4 Aug 2013

Snubbed: 'Excellent' €8m star explains why he rejected LFC transfer. Loss or relief...?

Spurs, who continue to be Liverpool FC's transfer nemesis, recently completed the €8m signing of FC Twente star Nacer Chadli, a player allegedly pursued by Brendan Rodgers. Why did the exciting winger seemingly reject Anfield?

In June, reports in Belgium suggested that Liverpool were interested in signing the 23-year old, and in mid-July, Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws claimed:

"Chadli is wanted by Liverpool, Tottenham and Fulham, and they have already approached Twente about a possible transfer. Chadli's dream is to play in the Premier league"

Soon after, Chadli's agent confirmed that the winger favoured a move to England. He told De Telegraaf:

"There are several clubs from the biggest leagues interested in signing him [Chadli] and I don't think Ajax can compete financially. Nacer is attracted by English football. I expect a decision about his future this month"

Chadli ultimately chose Spurs, and when asked on Friday what drew him to the club, he told reporters:

"I was waiting quite a lot, but I'm happy to join the Spurs. It was always a dream to play in the Premier League, but I wanted to play for the right club.

"I played three years ago against them and I was very impressed about the club, the stadium and the fact they play in the Premier League.

"At some clubs they wanted me this summer, but Tottenham Hotspur was the best choice for me and the best club where I can fit in"


Everything Chadli says above could also apply to Liverpool: great club/infrastructure; brilliant stadium; progressive style of play etc. Both clubs are not in the Champions League, so assuming LFC genuinely made an approach, what is it specifically that tipped the scales in favour of Spurs? London location? AVB as manager? Money? Promise of first-team football?

As I've argued before, Liverpool just don't have the X-factor required to attract certain players. Take this deal, for example: Andre Villas Boas and Daniel Levy vs. Brendan Rodgers and Ian Ayre. No contest, really. Plus, as much as I support Rodgers, it's probable that he and Ayre - hardly a dynamic duo - just couldn't persuade Chadli to sign for the Reds.

Is this a big loss for the Reds? If you listen to former Twente manager Jacobus Adriaanse, then it looks like it could be. Prior to his sacking in 2012, Adriaanse gushed:

"Nacer is a complete player, the likes of which I've rarely seen. I really do not know what he cannot do. Nacer is creative, strong, fast, has a great free kick and he turns excellently. Everything is beautiful in him. Such a good player should have the ball as often as possible"

Stats over the last two years:

* 2012-13: 18 goals/1 assists in 26 apps.
* 2011-12: 8 goals/2 assists in 20 apps.

Chadli's goalscoring is impressive, but his assists stats leave a lot to be desired. If he can't consistently create goals in the Eredivisie, it seems unlikely that he'll be a prolific creator in the Premier League.

LFC fans shouldn't be too worried though; players that reject LFC for Spurs invariably turn out to be flops. Gylfi Sigurdsson underwhelmed in his first season, and Spurs dumped Clint Dempsey after just one season.





NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


64 comments:

  1. Andre's Crouching8:31 pm, August 04, 2013

    Sometimes players who do sign for Liverpool turn out to be EXPENSIVE flops.....Andy Carroll to name but one. I enjoyed your blog until the last paragraph which seemed a bit better.

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  2. Andre's Crouching8:31 pm, August 04, 2013

    should read a bit bitter....

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  3. The last paragraph is true though, isn't it?

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  4. Unless you know what the money offered by each team was, it's unfair to say that Rodgers and Ayre don't have the "X-Factor".


    If you know that Spurs and LFC both offered the same, then that's a different story.


    But if LFC offered 30k per week, and Spurs offered 50k per week... well that has nothing to do with the "x-factor" to which you are referring.

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  5. make mine a bitter.

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  6. hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

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  7. Spurs have European football, and missed the CL by only one point.
    I also agree London attracts players, plus they have bought some very good players already this window.

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  8. FACT: all the players that tottenham have "stolen" from us have not impressed me at all....dempsey and the other kid..lol

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  9. You Will Never Scout Alone

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  10. Not really. You might remember both Holtby and Vertonghen chose Spurs over Liverpool too. Vertonghen is a raging success, and we expect big things from Holtby this season.

    As was said: the article was good, up until that last paragraph, where it did turn bitter and biased. Drop that last part, and it's a very good piece.

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  11. Vertonghen was a liverpool target.
    Does it not impress you that they are part of a far superior outfit than liverpool?

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  12. dynamic duo most clubs have a batman and robin
    we have pinky and perky

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  13. i never thought spurs would have a superior team to lfc ,i was not born in your glory day of 61,and i do mean day not days,

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  14. holtby is average at best...but avb is doing a good job ill give you that plus hes not afraid to drop players

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  15. did you used to work at woolies

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  16. I don't think it's unfair at all. Since arriving at LFC, Rodgers has shown no real pull in the transfer market, and it's hardly surprising with the grey man, Ian Ayre, backing him up.

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  17. Spurs have bought better quality than liverpool this summer and will no doubt spend a percentage of the bale fee received, on more good players. I would agree you have a slightly better squad as it stands right now. Not far superior. you are not one of the top 3.

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  18. I think LEWIS HOLTBY was a miss but if we signed him i doubt we would've got COUTINHO who i think is a better player.JAN VERTHONGEN was never a serious target.He was a name the media linked us with just like the other hundreds of names LFC were interested in last summer.
    If we wanted him so bad surely we would've signed a CB last summer to make up for missing out on his signature!

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  19. Top 4 is apparently better than winning trophies nowadays(5th in spurs case). I find it hard to comprehend still, that these players when asked about their career will pipe up about not winning jot, but played in the champions league most/every season and sometimes getting past the group stages(whoopee). Liverpool may be out of it for years, but id still fancy their chances of actually winning it more than Arsenal or spurs.

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  20. In what way does that comment contribute to the topic?

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  21. The only transfer that I think we overpaid for thus far is Joe Allen and that was because we had to meet his release clause and Rodgers wasn't supposed to poach anyone from Swansea for a year.


    Other than that... we paid at or below market for the players he's brought in.


    I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Rodgers has shown no real pull in the transfer market".


    The only player we seem to have targeted this summer and really missed out on is Henrikh, and his club stated that they never even received an offer from Liverpool.


    Does Moyes have no x-factor at Man United right now? He hasn't brought in anyone yet.


    I'll be honest... I'm not saying that Rodgers does or doesn't have the "X-Factor". All I'm saying is that without all the details, we can't really claim one way or the other.


    When we have a comparable team that offers the same competition and the same money and we don't get the guy... well then I think the argument could be made.


    But if Spurs offered Chadli more money or a more prominent role than LFC, then it's not necessarily against Rodgers.

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  22. I disagree Rodgers signed coutinho who is turning out to be a major success
    aspas looks pretty good.
    Rodgers has only been in for a season or so
    also its kind of hard to sign top players when we don't have huge funds and also no Champions league.

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  23. Also worrying is the fact that he(a Belgium International) cost the same as Aspas, Alberto (Never part of spanish national team).

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  24. Spurs seem to have the laziest scouting team in the prem. their meeting must be short. Who's liverpool after seems to be the only bullet point on the board.

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  25. They chose spurs for the simple fact they where willing to be held to ransom for ridiculous wages for over rated players. vertonghen being the exclusion.

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  26. Ye even bought Robbie Keane back which i fell off my chair laughing at by the way.

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  27. Ok guys. I think we should all pipe down. I am a tottenham fan through and through but I think we should all be a bit realistic!!! If spurs do well then I will of course be very happy but I also see other clubs doing just as well. (Not those c@@@s) I wish nothing but bad tidings to those south london infiltrators!!!!!!!! I wish they would just go away to France or somewhere else that is just as insignificant as they are.


    Liverpool have recently impressed me (not too recently of course) but im afraid you are not the team I watched and supported to win the champions league. How many more seasons do you plan on dragging poor old stevie G out as your best player. Im not being pedantic but come on. Every player has there good times and, whilst i will never dissagree that he has been 1 of the best players any of us has ever seen, he certainly isnt that guy anymore.


    I hope for the premierships sake that my club keeps hold of Gareth Bale. I live in Spain (Canaries) and the passion is knowhere near as good as I used to feel being
    on the south side of Tottenham (block 40 upper stand season ticket for for 7 years). Its hard to predict this season but, and its a big but. If The mighty Spurs somehow keep hold of the best player without any doubt of the last couple of seasons then we might, just might see a swing. I hope im right but come on Gooners lets hear otherwise.


    Shalom!!!! ;-)

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  28. How can you possibly know who has bought the better players nobody has kicked a ball in the league yet. cant wait for bale to leave be lucky to get top 7 when your entire creative force leaves for a fsr superior team.

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  29. What happened to my post? I didnt think it was bad???????

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  30. I don't support Spurs dude. They have bought a Brazil and Spain international. Not 2 players with 1 full season of La Liga between them.

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  31. You, have a point, but If the club isn't in the CL players don't care much about history and reputation and If the club doesn't want to spend much on transfer fees and doesn't want to pay over the odds on wages. The only draw left then is the manager. How many managers in world football would have that draw after the other huge factors are taken out?

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  32. One season of La Liga primera division that is.

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  33. Liverpool and Spurs are so close in so many respects that for a player to choose Spurs, it would be no different to choosing Chelsea over Man City, and that has got to be the London factor, but in that case, a player who places his lifestyle above his profession is never too huge a loss.

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  34. Simon Joseph Lau1:04 am, August 05, 2013

    It is unfortunate that top 4 is in fact more important than winning trophies, because it is for financial reasons, and the fact that it is CL football and not a trophy that the club has already won that will attract players.

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  35. Liverpool fan logic

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  36. I agree about Vertonghen, if he was poached from us it would be like saying every single player thats wants to move to england was because he was just a media story IMO.
    As for Holtby, i always likened him to be the German Henderson so i dont think we lost out at all and as you said with Coutinho in the team who needs Holtby

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  37. I dont think Liverpool were that serious about him, All the transfers thus far came quite early and according to BR were to strengthen the squad and thats all i could see this bloke doing.
    Would there be more upside to him playing over Sterling who we wouldnt have to pay to get? IMO no
    So not really a loss in my books

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  38. Theycallmemrburt4:53 am, August 05, 2013

    Holtby is actually a defensive midfielder....who knew. He was played right mid, left mid and off the striker last season when he arrived. Even Makalale would look average being shifted round like that. I think you'll see a player next season if he's in front of the back four.

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  39. Theycallmemrburt4:55 am, August 05, 2013

    clint got dumped after one season Ironically after only having one good goalscoring season in the prem. It was never going to last. An empire built on sand :)

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  40. Can't compare Chelsea & Man City to Liverpool & Spurs. If you take world wide fan base alone, and there are many die hard fans, Liverpool trumped the other 3 teams even with the failures and disappointments of recent years. The only other team with such a reputation is Man Utd.


    But I don't deny that Chelsea and Man City's fan base are expanding due to their recent successes. But it is still no where near LFC and ManU. And Spurs is miles and miles way back and even Arsenal can't match those 2. So, there is a difference choosing between Spurs and LFC. It can mean higher popularity locally and globally leading to more lucrative endorsement contracts and other benefits.


    And LFC is now building towards getting back into the CL and top 4 and the chances for successes is higher because of demanding fans expectations. At Spurs, with a top 6 or 8 finish, fans do not scream for the manager's head as rigorously as at LFC.


    Maybe Brendad did not pursue Chadli strongly as he may have other more important priority targets to pursue..

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  41. I agree with you. Does seems that way.

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  42. Simon Joseph Lau6:08 am, August 05, 2013

    Popularity isn't quite a factor when a professional considers where to ply his trade. The amount of playing time he would get would matter, as would the quality of opportunities to showcase his ability, then of course there's his pay and transfer fees, both of which will be of great interest to his agent too, and then comes the likelihood of winning something and then where the club is based.

    Spurs do have a pretty huge fanbase, perhaps even larger than Chelsea or Man City's.

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  43. My point is aimed at Suarez, really. On how desperate he must be to leave Liverpool. Arsenal haven't won anything, but solely on just being in the CL he wants to be one of those players.

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  44. In this case the answer is much simpler though. Chadli is very close with Dembele. Also, Adriaanse is know in the Netherlands as "Co". No one calls him Jacobus. He's also known for being as full as himself as Louis van Gaal is but with much less success and as such his opinion is often taken with a couple of pinches of salt. Although in regards to Chadli I agree that he is a talented player but not one I'm torn up about that he ended up somewhere else.

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  45. I think you're right about Holtby. The early signs were good anyway. And all clubs have transfers that don't work out for them. Liverpool supporters should be the last to be pointing them out at other clubs after Carrol, Aquilani and Downing.

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  46. I say again how can you know. Unless you scouted these players personally. Its called potential. Nobody knew Cristiano Ronaldo would be worth 80 mil when united got him for buttons. You dont know wot you got until hes performed. Just because we get players in for less doesn't mean they're not of the same quality as somebody who has been talked up by the media for having a decent last 6 months.

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  47. Funny how Ian Ayre is now turning into the Rick Parry of Rodgers. The manager fecks up the transfers and the apologists blame the guy above him. By the way, HBVL - the paper that brought you the Mignolet to Liverpool story, claims Everton are about to sign Alderweireld for 7 million.....euros...

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  48. Yeah the lack of CL is really getting in the way of Spurs and Southampton..

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  49. maybe Liverpool just didn't try to sign him there is a vast difference between looking at a player and trying to sign him

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  50. I think if Spurs lose Bale to Real Madrid, then I think they will be finishing mid-table this season at best!!

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  51. agree if we can get back into it

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  52. i do not know but it got a contribution of you;-)

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  53. Well, Where did you get that from. Spurs having a bigger fan base than Chelsea or Man City. Is that just another assumption or there was a study that was conducted.


    I will be really interested to see any article supporting your cause.

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  54. Where did u get the patience to type so much??

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  55. Money..Liverpool probably wanted to pay him £20k a week, whereas Spurs will throw £50k a week.

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  56. "Holtby is actually a defensive midfielder..."


    Really? Then why exactly did he wear the number 10 shirt at Schalke? Good grief.

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  57. I think the signings we have made so far have been good and have improved our squad - I am not concerned about this lack of 'X Factor' you talk about at all to be honest as the only evidence put forward of it is that of an agent suggesting we were interested in his player - it's just media talk with no actual evidence to back it up from any sources.



    I don't think we were interested in Chadli and I don't think we made an offer - we were interested in Henrik and Rodgers spoke about that and the fact we never got a chance to talk to him because the Dortmund deal was already on the table and agreed - we were not going to sign him over them at that stage for various reasons, not least our lack of CL football, so I would suggest we are at certain level just below the very top clubs in who we can attract but that is not the fault of Rodgers or Ayre in my view - the damage was done before they arrived.



    On paper I would suggest there is little between ourselves and Spurs overall and that displays 2 things - how far we have slipped in recent years and how much Spurs have improved and actually when it comes to transfer clout they certainly seem to have the numbers on their side with decent money to spend - they look a good bet for a top 4 finish this season in all honesty and do have a stronger team then us at this stage in my view.



    That said I do think in a straight shoot out between Liverpool and Spurs (with all demands being equal) we do still have a slight edge in regards to overall 'pull' but that is just my opinion. I think we need a player like Costa to join, another quality defender and midfielder (the Ajax pair) and Suarez to stay for us to remain a competitive force in the league and challenge for a top 4 spot again.

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  58. Simon Joseph Lau8:33 pm, August 05, 2013

    Neither. Not an assumption nor study but an observation over the past 28 years or so, from back when Hoddle played for them. Where I grew up, Spurs had a smaller but definite presence behind LFC and the Everton supporters who switched to manure in the 90s.

    Even where I live now, I know twice as many Spurs fans as I do City and Chelsea fans.

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  59. Well if the aim of your comments are to get a rise off people it makes things a lot more clear now.

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  60. Theycallmemrburt1:38 am, August 06, 2013

    He told The Daily Mail: "In my opinion my best position is as one of the holding midfielders, or maybe in a 4-3-3 formation as one of the central midfielders. This is where I feel most comfortable and where I can put my best effort in.

    http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2013/03/25/3852288/im-at-my-best-as-a-holding-midfielder-claims-tottenhams

    yeah good grief indeed............

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  61. I give it a couple of days before spurs are linked with Diego Costa... spurs can get lost

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  62. Did anyone see Chadli playing for Spurs vs Monaco last week? He was anonymous to say the least. Granted it was his first game for them, but remember Coutinho's first game, Aspas's first game; we all remembered their names after their debuts.

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  63. "eagerly awaiting yet another belittling response."

    As you wish: http://bundesligafanatic.com/lewis-holtby-germanys-most-versatile-footballer/



    He has never, EVER played as a defensive midfielder for anything other than occasional emergencies. If he said he'd be willing to do it at Spurs, this is hardly surprising, given that he wants playing minutes.

    Good grief. Have you ever seen him play? He is not a DM. He is an ofensive playmaker/number 10.

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