Over the last couple of months, ex-Reds John Aldridge and Phil Babb have urged Liverpool to sign Southampton star Luke Shaw, who today received a call-up to the England squad. Shaw is coveted by a number of top clubs, and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is clearly a firm admirer of the 18-year old left back.
In his pre-Southampton press conference today, Rodgers praised a number of Southampton's British players, including Shaw, about whom, he enthused:
"It's great to see Luke Shaw doing very well at Southampton. He's 18 of ages, and a wonderful talent. It's good to see British talent progress"
After Liverpool's magnificent 4-0 victory over Everton at Anfield, Aldo tweeted:
"This is our big opportunity to get 4th spot. Luke shaw would be a great signing but we'd get blown out of the water by the big spenders".
During a recent 5-Times Podcast this week, Babb urged Liverpool to 'break the bank' to sign Shaw. He enthused:
"I know it’s ambitious but I would like to see Liverpool going in for Luke Shaw. Pay the £20 million and view it as getting England’s left back for the next ten years"
Man United recently put in a £22m bid for Shaw, but Chelsea are also interested in the highly-regarded defender, and the Saints reportedly want £25m for his services, which is chicken-feed for the Blues, who would probably buy Shaw just to keep him out of the clutches of their Premier League rivals.
Former Chelsea star Graeme Le Saux has, however, advised Shaw to reject a big-money move in the summer and stay at Southampton to develop his game. He noted recently:
"He has the qualities a lot of pace and a lot of energy, but he is still very young and the more experience he gains for his club the better. I feel that he’s in the right place at the moment and his development is crucial"
I agree with Le Saux here. Where's the fire? Why does an 18-year old who already plays regular football in the Premier League need to move to a massive club so soon? The only reason, IMO, would be money, but Shaw - described by Dejan Lovren this week as the 'best left back in the league - should look at the experience of players like Jack Rodwell, or Chelsea's stockpiled legion of on-loan young players before he follows the money to Stamford Bridge.
Left back seems to be a problem position for a host of top clubs at the moment. With Jose Enrique's long-term injury - and arguably inadequate long-term back-up - LFC desperately need to fill the role; Chelsea need to replace Ashley Cole (and have already send Ryan Bertrand out on loan); Gael Clichy is struggling to hold down a regular place at Man City; and Patrice Evra is on his last legs at Man United.
Clearly, it's a seller's market when it comes to high-quality left-backs, but I doubt Liverpool will be in with a chance of signing Shaw, especially at the ridiculously inflated price of £25m.
In any event, I'd be hugely disappointed if LFC splurged such a massive fee on a comparatively untested teenager. Even if the club gets back into the Champions League, Rodgers needs to spend whatever cash is available in a responsible manner, and avoid a repeat of last summer's waste of transfer funds.
Author: Jaimie K
In his pre-Southampton press conference today, Rodgers praised a number of Southampton's British players, including Shaw, about whom, he enthused:
"It's great to see Luke Shaw doing very well at Southampton. He's 18 of ages, and a wonderful talent. It's good to see British talent progress"
After Liverpool's magnificent 4-0 victory over Everton at Anfield, Aldo tweeted:
"This is our big opportunity to get 4th spot. Luke shaw would be a great signing but we'd get blown out of the water by the big spenders".
During a recent 5-Times Podcast this week, Babb urged Liverpool to 'break the bank' to sign Shaw. He enthused:
"I know it’s ambitious but I would like to see Liverpool going in for Luke Shaw. Pay the £20 million and view it as getting England’s left back for the next ten years"
Man United recently put in a £22m bid for Shaw, but Chelsea are also interested in the highly-regarded defender, and the Saints reportedly want £25m for his services, which is chicken-feed for the Blues, who would probably buy Shaw just to keep him out of the clutches of their Premier League rivals.
Former Chelsea star Graeme Le Saux has, however, advised Shaw to reject a big-money move in the summer and stay at Southampton to develop his game. He noted recently:
"He has the qualities a lot of pace and a lot of energy, but he is still very young and the more experience he gains for his club the better. I feel that he’s in the right place at the moment and his development is crucial"
I agree with Le Saux here. Where's the fire? Why does an 18-year old who already plays regular football in the Premier League need to move to a massive club so soon? The only reason, IMO, would be money, but Shaw - described by Dejan Lovren this week as the 'best left back in the league - should look at the experience of players like Jack Rodwell, or Chelsea's stockpiled legion of on-loan young players before he follows the money to Stamford Bridge.
Left back seems to be a problem position for a host of top clubs at the moment. With Jose Enrique's long-term injury - and arguably inadequate long-term back-up - LFC desperately need to fill the role; Chelsea need to replace Ashley Cole (and have already send Ryan Bertrand out on loan); Gael Clichy is struggling to hold down a regular place at Man City; and Patrice Evra is on his last legs at Man United.
Clearly, it's a seller's market when it comes to high-quality left-backs, but I doubt Liverpool will be in with a chance of signing Shaw, especially at the ridiculously inflated price of £25m.
In any event, I'd be hugely disappointed if LFC splurged such a massive fee on a comparatively untested teenager. Even if the club gets back into the Champions League, Rodgers needs to spend whatever cash is available in a responsible manner, and avoid a repeat of last summer's waste of transfer funds.
Author: Jaimie K
risk vs reward, like mentioned, potentially next england left back for next 10 years, 25 mill spread out over 10 years would be a good investment, wouldnt it be worth the risk?
ReplyDeletealso do you believe that Rodgers could help him reach his potential? i think i do
ReplyDeleteId love him to come but it wont happen. Look at what utd paid for rooney and what they got for there money. Top attacking left backs are hard to come by and worth there weight in gold. Ive saw a lot of this lad and believe hes got a amazing career ahead of him.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't play 25m for an 18 year old LB, no way. It's just not ethical!
ReplyDeleteif we don't pay the money,someone else will and we'll regret it no doubt.luke shaw has the tools to be the best left back in the league for years to come. but £25 mill is a hell of a lot to pay for a relatively unproven 18 year old. we need to strengthen at left back no doubt so who would our fans like us to buy? who would you think is a realistic,affordable target provided we get champions league place jaimie?
ReplyDeleteTop Player but 25m for an 18 year old?
ReplyDeleteim positive we could find a player of equal talent and potential for less, they just wouldnt be british
I just tried adding Luke Shaw on facebook but it didn't work :(
ReplyDeleteFabio Coentrao is experienced and one of the best left backs in world football at £12m he is a steal I would prefer him over anybody
ReplyDeleteCoentrao is on the market for £12m I'd take him over anybody
ReplyDeleteFabio Coentrao for £12m is the man + he is on the market in the summer
ReplyDelete22m for Suarez and 25m for an 18 year old yet to be tested in Europe?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that he will be England's left back for the next ten years is lost on me. It's not like England can be considered among the strongest national teams in the world. We would be crazy to pay 25 million for a player with the ability you can buy in Europe for less than 10 million.
ReplyDeleteand also 8.5m for coutinho, 12m for sturridge.....
ReplyDeleteAs a saints fan I feel the amount quoted is far to much for a kid with promise, I mean last time we sold a left back to a glory club the poor fellow disappeared without trace (in this country)
ReplyDeleteHope Saturdays game lives up to promise,
If FSG don't want to save a matter of a couple of million for players like Salah, then there's no way they're paying 25 m for Shaw.
ReplyDeleteIt is not about saving money, it is about only paying what LFC believe the player is valued at.
ReplyDeleteIf FSG believe Shaw is valued at 25mil then they will pay it but if they feel his value is only at 18 million then they will walk away.
That is exactly what happened in the Dempsey and Sigurðsson deals and both these deals showed why FSG were correct in walking away from players wanting high wages and their clubs at the time demanding fees more than what both players were worth.
Of course it's about saving money. If you want to buy something, but think it's too expensive because you don't believe it's price meets its intrinsic value, then you will walk away saving your money until you find something next time that is worth the value.
ReplyDeleteBut then what if we sign another RB at the same price as Shaw? Is that saving money?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on how good he is dude!
ReplyDeleteNo, the point is that if FSG value Shaw at 25 million then they will fork out the money = not saving money...
ReplyDeleteDude, I was going on the assumption that FSG won't value Shaw at 25 m. I'm assuming that if they didn't think Salah was 15 m, then there's no way they'd think a rookie 18 year old is 25m. They'd rather save money and buy someone cheaper who is still yet of Shaw's calibre, or greater, in another league
ReplyDeleteJust becuase FSG did not think Salah was worth 15mil does not mean they wanted to save money to buy someone cheaper i.e. Konoplyanka.
ReplyDeleteI am just saying that FSG are not penny wise pound foolish. They want value for money.
What my original argument was that, if they don't think Salah, who is generally more proven than Shaw, is worth not even 15m, then there's no bloody way they'd think an 18 year old rookie defender is 25 m.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this debate is kind of mind-f**king me.
ReplyDeleteYeah whatever happened to him? Gordon Bowl or something... Graham Bell... nope, forgotten his name altogether :(
ReplyDeleteOf course England are among the strongest national teams in the world. They qualified unbeaten from their group for the world cup, beat Sweden, Ukraine at home, and drew with France and Italy, and have beaten Italy, Spain, and Brazil in friendlies in the last few years. I'm not under the illusion that England are a great side, but they are a very strong team who can give any side in the world a tough match. You also won't find a better left back in Europe than Shaw at his age. Look around the U21 sides; there's no-one really at his level.
ReplyDeleteWhy? It's a simple concept. Determine value, pay price. Joe Allen is worth 15 million smackeroonies!
ReplyDeleteYes this exchange sum up the two different views of FSG. Those that believe they have a well founded transfer policy based on value for money and those that look at recent transfers and have questions about the efficacy of their policies and/or their willingness to pay the market price for the quality of player required to improve the team. The truth is none of us know which it is
ReplyDeleteThe potential move to a bigger club might not be only be about the money and might not even be about the money at all. Sometimes if you think you are good enough you need to push on to the next level. I am sure the very best players don't wait around until they are deemed to be old enough. If you're good enough etc.........
ReplyDeleteSure, if you back yourself in that way there is the possibility you might be wrong and could fail spectacularly and there will examples that people will quote to prove that point. Though in reality there are likely to be a multitude of reasons why some players achive greatness at an early age, others take time and some completely fail to live up to early promise.
......
We need two top centre backs and a right sided midfield ball winner. Why waste time and space on this website talking about young defenders like Shaw. He is a realistic target for any club with very deep pockets and that's not Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteYou are having a laugh, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd Aquilani was worth 20mil???
ReplyDeleteDifference is that Allen is probably on half of what Aquilani earned in wages so in the end he will still cost less than what we paID for Aquilani's transfer fee and wages.
And if Allen does ever go up for sale, we will not be making a 16 million loss on him ;-)
Ridiculous amount of money for a teenager. Barca paid a similar amount for dani alves for god sake. These kind of prices for English players are the reason that teams look abroad for talent. Looks a crackin player but I for one would be disgusted if we spent 25mil on a teenage left back. Absolutely ridiculous
ReplyDeleteYou're joking right? Did you not watch Germany's second team sweep them aside recently? If andros Townsend (a totally predictable one trick pony) is considered England's best chance of creating something (I refer to hodgson's "feed the monkey" quote) then they're in big trouble. The England team are pure bloody average and that's being kind
ReplyDeleteno, just our different little interpretations have twisted the debate around a bit...
ReplyDeleteI love JB but his glass is always half empty.
ReplyDeleteI've also been awake since 3 this morning so my brain is really not functioning correctly at the moment :/
ReplyDeleteI ca guarantee 1/4 players will come back injured.
ReplyDeleteProbably Gerrard or Sturrdige
No. People are much too harsh on England, just see what they want to see. They are a resilient side with skilful individuals who can make something out of nothing. It's not a matter just of "BAD!!!" or "BRILLIANT!!!" in football. England are a good side, could beat anyone on their day.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that calling up Luke Shaw is a mistake, especially for a friendly game. It's not like Walcott, who was called up without any reason. Shaw has been one of the stand out players in his position, and being part of an international squad will him the chance to get used to the environment and atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteYou say that Shaw has no experience of the top level, but how is he supposed to gain that experience otherwise? The two other options England have at LB are Cole and Baines, who are 33 and 29 respectively. To me it makes sense to get Shaw acclimatised to this level of football, as he is going to be England's long-term answer in that position.
I'm getting extremely bored of the overhype debate
ReplyDeleteJamie you think we have any sort of chance to be champions? or is it to much of a longshot?
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is that england doesnt have enough good players to choose from! Thats the sad reality of their situation now!
ReplyDeleteI have checked and you're right Dylan (the dog) likes him too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what he thinks after today?
ReplyDelete