Last season, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers made a personal scouting trip to watch MK Dons starlet Dele Alli in action, and it after further scouting, it seems that the 18-year old attacker could be on his way to Anfield this summer.
In the first week of January, The Mirror reported that:
* Liverpool are 'closing in' on signing Alli.
* Rodgers made a personal check on the youngster during the League One side’s FA Cup draw at Wigan.
Soon after, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool chief scout Barry Hunter watched him [Alli] in action at the weekend. [Rodgers] instructed his colleague to run-the-rule over the 17-year-old who scored in the 3-2 victory over Shrewsbury Town".
Now, according to Sky Sports, Liverpool have lodged an official bid for Alli, which is reportedly in the region of £3.5m-£8m:
Dons boss Karl Robinson admitted recently that he'd spoken with Rodgers about some of the club's rising stars:
“I know Brendan quite well and we speak about different players all the time. He was at the game today, but you’ve seen Dele and he’s special. He did bits of magic [and] I’m very proud of his development.”
When asked about Alli's potential this week, Robinson told reporters:
"He is one of the most gifted 17-year-olds this country has ever seen. I've said from the word go, he's as good as it gets and he's the best young player I've ever worked with"
Some info about Alli:
* 6'2
* 8 goals/2 assists in 44 apps for MK Dons so far.
* Made his debut at age 16 in 2012.
* 9 apps for the England U17 side.
* Top scorer for the U18s last season with 17-goals.
* Signed a three-year professional deal in the summer of 2013.
* Personal motto: "Don't practise until you get it right. Practise until you can't get it wrong".
Alli is very highly thought-of at MK Dons, and in September, Robinson told the Milton Keynes Citizen:
“I’ve seen him do things in training that I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen nothing like Dele before. The kid will be one of the best. He’s on another planet compared to some other players.”
Like Rodgers, Robinson seems prone to effusive, overwrought praise, and he regularly heaps exaggerated praise on Alli. It may be genuine, or he may be trying to raise his eventual transfer fee, which given the fact Alli is English, will probably be massively inflated anyway.
Liverpool are bursting at the seams with young talent, and the arrival of yet another teenager seems, to me, like overkill. However, Alli seems to have great pedigree, and the club lacks - even in the youth ranks - big, tall, combative midfield players, so he would bring something different to the table.
Having said that, if Liverpool pay up to £8m for an 18-year old, it will surely have an impact on the first-team chance of Jordon Ibe, and Joao Teixeira. With those two in the squad already, do Liverpool even need Alli?
Author: Jaimie K
In the first week of January, The Mirror reported that:
* Liverpool are 'closing in' on signing Alli.
* Rodgers made a personal check on the youngster during the League One side’s FA Cup draw at Wigan.
Soon after, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool chief scout Barry Hunter watched him [Alli] in action at the weekend. [Rodgers] instructed his colleague to run-the-rule over the 17-year-old who scored in the 3-2 victory over Shrewsbury Town".
Now, according to Sky Sports, Liverpool have lodged an official bid for Alli, which is reportedly in the region of £3.5m-£8m:
Liverpool have made a bid for MK Dons starlet Dele Alli. #LFC #mkdons
— Pete O'Rourke (@SkySportsPeteO) June 16, 2014Dons boss Karl Robinson admitted recently that he'd spoken with Rodgers about some of the club's rising stars:
“I know Brendan quite well and we speak about different players all the time. He was at the game today, but you’ve seen Dele and he’s special. He did bits of magic [and] I’m very proud of his development.”
When asked about Alli's potential this week, Robinson told reporters:
"He is one of the most gifted 17-year-olds this country has ever seen. I've said from the word go, he's as good as it gets and he's the best young player I've ever worked with"
Some info about Alli:
* 6'2
* 8 goals/2 assists in 44 apps for MK Dons so far.
* Made his debut at age 16 in 2012.
* 9 apps for the England U17 side.
* Top scorer for the U18s last season with 17-goals.
* Signed a three-year professional deal in the summer of 2013.
* Personal motto: "Don't practise until you get it right. Practise until you can't get it wrong".
Alli is very highly thought-of at MK Dons, and in September, Robinson told the Milton Keynes Citizen:
“I’ve seen him do things in training that I’ve never seen before. I’ve seen nothing like Dele before. The kid will be one of the best. He’s on another planet compared to some other players.”
Like Rodgers, Robinson seems prone to effusive, overwrought praise, and he regularly heaps exaggerated praise on Alli. It may be genuine, or he may be trying to raise his eventual transfer fee, which given the fact Alli is English, will probably be massively inflated anyway.
Liverpool are bursting at the seams with young talent, and the arrival of yet another teenager seems, to me, like overkill. However, Alli seems to have great pedigree, and the club lacks - even in the youth ranks - big, tall, combative midfield players, so he would bring something different to the table.
Having said that, if Liverpool pay up to £8m for an 18-year old, it will surely have an impact on the first-team chance of Jordon Ibe, and Joao Teixeira. With those two in the squad already, do Liverpool even need Alli?
Author: Jaimie K
Bad news for Ibe?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. Different position; Ibe is more wide player and I suppose that Dele Alli is center.
What makes you think that any of the players mentioned would even consider coming to Liverpool?
ReplyDeleteLets look at the facts. We have won the following in the last 10 years
Prem League - Zero
FA Cup - 1
League Cup - 1
UEFA Cup - 0
Champions League - 1
Not exactly impressive is it.
Now to most European players the thing that matters the most is the Champions League. You can talk all you want about History but right it comes right down to it for the vast majority of non British based players it means nothing.
This is our record in the Champions League over the past 10 years
2004/05 - Winners
2005/06 - R16
2006/07 - Runners Up
2007/08 - SF
2008/09 - QF
2009/10 - Group Stage
2010 - Present Day - Not Qualified.
Not what you would call breath taking. So if you are classed as one of the best players in Europe and considering coming to the England why chose us over Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Man Utd? Considering not only do they all have much better Champions League and Premier League records then us but also with maybe the exception of Arsenal, pay a lot more in wages as well?
Face it, just because we finished second and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in years, it doesn't automatically mean players are suddenly going to want to jump at the chance to play for us.
It will probably take a few years of not only qualifying for the Champions League but getting past the group stages for the likes of those you mentioned and many other top class players who people talk about to seriously consider joining Liverpool.
Nah we don't need him! We have some very good youth players still trying to develop, I would rather we spent our money on established talent that will add greater depth and quality to the team. The likes of Rodriguez or Blind for that LB, the likes of Benatia, Lovren, Hummels, Toprak at CB, Gundogan, Strootman, Song, Schneiderlin for that DM role though Gerrard's doing a great job but he can't last forever, Sanchez, Pedro, Griezmann for the attack, Ochoa, Vorm or Darlow would be useful for GK. I believe we stand a fair chance of getting any of these if we pursue it enough and don't muck about and waste time. We need to think big and aim high with transfers this season as the Manc's, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City all will be hot on the heals of many of these targets but we need to move fast. I hope we don't drag our heals and miss out again on prime targets. We need to be ambitious and bold
ReplyDeleteMy head is in the oven..............
ReplyDeleteSuper talent. Would be so exciting to have him at Liverpool. You never, ever stand still as a club if you want to be successful. Ibe and Teixeira may make it, they may not. We'll see: this is a big season for both of them.
ReplyDeleteWill you be having carrots and peas with that?
ReplyDeleteWhile I totally understand the frustration, I'd like to remind you that the transfer window hasn't even officially opened yet
ReplyDeleteHmm let's see, maybe because who there manager is, the wages they can pay and look at their Premises and CL record is over the 10 years.
ReplyDeleteTheir CL record means nothing at the moment while they're not in it. There's no guarantee they'll make the top 4
ReplyDeleteVery true however because of their manager, the wages they can pay and the fact of who they are they will still be able to get players to take the risk. As much as we all might hate utd, they are still one of the biggest clubs in the world with one if ghe bedt managers and still will be able to attract top quality players for the time being.
ReplyDeleteI guess...but, a number of players have rejected them thus far. Only Luke Shaw seems to be a certainty...
ReplyDeleteTrue but I'm pretty sure they were before Van Gaal become manager.
ReplyDeleteIts a misconception to think that all the top players want to work with van Gaal. Not everybody was happy with him during his career. He works well with youngsters, but not very well with older players. You guys are jumping on the bandwagon because the Netherlands are playing decent. Before this WC nobody in the Netherlands was actually happy with his selection policy.
ReplyDeletePeople are overreacting when it comes to van Gaal. he is top class manager but he has his flaw. Just pay attention how he will handle the British media or lazy top players.
We play CL, Utd not. We play groundbreaking, attractive football and utd not.
We are in a better position to land top quality players. The future is looking bright.
Exactly. Most of the young talent haven't proven anything. All should be considered a gamble.
ReplyDeleteThe more young talent we have, the more likely we'll find a good player. Sitting still and waiting for the existing young players to develop is not a good strategy.
My only concern is that we have to make sure that the young talent gets opportunities. We saw this especially in December of this past season, but that seemed more by necessity due to injuries.
Why even bother pursuing players then? We might as well take our ball, go home, and wait for the season to mercifully end.
ReplyDeleteOr you go after more realistic targets. You know players like Sturridge or even Suarez to a point. Most pkayers most likely had never even heard of Suarez before we signed him.
ReplyDeleteLiterally impossible to get Pogba. Juventus want £60m. We need to make buying Sanchez a top priority. £30M for a truly quality player. Then I would buy Medel from Cardiff for around £10M. He was excellent against Australia, but even better against Spain, put in a world class performance at CB no nonsense and kept a clean sheet. With his Already PL experience plus being a team mate with Sanchez and Cardiff relegated I think it will be a fantastic transfer for around £10M. Southampton are not going to sell us Lovren as well and if they do they will ask for a massive fee. We should buy Adam Lallana for £26M and leave it as that. £16M for Xherdan Shaqiri and we will have healthy competition in midfield across 4 competitions. buy Rodriguez the LWB from Wolfsburg for £15M. And then sell some dead wood and add a few back-up players, quality 1s like diame to get us through the season.
ReplyDelete..................................mingolet
Flanagan.........Medel..........Skrtel.........Rodriguez
....................Gerrard..............Lallana
.....Suarez...............Sterling...............Sanchez
............................Sturridge
Subs on: Shaqiri, Henderson and Lambert.
Atsenal? By your own measure surely we are more attractive. Also I bet you anything Shared and Gerrard earn more than any Arsenal player. United deapite winning morebjave not got that thing you yourself said all players want. Champions league. If you are going to talk shite at least make it thought out consistent shite.
ReplyDeleteHe's never seen anyone do those things....at Marine, Kidsgrove Ath or Alsager Town....
ReplyDeleteBy the by, thought he was the new new Gerrard, so how should that impact Ibe?
ReplyDeleteOk... Here's my rebuttal question then:
ReplyDeleteOf the names that we have been linked with thus far this off-season (I'll list some), who would you say is unrealistic:
Alexis Sanchez (rumors seem to have gone away)
Moreno
Shaqiri
Lallana
Lovren
Max Meyer
Alli (using this particular site post as reference)
In addition to the completed signings of Lambert and Can.
You reference we should go after players like Sturridge and Suarez. Keep in mind, the reason why we got those players relatively cheap was because they had warts, and despite that, we still shelled out over 34m between the two of them.
So again, other than Alexis Sanchez (a rumor that died pretty quickly) , what player has been an "unrealistic target" thus far?
First thing first, take a deep breath before posting, that way you wont make so many typo's and not come across like an angry child throwing a tantrum.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, learn to read, I wrote with the exception of arsenal in relation to wages.
Thirdly, Don't let your hate for Utd get in the way of rational thinking. Man Utd are still one of the biggest teams in the world and will be offering a huge amount of money in wages. On top of that they have one most successful and currently hottest managers in the world Somebodies who's stock will rise even higher if the Netherlands do well in the World Cup. Also this will be the first time they have not been in the CL since 95 I think. Many players will be willing to take the risk of only having 1 year out to play for a team the size of Utd on the money they will be offering for a manager like Van Gaal.
Yes because both Robben, Sneijder and Van Persie are all young players!!!!
ReplyDeleteBoth are World Class Players and both have recently spoke out to say how much they would love to play for Van Gaal.
Also, who the hell cares how he will handle the media, I am pretty sure Utd fans couldn;t give a toss so long as they are winning games, just look at Chelsea and Mourinho.
Possibly, if I can get this damn electric oven to work,
ReplyDeleteBad news for Ibe?
ReplyDeleteI think it is bad news for Will Huges
Dele Alli is more of no 10 or central midfielder. Ibe is mainly a winger but is capable of playing as a no 10 too.
ReplyDeleteIf we do sign Alli then I cannot see him going straight into the first team.
New phone and an auto correct nightmare
ReplyDeleteThat and I'm barely literate.
Fair does on the reading as I skimmed a lot of the post after a point when I read arsenal. They have won less than we have in the time span you talked of and still have to get to the groups in CL which we are in. They do have the London thing which seems to be attractive to some players though.
The Van Goal thing though? You talk like he is this solve all. They were not making massive signings when Forgive was in charge. Or not in the last few seasons. He surely has a good enough reputation. You also seem very confident in the knowledge of Players psychology too. It's quite a bit of presumption on your part there. As well as that,yes they will pay high wages but high enough for players to take that risk you talk of? I am not sure. They won't be signing any big names this window and won't offer Chelsea or City money and in my opinion that is what it would take.
Oddly I agree with you to some degree that we won't get players like Satchel for some reasons you mentioned but to talk up Arsenal and United as being currently (this window) as just nonsense.
Lol.. I with you with the phone thing, I was just the same :)
ReplyDeleteIn 2013 - 14 They spent 60mil on Mata and Fellaini
In 2012 -13 They spent approx 50mil on Van Persie, Zaha, Kagawa, Buttner.
2011 - 12 They spent approx 50mil on Young, Jones, De Gea.
Man Utd have spent money :)
I am sure Man Utd will sign big players, in fact I bet they will spend more money then any other Prem club and will offer insane wages. The reason I am sure of this is that I do not think Van Gaal would of agreed to become manager otherwise.
Another thing, they have already proved that they are willing to give ridiculous wages with Rooney. They are going to find it very difficult to say no to World Class players when they are paying the human potato so much.
Arsenal have proven in the past that big players will go there. Arsenal issue is not so much will top class players go, its more does Wenger want them.