Last week, reports in Spain claimed that Liverpool were on the verge of sealing a deal for on-loan Barcelona B attacker Luis Alberto, and with the Catalan club deciding not to take up the option to buy, a move to Anfield is edging ever closer.
Spanish newspaper Sport recently reported the Reds' interest, and according to Mundo Deportivo today:
* Sevilla need money, and are willing to listen to offers.
* Brendan Rodgers has been tracking Alberto 'for years'.
* Sevilla have already rejected the Reds' opening €6m bid.
* The Spanish club is holding out for €9m, but may compromise for €8m.
20-year old Alberto - who grabbed 11 goals and 17 assists for Barcelona B last season - confirmed his Nou Camp departure on Twitter. He said:
"Today I say goodbye to this club. It was an unforgettable year. I want to thank everyone for your support from day one. Thank you all"
When quizzed by reporters recently about his future plans, Alberto told Estadio Deportivo:
"I would be really happy to move back to Sevilla, it's my home and I owe everything to that club"
Discussing Alberto's future in April, Sevilla chief Ramon Rodriguez told reporters:
"It seems unlikely that Barcelona will pay. Not only the €4 million asn it is a rather high amount. The ball is in the court of Barcelona, but in my mind, Alberto will return and this year will serve to develop him for the first team."
Rodgers claimed he'd also tracked Coutinho for a number of years, and look how that transfer turned out. It would be great to have another attacking player at the club capable of making a Coutinho-type impact.
Jaimie Kanwar
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Spanish newspaper Sport recently reported the Reds' interest, and according to Mundo Deportivo today:
* Sevilla need money, and are willing to listen to offers.
* Brendan Rodgers has been tracking Alberto 'for years'.
* Sevilla have already rejected the Reds' opening €6m bid.
* The Spanish club is holding out for €9m, but may compromise for €8m.
20-year old Alberto - who grabbed 11 goals and 17 assists for Barcelona B last season - confirmed his Nou Camp departure on Twitter. He said:
"Today I say goodbye to this club. It was an unforgettable year. I want to thank everyone for your support from day one. Thank you all"
When quizzed by reporters recently about his future plans, Alberto told Estadio Deportivo:
"I would be really happy to move back to Sevilla, it's my home and I owe everything to that club"
Discussing Alberto's future in April, Sevilla chief Ramon Rodriguez told reporters:
"It seems unlikely that Barcelona will pay. Not only the €4 million asn it is a rather high amount. The ball is in the court of Barcelona, but in my mind, Alberto will return and this year will serve to develop him for the first team."
Rodgers claimed he'd also tracked Coutinho for a number of years, and look how that transfer turned out. It would be great to have another attacking player at the club capable of making a Coutinho-type impact.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
It's a hard one to call. I haven't seen much of him, bar all his youtube videos. He really impress' in them video, looks a special talent.
ReplyDeleteSaying that, will he be able to make the step up to Liverpool? The premiership? It's hard to know, 9m is alot, but I would take a chance on the kid. He has a bit of size to him aswel.
Good we moving thing quick ! How bout Shipping thing OUT??? JK any news (other than LS) ??
ReplyDeleteIf his quality and will likely to make an impact like countinho then we should go for him,but 9m for a 20yr old seems like a gamble but did he score the 28 goals/assists in the la liga or the segunda division but what happened to the Eriksen deal i thought we were suppose to buy him for 20m but it looks as though we have put off our interest in him,when actali he considers Anfield as one of the options but i heard BR was given 35m plus possibly 15m for the Carrol deal and possibly 50m for Suarez deal
ReplyDeleteRodgers always trying to look like the oracle. Tedious
ReplyDeleteNot a bad player and has potential but what about the signings we need to improve the team NOW??
ReplyDeletei have also noticed that the names were now getting linked with are becoming cheaper players by the day...
Ayres said we can still attract the top players but at the moment we seem to be linked with mainly second division players ie ince , Alberto , kone etc and nearly relegated Vigo player whilst the top 4 in the prem will be buying Real Madrid first team players etc . I hope we can get a top 4 spot but I somehow very much doubt it will happen if we get most of our signings from ie Blackpool , Wigan, reading and Swansea .we shall just have to wait and see but let's hope we can bring in 1 or 2 stars from outside the British leagues .Hopefully this aspos will become a very good signing but we shall see ??As for the video above most of the games there were empty stands so couldn't of been massive matches ? And if he's that good why did he get loaned out to barca b ?surely if he was playing that well for Sevilla they would of kept him ?maybe were loan out coutinho to Blackpool next season ?
ReplyDeleteWe are not signing Kone, rest assured. The media will link us with many more players that are just plucked out of the air.
ReplyDeleteAs long as BR is buying U21 players from mainland Europe or Latin America for less than $10mn or so, I think it's a good investment. The 2 young guys that we are linked (Illory, Alberto) are wonderful prospects. Had they been English, would have priced at least 2 times, may be 3 times when I realized that MU spent $25mn or so for Wilfred Zaha.
ReplyDeleteSpanish B Division is much more skillful & technical Championship (which is basically a mixture of American & Association Football). If a 20 years old boy can dominate that league, by the time of 23, once his physical development is complete, can dominate English game.
the days of big spendding are over at anfield when you luck at the players our rivals are after and then you look who we are after it makes you think,we will never be in the cl on a regular basis we might get lucky every so often but ,not often
ReplyDeleteHe be a good player, he 20 he needs a go at first team BR will give him that, we just need to add more depth to our squad then we can bid big for players again because then we will only need one or two players :-)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with what you stated in the 1st para ,fans just have to be more patient and support the Rodgers to get the team rolling and hopefully maybe in a few seasons we will be challenging for titles again.
ReplyDeleteyes m8 and iam father xmas;-)
ReplyDeleteWe need more players if we buy two two million pound players then our. Budget has been blown. Buying players cheaper doesn't meant here rubbish, michu-2million Hernandez-7 million BA-free, cabaye-4 million. There players out there which can improve us it's not just about spending loads on a player
ReplyDeleteIf we are signing players like Couthino who cost 8 million and Sturridge 12 million then why do we need to make any big money signings?
ReplyDeleteOur new scouting system looks to be doing a decent job.
The days of signing your Aquilani's for 20 million on 100k plus a week in wages are over. Carroll 35 million was probably the worst mistake we have ever made. Deals like these will never ever be seen again and rightfully so.
where will he play though ? i wouldnt want to move coutinho from the centre its there for all to see he is at his best there .........
ReplyDeleteI am quite happy with Aspas, think he will be another bargain but I highly doubt Liverpool Football Club will be interested in Kone.
ReplyDeleteThis Alberto guy looks like a good prospect and one for the future!
ummm coutinho was 8m and is 20 tooo we took a gamnle on him and it paid off but yeah i get ur point of too much gambling ;)
ReplyDeletehopefully MS :D
ReplyDeleteYou are right. For every Falcao and Fernandinho, there's Michu and Demba Ba. The keyword here is buy smart, not buy big. Our signings in Jan prove the point.
ReplyDeleteSidetrack a little, just read an article talking about how badly Barcelona fared in the transfer market over the years. Of course, they can afford to waste. We are not as rich as Barcelona, with a much smaller stadium and not in the Champions League 3 years running. All the more we should be prudent and frugal.
I agree with coutinho pulling the strings, aspas,Sturridge and Suarez(if he stays) will get alot of joy upfront, Alberto looks like he can have a say in our first team too, he reminds me of coutinho with his passing..
ReplyDeletePace..skill..shots..passing.. technically gifted.. Sign him up!
ReplyDeleteNo one expected Coutinho to deliver as much as he did. I think it was more of a luck than anything else. He wasn't performing that good in Inter and they were forced to sell him cheap. I don't think its anything to do with BR tracking him for years. I remember when we sign Borini, BR sad he is the FITTEST striker I have ever seen and regarding Allen welsh Xavi, potential 40mn player, blah blah. I don't think that BR's judgement can be trusted every time. I think since we hired new scouts after summer and a little bit of experience from summer transfer disaster helped us in January. I expect to see our scouting team including BR continue to find bargains and potentials that can also make an immediate impact. I would be happy if even 3 out of 5 signings make immediate impact.
ReplyDeleteCoutinho played most of the times in left wing (inside forward) and I think he will play there next season too.
ReplyDeletefront 3 of Sturridge, Aspas and Countinho
ReplyDeletemid 3 same as previous season...I hope we buy eriksen
It's the way Liverpool play now that makes it easier for attacking players with ability to shine. If Coutinho when to Liverpool and Rafa was still manager Coutinho would've struggled.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you bringing me this year? :)
ReplyDeleteyes but dont u think of all the players we have currently he is the best suited for cam and also his synergy with all our forwards makes him best choice if alberto is bacup for coutinho by all means its ok but if it is to push coutinho to wings its a bad choice (IMO) rodgers knows best after all
ReplyDeletethe fact we going for alberto means NO mhiktaryan AND eriksen shame really here i was thinking fsg about to show some ambition (PS JC u need not tell me u have been saying that for a while now ;-) )
ReplyDeletewe had many mids 3 last season unless u mean lucas gerrard hendrson :P
ReplyDeleteactually that depends :P torres took a shine to it :P defenders would struggle 500% though :P
ReplyDeletesays who?
ReplyDeleteSo far, the mooted transfers have all been at reasonable amounts, 7m Aspas, 4m Illori £6m Alberto.
bearing in mind the £15.5m for Carroll, 3m Spearing 4m Coates, then at least one big money signing is very much on the cards, without going over the top, and without selling Suarez.
IF Suarez goes, then all things are possible.
Papadopoulous and Mhkitaryan/Eriksen will do for me, with the young guys pushing the 1st team squad for playing time.
Found a great vid of Mkhitaryan: http://youtu.be/4_mOuXcVI34
I agree with you 100% :-)
ReplyDeleteyes
ReplyDeleteLooks like a possible star however most though the same of OA when he joined so in reality its impossible to judge a player properly by watching highlight clips,that said 28goals/assists is impressive
ReplyDeleteOne of the players linked with us that truly excites me. He looks quality from what little of him I have seen and for the price thats being thrown around looks a good bit of business.
ReplyDeleteU got my vote too mate. Spend big doesn't always guarantee the players will be a success. I'm glad we showed everyone we learnt our lessons from years gone by. Not only did we getting our transfer business done quickly in regards to players coming in we're also getting players with quality that doesn't cost us arms & legs. Well done to BR & his scouting teams & FSG for sanctioning the buys quickly. So far we're nearly have 3 quality players wrapped up & looking around the othe EPL teams, some still yet to make any bids
ReplyDeletesorry m8 but it will not be champions league
ReplyDeletem8 we are a little selling club now any good players will be snapped up by the big boys including any of our yougsters that come good how long do you think coutinho is going to be happy with no cl
ReplyDeletei do not want alberto at our club just heard hes supposed to be the new xazi well after the welsh one no thanks
ReplyDeleteBack to form chatting BS again hahahaha...Knew it wouldn't last :)
ReplyDeletelol ah theres a decent chance if the signings we make prove successful
ReplyDeleteAgreed! :-)
ReplyDeletedude believe me i want mhiktaryan too but how many cental mids can we have ? also i expect suso to be a regular sub next season ....... suso coutinho alberto stevie g hendo allen so many mids
ReplyDeletewe all know the welsh one is no xazi :P may be a spanish one could cut it close :P
ReplyDeleteand maybe not;-)
ReplyDeleteAlberto needs to slowly get put Into first team we only have one real CAM with a eye for a pass coutinho. Gerrard,Lucas,Allen,hendo will fight for the role of the two Infront of the defence, then have three CAM, coutinho,Alberto, and hopefully mhiktaryan or Ericsson :-)
ReplyDeleteand i suppose the other clubs are all going to gamble on potential as well
ReplyDeletetruth hurts m8
ReplyDeleteits a gamble its a gamble :P jurys out if brendon rodgers is a betting man :D
ReplyDeletecan fans stop deluding themselves dreaming about eriksen and other big names its not going to happen unless we lose our biggest name and even then i would not bet on it ,by the way its nice to see fsg trying to pull out all the stops to keep suarez with signings like this lol,
ReplyDeleteYes we could go out and sign a few Carroll's, Downings for big money. Just let the guy get on with his job, Jobsy.
ReplyDeleteill be brutally honest .....hendo cant defend to save his life .....but he is a best in attack id rather have him support coutinho in attack than have him shield the back four ....he just not ready for it yet
ReplyDeleteevery signing we make is a gamble;-)
ReplyDeleteapparently our pistol~hero(ero) [sorry for the pun couldnt resist :P ] gonna decide his fate next week ......so next week we see if we gonna make em big name signings :S
ReplyDeleteLonger than you, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteapparently allen wasnt a gamble as said by rodgers :P he knew whom he was signing :P .....damn the only welshman i wish we had was bale :P
ReplyDeleteHe only young he can improve that, what I like about hendo is he has a engine on him, he can run with the ball he will improve and be a key figure for years to come.
ReplyDeleteyes but i feel better to put that engine in attack mode :D
ReplyDeletei think he has already made his mind up and fair play to him if the club cannot or will not try and match is ambitions why should he stay
ReplyDeleteyou suspect right;-)
ReplyDeleteoh yes a forgot he garunteed to worth 30million ,30million what surley not £
ReplyDeleteWe seem to be on the verge of a lot of transfers. I mean, the rumours seem credible.
ReplyDeleteThe big ones we have to get, if we're going to go up a level, is Mkhitaryan and Papadopoulos.
If we get Illori, Papa, Mkhitaryan, Toure, Alberto and Aspas, I think that'll be a pretty decent window, and the speed the business is being done, it could only be a start. If we added a commanding box-to-box midfielder to that compliment of players, we could really be on to something.
Personally, I'd like to see Suarez, Carroll, Skrtel, Shelvey, Reina and Coates sold and see a team that is something like this:
Mignolet
(or Begovic- they seem the most likely)
Johnson -- Papa -- Agger -- Enrique
Lucas -- Gerrard
Aspas --- Mkhitaryan --- Coutinho
Sturridge
If we could get a steadier left-back and a beast for midfield, we could really start to progress next season.
It'll be tough though, since I think Chelsea, City and even Arsenal will spend big next season.
I am on about cheaper alternatives... like Kone apparently 6.5 mil when Gomez is been touted at 7mil so for the sake of saving a few quid we are according to many looking at Kone and not Gomez, maybe Gomez wouldnt join us but we could at least show some ambition and try!
ReplyDeleteEvery football fan in the world knows we were making a mistake in signing them players, but Dalglish wanted them and got them, other managers wouldnt have gone anywere near them for half the prices we paid.. All i want is some ambition in the signings to improve us now not find cheaper alternatives and then say there for the future, thats what arsenal have been doing for years and what have they won lately?
ReplyDeletei have replied but as usual its awaiting moderation...
ReplyDelete:D
ReplyDeletetrue dat
ReplyDeleteI dont think hell improve the team IMMEDIATELY. Also we he have the likes of suso and texeria who are similar. Paying 9 mill euros is ridiculous considering barca didnt think he was worth 4 mill euros
ReplyDeleteEvery signing every club makes is a gamble. If you're gonna constantly whine at least come up with something original
ReplyDeleteAnd your evidence for this stunning conclusion is what exactly?
ReplyDeleteDude you really do need to lighten up your negativity is depressing. Can't you be a little positive that we are moving quickly to sign players? Transfer season isn't even open yet so there's no reason to think we won't sign 1 or 2 big names
I do agree but Henrikh can play anywhere on the front line, and is naturally a striker not a AM. Although like you I think signing Alberto means we wont get Henrikh
ReplyDeleteI agree with this so much. It`s also why our defense who were sort after by City etc are now deemed rubbish by our own fans.
ReplyDeleteA Really exciting looking young player, not sure how he will cope/settle tho as in if he is first team ready just yet.
ReplyDeleteAs a general im really excited with some of the deals we are doing, mainly cause we are doing them super fast, which suggest the scouts have been after these players for a while. No late deals which always rings of hope more than watching them. Clearly the scouts have been watching them and told BR they are the ones to get. That makes me less worried about them.
However i`m also a little concerned that the cash is adding up on pretty unproven players. Yes Toure was free, but Alberto and Aspa weren`t/aren`t. They are also filling the spaces in attack which means less chance of other players coming in. I am hoping they have some more match ready payers lined up and are either waiting to sell suarez, or AC.
The players signed, mean`t to sign all look good editions, but only if we sign some proven top star players to really push the team forward. While I think Aspa and Toure will do well. They aren`t two players I would want as the main signings for there area. If we sign more in them areas then we must be selling people.
It is though nice to see us getting the deals done so quick and before we have sold people. It looks like Br wants all the deals sorted first, then sell the unwanted players after. Massive credit to him and FSG for taking that approach.
Completely agree on the the buy smart idea. For too long we have just brought. Not always big, not always smart either. Rafa did well, but since he left we just paid to much for poor players (Hendo looks good but still overpaid at the time).
ReplyDeleteCoutinho and Sturridge look like bargins. 4 more deals of the same standard as them, for the same cost but in different positions and we would be flying, and all done for the same price as AC.
He depresses me too haha! You're not the only one
ReplyDeleteHe thinks being negative makes him sound wiser, or he's just one of those endlessly pessimistic people.
ReplyDeleteMost of his predictions are of the 'we'll never get anywhere' variety . he ignores simple facts if they don't fit in with his opinion.
I'll give him this though, he's nothing if not consistent!
ALL the top sides have options in every position. If Coutinho was to be injured for a few weeks, say 7 or 8 games, who will provide the creative spark?
ReplyDeleteWe need options. Bans, injuries, loss of form will all occur through the season. We need to be pretty much just as strong a side when those things happen. It's not just the first 11 that we need to get top 4 status
He's a forward really, can play across the front line or just behind, Utd have RVP, Shrek, Hernandez and Wellbeck City have Dzecko, Tevez, Aguero and Cavani/ you don't see them saying we have too many top players.
ReplyDeleteSo far we have Suarez hopefully, and not for 6 games, Sturridge we hope immediately, but if not, then it's Borini and Aspas. One more injury would be pretty bad
Utd have 7 senior midfielders ay our young and new players and what do we have? Stevie, Downing Lucas , err , Allen Hendo? More potential than proven.
The more the merrier as long as they're up to scratch quality wise
But his inventiveness in the spelling of English words offer great comic relief. Would be fabulous to learn where JC was educated.
ReplyDeleteyep thats there but what keeps me in doubt is that fsg will want to keep overall wage low by keeping a just enough squad .....not too many people
ReplyDeletegiven choice though id go for alberto because i rather we blow the big bucks on a defender rather than an attacker for now
ReplyDeleteYeah fancy not wanting to pay over the odds for the same players everyone else is chasing!!
ReplyDeletein terms of coutinho he had experience playing with inter no matter how small a chance he would be a hit was there also given his loan spell at rayo ......in terms of alberto very high risk gamble .....he hasnt played with sevilla and just has second division experience .....hopefully its a gamble that pays off
ReplyDeletehe simple facts are we buy young potential players that will leave if they reach there potential if we do not improve on the pitch simple really
ReplyDeleteso why the f"ck do you post me all the time do not depress your self no more
ReplyDeletewere moving quickly to sign potential players like eriksen are still waiting
ReplyDeleteglen i have said it before and i will say it again get a life you sad tw"t do you ever post anything about football
ReplyDeleteJason, you never learn do you?! One week ban for insulting another poster.
ReplyDeleteSent from Samsung Galaxy Note
-------- Original message --------
Pessimism and despair?
ReplyDeleteCoutinho was much less of a gamble. We had been scouting him for years. He'd played 63 games of first team league football when we signed him. These guys have hardly or never featured for their respective clubs. I know FSG said they want to do things the Arsenal way but this is taking the weewee. Why on earth would players like Suarez want to stay at a club that doesn't show a short term ambition as well as a long term one? There is a reason why guys like Van Persie and Fabregas left the Emirates.
ReplyDeleteWe ARE improving on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteStrange point though, what would a £20m player do if we didn't improve? He would still leave. We can't splash the cash like a top 4 club because we need to replace more players, we can't do what say Man U did and just buy 1 marquee signing and a squad player. Not yet.
yep ....
ReplyDeletei'm probably too early for my Christmas gift
ReplyDeleteHmm....sounds about right...that or a bag of coal but in ways they are the same thing...aren't they?
ReplyDeleteCorrect!!!!
ReplyDelete