10 Aug 2013

Time to sell? - BR responds to transfer interest in 'world class' £17m LFC star.

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger continues to be linked with a move to Barcelona this summer, and in his post-Celtic press conference this evening, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers acknowledged the speculation, and provided an update on the situation.

Earlier this week, Rodgers employed some blatantly obvious reverse psychology as part of what I perceive to be a very deliberate strategy to dissuade Agger from considering a move to Barca. He told reporters:

"This is all about loyalty. He [Agger] gave me his word that for as long as I wanted him to be at Liverpool, he would be at Liverpool. He has never swayed from that.

He's obviously a world-class defender, with an unswerving commitment to Liverpool, which is so refreshing. His loyalty to the club is incredible.”


After that statement, how is it possible for Agger to leave the club this summer without looking like a disloyal traitor who broke a promise to the manager (!)

When asked this evening about the possibility of Agger moving to Barcelona, Rodgers laid it on thick once again:

"There's nothing in terms of Barcelona. He [Agger] is a top player who really wants to work at the club. We named him as vice-captain and I'm really looking forward to him in his new role".

Prior to last season, Agger had clocked up 24 MONTHS of injury time during his Liverpool career, and at present, he holds the record for the most injured LFC player of all time.

Agger's injury history: 2006-2012

Daniel Agger Injury History at Liverpool FC

Unfortunately, the Dane is injured yet again, and earlier this evening, Rodgers provided a new update on his latest affliction:

"Daniel had some fluid in his knee after Steven's testimonial game. He had to get that taken out so he hasn't trained for the week"

Hopefully, it's just a minor setback, but Agger got injured at the end of last season too, which suggests that his injury proneness may be returning after a brief hiatus.

Agger is a huge fan favourite, and he has many great qualities (leadership, technique, passing accuracy, running with the ball, comfort in possession), but like Martin Skrtel, he's increasingly prone to mistakes, and it's no exaggeration to suggest that his errors - along with those of Skrtel and Pepe Reina - contributed to Liverpool's failure to challenge for a Champions League place last season.

I can't see Agger leaving, though, especially after all the support he's received from the club through his various injuries. The Reds rejected a £20m bid for the the Dane last summer, and he signed a new contract less than a year ago.

I'm a big fan of Agger, but a dose of realism is required here: Barcelona have reportedly put in a £17m bid, and if Liverpool don't sell now - and the injuries keep on coming - then his transfer value is only going to plummet.

As hard as it may be, if the Reds manage to snag a player like Kyriakos Papadopolous before the transfer window shuts, Liverpool should (IMO) sell Agger whilst he can still command a relatively big transfer fee.



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31 comments:

  1. liverpool4life56511:03 pm, August 10, 2013

    Rather sell skrtel then get papadopoulous in, wouldn't sell agger :) and he wasn't injured at end of the season, he went to get his back stronger. That's why he missed games :)

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  2. I beg to differ :-) Agger was injured; the Liverpool Echo confirmed it:

    http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/daniel-agger-miss-final-games-3476674

    He has an ongoing back problem, and he tweaked it at the end of last season.

    Skrtel and Agger are both error-prone. I'd sell both if there was any chance of getting solid replacements.

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  3. I think Agger should go to Barca, it's a lovely city and they play some of the best football in the world. Plus they are real contenders for the Champions league this season.

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  4. I get your point Jamie but I think we should keep him.the medical staff done very well with him and Gerrard last season.Lets hope they can replicate it,if not and he is once again plagued with injuries it may be time to consider getting a reliable replacement. Alderweireld is almost a perfect replacement,as in you're getting a like for like player give or take.

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  5. Two injuries in three months is not a good sign. Plus, one more big injury and LFC will probably never recoup any cash for Agger.

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  6. Sure but his back 'injury' isn't really an injury per se .It was a number of injections to somehow increase the strength in his back,now I suppose you could say back problems are a result of his injuryproneness (yes I know...I just made up my own word :) ) but for a man of his height and what he does for a living back problems aren't really a big surprise.As for the knee lets hope he'll be alright for the Stoke game but he probably won't...will he?

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  7. Where'd my reply go...?

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  8. Your reply is right there. Refresh your browser. Disqus is glitchy sometimes.

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  9. I did multiple times and it's disappeared for me at least....

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  10. Swap deal with Alexis Sanchez.
    Suarez - Sturridge - Sanchez. 100% top four.

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  11. It's disqus, unfortunately. Sorry about that. I'm sure others can see it.

    Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note

    -------- Original message --------

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  12. I'm in agreement, it's a strange choice. Why get a 'talker' and leader in Toure and bring Carra back into the team if last season if Agger is so influential. The fact is he doesn't talk enough on the pitch and although he has plenty of 'real talk' moments with the press he doesn't get those around him to follow tactical instruction. If Suarez wasnt looking for a move he'd have it, but my vote would have been Toure or Lucas.

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  13. The most injured LFC player of all time, thats an amazing stat, considering all the sick notes we've had over the years.
    Might be good to move him on, financially, but with the Suarez saga still ongoing, I feel it would be further disruption to the squad, which we definitely dont need right now.

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  14. I can see the logic in your argument. But if we sell Agger we really do start to lose too much experience & someone who identifies with the ethos of the club. Yes his injury record is a concern but his value as a leader and the respect he commands in the dressing room mean we must keep him for now.
    Even if we bring someone in like Papa he's still young & inexperienced, especially in Prem. Many have argued we need more mature players and Agger provides that.

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  15. If his injuries are starting to reaccure again then let's sell and get the 17m for him that Barca are willing to offer! Has been a great servant to the club and a good ambassador for the game with his loyalty and commitment to the club but can't afford to have him injured during the season. To be honest I am starting to wonder if FSG have stitched up BR in terms of funds, they said he would only have 20m to spend and the rest would have to come from sales........ Well we have spent just over the 20m but have also sold players that have roughly totalled somewhere in the region of 30m+ and yet we still do not seem to be closing deals for quality players who are going for knock down prices, I am baffled to be honest! Eriksen is going for 8m, Alderweireld is going for 7m, Papadopoulos is available for 12m, Yilmaz for around 15m......... These are cut price deals that don't come along everyday and we should be snapping them up quick sharp and were not doing anything. All the time we waste doing nothing these players are being coveted and snapped up by our rivals.......... Now I hear The Drooling Vulture that is Spurs is circling once again and have put in a 15m pound offer for Eriksen and Alderweireld, seems to me we do all the scouting and then they swoop in and make the kill, again and again! I can't believe BR is just not bothering as he has said he is always looking to improve the squad........ So are FSG withholding the cash to get these deals done? If we don't move quickly then there will be no one left to go for especially not of that quality and for those knock down prices, these are gems just sitting there crying out to be grabbed! Let's get it done and NOWWW for gods sake. YNWA

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  16. Jaime what is your opinion on why we are not going in and closing these bargain deals for top class talent? I think FSG are with holding funds....... What's your outlook on things m8? YNWA

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  17. Yeah something's up. But still a couple of weeks til the window closes. Players like Eriksen are waiting to see what kind of offers they get. Reckon there'll be a lot of late movement this year.

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  18. After seeing the match against celtic we need defensive hardware.
    why let skrtel or agger go at all really toure and young wisdom .
    Not much of anything makes sense about selling or loaning players with no one better coming in to replace them .

    We will be huffing and puffing most teams this year but could not break the house down.
    Im sure liverpool4life you will disagree .
    There is no way in world we are better then 6th .
    why sell at all if no one better replacing them.????

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  19. Dont you have anything better to do than comment on other teams blogs?

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  20. Again a wrong stats.

    Total league games played by club since arrival = 248
    Total Appearance by Agger (league) = 121
    Total league games missed through injury = 128
    So, Total league appearance by agger + League games missed through injury = 249, greater than what club played (248)?

    Actually this was not the joke, how did u assume that all games, Agger did not play was because he was injured? Carragher always used to play till 2010, which means only one among Skrtel or Agger could play. And in most of the cases Skrtel was preferred over Agger (except last season also remember that Skrtel was player of the season in 2010-11)! Don[t skew ur stats with wrong assumptions Jamie!! I work as an analyst, and can give u a free course on analyzing data!

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  21. nope, but if you get the two LFC fans who were abusing me on the Arsenal blog to write me an apology I might stop :P

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  22. Eriksen and Alderweireld are still at Ajax after being linked with every club in the world. Wonder why?

    Now you are blaming FSG for not spending money when no other club has signed Eriksen and Alderweireld.



    The mind boggles.

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  23. Skrtel is not that difficult to replace. We have done that with the signing of Toure who is more suited to our style of play.


    Agger might be injury and error prone but understands the way Rodgers wants the team to play. It would be advisable to only sell Agger if the club has already signed a ready replacement. Such a player is probably going to cost more than what we sell Agger for.

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  24. I think the club made Agger VC to make him feel ***important***. Maybe the rumours of Barcelona wanting to snap him up are true but we should only allow that to happen when we have found a player with the same amount of experience and understanding of the way we play and sign that player first before selling Agger.


    Agree, one on one Agger is screwed but so are many other defenders in the EPL. Lukaka is going to wreck many defences this season! Benteke is another bulldozer who will stop at nothing. Not much you can do about player like these.

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  25. well there is actually max ...you buy powerful athletic players to combat them

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  26. No, you probably deserved it :D

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  27. You're right they are real CL contenders, unlike any of the English teams, especially Arsenal

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  28. Injuries - yes I agree. If we're not confident he'll hold up for another couple of years then it's time to let him go. It would be good business if he actually passed the medical. On form - no, I don't agree at all. I think Agger was exposed, just like Lucas, by some defensive issues we had as a team last season. He also suffered from playing alongside Skrtel who Rodgers ultimately had little trust in. When Agger and Carra were playing together regularly our defence was as good as it's ever been. Otherwise I think his defensive work for the club has been consistently top class and he's been a part of a solid defensive partnership with Carragher whenever he's been fit. They've been Liverpool's best CB pairing in the past 5 years.

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  29. I think Agger is a top player and would much rather sell Skrtel. There aren't many good ball playing CBs and the importance of Agger's loyalty and commitment to LFC shouldn't be underestimated, especially these days where there are more and more mercenaries in the game. Liverpool are short on leaders especially after the departure of Carragher and in my opinion getting rid of Agger would leave a big void in the team. Players that love the club often tend to perform a percentage higher also. Personally I'm dreaming of an Agger - Papa CB partnership as I think both are fantastic players and would complement each other perfectly offering both game intelligence and physicality. One last point to make as regards Aggers mistakes last season is that the Agger-Skrtel partnership just didn't seem to work, and it's often difficult for any CB to perform if they haven't got a good partnership in the center of defense. Also given LFCs prolonged absence from the CL, attracting a top quality replacement for a reasonable price could prove difficult (as seen with both the Armenian and Diego Costa).

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  30. even if we we bought papadoupolis and alderwield y would we sell agger we need depth Chelsea have it with luiz and ivanovic playing with cahill and terry fighting for a place man united have smalling jones vidic and ferdinand if we are going to compete we need depth jamie

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  31. I don't think it'll help with the morale of the players by selling Agger at this point of time. I'd love to see Agger ending his career here at LFC.

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