21 Nov 2013

'El Flaco' to LFC? - BR still wants unhappy €42m star hailed by Messi & Zidane....

Liverpool continue to be linked with a January move for Paris St. Germain attacker Javier Pastore, but new reports indicate that the competition is growing, with Arsenal and Roma now allegedly entering the race for the Argentinian's signature.

LFC have reportedly been tracking 'disillusioned' Pastore for 'a few months', and reports in England today claim that:

* Liverpool and Arsenal are still tracking Pastore.

* Roma want to take him on a 6-month loan deal in January.

In August, Pastore - nicknamed 'El Flaco' - admitted that the pressure of being at PSG affected his performance last season, but after a summer of big signings, he's now more relaxed. He told ESPN:

"With the players that have come in, the pressure is no longer only on me. It's better for me to have less responsibility. Other players have the burden. When the pressure is shared on the shoulders of your team-mates, it's better."

In September, Marcelo Simonian - Pastore's Agent - hinted that a move could be on the cards. He told reporters:

"In football there are always ups and downs. He [Pastore] has been happy there, but now is not the time for nostalgia. We will see what happens in the next few months."

In an interview with NapoliCalcioLive in early November, however, Simonian seemed to change his tune about Pastore's future. He noted:

"A transfer to Naples is not possible at this time. PSG's intention is to hold on to him. Javier wants to continue his career with a club that have always believed in him and treated him well. In addition, I have not had contact from anyone of late."

Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi have both praised Pastore in the past. Last season, Zidane enthused:

"He [pastore] is a vital player for Paris. He has demonstrated that he was interesting in the game by scoring goals and playing decisive passes. He is good in Paris, it is necessary to let him play"

Messi plays alongside Pastore for Argentina, and he also believes the attacker is top class. He told FIFA.com:

"You can see he is tough, he's physically fit and he's going to go far, I am convinced of it. We played alongside each other [for Argentina] and we struck up a good understanding"

Pastore cost PSG a ridiculous €42m (!) in 2011, and it seems unlikely that PSG will sell the Argentinean for anything less than £30m. He is 24, entering the prime of his career, and Liverpool would probably not be able to afford him...unless, of course, the club sells Luis Suarez in January.

However, even if Suarez goes for big bucks, Pastore is not a striker, and it wouldn't make sense to replace Suarez with an attacking midfielder, especially given Daniel Sturridge's ongoing injury problems. Pastore's stats since 2011:

* 25 goals/15 assists in 74 apps.
* Goal every 3 games.
* Goal/assist every 1.8 apps.

Signing Pastore is surely pipe dream for LFC at the moment, especially with no Champions League football...



Author:


31 comments:

  1. Its said FSG will spend heavily to reach CL, with the prospect of major rewards for EPL teams, now that BT have invested so much money for the TV rights, if FSG dont, we could be left even further behind the moneybag teams.
    Jamie, Mc Parland - Borrell gone, find out why, or what are the rumours, thats a major talking point right now, needs discussing ASAP.
    Myself, I am wondering if it has something to do with Morgan being told he can find another club and leave for free. Is it just a coincidence Morgan is given the news, and then 2 days later we are told the coaches have gone, maybe they wanted him to stay.
    Whatever the reason, it is vital we find out ASAP, get on it Jamie.

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  2. Needs too much time on the ball to play successfully in England, doesn't he? And he's not the most athletic specimen. Not sure about this one. Agree with Jamie's reservations about signing an out-and-out attacking midfielder, would rather see players that can transition and / or play in any of the midfield areas, at this point.


    Going to get your thoughts on MacParland etc soon, Jamie?

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  3. We are his pipe dream...

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  4. I was asked to elaborate o0n an earlier post re Rodgers comments about Texiera- ask about the lad returning from his Brentford loan he sais " if young players are not good enough they wont get a game" then he said " young players cant go to teams where players are on £4000 p/w who have families and expect to play because they play for a big club they think thy are better" how disgraceful (even if it were true) Well this lad is better than any Brentford player by a mile and he should be in our first team squad now.

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  5. You're still banging this drum? You are WRONG. 100%. I explained this to you before buy you still persist in spreading this lie. Rodgers did NOT say that Teixeira is 'not good enough'. Here is the actual exchange from the press conference in question:

    JOURNO: "Michael Ngoo and Joao Teixeira came back early from their loan spells. What was the reason behind that?"

    RODGERS: "There’s different types of loans. There are loans where players go out to play, and there are loans where they go to offer support to a squad. If it helps a club with their finances to bring them back, or they’re not getting enough game time, then that’s what we’ll do. Some clubs, their budgets are such that – I’ve worked at the lower level, and if they’re not playing, and they’re not going to play, they might as well come back here and get prepared for another loan deal. That allows the club to then go and get a reinforcement in a different area. I have to protect the young players here. They will have learned from the experience, good or bad, and they can either progress here, or get another loan spell".

    JOURNO"There’s a lot of debate about the experience young players need, but it’s not as simple as throwing them into loan spells as it doesn’t always work out.

    RODGERS: "No, absolutely. With all due respect, some of the young players aren’t good enough. Everyone thinks that because you’re at a top club, and you’ve got some good young players that they can just walk into a Ligue One team, but they can’t. I supervised a group at Chelsea where we had some wonderful young players, but the harsh reality is it’s not all bright lights and the Premier League. It’s a tough world".

    As you can see, Rodgers did not say, hint, suggest, or imply that Teixeira is 'not good enough'. As I posted in an article at the time (http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2013/10/brendan-rodgers-on-young-players-suarez-johnson-coutinho.html), he made a general comment about young players, saying that sometimes, they're not good enough.

    Now, please stop spreading this falsehood about Rodgers.

    Press conference link: http://www.liverpoolfc.com/video/press-conf/15896-rodgers-newcastle-preview

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  6. Jamie I heard him and watched him saying it -he sad it.

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  7. Jamie I know what I heard and saw he was asked about Ingoo and Texiera but he was talking about Texiera the circumstances rule out Ingoo (and I saw his face) and where is the bit about the £4000 a week and they have families etc- young players cat expect to come in etc etc , that transcript has been edited. Texiera is better than (given the chance) Lucas - Suso and allen and 4 young players who have had a chance ahead of him.

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  8. The young Croatian boy Lulic ? we are linked with is fabulous, I hope its true much better the over priced English lad. who is good I admit.

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  9. What you heard is wrong! The link to the press conference is there, as is the transcript. Rodgers was not referring to Teixeira.



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  10. Jeez, you just refuse to listen to factual evidence. The link to the press conferenceis there. You are wrong. Rodgers was not referring to Teixeira

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  11. He was asked about two players specifically - who was he referring to if not Texiera ? he was specific about Brentford players, their wages etc - the team Ingoo went to could never pay those wages - so it was Texiera and he was taking his spite out on him. No one I notice doubts Texieras ability - so why is he out in the cold ?.

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  12. The first question was about Teixeira and Ngoo specifically. He answered it. If the press conference had stopped there then that would've been it. The journo then asked a separate, general question about young players, and Rodgers mentioned Chelsea in that section, not LFC players.

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  13. He is BiH player. Bosnia and Herzegowina. They qualified for the WC.

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  14. Apparently Dalglish will take over as Academy Director and quite honestly there is no better man for the job.

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  15. Sorry, but what history/experience does Dalglish have in youth development/coaching?! Absolutely zero. So why is he the best man for the job?



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  16. "If they breakthrough early and can't sustain that can be natural and they may need a loan period.

    "As long as they are ready by 20, 21 then that is what the academy is all about - a place to learn and develop and ultimately get through into the first team.

    "It is why we have invested so much in it, why we put so much work into it, in order to get the players through."

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  17. Suarez scored none in almost two full matches vs Jordan..

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  18. I can't see BR doing it. It's his decision.

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  19. There is no need to bring Pastore in the money could be better spent on wide players a def mid if Liverpool are to buy him u need to structure the formation around him.
    He has 1 spot current occupied by Coutinho and later also maybe Suso i wouldnt waste the money on him.
    I still rate Pastore highly but not versatile enough for my liking.

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  20. Dalglish was involved with our academy back in 2009 and has also been our ambassador. If he wasn't made manager then he most probably still would have been involved at the academy.

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  21. Absolutely agree. Worst thing about such an appointment aside from Dalglish's questionable motives, judgement, character, and commitment, would be that he's virtually unsackable.

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  22. Agree with you about Pastore. I'll be posting an article about McParland/Borrell later today.

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  23. I'll be posting something about McParland/Borrell later today.

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  24. Yes after the recent talent spotting of downing, Caroll and Adam I'll give that one a miss thanks

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  25. He's talking about Karlo Lulic 17 i think.

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  26. I would love to see Pastore at Liverpool. He is an accomplished player. The wages and transfer fee might be a problem however.


    He plays behind the striker but can also play on the wings.

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  27. DM is definitely needed IMO.

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  28. Our recent bad buys Allen - Borini (who he knows ?) have been Rodgers our good buys our scouts put forward.

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  29. B Rodgers should not waste 25M plus on Pastore, as PSG will not sell him for no less than that. B Rodgers needs to bring in 4 class quality centre midfielders ( 2 to replace the class and quality of Alonso and Mascherano that 5 years on our club has still not replaced) 2 to take over the mantle of our captain Fantastic in next few years between January and the summer transfer window:


    The two central midfielders who should be brought to club in January are Cabaye(27) Of Newcastle and M'Vila(23) Of Rubin Kazan, those two players would cost the club 30-32M Maximum. They will bring more class, creativity, depth, goals and steel to centre of park. These two players will bring similar class to Alonso and Mascherano.


    And in summer: Rodgers should bring in Koke(21) Of A Madrid and M Veratti(21) Of PSG, these two midfielders could help replace the class, quality our captain fantastic has provided consistantly for over a decade.

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  30. Joe Allen was exceptional against Finland, He was terrier-like. I know he's had a lot of flack for his performances in parts of last season.. But he was carrying a persistent injury which did affect his game, plus the issues of relocating and having a new born. His early form is quickly forgotten, particularly his performance against City at home. I say this hesitantly, but if he can rediscover his form of previous, we may not actually need to spend on a CDM.

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