a few of these risks, on players of Bony's profile, and get them right. We can't afford to shop at the top table, nor can we afford to keep paying a premium on talent discovered by other teams.
Something that counts in Bony's favour, compared to Kuyt and Kezman, is that his physicality alone will cause problems. He also looks to have a decent touch in that video (which will inevitably flatter him) and some decent skills. Kuyt and Kezman were poachers who thrived on the poor standards of defending in Holland.
So, he wants to move to the prem and his agent is leaking stories to the media. That's what I make of this. We are linked to so many players that some of the rumours must be wrong.
ReplyDeleteIf he could transfer to the Prem from Holland the way van Nistelrooy or Suarez did (playing wise, not bad press wise), then he'd be good, but there are no such guarantees. I for one would like to think that improving our defensive playing staff is much more important than signing another striker.
About 6ft, 85kg+ he definitely has the body to compete in england.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing im concerned about is the fact that alot of teams have been linked with him for a few years now.
So if he was indeed good enough you would assume someone would have signed him by now.
Look as Ola Toivonen at PSV, Liverpool, Tottenham and some italian clubs were all meant to be fighting over him yet he's still at PSV.
I know that doesnt really mean anything but this link seems to most likely be a recycled story.
But if he comes i hope he bangs a few in for us!
It seems for the last few years if you want to get a bit of publicity for your client you just have to call a paper or radio station and say "Yeah Liverpool and Tottenham have shown alot of interest but i wont go into it in any more detail right now".
ReplyDeleteAlso i agree, if there is truely no iminent threat of Suarez leaving then Attack shouldnt be our priority. DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
the comment below was in reply to yours. clicked wrong box again lol
ReplyDeleteAt 24/25 he 'll be a very good addition, but may be at best for £10-12mn. He can't be worth more than Sturridge.
ReplyDeleteHowever, comparing him with Kezman or Kyut might not be appropriate - Kezman was not strong enough for PL while Kyut was too slow. & Kezman was never given the time or opportunity. In LFC, Kyut successfully was transformed into 2nd striker or right-side midfielder but Chelsea had too much wealth to stick with Kezman.
Bony is a perfect No. 9, but I am not sure he can be that good in BR's 3 man (actually 4 with AM) interchanging forward line. I have seen very little of him, but not sure if BR's system allows a target man. In that case, we should stick with Donkey Carroll to do the "Kick Boxing" act in the box for last 20 minutes against tiring defenders.
This whole strikers from the Dutch league is a non argument straight from the plastic pundit handbook somewhere between "too lightweight for the premiership" and "a player with previous premiership experience will take less time to settle." Suarez came from the Dutch league. So did Van Nistelrooy and Bergkamp. On the flipside Henderson, Downing, Allen, Carrol and Adam all came with previous Premiership experience and I think it's safe to say Suarez settled faster than any of them. Same could be said about Xabi Alonso and Mascherano. The league you've played in says nothing about the talent you have. Sure, a player who is a big star in Holland will stand out less when he's surrounded by big stars at a top Premiership club like Liverpool. You only have to look at Lukaku to see that. But a good player is a good player. If a move to a new club does not work out it can have a number of reasons but it's not because a player looks better than he is in a smaller league. The goals are just as big in Holland as they are in England.
ReplyDeleteHas he been audited by our scouting team?
ReplyDeletei am dreaming of some major signings in the summer and keeping suarez,and i,am afraid bonys not one of them imo if we are to have any hope of convincing suarez to stay we must aim higher than this or i do fear we could well be seeing the last few games of mr suarez
ReplyDeleteagree m8 where did rvp and van basten start you cannot help were you were born or where your parents choose to settle
ReplyDeleteErm no thanks unless overnight he became a No nonsense tough tackling defender
ReplyDeleteSuarez isn't too bad is he??
ReplyDeleteHe will struggle in the PL. He won't get the time and space like in Holland.
ReplyDeleteBut he is skill full on the ball. The team tactics play to him. will not happen here. pass.
Funny, I read the same expert opinion about Drogba a few years back.
ReplyDeleteGuys I wouldn't listen to any rumours about players, unless they are about Swansea players
ReplyDeletecompletely agree. Only thing I would add, is that the goals are just as big, the defending is miles worse lol
ReplyDeletebecause we have signed 1 out of the 6 transfer deals done so far from there?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that we have to take measured risks with players like this. Similar "form players" that didn't have a history of consistent goal scoring, have since gone on to be some of the most sought after players in Europe. Burak Yilmaz and Michu are prime examples of this. Both of them moved for a total of £6-7m and now the idea of a club offering £6-7m for one of the two never mind both, seems ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThat's weird, because it seems like I never said that all strikers from Holland are crap, which is how you're acting, I just pointed out that the defending is worse in Holland and flatters strikers. Care to disagree?
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I said we need to judge Bony on his own talents and need to buy players of Bony's 'profile'.
Well read, matey.
Also, the league you have played in doesn't necessarily give any indications to your talent, but your performance in it does. Example: Andy Carroll had 6 months of good Premier league football. This proves very little other than a good patch of form. Joe Allen had one decent season in the Premiership. Stewart Downing had one especially good season in the Premiership. Charlie Adam had one good season. The problem here is that the sample size of the data isn't sufficient to strongly indicate a trend.
The flip-side: Steve Finnan proves for several years at Fulham that he can play in the Premiership, thus meaning that the risk involved with his transfer is reduced.
Also, Dennis Bergkamp came to England from Italy.
My point exactly.
ReplyDeleteThis is why strikers like Kezman, Kuyt (good player, not especially great striker), Afonso Alves and Samaras etc. do brilliantly over there and not so well in a better league.
The point I was trying to make (that seems lost on some) was that success in Holland doesn't guarantee success elsewhere and you have to judge each player individually.
That was not my point at all.
ReplyDeleteI never said that players from the Dutch league (or the Dutch as you seem to intimate) are inherently flawed.
I said you have to consider the lower standard of defending in Holland when buying players.
Drogba wasn't that great in the Premiership at first, it is only because of his winner's mentality (that is hard to scout) that he became one of the world's best strikers.
ReplyDeleteI see you point, though.
1st of all we need to sell Borini (£8M), Carrol £18M -west ham), Skrtel (£12M-zenit), Coates (£6M), Downing (£7M), Reina (£10M). in the process, we would have gained £61M and lost 2 strikers, 2 centre backs, one goalkeeper, and a right winger. plus carragher will be retiring.
ReplyDeletewith a added transfer kitty of £40M for BR from the board in the summer, that will give us approx £100M to replace and spend on new signings. heres where we start.
Toby Alderweireld(23 CB) Cristian Eriksen(21 AM)- Alderweireld should be a straight repalcement for skrtel. excellent tackler and reader of the game, hes a sure leader blessed with pace and great offensive ability. vision and stevie g long passes are also a trademark to his game. pretty much a similar player to vertoghnen but i believe he is better, hes a truly special player, perfect for BR system.we need more players like this at anfield. they have both had plenty of happy times with suarez and this will be good chemistry on the pitch, off the pitch and in training as they both know suarez game and will know where to pick him out. dont need to say much about Eriksen. these will be £9M and £17M respectively. Very Good and Marquee Signing (£26M)
Stefan De Verij (21 CB) - straight replacement for Coates. (£7M)
Ricardo Kaka (30 AM) - still an amazing player, i think we should make a bid for the out of favour star. once World Player of the Year, this is the kind of experience we need, and can lend on his experience to many players in the team. perfect signing for present and future. Marquee Signing (£8M)
Mohamed Diame (25 DM) - athletic power and strength we've been missing in midfield, he plays alot like yaya toure. for a bargain price, would be good competition for lucas and to fill in for games against teams like stoke. PL expereinced. (£3.5M)
Alex Pato (23 ST) - experienced world class player with still far more years for improvement. plus side, he no longer plays for milan. Pato can be a steal from corinithians, a player who with raw pace who will fit in straight away and can offer 15 goals a season mininimum guarenteed. Bargain Marquee Signing. (£15M)
Mauro Icardi (20 ST) love this guy. would love to see him in red, hes in incredibly quick and has very good movement but its the composure i like about him most, something borini clearly lacks. reminds me of an Argentine Henry. can see this kid becoming a real star, im talking huge. Straight replacement for borini as our developing striker. (£8M)
Asmir Begovic (25 GK) PL experienced very good goalkeeper. still young. straight replacement for Reina. (£10M)
Thomas Ince (21 RW) was gonna choose ben arfa to replace downing at RW but £20M is too much for a player with bad injury history so ince was the most similar type to pursue. incredible on the counter attack, this kid reminds me alot of arjen robben and i think BR will still go for him in summer. replace downing. (£6M)
all together that is £83.5M and these signings are all realistic and the very best for where we are at as a club. we can not get some champions league quality players because we dont offer CL football but these players are very good and will make the squad very competitive for the coming season. there is still £16.5M remaining from the £100M and i think we should use that money to buy a left back to either cover enrique or give him direct competition. any suggestions for LB??
lol calm down you will give yourself an hernia;-)
ReplyDelete