After missing out on a loan deal during the January transfer window, Liverpool are reportedly back on the trail of Barcelona striker David Villa.
Spanish newspaper AS, claims that Liverpool are once again tracking the 31-year old goalscorer - nicknamed 'El Guaje' by Barcelona fans - and according to The Mirror:
"Liverpool hope to land David Villa for a knockdown fee after failing in a bid to take the Spaniard on loan in January.
"Villa does not fit into the FSG remit of signing young players but [Brendan] Rodgers desperately wants proven talent"
Villa's current deal expires in 2014, which means he could be available this summer for a reduced fee of around €10m.
Villa - who cost Barcelona €40m in 2010 - is still struggling to regain top form after being out for so long with injury, but according to Barca coach Jordi Roura, he's getting back to his best. He told reporters recently:
“He [Villa] is an exceptional player. He’s a real goal-scorer and bit by bit, he’ll get back to his best level and be even more important for us.”
Villa is not really a prolific goalscorer for Barcelona, which is surprising given the quality surrounding him on the pitch:
* 2010-11: 23 goals/6 assists in 51 apps.
* 2011-12: 11 goals/2 assists in 27 apps.
* 2012-13: 14 goals/5 assists in 38 apps.
I wouldn't blame FSG for rejecting this deal, and it's not even a question of age. Villa's recent injury history is a giant red flag, and there are more prolific strikers out there that Liverpool could sign for similar money.
Having said that, signing someone of Villa's prestige and experience could be a massive boost for the club, and if Xabi Alonso accompanied him from La Liga, Liverpool's experience level would jump by about 100%.
Jaimie Kanwar
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Spanish newspaper AS, claims that Liverpool are once again tracking the 31-year old goalscorer - nicknamed 'El Guaje' by Barcelona fans - and according to The Mirror:
"Liverpool hope to land David Villa for a knockdown fee after failing in a bid to take the Spaniard on loan in January.
"Villa does not fit into the FSG remit of signing young players but [Brendan] Rodgers desperately wants proven talent"
Villa's current deal expires in 2014, which means he could be available this summer for a reduced fee of around €10m.
Villa - who cost Barcelona €40m in 2010 - is still struggling to regain top form after being out for so long with injury, but according to Barca coach Jordi Roura, he's getting back to his best. He told reporters recently:
“He [Villa] is an exceptional player. He’s a real goal-scorer and bit by bit, he’ll get back to his best level and be even more important for us.”
Villa is not really a prolific goalscorer for Barcelona, which is surprising given the quality surrounding him on the pitch:
* 2010-11: 23 goals/6 assists in 51 apps.
* 2011-12: 11 goals/2 assists in 27 apps.
* 2012-13: 14 goals/5 assists in 38 apps.
I wouldn't blame FSG for rejecting this deal, and it's not even a question of age. Villa's recent injury history is a giant red flag, and there are more prolific strikers out there that Liverpool could sign for similar money.
Having said that, signing someone of Villa's prestige and experience could be a massive boost for the club, and if Xabi Alonso accompanied him from La Liga, Liverpool's experience level would jump by about 100%.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Villa is still a good player. The stats above don`t tell the whole story. However I think he would only be good as a back up guy. He would make a great back up striker but I can`t see us spending that money on a back up, nor could I see him wanting to move to become a back up.
ReplyDeletenot going to happen if they did,nt push hard for sniejder there defintly not going to push the boat out for villa
ReplyDeleteHe wont leave Barca, maybe at 33 he might..just might..
ReplyDeleteDo we need him?? Have seen a lot of injured players signed by Liverpool - Aquilani, Joe cole, torres, andy carroll...(yes, torres was unavailable for much of 2008/09-2009/10 season)...harry kewell, aurelio...so on so forth. Do we need another player who might be going the same way. Considering that
A) He's never played in EPL.
B) The intensity of EPL, the physicality, is altogether different from LaLiga, hence proclivity towards injury more imminent.
Keeping this in mind a 5-6 mil fee is okay, anything more...we should not be interested.
COMMENT NUMBER 2 SPOT ON AND YOU KNOW IT
ReplyDeleteWhat does Sneijder have to do with it though? They are two different players with (seemingly) very different wage demands.
ReplyDeleteSneijder still wanted to be paid like one of the top players in the world, which he hadn't shown himself to be capable of in quite some time. That's the main reason why FSG didn't pursue him seriously.
The real question for FSG is going to not be Villa's age; it's going to be his health and his wage demands along with Barca's fee demands.
The same goes for Xabi.
Not a chance,too old. Spanish press almost as bad as our own.
ReplyDeleteI think Jason's referring to the players' ages: they're not good for sell on value and there's a chance they'll both end their careers after their next contratcs.
ReplyDeletewe have had our fingers burnt with morentes to old and couldn"t hack the epl just get carroll back it gives us a plan b and lescott for 5 million is a steal
ReplyDeleteyep but if the reason we didnt sign sneijder had nothing to do with his age then the reference is somewhat pointless. We will never really know the reason so all just guess work.
ReplyDeleteall fair points, but i could counter with many players who have no EPL experience and came from La Liga and did well. You have Torres, Coutinho (after loan spell), plus many many more. If anything for us the ones who have EPL experience seem to be the ones who do worse. Looking as the players available in the EPL I would actually rather go abroad, esp as they are often much cheaper too.
ReplyDeleteas mark states
ReplyDeletejaimie how do i write a guest post i,ve got a couple of fantastic ideas and i,am sure my fellow posters contributions would be outstanding,i just need a bit of help with the grammer part but i,am sure you could play a blinder for me (god sound like rodgers )but seriously
ReplyDeleteDavid Villa is a superb finisher and he is clinical !!
ReplyDeleteAt Barcelona everthing goes through Messi since he plays as the centre forward. That's why they really struggle without him, since it's all about him. None of the other players really have great stats ... whether Sanchez nor Pedro.
The question is, does Villa still have it in him ?? Will he ever get back to his best ?? Are we willing to take the risk ?? Are we willing to pay his wages ??
agreed 100% billy ...tick tack my arse ,,,liverpool pumped high ball after high ball up the pitch yesterday and rogers says its not his style...that coupled with the fact he is the best defensive header of the ball we have....its mad ..and i agree with lescott a proven prem defender who will put his head in were it hurts
ReplyDeleteCouldn't disagree with the last part more, he had one serious injury which could happen to anyone, his goals tally is less for Barcelona aswel because he plays out of position in comparison to when he played for Valencia, u should find the stats for his goals and assists then!
ReplyDeleteI understand Mark's point, but as Zanatos says, I didn't think Sneijder's situation had so much to do with age.
ReplyDeleteFor his wages, I didn't rate him highly. If his wages were more reasonable, I'd have certainly considered him more viable, but it never seemed to be the case.
In terms of FSG, I think they'd be willing to take on an older player provided that he's not too expensive and he's going to provide at least 3 good years of service.
Villa could be a good back up. But is a back up worth 10m? That's certainly debatable in my view.
As long as its not another post about footballers f*cking cheating sounds good to me
ReplyDeleteWhy do people assume automatically that FSG did the PR stunt?
ReplyDeleteAny thought that Wes or Inter did it to drive up the price?
It could happen to anyone.
ReplyDeleteBut it happened to him.
In a perfect world, it wouldn't be held against him, but it's not a perfect world.
And you're assuming that if he played in his natural position, he'd be able to put his numbers from years ago, without accounting for his age or his recent injury history.
Jaimie brings up valid points.
I'd personally still look into him, but I wouldn't be breaking the bank for him.
cheers my m8 proof of the puddin tic tac 0 bayern 7 !!!!
ReplyDeleteSad but true. Villa would have given us awesome two years with a definite push for Champion's League. He is playing as a Left Forward at Barcelona and yet has scored so many goals. For Liverpool he could be the striker with Suarez supporting and Coutinho and Sturridge on the wings.
ReplyDeleteYeah this tick tack sh!t can't win anything... Except the 3 La Ligas, 2 Champions Leagues, 1 Copa Del Rey, 3 Spanish SuperCups, 2 World Club Cups and 2 European Supercups in the 4 seasons Pep was there. Thats not taking into account before Peps time, or even looking at the World Cup/Euros where most of the Spanish players are FCB, and integrate the 'tic tac' as you so avidly put it, into the NT's game.
ReplyDeleteIn seriousness, I believe that Villa would do well, but only on a 1 or 2 year deal and if they wanted any over £6m tell them to sit on it. He does suffer from niggling injuries and can drift in and out of games, however he is just awesome when on song.
I wouldn't say no to Villa. Injury history aside. If we could get him for cheap he still has another couple of years left in him and he remains a supreme finisher. Like you said if we can add Villa and Alonso then wow. Put those two with some younger talent that I'm sure FSG will want to sign and we could have a great mix next season.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have Higuain
ReplyDeleteimo age is king with fsg if theres not a profit for selling a player on there not interested
ReplyDeletetheres a rumour that lfc have offered 17million for eriksen and will not pay anymore well if thats the case stinks of pr to me because theres no way we will sign him for that fee
ReplyDeletewe can dream;-)
ReplyDeletei take it as jaimie as not replyed my post would be a no no lol
ReplyDeleteIf Villa can have a similar impact to Henrik Larsson in his latter years then 6 mil will be a steal.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to have a powerful fwd that can hold the ball up up front or get a header onto the endless crosses and corners we put in though.
As opposed to age, I believe the real measure is placed on value.
ReplyDeleteThey place a value on a player and don't pay more than that since they were burned two summers ago.
If a guy is 31 years old and worth 3m, they aren't going to pay 4m. But that's irrespective of age. If he's 24 years old and worth 20m, they aren't going to pay 21m
But it's the same concept. You're implying that LFC is releasing this to say we are in it for Eriksen.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't the argument be made on the flip side that says that Eriksen or his club are putting that out there to try and let people know that he can be had for 18m?
or 20 oddmillion more realistic
ReplyDeleteJust another media story to get him a move. I think he will end up at Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteThats just negotiating to get there though.
ReplyDelete