With Luis Suarez now gone, a new striker is now a priority for Liverpool FC, and right now, Swansea City goalscorer Wilfried Bony seems to be the most likely candidate. Speculation linking LFC with a move for the Ivorian has intensified this week, and new reports suggest that a transfer could be imminent.
Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool are ready to revive interest in Wilfried Bony [who] is rated at £20million"
Last night, Sky Sports claimed:
"Liverpool are in advanced talks with Swansea over a move for Wilfried Bony [who is] keen on a move to Anfield. Bony's agent is believed to be in talks with Liverpool as they aim to close a deal for the player".
When asked about the alleged talks, Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins denied any knowledge of negotiations, and basically accused Liverpool of an illegal approach for Bony. He told reporters:
"I surprised and disappointed to hear that Liverpool were talking to the player behind behind my club's back. I'm disappointed [LFC] are acting in that manner. No official approach has been made"
I get the feeling that Jenkins is not being entirely truthful here. Sounds to me like a face-saving move to make it appear he's been blindsided, so that when Bony leaves, he won't get it in the neck from the fans for letting yet another top player leave.
If these reports are to be believed, then it seems everything is in place for the transfer to happen: LFC want Bony; he's 'keen' on a move to Anfield, and negotiations are under way. The 'unplayable' Ivorian's stats for Swansea in his first season are excellent:
* Overall: 27 goals/6 assists in 50 apps.
* Goal/Assist every 1.5 games.
* League only: 16 goals/4 assists in 27 starts.
* Goal/assist every 1.3 starts.
Bony has basically carried on where he left off in 2012-13, when he proved himself to be a goal-machine for Vitesse Arnhem:
* 31 goals/8 assists in 30 league games.
* Goal every 85 minutes.
* Goal/Assist every 67 minutes.
There's no way Bony can 'replace' Luis Suarez, but he is a goalscorer, and the priority for Liverpool is to replace the Uruguayan's goals/assists, not his skill/tricks etc. Of course, it will be amazing if LFC can sign a player as exciting as Suarez, but the chances of that happening seem slim.
Reds fans should start accepting the reality that Liverpool are not going to sign any marquee/world-class players. Ian Ayre et al are not capable of attracting the likes of Sanchez, Costa, Hummels etc to Anfield, so the next best thing is players immediately below that level, like Bony, and Dejan Lovren.
In Bony's case - if he can score 20 goals next season - which, based on his history, is a definite probability - then that will be go some way to filling the Suarez void. He might not do it in the same style, but that is irrelevant. Some other points to consider:
* LFC overachieved on the goalscoring front last season. It's rare for one team to have two strikers who score 20+ goals, and the Reds just got lucky.
* It's not necessary to score over 100 league goals to win the title. Since 1994, the average number of goals-scored by Premier League winners is 80, and only twice in 20 years has a title-winning team scored over 100 goals (Chelsea and Man City). Also, in 2008-9, Man Utd won the title with only 68 goals scored in the league (!), and finished ahead of Liverpool, who scored 77 league goals.
* As a comparison, consider Arsenal and Thierry Henry, an amazing player on the same level as Suarez (if not better). In his final two seasons, Arsenal twice finished 4th in the league with 67 and 68 points respectively. The year after Henry left, the Gunners finished third on 83 points (only 4 off the title winners that year), which is a massive 15-point improvement. This shows that it's not the end of the world when a star striker leaves.
In my view, some fans are overstating the potential negative impact of losing Suarez. Yes, the Uruguayan is a major loss, but he is not irreplaceable, and looking at the figures above, even if Liverpool fail to replace 50% of Suarez's league goals, it will not (in theory) be fatal to the club's chances of mounting a title challenge.
Author: Jaimie K
Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool are ready to revive interest in Wilfried Bony [who] is rated at £20million"
Last night, Sky Sports claimed:
"Liverpool are in advanced talks with Swansea over a move for Wilfried Bony [who is] keen on a move to Anfield. Bony's agent is believed to be in talks with Liverpool as they aim to close a deal for the player".
When asked about the alleged talks, Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins denied any knowledge of negotiations, and basically accused Liverpool of an illegal approach for Bony. He told reporters:
"I surprised and disappointed to hear that Liverpool were talking to the player behind behind my club's back. I'm disappointed [LFC] are acting in that manner. No official approach has been made"
I get the feeling that Jenkins is not being entirely truthful here. Sounds to me like a face-saving move to make it appear he's been blindsided, so that when Bony leaves, he won't get it in the neck from the fans for letting yet another top player leave.
If these reports are to be believed, then it seems everything is in place for the transfer to happen: LFC want Bony; he's 'keen' on a move to Anfield, and negotiations are under way. The 'unplayable' Ivorian's stats for Swansea in his first season are excellent:
* Overall: 27 goals/6 assists in 50 apps.
* Goal/Assist every 1.5 games.
* League only: 16 goals/4 assists in 27 starts.
* Goal/assist every 1.3 starts.
Bony has basically carried on where he left off in 2012-13, when he proved himself to be a goal-machine for Vitesse Arnhem:
* 31 goals/8 assists in 30 league games.
* Goal every 85 minutes.
* Goal/Assist every 67 minutes.
There's no way Bony can 'replace' Luis Suarez, but he is a goalscorer, and the priority for Liverpool is to replace the Uruguayan's goals/assists, not his skill/tricks etc. Of course, it will be amazing if LFC can sign a player as exciting as Suarez, but the chances of that happening seem slim.
Reds fans should start accepting the reality that Liverpool are not going to sign any marquee/world-class players. Ian Ayre et al are not capable of attracting the likes of Sanchez, Costa, Hummels etc to Anfield, so the next best thing is players immediately below that level, like Bony, and Dejan Lovren.
In Bony's case - if he can score 20 goals next season - which, based on his history, is a definite probability - then that will be go some way to filling the Suarez void. He might not do it in the same style, but that is irrelevant. Some other points to consider:
* LFC overachieved on the goalscoring front last season. It's rare for one team to have two strikers who score 20+ goals, and the Reds just got lucky.
* It's not necessary to score over 100 league goals to win the title. Since 1994, the average number of goals-scored by Premier League winners is 80, and only twice in 20 years has a title-winning team scored over 100 goals (Chelsea and Man City). Also, in 2008-9, Man Utd won the title with only 68 goals scored in the league (!), and finished ahead of Liverpool, who scored 77 league goals.
* As a comparison, consider Arsenal and Thierry Henry, an amazing player on the same level as Suarez (if not better). In his final two seasons, Arsenal twice finished 4th in the league with 67 and 68 points respectively. The year after Henry left, the Gunners finished third on 83 points (only 4 off the title winners that year), which is a massive 15-point improvement. This shows that it's not the end of the world when a star striker leaves.
In my view, some fans are overstating the potential negative impact of losing Suarez. Yes, the Uruguayan is a major loss, but he is not irreplaceable, and looking at the figures above, even if Liverpool fail to replace 50% of Suarez's league goals, it will not (in theory) be fatal to the club's chances of mounting a title challenge.
Author: Jaimie K
Such headlines are very miss leading... Probably just to draw attention!!!
ReplyDeleteRubbish :-)
Get him BR , get Bony . He is no Suarez but he will do okay .also bring in Benzema or Griezman .
ReplyDeleteNo get Remy for 10m and save money to sign a star player next year
ReplyDeleterubbish
ReplyDeleteJaimie, did you get my email? :-)
ReplyDeleteSanchez simply did not want to live in Liverpool, really had nothing to do with Ayre or BR. Regardless, I agree with your statements and been making the same on other boards. Opposition fans are getting way to giddy over Suarez and writing pool off next season. Fine, let them. Reduce the goals allowed, bring in the new players and we will be competitive with anyone. Bony is a bit of a surprise as he is not as mobile as Remy and some others. He certainly can bang them in. If we did get him it will be fun to see how HE sets up the team. This year we will see how good the manager really is. If he can get the team to make a run and at least secure CL again - that would be great for the most competitive league.
ReplyDeleteY not go of di Maria ? Scum utd are going for him and Vidal even though they are not in Europe . I'd try for di Maria / James Rodrigues . Give aspas and some cash for Moreno . Get lovern or hummals . Sell assaidi , borini, Lucas ( heavy hearted), Coates and aspas. Maybe get remy or bony.
ReplyDeleteRichards Rodriguez, hummes, lovern, yaya toure and either Balatelli or Bony. Money well spent !
ReplyDeleteRichards is injury prone, James Rodriguez dream of playing for Real madrid, hummels would be great but i don't see him leaving Germany, not sold on Lovren,Yaya is a great player but 31 and on massive wages i just can't see it and Balotelli is not that great
ReplyDeleteExcellent summary of our situation esp re Henry. We cannot replace all of Suarez' skills but we should be able to replace his goals around the team.
ReplyDeleteOne thing about sides winning the PL is they all must have had a great defensive record which is what we now need to concentrate our transfer policy on after we get the likes of Bony
I think the Henry comparison is a false one. Henry only played a minority of Arsenal's games that season due to injury. He wasn't even Arsenal's top scorer that season.
ReplyDeleteHe a great player but he's very static, doesn't press or defend.
ReplyDeleteInstead of going for back up striker we should look to buy a winger because with Suarez left there's a hole left in the first XI (we should also look at a full back... not Bertrand please?) we have some massive holes in our first XI to take care of before looking for back up striker.
Sorry I meant Richardo Rodriguez, Hummels would be obviously be a brilliant signing and alongside Lovern could be a fantastic partnership. I think Toure would love to come and if we could get him for 10-15mil it would be a bargain even with his astronomical wages and advancing years. There's a world class player waiting to be nurtured out of Balotelli and BR could be the man to bring it out and anfield could be his stage! Or we could blow the whole lot on James Rodriguez and sell him to Madrid in two years time
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure about Bony. His stats are good and he is proven in England, in a manner of speaking, but I remember his lacklustre performances in the first half of the season for Swansea and recall that he had a knack for scoring pointless goals in games that had already been decided (in Swansea's favour or otherwise),
ReplyDeleteHopefully his performances in the 2nd half of last season were a truer representation of his quality. I seem to remember a Swansea fan coming on here stating he struggled for fitness in the first half of the season.
I'm still disappointed that if we're going for more of a strong aerial striker, we didn't go for Mandzukic. Joint top scorer in Euro 2012, 2nd top scorer in the Bundesliga last season, I think, and has Champions League experience. Cheaper than Bony too. Depends really on how much Rodgers intends to use this striker though. Think Bony would be more content with rotation than Mandzukic.
The season before (2005-6); Henry played 45 games, and grabbed 41 goals/assists. Arsenal finished 4th on 67 points. So, the comparison still stands.
ReplyDeleteWhy would Man City sell their best player to their main title rivals from the season before for only £15m?
ReplyDeleteSwansea director said there was no negotiation between LFC and Swansea. He seems upset IF LFC is contacting Bony without their consent.
ReplyDeleteI do like bony but he doesn't fit in the way we play, he's more of a target man, just don't see this happening, remy would be a better fit for me
ReplyDeleteYes, got it. I'll post your article tonight or tomorrow am.
ReplyDeleteBecause he's 31 it's rare a player of his age would go for over that amount.. Plus he's no longer interested in playing for them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think City would care about whether it is rare to get a lot of money for an older player when considering selling their best player to direct rivals.
ReplyDeleteI still don't think it is a great comparison. In 2007-8, Arsenal were only 4 years away from their last title win and 2 years hence from being runners-up in the European Cup. They had the quality of RVP, Adebayor and Fabregas, other good but less illustrious players like Hleb and Sagna, plus the experience of Gallas, Toure (better player then) and Gilberto Silva.
ReplyDeleteWe may recover well from the loss of Suarez, but he was such a galvanising figure. Our squad, as it stands, has a lot of players unproven at Champions League level, few veterans and fewer leaders.
Richardo Rodriguez ? honeslty never heard of him, buying a newcenter back partnership simply won't work no matter how good they are.
ReplyDeleteHonestly i'm fed up with these player obsessed with money while they have more than they can spend, it's like these images of the players wanting money to play match durind the WC and kissing it when they receive it,that was shameful and Yaya with his constant moaning is not making things better.
Balotelli has a poor wokr ethic so no thanks.
Thanks mate, much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteBony or Remy would do me fine. I think we need to resort to a 4 2 3 1 like how Chelsea and Arsenal set up because I think that high attack nature caused a lot of problems for us at the back - whilst now we only need to accomodate 1 striker. We should focus on getting another AM and a Fullback. I'd love to get Arda Turan myself....
ReplyDeleteHe means Ricardo Rodriguez the Switzerland left-back. He's very highly rated. Very much flavour of the month amongst would-be DoFs (myself included!) around the world too.
ReplyDeleteSell
ReplyDeleteAspas 5-7
Borini 8-10
Assaidi 5-7
Coates 3-5
Lucas 10-12
Agger 12-15
Ilori - loan or keep if agger is sold
Buy
Moreno 18-20
Or Ben Davies 8-10
Di Maria 35-40
Or James Rodrigues 40-45
Markovic 19-20
Lovern 18-20
Hummals 20- 25
Greizman 18-20
Or shaqiri 15-17
Remy 8-10
Or Bony 18-20
I must say I really rate Bony as a player. I absolutely wouldn't mind him plying his trade at Liverpool. I like him but the signing doesn't actually excite me. My worry is whether or not we could accommodate both Bony and sturridge into the same team, as lets face it, sturridge will be our star man now. Sturridge has been excellent as a number 9 for us spearheading our attack. However, I've never really been that impressed with him anytime he gets shifted to the wings. In those games he tends to go missing quite a bit. So, does anybody have any suggestions as to how we might accommodate both into the same team without sacrificing the balance of the team or lessening sturridges goal scoring threat? Personally, I'm not sure the team would have balance with both playing together. Suarez was like a number 10 (but also a 9) in many ways in terms of his creativity, assists and dropping deep for the ball, whereas Bony is obviously a completely different player. Now I know we can't get anyone like Suarez. Sanchez IMO was as close as it gets to finding a player like him. But if we can't accommodate both players in the same team, I wonder whether we might be better off signing a cheaper striker such as Remy and then investing substantially in a TOP winger. IMO Ayre should get off his ass and go after someone like james rodriguez (ok well that one is a pipe dream), Marco Reus, Draxler, Pedro or someone of that ILK. Just for the record I would like Bony, and I know sturridge is susceptible, but I would rather sign someone top class who can actually play in the same team as him. Who knows, in an ideal world we might sign Bony and a top winger but we can't forget we also need to substantially strengthen our defence? What do people think about the Benzema links by the way? I think he's a good player but I do think he's massively over-rated because I'm not so sure he can really influence games when the chips are down. What do you reckon about Bony and how he could fit into our system Jamie?
ReplyDeleteAs a Swansea fan I would be gutted if he left. Although Swansea play a similar style of play as Liverpool I would not recommend them signing him. Yes he's a great goal scorer and WILL score from anywhere inside the penalty area but don't expect him to get behind defences like Suarez. He doesn't make many runs and his passing isn't the best to say the least and he's not very quick. He does have incredible strength (definitely strongest player in the league) and his jumping and heading is unbelievable, he also defends set pieces very well and saved us from conceding a lot last season. Personally I would sign a person with creativity, maybe someone who plays behind sturridge or maybewinger because you have Lallana, for instance Griezmann. I do think you need a striker but not for starting 11, I would sign a young striker with potential and can take over if Sturridge gets injured.
ReplyDeleteBony fits just great.. More the time passes, more I'm convinced.. Remy is not that class..
ReplyDeleteI agree. Bony seems a bit of a target man. We need movement a La Sturridge and Suarez. I would prefer Remy or Joel Campbell.
ReplyDeleteI think we should look to Sterling as a potential striker with DS.
ReplyDeleteDempsey. 16 goals for Fulham in 2012. 16 goals is thus average and not anything to get crazy over.
ReplyDeleteSo the players we were linking ourselves with last year (Mkhitaryan, Costa, Willian) would not come to Liverpool due to lack of champions league. Now that we have champions league, we are linking ourselves to players that we could have realistically gotten LAST year. I just don't understand our transfer strategy. Ian Ayre may be good at the commercial side of securing sponsorships, but is absolute shite as a managing director. Replacing our star player without champions league tested players is the Spurs path to mediocrity.
ReplyDeleteI would never put 'money well spent' and Bawlotelli in the same sentence.
ReplyDeleteYeh, maybe playing just behind sturridge or something. But again, that should mean we need to sign a top winger. I know Markovic is on his way but I really think we need one more attacking midfielder and a top one too. At this moment in time, Markovic is not proven. All he represents is big potential. I'm worried Liverpool are turning into porto of the english league - a stepping stone for promising players before they're eventually sold to the likes of Madrid, Barca and Chelsea etc
ReplyDeleteI am quite happy that Sanches didn't sign for us. No it's not sour gripe - if someone grown up in lower middle class Santiago slams (Presumably, may be I am wrong) has issues to live in Liverpool, one of top 5 Metro areas in UK, where players like SG, Hamman, Torres, Alonso, Hyppia or Reina lived for several years, then better he stay in London with his ego.
ReplyDeleteComing to Bony, does he really add anything more than Sturridge? I understand he 'll strengthen the squad for long season but for starting XI? I feel we are a bit shy & too careful in our ambition - we are in CL, we have the money, we have a great history with one of the best fan base, brand image & off-course we missed the EPL title by a whisker on the last week. May be winning La Liga or Bundes Liga takes same effort like EPL, but one should be credited much higher to finish among top 3 here than anywhere else.
Bony is good, but I probably like to spend double & try to bring someone like Muller, Rodriguez or Benzema. Remi for 12-13 mn makes much more sense to me.
No, Sanchez didn't want Liverpool without Suarez and it's my guess that this will be the case with other Top stars. Lambert, Lallana, Emre Can (sp) are happy to sign but they aren't Top players. There's no question that all of them have talent, but when you loose a World Class player like Suarez, replacing them with players that sit on England's bench--England's bench, and another that can't find a spot in the German Squad, then you know you have regressed.
ReplyDeletesources
ReplyDeleteYou can't afford him!
ReplyDeleteI've been slightly troubled by that thread you've picked up on- failing to get Champions League players because of lack of CL and then targeting players who we probably could've gotten last year. This doesn't apply to Markovic or probably Can, but to Lambert, Lallana and potential signings like Bertrand and Bony.
ReplyDeletei think rogers will phase Sg out this year
ReplyDeleteI believe the more advanced members of our cult have started questioning his positioning on defensive transitions, and are pointing out the inefficiency of his laterals when screening the control zone.
ReplyDeleteI can't quite believe we're going in for him -- it doesn't seem consistent with our transfers generally. Though that said, as you start to look around for seasoned, dominant, physical attackers, it turns out there aren't that many around of any real quality in the European leagues. So maybe he's the one.
ReplyDeleteHeresy! Ye be damned, sinner!
ReplyDeleteBony doesn't suit Liverpool style of play, he has no pace, he doesn't work had enough, his goals have often come when the game is over. Liverpool don't play to his strengths, no orthodox wingers to hit the bye line and whipping in crosses. This would make little sense as we would need to change our style of play quite a bit to accommodate him.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said here, I'm struggling with the lack of ambition. Markovic, bony and original, when for a bit more cash (ignoring the wages) we could go for Reus, goals and assists, Remy proven in PL cheap and pacey , and Khedira utter class possibly the best long term option to Stevie.
Am feeling that if last year was our step forward, this year is our two steps back. Reminiscent of late 90s , opportunities to build on progress wasted on mediocre additions and 'potential'. Damn it!!
Thanks for the input.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather tevez on a year deal and Luis muriel on a long one. Or maybe llorente or pastore
ReplyDeleteCheers
ReplyDeleteWhere is this from? If it's taken from another source, please post the link. I'm explained this to you before.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that.
ReplyDeletehttp://anfieldindex.com/9070/liverpool-linked-lazar-markovic.html
Posted the link.
ReplyDeleteWill remember to post the link in future!
ReplyDeleteThe Suarez money is already being spent.
ReplyDeleteBy now you should have figured out that the Suarez deal was already in progress since last season!
Bony is how Andrea Pirlo described the signing of Hunterlaar for AC Milan, he'll get the numbers, but he won't excite anyone. (Don't think he'd sell a lot of shirts either-from marketing point of view)
ReplyDeleteThink we should go to Shakhtar and inquire about Luiz Adriano, he gets good numbers in goals and is more adaptable that Bony, and has better combination play in the final third than him also. But if he signs, he'll be the new Suarez in terms of controversy in JK's eyes (he scored a unsporting goal in the champ lge).
Failing that... I would pick Loic Remy over Bony, he can stretch play with his pace and would be good on the counter attack. Bony doesn't really suit our style. Even Luis Muriel is more suited, but he's had a indifferent season. Maybe if we sign him he'll thrive like Sturridge, Muriel has all the attribute to be a world class, but he's stagnated now.
There aren't many obvious strikers that top teams are fighting to sign that are attainable, off the top of my head they would have been Suarez, Aguero, Costa, Benzema, Mandzukic (Bar Madzukic,don't think FSG would pay the wage they want).
it aint over till the fat lady sings in regarding football transfers ...we would hane signed the two saints lads and can even if suarez had stayed its the next 3 signings ( imo ) which will be the Suarez money buts its all subjective to opinion
ReplyDeleteNice player.... but 20m seems quite steep
ReplyDeleteI agree with remy over bony
ReplyDeleteBrazil being taught a footballing lesson again. Happy that Coutinho is not part of this massacre they are suffering!
ReplyDeleteIf Coutinho went, he would have lost his teenage look and come back looking like a walnut. I think this team will have some demons to conquer.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, I would imagine that he's in Liverpool training.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings up a larger point... while I have nothing against the English team, the best possible scenario for our club was to have England out as quickly as possible.
With so many of our players on the team and playing, we couldn't afford for them to either get hurt or burn out.
I'm not really sold on Remy. Seems a bit of a streaky player who can go on runs of scoring and then disappears. When he's on, he's very good... but when he's off, it's like playing a man down.
ReplyDeleteAnd on top of that, logic dictates that when you sell your best player, you typically do not get better right away.
ReplyDelete