10 Nov 2013

Transfer Risk: BR wants 'dynamic' €8m star with a 'great mentality'. Ambition FAIL...?

Liverpool are reportedly tracking Southampton attacker Jay Rodriguez, who is seen at Anfield as a potential replacement for Reds striker Luis Suarez.

According to The Mirror today:

"Liverpool have lined up England new boy Jay Rodriguez.

"Brendan Rodgers has kept tabs on the 24-year-old, who he believes can fulfil the Suarez role if the Uruguayan eventually leaves"


Liverpool allegedly enquired about Rodriguez over the summer, with the Daily Star reporting at the time:

"Liverpool have added the forward [Rodriguez] to a list of players they are keeping tabs on. Rodriguez, 23, has flourished at St Mary’s under new boss Mauricio Pochettino and the Reds have taken note".

Southampton boss Muaricio Pocchetino will not want to lose one of his star players, and in a recent interview, he outlined the importance of Rodriguez to his team. he raved:

"Ever since I arrived has been really confident. He is a player that has a great dynamism, great technical quality. He is obsessed by football, lives for football, has a great mentality and is always available. The sky is the limit for him. I don't see a roof - there is no limit."

Rodriguez recently received his first call-up to the England squad, and former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp is delighted for the attacker. He told the Daily Mail:

"He [Rodriguez] is a smashing lad and he is enjoying performing in a team rich with young English talent playing with a continental style. He has a habit of hitting the sweet spot. He can strike a ball with swerve and movement and aims to bounce it just before the goalkeeper".

Rodriguez - who cost Southampton €8m in 2012 - is clearly a very talented player, but a replacement for Suarez? You're having a laugh. With all due respect to the guy, he was playing in the lower-leagues until a year ago, and one good season in the Premier League does not qualify him to replace a player of Suarez's talent.

Additionally, if this is true, and Rodgers genuinely believes Rodriguez is good enough to replace Suarez, then it's shows a disheartening lack of ambition from LFC's manager, and I seriously doubt that the majority of Reds fans would be satisfied with the deal.

I'm not the biggest fan of Suarez (!), but in purely footballing terms, he is a fantastic player, and when he leaves, Liverpool must splash the cash and buy a proven, top-class attacker who is on a par (in terms of quality) with the Uruguayan.

Replacing Suarez with yet another mid-priced gamble would be a massive mistake (IMO). Rodriguez would be a great addition to the squad overall, but as a replacement for Suarez? No chance.

Having said that, why would Rodriguez leave Southampton anyway? He's a regular starter, playing in an exciting, up-and-coming team, and is managed by one of the best young managers in European football.

Author:


47 comments:

  1. I hope BR is keeping tabs on Lallana too!

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  2. I'd prefer Lallana

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  3. None of Southampton's young stars will be leaving - not Rodriguez, not Lallana, not Shaw or Schneiderlin. Its all just paper talk! Lallana signed a 5 year deal when Saints were in League 1 (despite Premiership interest) such is his commitment to the Club. All the others are on long term deals as well and the Club has no need or interest in selling!

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  4. I'm sure if Liverpool get CL football and the money is right, we could buy your entire team!

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  5. I take it you're a Saints fan? You must be loving the way they're playing. Southampton's always been a great club - I used to watch them at the dell back in my uni days. For a lazy fat sod, Le tissier was one of the best I've ever seen!

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  6. A nothing rumour. Onto the next one.

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  7. Southampton players leaving for Liverpool? I don't think so.

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  8. I doubt there is all that much in this. Even if we did actually want him I doubt it is as a replacement to Suarez, no one at the club is that stupid surely. To replace Suarez we would probably need a couple of players at much higher quality than Jay.

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  9. There is something very special happening at St Mary's and I really believe that all the young players will want to play their part in it.
    The days are gone when a big club could turn our young players heads with the promises of money and glory.

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  10. Totally, no disrespect to the other clubs in the league but Southampton have the most exciting project going on by a country mile. Not many youngsters would want to miss out on that to go and warm the bench somewhere else.

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  11. As Saints are currently 3rd, there is every chance they'll make it themselves. And why leave for a team they've beaten home and away in their last 2 meetings? Saints are currently backed by Liebherr billions - funding Liverpool can only dream of!

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  12. From L1 relegation zone to CL places in 4 years - its been some journey! And the best thing is that its been achieved by keeping the spine of the L1 side with home grown youngsters and just 3 or 4 big signings! Some of the football has been outstanding!

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  13. Incredible 4 years and looks like there is more to come. The scouting network and coaching of youngsters is really impressive. Pretty much got the south coast to yourselves these days. Good luck for the season

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  14. Such a ridiculous comment... Replace Suarez with a proven, top class attacker who is on a par with him... Are you not aware that such a player does not exist and even if they did our chances of signing them are slim to none. Always moaning but never providing any serious solutions.

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  15. Results are going our way today! Think I want a draw in the man u arsenal game

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  16. Great news today!!! Both Spurs and Man City lost! Hopefully Man Utd vs Arsenal match ending with a draw.

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  17. OK kiddo you are way out of proportion
    saints will do magic to stay in top6 this term
    your team is good but you know it yourself you have work to do to even plan thinking about CL football.
    as a comparison, everton team is also very good nearly every year but have they finished in the top for for at least 7 years?
    A BIG FAT NO

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  18. It would be nice to think so -- though I've been watching Lallana for years and would love us to make a move for him -- but the reality is that the big clubs get their way. Every. Time. If Liverpool want Shaw or Lallana or Rodriguez and make a serious move, Saints would find it very, very hard to keep them.


    But £8m for Rodriguez isn't what I'd call a serious move.

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  19. I'm thinking a 1-1 or 2-2 draw

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  20. J Rod went to anfield earlier this season and came away with saints with the well deserved 0:1 win, look forward to the reverse fixture with J rod playing for saints and maybe one of the first doubles over a team this season :) but any of saints going there, maybe the fringe players ....

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  21. hahahaha totally laughable but admire your aspiration, your a one man team at the moment and WHEN he goes your ageing past prime good players will be another year older and your be looking over your shoulder like you are now at saints with a young squad full of talent :)

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  22. its a good new style and that saints fans are not used to and winning games playing well in the prem! Stevie G proved on sat he still has his quality though

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  23. ignorance is bliss! look at his age and goal record for the new position he is in

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  24. Hopefully a 0-0 draw that bores everyone to death. :)

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  25. So Liverpool are chasing the League but a side just 1 point, 1 place below - who won at Anfield are no hopers - even after 11 games? Saints might not reach the CL but it is totally disrespectful to dismiss their chances. They are proving their right to be in the top 4 and are a breath of fresh air! Or should no-one outside the traditional top 6 (which no longer includes Liverpool I might add) challenge at the top?

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  26. The real boost is that they're getting into the England squad. Time was when players moved to 'big clubs' to increase chances of a call up. So long as they think they can get international recognition the is more incentive to stay and develop.

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  27. No way a double!

    We will have our revenge when we visit St Mary's Stadium! But I do hope both teams can qualify for Champions League at the end of this season.

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  28. I really really like Saints. I like how they play, I think they have some great players, there are lots I like about them mostly is I think they are better than the sum of their parts. Having said that I don't think its unfair to say that its unlikely they will finish in a CL spot. It will be a hard slog for us and we have one of the best players in the league in the team. It's worth keeping your heads Saints fans, I'm sure there were Brummies happy about West Brom at this stage last year. I think the new England lad with a Mexican name is a good player but the gulf between the two mentioned in this article is ridiculous. I wouldn't mind seeing him in our team though. But like someone said Soto have no need to sell and like Everton have done in the past they can put stupid prices on their players.

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  29. I'm not saying he is not a good player mate just saying he is no where near Suarez and if we are to replace the him then Jay would hopefully be only one of a couple and hopefully he would not be the best. I would like to think our club are smart enough to want to make that happen too.

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  30. You'd like all these young players including JWP and luke shaw, but they literally have no reason to leave. In fact I believe lallana would never leave.

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  31. please explain that two me how can we be a so called "one man team" if the 2 top scorers are both in our club? we´ve a lot of potential in our group a lot of young players comming through!
    youre right the same applies to you - but Liverpool FC will always be the bigger and more prestigious club of these two. nevermind you´re still at a great club and i hope they will stay in the top 4!

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  32. Never say never - gerrard nearly left us when we won the champion's league. I dont think le tissier would be a one club man if he played in this era. This is the problem for you guys now. Big clubs apwillbe like vultures. Take it all as a compliment and hope you're right

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  33. I actually agree with much of what you say but we are better than WBA last year. The Saints 1st team is very good - not sure if the squad is good enough. Is Rodriguez good enough for England - I have my doubts - but Clyne, Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Lallana will be BIG England players for many years and they wont be leaving anytime soon

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  34. You are definitely better than WBA. Will be interesting he you get on against arsenal next week and if some of your players start to get worked out a bit as teams become more familiar wih them.

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  35. I really like Soto, maybe my second team in PL, and I'm not being disrespectful at all. my bad if you felt that way.
    However, I don't think your team is quite THERE yet
    I'm sure you'll surprise many in the near future

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  36. When Saints were in League 1, Lallana was being talked of as a future International and a number of Premierships sides wanted him. At a stage where promotion was only a possibility, he signed a 5 year deal to commit his long term future to the Club. If he wouldn't leave then - why now?

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  37. Suarez is immense - watching him last night, he reminded me of Kenny Dalglish in his prime. JRod isn't at that level and likely never will be. But he is fast, strong, direct and a confidence player and doing very well in a hard working team. And wont miss multiple games for indiscipline!

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  38. This is not a rumour, rather a joke!

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  39. Why cant I comment?

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  40. I can, ignore/

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  41. I think LFC fans etc might think they can take any Saints player but times have changed. Southampton's owners are worth billions and supporting the Chairman. Any Southampton player that they agree to release will cost mega bucks. Cortese has all the best players tied to long term contracts and treats them well. He is also the most ruthless SOB in European football by some distance. Talk about it as much as you like but Southampton are now a rich club. Just spent £15m on the training ground and now have planning permission to double it's size. Looking at adding capacity to 52k at St Mary's.Tradition might say only the top six can ever compete for the top four places but money available plus a marvellous academy may prove differently. This year seems a bit premature but so did last year and so did back to back promotions. This team are no fluke but a series of long term injuries could stretch the resources. I expect further high quality reinforcements in January with probably Ramirez going back to Italy as he doesn't seem to be able to attain the high tempo required.

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  42. Rodriguez is a good player but Suarez is one of the very best in the world - they're nowhere near the same level.


    It won't be as easy to replace Suarez as some seemed to believe during the summer (when many were calling for him to just be sold to the first bidder) and it is imperative that the replacement is also an elite, match-winning talent, rather than just another good but not great player.

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  43. There is not enough cash available in Europe to splash that would replace Suarez. The only way Suarez leaves is if we're not top 4 in January. He is totally committed to Liverpool now and as long as we keep winning he will stay and play UCL next year. Suarez plays in the most competetive league in the world. 3 points separate numbers 2 through 7 in the BPL. In no other league is the scoring even close. He is tied for the league lead in scoring despite everyone else having a 6 match head start. He loves playing at Anfield. He's not leaving. End of story.

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  44. It's a sign that BR is worried about Saints taking a CL spot that he is trying to destabilise Saints but spreading rumours about their players.

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  45. I'm disappointed to see people believing the kind of nonsense that comes out of the mirror. All evidence to date shows that Rodgers is very ambitious in the transfer market, recently leading us to aiming for players who are too good for us, given our recent lack of success. It's obviously a wild guess from the journo, there is really no need for the dig at Rodgers in this instance. There are plenty of things to write about Rodriguez but instead of his seasons stats or summary of achievements you can't resist the suggestion that Rodgers might make a potential mistake in the transfer market. It hasn't even happened, let's give it a rest.

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  46. No wouldn't replace Suarez but Aspas then we're talking.

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