28 Aug 2013

Transfer Coup: CSKA 'willing to sell' £12m star Wenger called a 'genius'. Possible free...?

CSKA Moscow president Yevgeni Giner has confirmed that that he is 'willing to sell' long-time Liverpool target Keisuke Honda during the current transfer window, and with only 5 days of the transfer window remaining, the Reds are running out of time to make a move for the Japanese superstar.

Earlier this month, Giner revealed his anger at AC Milan's 'disrespectful' behaviour over the pursuit of Honda, arguing that the Italian giants basically tapped-him up, and then offered swap deal involving a comparatively inferior reserve player. He raged:

"CSKA are willing to sell players to Europe, but there are ethical norms of negotiations. We will never tolerate disrespectful behaviour.

"We have been waiting for Milan to understand the situation and stop it, but it didn't happen. Honda is not going to be sold to Milan, not for €5 million, not for €10m, full stop"


Soon after this, AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani basically conceded defeat in his attempts to sign Honda. He told reporters:

"I called the president of CSKA and he said no to selling Honda"

Honda has been linked with a move to Anfield several times over the past three years, and in December 2012, reports from a variety of sources suggested that Liverpool were lining up a £12m (€14.7m) deal for Japanese star Keisuke Honda.

Then, in March, the Reds were reportedly in contact with the Japanese star over a pre-contract agreement. At the time, CSKA director Roman Babaev told reporters:

‘We tried to extend his [Honda's] contract, but we can’t force him. It is up to him what happens next.’

In July, Babaev made it emphatically clear that CSKA would let Honda leave. He told Russian newspaper Sport Express:

"Our position is clear. We will let him [Honda] go if we receive a reasonable offer. His expiring contract affects his market value but there is a limit as to how low we can go. We are not worried if he ends up leaving the club on a free transfer. It is a difficult decision to make - part ways with Honda now or keep him until his contract expires".

Nothing came of the interest, but with The Japanese star's move to AC Milan now dead in the water, there's an opportunity for Liverpool to swoop in and snap him up. So, to clarify:

* Honda is available.
* His contract expires in December 2013.
* CSKA will definitely let him go.
* Milan are out of the running.

This is the proverbial no-brainer. Surely, with Milan out of the running, Liverpool should pursue their interest and try and close a deal? It would be amazing to have Honda at Anfield, and given his contract expires three months, there must be a strong chance of the deal coming to fruition.

Arsene Wenger is a huge fan of €12m-rated Honda, and he lavished praised on the player after the 2010 World Cup. He raved:

"When they get the ball they can give it to Honda – and the magic starts. When they get that genius Honda playing up front, he had shown what a top class player he is. For me he’s the best performer of the competition so far"

Brendan Rodgers admitted recently that he still wants to sign 'one or two' attacking players before the end of the transfer window, and (IMO), this is a perfect opportunity to move in for an experienced, exciting player.






Jaimie Kanwar


124 comments:

  1. BILL HUGHES IS READY NOW AND ON A PAR WITH GERARD AT SAME AGE. Honda would be good for shirt sales in Asia

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  2. Honda again..

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  3. This would be a fantastic piece of business.


    On a free, it's a low risk deal.

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  4. You "signed" a couple of players for lfc in the recent weeks, close to this close to that and signings are nowhere, why you do that, jus to get more visitors maybe? Cant wait for the next news whos close of joining lfc!

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  5. No doubt spurs will come in with a bid. Lol.. It's a no brainer your right he is quality, plus as Ray stated shirt sales would go through the roof another positive aspect to the deal...

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  6. Will**....Gerrard was more aggressive. He is more like Xabi.

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  7. Yes please! This guy would be fabulous for us for all sorts of reasons. Also shows that you don't have to spend 30m to sign top quality players, especially as we don't have it!

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  8. any body look at this lad over a period of a year or two...a few mins on you tube reveals little

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  9. Liverpool Kopites2:15 pm, August 28, 2013

    On a free transfer means... he'll come over in January?

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  10. sorry... free transfer? what ? is this really happening? As much as I'd like it; I feel like I'm dreaming right now. I'll believe it when I see it ...

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  11. I'd be delighted to see Honda play for us. It would do wonders for shirt sales too! I suppose it's about time for Spurs to come along with a bid now.

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  12. Hughes would cost the same as Thiago Alcantara to Munich, think about that.

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  13. At this point id take any new players. How incredibly stingy of FSG not to splash. They only care about that they're beloved red pants/tights/sox.

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  14. Let's see if BR and FSG make a move for Honda. He'll certainly bring class and experience to LFC that is currently needed. Let's just not forget that we desperately need 1 or 2 CBs...

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  15. If we sign Honda on a free surely we have a little more to spend on a centre back or two?

    Anyway, when something is too good to true, Spurs come along

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  16. liverpool4life5652:24 pm, August 28, 2013

    Stop writing BS, FSG have gave BR money, just we couldn't get our targets in.

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  17. I certainly hope. The revenue from Japan will be very welcome. I'm from Singapore and their two trips here drove the whole country mad.

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  18. cheikhabdou gaye2:25 pm, August 28, 2013

    that wud be a good deal great player

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  19. Honda wont come to us, no Euro footie! but my sister has a Honda, i could drive it up to Anfield, that would be as close to having a Honda there as they will get.

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  20. Honda will be a good signing for Liverpool

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  21. It's not their fault more attractive teams are offering more money to our targets. What do you want them to do? Outbid every team, wasting foolish amounts of money so the players can't justify their price tags and then get hoards of abuse from "fans" like yourself?

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  22. On a free-transfer why not, or maybe buy him now for £3m???..............good player!!!

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  23. Commercially it could be a very good deal for the transfer fee, wage & brand promotion in Japan, but I am not sure if he is physically tough enough for EPL. Last 3 matches we really struggled against physically tough opponents just at the start of the season - imagine us talking of WBA, Stoke, West Ham or Southampton at the tail end of the season. No wonder our best player in first 2 EPL game was Kolo.



    Also, though Honda is natural Left footer, his best position is No. 10 or AM, but I think, Pipo should be our 1st choice AM, backed by Allen & we have a very good understudy in Suso as well. Honda can be a great investment, but only after we have got a CB & a winger.

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  24. That's the beauty of signing class players on loan deals. I just want FSG to push for defensive reinforcements as well. That should be our No1 priority. We do need another brilliant attacker too... Only time will tell.

    Also, who knows what Spurs are up to...

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  25. He's probably signed a pre contract with A C already and will join them for nothing when his contract runs out regardless of what his club say.
    Plus, I thought are intention was to buy a attacking left sided player to free coultinio to play the No 10 role? I'm not too sure of Honda's position but I would of thought it would be that same No 10. Role!
    I would rather we concentrate on the attacking left sided player an a strong CB.

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  26. 4eva LFC, LFC 4eva2:34 pm, August 28, 2013

    We need to act now make an offer for him now don't wait for January, this guy can play and he loves to play, we will see how serious they are (FSG) this is a good opportunity to add a good quality footballer to the team for a fairly cheap price.
    Apparently AC Milan are out because of the way they behaved in their dealings with the player, i can not see any reason way we can not get this guy if we act quickly and stitch up a deal now.
    Lets not forget as everyone has pointed out already that they will (FSG) get a good return from this one just on the shirt sales alone, but he can play football make no mistake about that.

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  27. yes yes yes. Just the player we need. hes valued at around 17m so to get him for around 5m is a bargain. His wages are not high either currently at 1.7m a year. Affordable and a no brainer IMO. Left footed and can play RW or no.10. Imagine Suarez, Coutinho and Honda interchanging behind Sturridge who also likes to join in leaving space for those 3 to get forward and run in behind. Honda is a great set piece taker aswell. If we do lose Suarez Honda could step in easily.

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  28. Hes 27 too so is in his peak and will definitely push us on for a top 3/4 finish. Hope he comes in time for the Scum game.

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  29. It's a bit injustice to FSG. At least we did bid near 30m for Willian at presumably 3rd highest salary & triggered Costa release clause, which means they are willing to pay for value. But, we are facing 2 handicaps - no Europe & Spurs has got almost 100m to burn. They are just outbidding us marginally & 'll always win the race for being London based & at least playing in Europa. & they have a well reputed Manager for the Latin & Iberian players.



    Last time, when we found ourselves in Spurs like similar position after Torres sale, unfortunately our incompetent Manager blew 80m on garbage. Maybe BR is waiting silently with few targets for deadline day rush so that the vultures don't get the time to snatch.

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  30. In the midst of financial constraints, Milan are really trying hard to get players on the cheap. But the way they have gone about it partially made them lose out on Ljacic. Although, I still reckon they will get Honda on a free transfer.

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  31. Now this would be a signing that would make me happy! I've been touting him since his VVV days but obviously back then he was laughed off as from a Mickey mouse competition etc etc. I wouldn't say he is "amazing" but he works his socks off, has a sweet pass in him and great close control. Definitely a good signing, especially on a free. Funny by the way that the Fiorentina chief exec said the same about Milan..

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  32. Honda is a lot more than just good for shirt sales (although that helps I'd imagine)

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  33. If you can't get a Ferrari, I suppose a Honda is good - much better than a Fiat or Chevrolet.

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  34. Just get some one in FSG you tight arses,compared to all the other clubs you really haven't invested any of your money in the transfer market, you guys are really trying to see if the "moneyball" actually works in football. Shit make a bid for Michu from Swansea he'll do.

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  35. liverpool4life5652:54 pm, August 28, 2013

    You're clueless, FSG have wanted to put money in, just couldn't get the players that's down to ayre, tight arses? They've spent loads of liverpool only behind city and chelsea spending.

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  36. one of the best comment ever.sums up everything.....

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  37. You are the only idiot here if you think FSG really care about the club. It's just like running a corner shop to them. Squad is thin as f#%* were only two games into the season and we are getting carried away like we're going to be world beaters. Nearly every player that was available has either moved or is staying..who are we going to sign that is good enough.

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  38. Another window and another Honda link :P!
    i was starting to get worried it wasnt coming this window.

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  39. You can't achieve success/top 4 on the cheap.. So it is FSG's fault and ayre who can't get a meal deal from tesco to save his life.

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  40. Never going to happen.
    Once we show interest Spurs will come in and try to hijack it. :-))

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  41. We have missed Suarez's free kicks even this early on. Honda gives that and more.

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  42. liverpool4life5653:19 pm, August 28, 2013

    How that cheap? 25/30 million is "cheap" to you?

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  43. This should be a breakthrough season for us..signing Moses and any other ON LOAN. Ohh wait scrap the 'breakthrough' thing. Another 6/7th place finish. My goodness

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  44. The link to the source "according to milan news today" is dated in March of this year. Not today. Cant find any other source for "reports" that say hes close to joining.

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  45. Carroll 15 mill downing 6 mill downing 6 mill. Brendan generated his own buys. Pretty much 'replaced' not 'improved' and spending 6/7 on 20 year olds from barca is not going to bring us success 'at present' don't get me wrong I rate Alberto highly

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  46. You are the only idiot here if you think FSG really care about the club. It's just like running a corner shop to them. Squad is thin and were only two games into the season and we are getting carried away like we're going to be world beaters. Nearly every player that was available has either moved or is staying..who are we going to sign that is good enough.

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  47. jackiestrikesback3:31 pm, August 28, 2013

    The link to the source "according to milan news today" is dated in March of this year. Cant Find any other "reports".

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  48. Lescott bid making the rounds now...
    Hogwash???

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  49. probably. I wouldnt mind him but City cannot afford to lose another center back.

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  50. Adeniji Adetunji3:37 pm, August 28, 2013

    I wonder what BR & LFC are waiting for

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  51. i know. forget hughes. lets get Honda for free (ive been calling for this free agent for months now), put him on Right Wing. Shrewd signing. Pay Fiorentina £6.5M up front plus Fabio Borini for Adem Ljajic. absolutely class player, younger and way better than Borini at everything, and Fiorentina said they want a striker like Borini so they can have him, which is good for Liverpool. Ljajic can play Left Wing. then our 3 amigos will be Honda(RW), Coutinho(AM), Ljajic(LW). but FSG have promised BR up to £25M-£30M on a marquee signing. despite Honda and Ljajic being marquee singings, it would be more of smart business. competition should'nt hurt coutinho despite him being a star, we should buy Eriksen and Alderwerield for a combined fee of £23M. in total that will be roughly £30M spent on Adem Ljajic, Keuisuke Honda, Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderwerield. and this is all realistic.


    No-brainer really? come on BR and Ayre!


    YNWA

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  52. On a seperate note: not sure

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  53. Unfortunately the Ljajic boat has sailed - he's joining Roma (Reuters quoted in Guardian)

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  54. Andriy Yarmolenko is odds on to sign for us at 2/5. Looks like a good player and will add strength and aerial ability to the team. Won't believe it until it's confirmed on the official website but looks promising. Moses on loan and a CB and i'll be much happier about this season.

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  55. never heard of him if im honest .....didn't he write he write the theme to merry Christmas mr Lawrence

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  56. hes out of our price bracket

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  57. alberto bollsom shampoo is more use than the alberto we have

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  58. messi would be as well but hes not coming either

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  59. he might have haha tbh i didn't until Jamie put an article on here about him last week. He has a good record and his youtube clips are good :-) the left winger we have been looking for imo.

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  60. or in our case bill ford from rochdale on loan

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  61. if im honest id sooner have the guy who wrote the tune hes a better player

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  62. and we cat afford to buy one either

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  63. the transfer window to close

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  64. check him out he looks promising mate.

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  65. its a pain when someone pays the asking price

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  66. well hell not becoming to anfield then...im trying to put up of smokescreen

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  67. bookies aren't usually wrong though but i like your thinking ;-) What do you think of the chances of Sakho joining? Me personally think he'll go elsewhere.

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  68. slim chance and no chance,,,another loan signing if we are lucky

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  69. I think the occasion got to him really. He did a Hendo in his first season..constant five yard passes. But he has huge potential.

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  70. Source please..

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  71. SkySports transfer centre.

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  72. liverpool4life56511:38 pm, August 28, 2013

    They wasn't needed? S why keep them in the squad? We want players In, we still got until Monday:) this isn't down to FSG not wanting to spend money because they've shown since being here they do want to.

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  73. Oh my goodness, spurs are just insane just buying players like shopping in a supermarket. They have really strengthened considerably despite losing bale they have used the money wisely. Levy is a smart man, if only ayre could learn a trick or 2 from him. We need to act now there's no time. I wouldn't be so worried if we didn't suddenly have toure, Agger and cissokho out for couple of weeks. This season is going to be so tough. If Wenger rates him, why isn't he going for Honda? Too many players in his position? Doesn't matter right look at Chelsea!

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  74. It took spurs a few years of building and smart buying and selling (eg modric) for them to reach this stage where they can attract good players. Also arsenal didnt strengthen which make players choose spurs over them (or the types of players wenger wants is different from spurs) Liverpool almost went bankrupt becos of H&G and lost CL place. FSG came in and invested poorly in we all know who. It's not just money anymore b(unless we have crazy oil money) it's about status. We need to buy smart like Dortmund model and if we can do that for a few windows and start winning games, players will then come to us. Having loads of money is good but I'm sick and tired of mercenaries like willian or superstars that put their egos above the club like tevez and to a lesser extent Suarez. We don't need players like this to taint our club's image anymore. Of course I'm also frustrated with ayre but it could really be that we don't have that appeal anymore, so we need to accept that for now.

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  75. Actually for me although the squad is bare I would rather just let those players that are not good enough just leave and give the youngsters a chance. I'm so glad players like downing and spearing are off the books and I don't have to imagine them playing for us. Since they are not good enough why waste wages on them? I'm really glad Rodgers has the balls to move them on at a loss but of course now we need to bring quality in. 1 player like coutinho in for 5 players like downing, spearing, shelvey, Carroll, Adam out anytime for me. Im not saying all of them are that bad but they just dont suit BR style. Plus we don't have Europe now so we don't need that many players, we can add quality gradually. Really kudos for loaning reina out cos mignolet has really surprised me. We would have dropped points if it was reina of last season.

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  76. I totally understand what your saying but..we are not spurs. Spurs were fighting relegation when redknapp took over, so there was no pressure on them to achieve instant success. But for a club the size and stature of Liverpool. Not winning cups and competing in CL season in and out is simply not in the clubs blood if you will. Patience is key I know and uniteds dominance might be coming to a close. BUT we need to play CL football ASAP. That'll speed up a title challenge in seasons to come with the revenue and the pull on players. I just hope this is the season where things go our way. YNWA

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  77. Totally agree. Actually I feel BR is better than AVB personally. The style of football he had with Chelsea and spurs I don't really like. In fact bale basically baled them out the whole of last season with all those crazy long range strikes. If not for bale, they would be in trouble. But either the players he is buying are good, or levy is intentionally stealing our targets to weaken us, either way they are smart. Have to hand my hats off to levy this window, but I'm starting to have more faith in BR and he has more control of the squad this season than the last. If we win against manure (chances reduced due to toure injury) I think our mentality will be really boosted and the rest of the league are going to fear us, so lets really go for it this weekend!

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  78. Regardless, I think liverpool still a bigger club than CSKA Moscow. If he joins liverpool he will be known throughout the world, it's a different status. The only issue is if there are clubs that are above us in status like arsenal or Chelsea that go for him then he might go there like Willian did.

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  79. Ok i sort of-ish understand if we bid for a big money player and we lose out to clubs who can bid higher than us and that they can offer European football.
    What bothers me is that when we can afford a player we seem to take so long to get the deal done that it gives other clubs a chance to sneak in front of us (which will happen if a player is of high quality)


    i also don't understand why we just don't go in and seal the deal for players like Honda and eriksen, who are going for less than they are worth (spurs had 8m bid accepted for E !! that is a bargain)


    BTW just seen the sturridge video of him getting out of the car and dancing with two young fans- brilliant!!!

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  80. If you have the money to get a Ferrari and you end up buying a Honda that's a major let down.But KEISUKE HONDA is his name however he plays like a Maserati we should snap him up!

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  81. I think what the club has learned is that it's better to not spend at all rather than to spend too much on the wrong player. Of course we can say that Honda and Eriksen are "good" players but if they are going to really add to the team then they have to be clearly better than the players we have. When Suarez comes back we'll have him up front with Coutinho and Sturridge. Aspas will push for time on the pitch too. Behind them we have Gerrard and Lucas as certain with Henderson and Allen fighting for that third midfield spot. So any inbound player must be clearly better than Henderson and Allen. I suppose lots of fans are going to say "that's easy" but I'm not sure it is. Can we really be sure that Eriksen would be a certain starter in our team and be more effective than Henderson? How does anyone know that? And for the money being asked - is there not quite a bit of risk? He's not experienced in this league, how does anyone know how good he'll be?


    I think we're really hungry for signings and that's normal, but while we could be more confident that a player like Willian would have improved our team, can we really say that Honda or Eriksen are going to walk into the team and instantly be effective? Will they play well in English football? Will they need time to adapt? These are the questions that the manager has to answer and I think it's not so simple. If we make a mistake and an inbound player turns out to be another flop then it's more money wasted. We just can't afford that so the signing has to be as low risk as possible. We have to get players we are SURE about. I think if anyone was sure about Eriksen we would have signed him at the start of the window. He's only ever been a rumoured interest for us, so maybe the manger just isn't convinced. If that's true then I think it's right to not sign him. For that much money you don't sign players you are not sure about.

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  82. The only trick Levy has is selling a player for over 80 million pounds. We may have Suarez but in truth Real never came in for him. The best offer we got was 40 million. So whatever Spurs are doing they are doing it because they know they have a massive cash injection coming from Bale being sold. With money to spend they simply pay the asking price, it's no special skill. We might be jealous but reality says that the difference really comes in how they manage to sell one of their players for a world record fee. I'm sure if we got a 60 million pound offer for Suarez then we'd have secured a few special signings too, but we didn't.

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  83. It's also not FSG money, it's club money. People need to understand how this works - the owners don't give money to the club like it's free, any money we spend on signings comes out of the club coffers. We're already in debt so whatever money fans think the owners need to sanction for spending increases that debt. So what these fans are suggesting is that LFC go further in debt to invest in these players. That might make sense if it all works out and we get back into the CL, but they had better be good players and not more potential flops.

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  84. Yeah some good points dude and you're right we don't know and there is a risk factor but isn't that the case with a lot signings?



    Also i think in terms of money being asked- honda would be 3.5m at most and eriksen (who is 21) is going for 8m. That would seem better value than alberto (who i like btw) Also these sort of players give us more options as a team.


    And i def think a CB would be priority and would love to see diame at liverpool- he would def add to our current midfield

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  85. Yeah some good points dude and you're right we don't know and there is a risk factor but isn't that the case with a lot signings?



    Also i think in terms of money being asked- honda would be 3.5m at most and eriksen (who is 21) is going for 8m. That would seem better value than alberto (who i like btw) Also these sort of players give us more options as a team.


    And i def think a CB would be priority and would love to see diame at liverpool- he would def add to our current midfield

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  86. At the rate we are dealing in the transfer market, I seriously don't think we will have anymore signings. The story of our transfer seems to be we are slow to bid, bid not high enough, and transfer targets get hijacked after we bid. And then there are affordable players who are good and whom the club has been linked with but we don't bid only to find that they are snapped up by clubs like Spurs.


    We seems to be slow in the market. I understand from Brendan that there is a list of targeted players that we want to sign for various positions and todate, it bears no fruits. Surely we can bring in some of those on the list. Don't be surprise if Honda ends up with another BPL club in contention for CL spots.


    Everyone knows we still need a couple more transfers but I just don't see it happening aside from the 5 that we have secured. I am beginning to wonder if our negotiating team headed by Ayre is ineffective and are lost.

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  87. Agree - he is probably a promising prospect but Suso is better and the 6m we paid can go towards a centre back or something. With Suso, Sterling and Ibe I don't understand the move for Alberto

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  88. They have spent money from the sales of players, not their own.
    Chelsea, Man City owners came in and bought up then got rid of the trash but they bought, now i'm not saying let's buy up the world but don't tell me they have spent big money when other teams we are chasing have bought world class talent.
    FSG need to catch up and the funny thing is that all we really need is 2 players and we will be fine, so no mate i am not clueless, but in the modern game i know that young kids are not going to get us where we need to be without the help of a couple of great footballers to learn from.
    Not to mention if they really want to put the money in than who or what is stopping them, because if you chase the players money talks.

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  89. We took our chances with Coutinho and it paid off.

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  90. To sell a player for 100mn Euros is a very good PR skills. Beggars belief really. Bale is worth no more than 30mn MAXXXX. He only had one good season, 6 months of it. Geez.

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  91. how do you think LFC can repay its debt? By not buying players? Owners need to INVEST to get in CL and then repay the debt by revenues earned from it.

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  92. Adem Ljajic went for 11mn Euros and Fiorentina was ready to cough up similar amount for Borini. Straight swap was possible.

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  93. another interesting note is that rogers says the notts county game wont affect Liverpool for utd ( easy to say when your not playing ) yet the club captain Gerrard is saying it will ....answers on a postcard please

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  94. For sure, Honda doesn't seem like much of a risk at that price. Thought Eriksen was going for more, maybe he's worth the cash too except for one thing ... they both play the same position and they both play the position that Rodgers says he wants for Coutinho. I think we're ultimately looking for a left side attacker hence why we might have looked at these guys once or twice but decided no thanks. For now Gerrard can still play that role behind the striker, so can Suarez and ultimately it's where Coutinho will play. Seems a waste to buy someone else for that role. Willian was a clear left-sided player and I think that's what Rodgers will focus on. If we can't get that perfect player I don't see much point in buying someone just to add in a position where we don't need it. Better to wait and try again in January and in the meantime more game time for Ibe and/or Sterling. Guys like Honda or Eriksen might be quality and reasonable value, but I think we should spend what limited funds we have getting the best possible player in the exact position we need.

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  95. Was he really a risk? Not a huge amount of money and he fills multiple roles. Even now we play him out wide when he will be best in a central midfield role. I think Rodgers identified him as a great talent at a good price, it was good scouting and a good buy. If Rodgers had the same opinion of either Eriksen or Honda I would think they would already be Liverpool players. When we want someone and are willing to pay the price we just go for it. We did that with Allen, Sturridge, Coutinho, Aspas ... when we want a player we make an offer for what we think they are worth and if it matches the selling club then the deal is done. Our biggest obstacle is having to compete with clubs with more money and CL football. People give Ayre a hard time but I don't see much evidence that he's really done anything wrong, we just kind of assume it's all his fault.

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  96. But we ARE buying players, we're just not spending money for no reason. When have I ever said we should not buy players? I'm saying we need to buy the right players at the right price and that's what is happening. We've tried to spend big money on good players like Mhkitaryan and Willian, it's not as if there is no effort happening. Right now there seems to be an attitude from some fans that we need to buy a "marquee" player as a sign of intent, as something to just make us all feel good. It's like they'll be happy if we buy someone for a large sum of money, even if that player isn't very good. That's nuts, no one runs a business that way and we shouldn't run a football club that way. We need to invest in the right players and be shrewd and careful. I don't want to see the club I support go further into debt buying over-priced players who turn out to be not good enough. I want to see us buy the best players we can get and not get ripped-off.

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  97. I really hope for that too so lets hope together. Spurs were almost relegated but not bankrupt, plus as you said they had no pressure. FSG saved the club and splashed the cash. Although the net outlay was not big, the burnt experience has probably made them afraid to spend too much money on 1 person. We can't say they didn't back Kenny and they did try to sign players like willian which means they are still willing to pay, but it's about getting hungry players not the mercenaries and those that want to play for the club not just money. I think I have faith in BR for now so lets support him together!

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  98. Or Honda could of course wait till January and move to Milan on a free.

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  99. Three boats have sailed on the same day. Ljajic, Lamela and Eriksen. I've said it before. We will sign no one.

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  100. BR should of demanded improvements ages ago. At the end of the day, the buck will stop with him, if the season turns out to be a bad one. The owners have probably told him, not to worry and his job is safe, after all he is a yes man and he wouldn't criticise them publicly. At least it will be a financially sound 6th place club. A good club to buy.

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  101. We've slashed the wage bill, loaned/sold big name players and get extra TV money. To not have a transfer budget of at 20m for me is unacceptable! Almost all clubs have some kind of debt and yet are spending. To me (and i wish to god i am proved right) Is that owners are taking LFC money to pay back the loan they gave the club

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  102. Imagine if we weren't cheapskates who we could have bought, a summer of a disappointment contines

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  103. We got lucky in January 2013, i doubt we will get that lucky again

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  104. Haha, here's five quid, go buy me a Porsche...
    Don't work that way does it?

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  105. No pretty much about it - as it stands we have a positive result of 5.5 million in this transfer window. And obviously that is only positive from a financial point of view.

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  106. 1) I don't think anyone over here is asking to splash the cash on one marquee signing. No one is begging for a superstar to come.
    2) You are talking about efforts to sign Mkhitaryan and Willian? We just made a bid that was rejected. Effort would be to actually sign those players who are priority.
    3) All we want is the necessity - depth. We have a very light squad and it affected us in last match as you can see. We need to have players in defense and wide areas because we are extremely light in those positions and couple more injuries, we are done. 3 days remaining for transfer deadline, Fans have every right to be upset. I remember very well how good we did last summer during deadline.
    4) In another comment you say Coutinho was not really a risk. How can you say that? No one was sure that he would be that good. There was a risk, like Borini but we took it and it paid off.
    5) We need to continue doing that. Every transfer is a risk but we have to take it,. Who are the right players you are talking about? There is hardly anyone left, once again we left it too late. No matter how good you scout, no player is risk free. FSG is doing bullshit. They signed 4 players very early and fans got carried away with it. Aspas, Alberto won't start many games. Aspas haven't done anything so far, he could very well follow Assaidi or he can even come good, we don't know yet. We need quality and quantity right now and FSG is doing shit.

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  107. So you think the club has done nothing all summer as hasn't even made a basic level of effort to sign players we need? If that's what you believe then sure, I understand why you'd be bothered by it.

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  108. From what we know the club was willing to spend at least 20 million on Mhkitaryan, Costa and also Willian. Those signings didn't fail because LFC pulled the plug or was unwilling to spend, they failed because the players got offers they liked better. The owners have made that money available, why would anyone think otherwise?

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  109. Because you can not tell me there are no good players available or were available for 20m+ and we have not signed anyone. Why would you think they are willing to pay that money when as of yet they haven't.


    I think it's all a smoke screen. Saying you like to buy someone for 20m+ and actually doing it are 2 different things

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  110. Honda has already made ​​arrangements with AC Milan!

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  111. Mhkitaryan chose the CL finalists over us. He thought they were a better prospect. Costa wasn't ultimately interested in moving and earned himself a contract upgrade. Willian chose a team with CL football and a bigger wage offer. That's three players who were potentially available, who we were interested in, who we seemingly made actual bids for, but ultimately failed to sign. What players do you know that are or were available that suit our purposes? Name me 1 left side attacking player who is/was available for 20-25 million, who wants to come here, who would accept our wage structure, who would be happy to play no CL football, who fits the kind of football we want to play and who, at that price, is worth the money?

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  112. You're right there has been no players moving to no CL clubs this whole close season....
    We haven't bid for anyone, we have made enquiries. Please show me where the club have said we have bid!


    Who would improve our team, almost everyone Spurs have signed. There are players, don't swallow the hype from BR and Wenger saying there aren't players out there that would improve our team. We finished 7th last year, we are not champion league finalists

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  113. For clarification Milan are definitely not out of the running, and Honda signed a personal agreement to go to Milan during the January window, if a deal doesn't come in the next few days. That said CSKA and Milan are meeting today to discuss still possibly a transfer this summer.

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  114. So what is your conclusion? Are you telling me what you believe is that we've not really tried to sign any players? That we've made enquiries but it was all just a lie to fool the fans? We were never interested in signing Mhkitaryan or Willian and our transfer window was effectively done once we'd made those first few signings. Rodgers and club continue to lie to the fans by claiming that efforts are being made to sign players and that money is available. In truth no money was ever available and the owners have never sanctioned more purchases. It's all just a big lie constructed to fool us?


    Look, if that's what you believe is going on then I won't argue with you about it. You can make your own conclusions, that's totally fair enough. I have a much different view. I think the club have made genuine efforts to sign quality players but it just didn't happen. That's just life and I think some fans need to get over it. We don't always get what we want, and sometimes even the best genuine efforts don't work. If signing new players was easy then any chump could do it. It's not easy, and I think the fans who complain the most haven't really got the first clue how hard it actually is.

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  115. That is indeed what I believe. I guess there is about 10-15m available to spend. But forget the big signings, it won't happen this summer. We can't compete in the transfer market no matter what FSG say

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  116. Players love to make excuses - the Notts game was on Tuesday night and the Man U game is on Sunday. That's significantly more than enough time for quality rest and recuperation to get ready for another game.

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  117. I'd say £40-45m would be fair value in the current market.


    The fees currently being bandied about are ridiculous and just Real showing off again

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  118. You seem to have misunderstood the situation.
    Honda has ALREADY SIGNED A CONTRACT with Milan for four years, beginning in January 2014. Regardless of what he does for the next six months, he belongs to Milan beginning in January.


    CSKA's little kabuki theatre is just a game to try to get more money from Milan in order to release him 6 months early. But Milan obviously isnt interested. They have Honda's name on the paper and if CSKA wants to get zero in six months, rather than 4 million now, thats their choice.


    However, nobody OTHER than Milan is going to sign him, even for 10,000 Euro, because he belongs to Milan from January. Whats the point of signing him now, and then losing him as soon as he gets accustomed to the team???

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  119. What I mean is that nobody else will even make an offer because they all know the situation. Honda went to Milan and signed a contract on August 1, which was one day after six months before his contract expires. His agent confirmed this, and it was reported in Gazetta dello Sport.


    The only people talking about Honda now are people who missed the news back in early Aug. (.... well, also CSKA, who think theyre being "clever" with this game theyre playing)

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  120. I missed that he'd signed for Milan ! Strange he seems to still being touted around
    Shame as he would of been a good signing

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  121. please, honda wants champiions league football and liverpool cant give him that

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