At the beginning of March, Valencia star Aly Cissokho admitted that he found it 'pleasing' to see his name linked with a move to Liverpool, and the powerful left-back has now confirmed that the Reds are currently negotiating with Valencia over a possible summer transfer.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Cissokho told Le 10 Sport:
"Liverpool have made me an offer and I have reached an agreement with them.
"It is now up to the clubs to agree terms. I expect to know more later this week.
"If nothing happens this week, it probably means that I will not be going to Liverpool".
The conflict at the heart of the deal seems to be the nature of the transfer. Cissokho explained:
"The conditions of the transfer are the problem. Liverpool prefer a loan deal with an option to buy, while Valencia want to sell straight away"
€8-rated Cissokho first acknowledged Liverpool's interest in March, when he told French newspaper Le Parisien:
"I've never hidden the fact that the English league is the one that attracts me the most. It's pleasing to see my name linked to Liverpool. They're a great club, and not just anyone can wear that shirt"
Cissokho insists that if the transfer fails 'it's not a problem', because he's 'feeling well at Valencia', but towards the end of last season, the France international increasingly made clear his frustration with playing a reduced role in the team. He told reporters:
"In this second part of the season I'm not playing as much, unlike the first. Are there English clubs in my future? Well, I'm proud that my name is matched with these clubs"
Liverpool seem to be linked with a new left-back every day, and three names seem to reoccur: Cissokho, Lorenzo Melgarejo, and Guilherme Siqueira. Melgarejo appears to be out of the race now, which leaves Cissokho and Sequeira, both of whom would provide vital competition for Jose Enrique.
The question is, why are Liverpool against the idea of signing Cissokho? €6-€8m for an experienced, 25-year old international left-back seems like good value, but if the club is wary of paying out, and/or is not sure of his ability, then why target him in the first place?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Cissokho told Le 10 Sport:
"Liverpool have made me an offer and I have reached an agreement with them.
"It is now up to the clubs to agree terms. I expect to know more later this week.
"If nothing happens this week, it probably means that I will not be going to Liverpool".
The conflict at the heart of the deal seems to be the nature of the transfer. Cissokho explained:
"The conditions of the transfer are the problem. Liverpool prefer a loan deal with an option to buy, while Valencia want to sell straight away"
€8-rated Cissokho first acknowledged Liverpool's interest in March, when he told French newspaper Le Parisien:
"I've never hidden the fact that the English league is the one that attracts me the most. It's pleasing to see my name linked to Liverpool. They're a great club, and not just anyone can wear that shirt"
Cissokho insists that if the transfer fails 'it's not a problem', because he's 'feeling well at Valencia', but towards the end of last season, the France international increasingly made clear his frustration with playing a reduced role in the team. He told reporters:
"In this second part of the season I'm not playing as much, unlike the first. Are there English clubs in my future? Well, I'm proud that my name is matched with these clubs"
Liverpool seem to be linked with a new left-back every day, and three names seem to reoccur: Cissokho, Lorenzo Melgarejo, and Guilherme Siqueira. Melgarejo appears to be out of the race now, which leaves Cissokho and Sequeira, both of whom would provide vital competition for Jose Enrique.
The question is, why are Liverpool against the idea of signing Cissokho? €6-€8m for an experienced, 25-year old international left-back seems like good value, but if the club is wary of paying out, and/or is not sure of his ability, then why target him in the first place?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
I agree with the last paragraph. A loan deal suggests LFC don't have the money to spend, don't want to spend the money because they're saving it for other targets or don't think the guy is good enough. If it is the latter, look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me this is very smart business. If they can save some money on this transfer window, then the funds can be for another CB and striker or winger!
ReplyDeleteHe is a bit average now. He was one of them players who had potential and got mega hyped, but hasnt lived up to it really. He could still turn it around as he does have talent, just not the sort of player I would call proven.
ReplyDeletewe are cheap skates thats why constantly under valueing players but then we want top dollar for our players when will this madness end ,we miss out on players all the time because we offer peanuts
ReplyDeleteMaybe they want a loan deal so after another season on loan Robinson may be ready for 1st team action.. If we sign him in a permanent transfer that will block his development path.. Maybe that's why Brendan's the manager and we're not??
ReplyDeleteENRIQUE must have been shitting himself with all this talk of competition for his place.We know what "competition" meant for REINA.But if CISSOKHO's the chosen one to provide it i think he'll be relieved.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, at PORTO he looked the real deal and the hype machine started but a few moves later he doesn't look the same player.
A loan deal frees funds to strengthen other areas as someone else has already mentioned.It's not exciting but lets wait and see what the overall picture looks like.
I actually think its the other way round bud, we over pay for players and under sell.
ReplyDeletethis guy is average....plus i get the feeling he just bounces around clubs looking for a payout
ReplyDeleteits not a smart deal if hes not good enough its pointless
ReplyDeleteand we dillyed and dallyed
ReplyDeletethis story has more legs than a millipede...have you ever known a club take so much time to sign a benchwarmer on loan
ReplyDeleteyou could be right but times are changing
ReplyDeletewhat no one seems to grasp is they are off loading him because hes poor....
ReplyDeletehe will fit in fine at anfield then
ReplyDeletewe will get him on loan then loan him to an Italian team and pay half his wages.......
ReplyDeleteI think it's merely an approach to taking on less risk.
ReplyDeleteSign someone on loan with an option to buy, and you're not committed long term.
Sign someone by buying outright, and you assume all the risk.
Simply put, it's a viable strategy in the event that it can work.
But it obviously doesn't always work as the team loaning him out takes on the risk that he could always come back, whether he's hurt, or out of form, etc.
no hes not that good we will pay all his wages;-)
ReplyDeleteand all top clubs do this with top players maybe we could loan messi
ReplyDeletewe should get harry redknapp in as director of football .....the reality is we are not going to improve the team long term by trawling around for loan players...we really have slipped into mediocrity
ReplyDeleteReal Madrid get loan players in, your point? It's like a trial period. Taste the goods out before paying. Just makes financial sense.
ReplyDeletethis guy has degan written all over him.....plus most people cant get shit into there mouth to even taste it
ReplyDeleteHe a good LB, and he would push erinque for first team. Even if it's for a year it's a good deal.
ReplyDeletewho
ReplyDeletei thought he was to but ive researched the guy a bit and now im not to sure
ReplyDeleteEssen and camerio.
ReplyDeleteIf your point is that you don't want him here, that's one thing.
ReplyDeleteIf your point is that we shouldn't take players on loan with an option to buy, that's another issue in and of itself.
It's about limiting risk... if the club can do that, the club should.
yes and they have set them on a fire ,and i think you will find they loaned them with a garunteed price set out
ReplyDeletebut the fact is no top club will do that ,they will only loan out there scraps ,why do we not loan out suarez ,we have loaned out pepe big mistake
ReplyDeleteNot really, Essien is back at Chelsea now. So I don't get the point your making :)
ReplyDeleteHe was good at Porto and Lyon, a player can't go bad In a season. He got talent players don't lose it easy. I'm sure if he signs BR can help him along
ReplyDeleteLoaning out pepe made financial sense, not really a mistake when we are not paying his wages and he will be sold next season.
ReplyDeleteDowning is on his way to west ham for 5 million, waste of 15 million. Hopefully we don't make the same mistake again.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry we won't spend any money so no mistakes can be made. We have defo learnt our lessons
ReplyDeleteWe are still going to buy players? :) just taking time to get the deals done.
ReplyDeleteAnd therein lies the problem.
ReplyDeleteWe are not presently a top club.
We have to make due with our current status and hope to once again become a top club.
That and we brought in his replacement.
ReplyDeleteBut time is running out and players are running out. It's ok, Suarez will be like a new signing that should be enough right?
ReplyDeleteI think Rodgers and Henry have been watching Robocop..."And now it's time to erase that mistake!" On a serious note, the club is taking a hard line with transfers, as much as some people have said our owners are liars blah blah ...They are sticking to their word of not having useless or ineffective players on over inflated wages again. To be fair Downing did improve but is nowhere near good enough, especially as the younger lads have come in and instantly looked better players.
ReplyDeleteAgree but we've got until September the 2nd so hopefully we bring in a couple of players. :) which is likely
ReplyDeletefunny that when fsg took over they said we had the money to compete with anyone and would have a new stadium
ReplyDeleteYes and no, we are still a top club, we are just not currently title or CL competitors.....YET!
ReplyDeletei dont think hes better than jose...maybe im wrong
ReplyDeleteThey didn't say that? When they first took over they said (John Henry said) it was too early to say. re: Stadium etc.Henry then said we weren't going to fill short term needs and They (FSG) came here to win?
ReplyDeleteI agree, their being more wiser in the market and yeah he did improve but he on 80k a week and he 29 with two years left on his contract. Good idea to get rid of him :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, mignolet has done well in goal too and made a couple of decent saves.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't say that, also these couple of weeks have shown players do not want to come to us anymore. Mkhitaryan and costa(supposedly signed a contract extension) which we put out big money to sign them.
ReplyDeleteI've watched many games of this guy when at Lyon and I can tell you he's simply not good enough. He's exactly the same player as Enrique (rash, often loses possession, doesn't read the game very well, ...) with less technique but his crossing is slightly better. I don't see how he fits in Rodgers' system plus he's not even a regular at Valencia who are hardly world beaters
ReplyDeleteLet's face the facts people. We are struggling to sign 'big name players' due to not being able to offer Champions League football and Champions League wages. We will have to get there by doing our business in a smart way with signings like Aspas etc.
ReplyDeleteLet's not feel to bad though as Man Utd do not look like they are having much luck either with Moyes at the helm :-)
Hence only wanting to loan him to have him as backup for this season.
ReplyDeleteThe only teams that have spent more than us in the prem are Chelsea and Man City.
ReplyDeleteAnd it seems that progress is being made for a stadium renovation. It's just going slower than anyone would like.
I agree its a waste of 15m, I remember when we were bidding for him i was so happy when we got 12m rejected then 16m rejected i thougth this will be it surely we wont go higher.....we all know how it ended.
ReplyDeleteHe played well last season but its looking like he'll only be a bench player from now on and with the Pepe situation it just shows the owners dont want to have money on the bench which makes sense.
If we are interested in someone like Capel it would be a bit better business, As he is more suited to our style and surely cheaper than 80k a week.
It seems like LFC are a bit stuck with options. We'll only make a signing if everything is right. Cissokho isn't quite good enough, hence the loan option. We don't want to be stuck with him if he doesn't step up. Any decent left backs are costing money or difficult to get so I think the club are just trying to hedge their bets with the LB position. They'll want to take few risks unless they can get their preferred options at a good price. Conservative for now it seems, but maybe they'll pull the trigger on one of these options soon, otherwise we've got no cover for Enrique and that's an issue.
ReplyDeleteThe CB situation is really tough, because first of all Skrtel has to be moved on. Papadopolous looks like he's not certain because of injury so it's all kind of in the balance right now. We need Papa to get right ASAP and confirm the Skrtel move. Either of those two things don't work out and I think we'll make no moves for a central defender and stick with what we've got. If Papa gets fit during the year and Skrtel can't force his way into the team then we can try again in January which actually makes sense considering we've got enough depth for now.
No idea what could be going on with the attacking player options right now. Seems like Costa was just an enquiry and promptly turned down by Atletico and the player. Luis Muriel seems to expensive, as do some of the promising Brazilians we're linked with. Is it just cost holding us back? Are they all asking too much? Or are we getting turned down because of lack of CL?
I still don't agree with the idea that there is no money to spend, I think Rodgers has always made it clear that he's not going to throw cash away unless they can find the right player. Sure, we're sometimes stuck on how much we're willing to pay, but if we were willing to go 20 million or more for Mhkitaryan then I think it's not purely about not having money to spend. I think they just want to get it completely right. If the right players just are not available for the right price I think we're doing the right thing. It's very easy for fans to talk about spending someone else's money, but I doubt anyone on this page has ever made a multi-million pound transaction in their life outside of a computer game.
The money was wasted when we bought him. I think we all need to put it behind us, there is nothing we can do now except either get him playing well or sell him. No point complaining about his purchase price some years later, we can't go back in time and change it. Downing is worth what he's worth now and the current management will have to make a decision.
ReplyDeleteand they will take some time to adjust to the surroundings and then they will be branded flops or call the player shite if they don't perform and we will all call for BR's head ;)
ReplyDeleteI have always said Henry is not scared to pay a large transfer fee but does not like players who make the wage bill flip.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, we will only sign a player if he 100% fits.
Until we reach the CL then only will we see a change in our transfer trend.
and why not or is rodgers having another adjusting season ,they can be no excuseses look at allt he clubs that have changed manager since we signed rodgers ,will they all be given time to settle if the results do not go right
ReplyDeletespurs seem to be doing all right attracting players
ReplyDeletelarge tramsfer fees and big wages normally go hand in hand
ReplyDeleteMkhitaryan went to Dortmund for 25m but not a massive wage.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same transfer policy as Dortmund.
Who, Dempsey and Sigurdsson?
ReplyDeleteWe cannot change managers every season.
ReplyDeleteWho according to you should we get to replace Rodgers?
ReplyDeleteRodgers will get a longer rope m8 @ least 3 years in the Club ,but i'm more concerned of the players that will be brought in taking more time to adjust.
ReplyDeleteWith our new transfer policy we will see less flops.
ReplyDeleteJust look at how well Dortmund have done over the years by signing players for peanuts and turning them into stars.
I'm not trying to be negative , Signing players with loads of potential is fine but such players won't help us qualify for Champions league any time soon.
ReplyDeletei think Jason meant Dembele,Soldado,Holtby,Vertonghen,Paulinho etc
ReplyDeletei read a rumor that Sequira the Brazilian fullback could only cost 12 million pounds
ReplyDeleteCouthino, Sturridge, Toure, Mignolet.
ReplyDeletePaulinho is yet to prove himself in Europe so it is a 50/50 signing.
Kudos to them for signing Soldado but if Aspas scores 10 or more and adds a whole load of assists then will 26m or 7m be the better deal?
It depends on the type of player you sign. It is crucial for the signing to be the right fit.
ReplyDeleteDowning - Aspas.
Who of these will give us a better chance of getting into the CL?
Agreed. You can have greedy clubs selling not so greedy players. The attitude of the selling club is all business while the attitude of the player can vary. I think it's sensible to not offer a player an over-inflated salary. It saves on the wage bills and discourages players who are here purely for the money. Of course Liverpool wages are already a big step up from other clubs, so it's all relative, but getting a quality player on a low salary that he's happy with is obviously a win-win situation.
ReplyDeleteSome LFC fans will dispute it but I think Spurs are a better team than us right now. We have to turn that around this coming season, but in the last two years could anyone argue we've been better? That's reflected in the comments of some players, particularly Sigurdsson who chose Spurs over a manager he already had a good relationship with. If I was to bet on a team getting a CL spot next season, right now, I'd bet on Spurs ahead of Liverpool. Let's hope a couple of signings and a good start to the season can change that.
ReplyDeleteI think Spurs are going to be in trouble should Bale go to Madrid. Even if Bale does not go I cannot see an unhappy player replicating last season form.
ReplyDeleteyour right ,they have been better,and are pushing on again whilst we stand still
ReplyDeletewe could have got rafa back for a start,i am not his greatest fan but i bet he would have done better than rodgers ,lets face it swansea and west brom had new managers last season and there fans would have been happy with what they acheived
ReplyDeleteso if we bomb again this season we just carry on why ,because hes happy to go along with fsg,s policeys
ReplyDeleteaspas as not played 1 competative game yet,we could say suarez borrini
ReplyDeleteno we do not if you want to hang on to your hopes thats fine but please do not try and empose them on me
ReplyDeleteRafa? You having a laugh?
ReplyDeleteFSG + Rafa = cold water into a pot of boiling oil.
Who else Jason?
Coutinho and Sturridge are clear examples of how Dortmund spend money.
ReplyDeleteAspas might not have played one competitive game in England but did extremely well in Spain and was the stand out player at a struggling club.
ReplyDeleteHe has shown enough in preseaon to suggest that 7m will be very good business.
thats the point m8 any manager who as a bit of clout is a no go with fsg
ReplyDeleteBS, why did they bring back Kenny Dalglish?
ReplyDeleteYou are always so opinionated but never have a proper solution to the points you make?
ReplyDeleteTakes two to tango. I'd guess the player wouldn't mind turning out for Valencia again this season, if it came to it.
ReplyDeleteMarca are reporting Granada Left back has been left out of the squad because the Liverpool move is close. And they don't want to risk injury.
ReplyDeletei'm not 2 gungho about the Aspas signing ,however i will wait and see how he performs m8. As far as qualifying for Champions League i can't see this team finishing 4th at all ,i wish we could but i highly doubt it we are still 2-3 players short on real quality.
ReplyDeletei can't say however i think FSG would definitely like to give Rodgers 3 seasons .
ReplyDeleteGoal reports that both deals for Costa and Cissokho are dead ....
ReplyDeleteCissokho was my first choice for LB a few years ago, and though I haven't really watched him play much over the last couple of years, I would still have him in, especially for such a budget price.
ReplyDeletePeople are way too sold on the hype of 'potential'. It's weird that unproven players tend to cost so much more than established players nowadays.
Agreed. It looks to me as though Liverpool are keeping this as a back up option in case EVERY OTHER LEFT BACK OPTION falls apart because he is clearly available. I think we have learned from the Carroll fiasco and don't want to end up looking silly having just loaned young Robbo out. If he comes it's most likely because he was the best willing/ available rather than the player we wanted.
ReplyDeleteHave not heard Cissoko deal is dead; on the contrary it sounds like negotiations are going fwd. Costa deal is a dead duck. I really hope we sign Siquiera and move Kelly to RB. I would like to see the experiment of Glen Johnson as a midfielder. He has offensive skill and is D would be good for a mid. Not that strong in the air anyway so Kelly beat him there anyway. Just a thought. Lets get on with Cissoko and Siquiera ASAP so it won't take forever to build some chemistry. Skrtel is a goner.
ReplyDelete