Despite the return to fitness of Jose Enrique, Liverpool are still actively seeking another left-back, and although growing speculation links the Reds with a move for Ryan Bertrand, it appears that Sevilla star Alberto Moreno remains at the top of Brendan Rodgers' wishlist.
Recent reports suggested that Rodgers had scrapped the chase for Moreno as a result of the 'excessive' transfer fee demanded by Sevilla, but according to The Mirror this week:
"Ian Ayre will fly to Spain in a bid to clinch the £18million capture of Alberto Moreno. Ayre [will hold] talks with the La Liga outfit and Moreno's agents".
When asked this week about the possibility of 'excellent' Moreno joining Liverpool, Castro insisted that Sevilla are under no 'pressure' to sell, and made it clear that LFC must pay the full asking price. He told reporters:
“We haven’t reached an agreement [with Liverpool], but talks haven’t broken down. We’ll wait and see what happens. If Liverpool are interested in the player and pay the right amount, he will be sold.”
When asked this week about the possible sale of Moreno, Sevilla boss Unai Emery appeared resigned to losing the 22-year old defender. He told Estadio Deportivo:
"I see him [Moreno] as a Sevillista [but] if something comes up during the transfer market we are prepared for any eventuality."
I've expressed reservations about the transfer fee in previous posts, so I'm glad (in this particular case), that the club are (seemingly) trying to get the fee down. Moreno has done absolutely nothing in the game to warrant an £18m-£20m transfer fee, and Sevilla seem to be using his recent call-up to the Spain squad as an excuse to try and fleece potential suitors.
The Reds have already splurged £20m on Lazar Markovic, and if Moreno comes in for, say, £18m then that will make it £38m on two young, comparatively inexperienced players. Given Rodgers overall performance in the transfer market, what are the odds that both will become superstars for Liverpool?
Pretty slim, I'd say.
Both transfers are a major gamble, but only because of the large transfer fees. If they both came in for £12m apiece, there'd be no problem, but a £38m outlay means that there can be no excuses for failure.
Markovic and Moreno (if he signs) will have to settle-in, but Rodgers has stated on several occasions that his plan is to buy 'capable starters' this summer, so any signings should be judged on that basis. Excuses like 'he's one for the future', or 'he'll come good next season' are not going to cut, especially with so much at stake.
Focusing on youth is great, but there seems to be very little focus on trying to sign proven, European-class players. Last season, Rodgers' often moaned (in press conferences) that LFC couldn't attract the best players due to lack of Champions League football; now, Liverpool are back in the competition, but nothing seems to have changed.
Is this because established, experienced, proven players don't want to come to LFC, or is it because Rodgers is not prioritising these players, and prefers to push ahead with his 'buy-em-young' agenda?
With the loss of Suarez, and Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea etc all strengthening their squads with some seriously top-class signings, Rodgers must surely be aware that it's imperative to sign the right players this summer, and if his signings don't perform, serious questions will need to be asked about his judgement in the transfer market.
EDIT: Some reports now state that the Moreno deal is off due to excessive transfer fee demands. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. After all, the Lallana deal was apparently dead at one point due to Southampton's alleged demand for £30m, but he still ended up signing for LFC.
Author: Jaimie K
Recent reports suggested that Rodgers had scrapped the chase for Moreno as a result of the 'excessive' transfer fee demanded by Sevilla, but according to The Mirror this week:
"Ian Ayre will fly to Spain in a bid to clinch the £18million capture of Alberto Moreno. Ayre [will hold] talks with the La Liga outfit and Moreno's agents".
When asked this week about the possibility of 'excellent' Moreno joining Liverpool, Castro insisted that Sevilla are under no 'pressure' to sell, and made it clear that LFC must pay the full asking price. He told reporters:
“We haven’t reached an agreement [with Liverpool], but talks haven’t broken down. We’ll wait and see what happens. If Liverpool are interested in the player and pay the right amount, he will be sold.”
When asked this week about the possible sale of Moreno, Sevilla boss Unai Emery appeared resigned to losing the 22-year old defender. He told Estadio Deportivo:
"I see him [Moreno] as a Sevillista [but] if something comes up during the transfer market we are prepared for any eventuality."
I've expressed reservations about the transfer fee in previous posts, so I'm glad (in this particular case), that the club are (seemingly) trying to get the fee down. Moreno has done absolutely nothing in the game to warrant an £18m-£20m transfer fee, and Sevilla seem to be using his recent call-up to the Spain squad as an excuse to try and fleece potential suitors.
The Reds have already splurged £20m on Lazar Markovic, and if Moreno comes in for, say, £18m then that will make it £38m on two young, comparatively inexperienced players. Given Rodgers overall performance in the transfer market, what are the odds that both will become superstars for Liverpool?
Pretty slim, I'd say.
Both transfers are a major gamble, but only because of the large transfer fees. If they both came in for £12m apiece, there'd be no problem, but a £38m outlay means that there can be no excuses for failure.
Markovic and Moreno (if he signs) will have to settle-in, but Rodgers has stated on several occasions that his plan is to buy 'capable starters' this summer, so any signings should be judged on that basis. Excuses like 'he's one for the future', or 'he'll come good next season' are not going to cut, especially with so much at stake.
Focusing on youth is great, but there seems to be very little focus on trying to sign proven, European-class players. Last season, Rodgers' often moaned (in press conferences) that LFC couldn't attract the best players due to lack of Champions League football; now, Liverpool are back in the competition, but nothing seems to have changed.
Is this because established, experienced, proven players don't want to come to LFC, or is it because Rodgers is not prioritising these players, and prefers to push ahead with his 'buy-em-young' agenda?
With the loss of Suarez, and Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea etc all strengthening their squads with some seriously top-class signings, Rodgers must surely be aware that it's imperative to sign the right players this summer, and if his signings don't perform, serious questions will need to be asked about his judgement in the transfer market.
EDIT: Some reports now state that the Moreno deal is off due to excessive transfer fee demands. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. After all, the Lallana deal was apparently dead at one point due to Southampton's alleged demand for £30m, but he still ended up signing for LFC.
Author: Jaimie K
deal is dead, echo have just announced it.. ben davies now our number one target..
ReplyDeletesign proven not potential we need expierence to kick on or we are going to fall out of the CL league again
ReplyDeleteWhy not Ricardo Rodriguez?? He was one of the best Swiss players at the World Cup and was absolutely flying up and down the left wing every game. His run in the final minutes of the Ecuador game epitomized his great work rate! Much more deserving of an 18 million dollar valuation than Moreno. We need to be shoring up our defense not spending all of the Suarez money on attackers. Dejan Lovren and Rodriguez as defensive recruits should be a must!
ReplyDeleteThe Lallana deal was dead at one stage due to Southampton allegedly wanting £30m, but that still went through. Things change on an hourly basis when it comes to press speculation.
ReplyDeleteThe Mirror is also saying the he will NOT be coming to Anfield. So we shall see!
ReplyDeletetrue but lallana was desperate for the move and willing to force the issue, moreno is not, hes said hes more than happy at sevilla and its their call where he plays next year, so were not in a position to negotiate.. pay the asking price or jog on and weve appeared to have done that. plus the echo is normally reliable and was never so definite over lallana always said we would keep trying yadayada, they have said straight out its collapsed and weve moved on to davies who other papers report weve had a 8 mill deal rejected for 2nyt.. who knows i hope its not dead as im becoming so depressed with our window..if davies does sign for the reported 12 and lovren 25 and bony 19 (all rumours i know) it would have been nearly 85 million pound on southampton and swansea players.. scarey stuff
ReplyDeleteHe was stuck behind one of the best left backs in the world so playing time was hard to come by but,44 pl games is over a full league season of experience and he's also played in a champions league final. People seem to be against us signing him just because Mourinho doesn't rate him, but he didn't rate Mata either and we all know how ridiculous that decision was.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before and I'll say it again, LB is an area where there is a very small amount of world class player who play the position so that means they are either at a big club or command a ridiculous fee. IMO, all these other LBs are in a large pool of "average" players so why pay for the most expensive average player when you can get someone just as good for less? Blind, Moreno, Bertrand, etc dont have any signficant differences between them so why no pick the one who's fiscally responsible?
ReplyDeleteIf I was BR and the team I would start again from cratch on this LB issue. Decide a max fee we'd want to pay for an LB (I'd say 15mil) and go after the player with the most potenital in that price range.
but to only have a full league season at the age of 25 having brok through so early is not good enough no matter what the reasons were, its got nothing ta do with what that jose clown thinks its just a case of us needing a better player, even davies at 21 has 2 full seasons under his belt won a carling cup and player in the europa league, aswell as being capped 10 times all be it for wales.. at least he might develop into a top player.. im clutching at straws really because i dont want either but im afraid this is the window were gona get, promised world class players for the now and get decent players for the future.. at a huge cost i might add.. that being said im excited bout can and markovic doe, end on a positive :)
ReplyDeleteoh god.. more average joes... just what we need
ReplyDeleteWTF not Ben Davies, if we can't get Moreno. Try for Ricardo Rodriguez or Rojo.
ReplyDeleteand failing that
Diego Contento
Miguel Layun
Christian Ansaldi
Fábio Coentrão
That guy called Shakira would have been okay, but signed for Ath Madrid.
Ben Davies gets 2/3 up the pitch then passes it backwards, we already have left back who gets a nose bleeds 2/3 up the pitch in Enrique.
Sevilla fooled Ayre into giving Aspas on loan, (probably for free), then they told him to f**k off Moreno aint for sale, except for a ransom fee.
ReplyDeleteBetter if we go to Porto, and pay them whatever they want for Alex Sandro, the best or close to it, we could get.
Oh yeah, Sandro is a good shout. Can't stand Ben Davies would rather push Brad Smith through than waste money on Ben Davies. If Liverpool are just throwing money on piles of sh*t, lets bid 40m for Victor Moses.
ReplyDeleteWill Ricky Lambert get a run out tomorrow, or has he just come back too early to be considered?
ReplyDeleteSandro is who I would like, he has it all,
ReplyDeletewe still have Enrique who on his day can be very good, so its not panic stations yet, and Glen J, was very good there, better than at right back, last season.
The most balanced LB seems to be Rodriguez, good at going forward and defence. Moreno just looks like a winger thats been pushed back, and relies on his pace to intercept the ball as his tackling is sh*t. I think Sandro will probably be better option than Moreno tbh.
ReplyDeleteYou say Man United is strengthening their squad with some seriously top class signings? Little wide of the mark there. Herrera and Shaw are average and they paid £30m(Herrera close to that) for them. And you complain about the price for Markovic and Moreno. I'd say they're in the same class as United's signings. Can't have it both ways. They haven't signed Vidal or DiMaria. If they do then you can say they're signing top class. Until then, I disagree with your assessment.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of the reliable sources ever said the Lallana deal was dead. It merely reached an impasse. There was still an expectation it would be done.
ReplyDeleteI think this one probably wont happen, but things can easily change.
Me too, Sandro would be my number 1 choice.
ReplyDeleteI doubt very much Rodriguez would be willing/available.
Let us go for Marco Rojo. He is a good LB and the price might be reasonable
ReplyDeleteif ayre went over to spain then he must of being trying to buy moreno otherwise that means we now travel to teams to sell players instead of them coming to us ....which is normal. is this another ayre blunder like weeks in thewhen he spent 3 weeks in the ukraine in january 3 whole weeks ....without askung the owner was the player for sale .....get rid of ayre and stop all theese messy drawn out deals
ReplyDeleteIf reports at the time were true, it was dead, only then the player threw his toys outa the pram, and demanded the move.
ReplyDeleteThere was a queue in Spain for Aspas loan, why Sevilla got him, beggars belief, until I realise Ayre was doing the negotiating.
Maybe Ayre might come back via Portugal. Marco Rojo
ReplyDeleteI think Rodgers has a very specific idea on what kinds of players he wants. It's not just a case of a player have x/y goals and assists and the scouting report says they are "quick up the field". He's said a number of times that he considers attitude very important and in fact it's better to have a good player who knows the system and has the right attitude rather than a great player who isn't committed or doesn't buy into his methods. I suspect this leads to a bit of tunnel vision and maybe some prospects are dismissed for reasons that don't turn out to be 100% accurate. It's hard to judge these kinds of things from a distance or even from seeing a player on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteI think plenty of fans might look around and pick out players and ask "why not this guy?" It happens all the time, you see it here with fans coming up with lists of players that we should sign who would make us competitive in Europe. It's just not that simple. Maybe that sounds like a cop-out but I don't think it is. Signing the right player is hard, sometimes impossible. You just can't know how well a player is going to do until he gets through those first few competitive matches. Sometimes quality players take a couple of months to develop. Sometimes a couple of years. Even inbound quality from other leagues can have issues. We saw that as talented as Ozil might be, he went missing at certain times for Arsenal and the team suffered because of that. That's very hard to predict.
However I think the biggest issue we face is that we are simply no longer the great team we once were. Liverpool's last title was a long time ago. 2005 is a nice memory but even then it's nearly a decade ago with a different team and a different manager. We've been out of the Champions League for some time, out manager is still young and mostly unproven, and we would admit to ourselves that even we didn't think we'd do as well as we did last year. Given that Suarez has just left there is probably a lot of doubt in everyone's mind. How will we do next year? Are we really going to compete in the Champions League? Will we score as many goals? Did Rodgers just get lucky? Inbound players will also think like this and I would guess that's exactly what Sanchez did. London was part of the attraction for him but in truth he is right to rely on Arsenal to be competitive in all competitions ahead of us. For a long time they have clearly been the better team, the better performing club. You can say the same thing about the top 3 clubs in Germany, Barcelona and Real in Spain, maybe even PSG and Juve. We are not a European powerhouse and that's just the facts. We can chase all kinds of players but even if we find the right one, have the money, convince the other club to consider the offer the player can still not be interested in coming here.
Something I'm not sure I agree with is the notion that a player is simply expected to be better because of the transfer fee. That's just not based in reality. Ideally it would be the case, but in truth the transfer fee is set by the selling club according to how they view the player. It makes sense to say that there is less risk if there is less money involved but there is a fundamental flaw in simply expecting a player to be of a certain standard based on the transfer fee. Sometimes it will be true but not always. Life just doesn't work that way and especially in football you don't always get what you pay for. The player is who he is, it doesn't make any difference what the fee was. Carroll is the perfect example none of us will ever forget. At no point was he EVER a 35 million pound player, it was true when we bought him and true when we sold him. Expecting him to live up to that price tag is just stupid.
I don't know about this, I mean sure it looks like a bargain fee, but we've just gotten a controversy magnet of our books only to replace him with another, more temperamental one? That said however, Rodgers managed to correct Sterling and Studge and get them pulling in the right direction, so then again, if he's available for smart money, why not, he has talent that much is certain.
ReplyDeleteI dont rate Rojo, was awful in the WC IMO.
ReplyDeleteNo, dont get rid of Ayre, just play him in a different position.
ReplyDeleteIan Ayre is a corporate negotiator, he's lived in Asia doing business for large parts. He's not charming enough to attract players that a being looked at by multiple clubs. Plus he looks like a friendly sex pervert (he smells people underwear). He should be moved upstairs and left there, to deal with sponsorship deals.
ReplyDeleteBut if he's signs Marco Reus in this window, disregard everything I said here. I'll send him my underpants as a reward.
There is more chance of Ian Ayre coming back with Chlamydia...
ReplyDeleteDon't Youtube this, its not a Brazilian left back with a single name. Don't think scoutnation has any footage for this.
Excellent points. However, I'm not suggesting that a player should be better just because of a higher fee; I'm suggesting that if Rodgers chooses to spend a huge fee on X, Y or Z, then a certain level of performance should be expected by fans.
ReplyDeleteNo one forced Rodgers to spend 25m on Lallana, or 20m on Markovic; those are his choices, and if he's choosing to spend that amount of money, then fans should expect something in return for that huge outlay.
The bigger the fee, the bigger the expectation. In LFC's situation, it's not acceptable (IMO) to splurge £20m on a player and then make excuses within a few months of the player signing. For me, Markovic/Lallana etc have to perform, and if they don't, then Rodgers should expect criticism. He could've spent that cash on an older player with European experience, but he specifically chose a 20-year old with minimal experience.
In Markovic's case, If LFC are languishing in 8th place by Christmas, and he's playing regularly (but not making an impact), I will reject the argument that he needs 'a year to settle-in' or other excuses to that effect. Again, it's not (IMO) acceptable for Rodgers to be spending £20m on first-team players who'll take 1-2 years to actually start playing well. Given LFC's situation - and the importance of the upcoming season in solidifying the club's league/European status - Rodgers should've considered these things prior to making his buys.
Ultimately, it's all about choices. If Rodgers chooses to splash huge chunks of LFC's transfer cash on young players 'with potential', then he'll have to live and die by those decision.
Can I ask when the hope in you died JK?? Some people are glass half full types, you on the hand are a 'glass?? WTF is a glass type'.
ReplyDeleteDid you give up on the world after watching Lion king? Or when you found out 'Jim Doesn't fix things'?
What are you on about? I've been one of Rodgers' most enthusiastic proponents (regular visitors will confirm that), and I display optimism about LFC in lots of different posts (which you haven't seen)
ReplyDeleteI just take a realistic view of LFC; being critical does not = no hope. It's just that so many fans have a ridiculously narrow view of what constitutes being a fan, and when someone doesn't adhere to the collective expectation, they're immediately placed in a negative light.
Take you, for example - clearly, I don't fit your preconceived notion of what a fan should be, which is why you negatively make light of it. What's the point? It's irrelevant. If you disagree, why don't you just argue against the points I made?
I'd just like to second this :D Jamie is what you call a cautiously optimistic and realistically critical, both which can seem like negativity.
ReplyDeleteAs BR didn't already have enough to do.
ReplyDeleteAwful in the WC? Did you see him?
ReplyDeletePlease walk away from this deal. Moreno is no good. BR has no idea which defenders to sign and how to play them.
ReplyDeleteWhen we won the champions league nearly a decade ago , that team that won it in my opinion wasnt better than the one we have now , baros striker compared to sturridge ill take sturridge , sterling over kewell , etc so if that team can go on and win a champions league , surely we have to be optimistic that the team we have now can at least do something , the club clearly lacks depth and going out and wasting big money on so called big talent wouldnt be a smart thing to do , and like you said no point in hunting players that don't have the same ambition to come to our club we need players that are hungry to come to liverpool , we have fallen from grace as a club Liverpool no longer are we at the fore front of the big clubs that players dream to come too to get the success they strive for ,
ReplyDeleteHe is a head case. Lazy and only out for himself. No!
ReplyDeleteI make light of things as banter. You are just to serious, about everything.
ReplyDeleteI get criticism is need once in a while as a means to further ones self. But come on, you scrutinise everything before a person has even put on the shirt. It's like you want them to fail just too have something to write about.
So say if you have a young child in sport, you only tell him/her everything they do wrong (as you'd a fan of your child?), never whats good they do.
My riposte to you as a person,
You have a father type from the 60's mentality. Like Brad Pitts character in the film 'The Tree Of Life'.
I mostly agree with that. The other scenario is that by Christmas we are up around 2nd or 3rd, Markovic has played a decent handful of minutes and showed some quality and made at least some kind of minimum contribution to the team i.e. a couple of goals and an assist or two, but otherwise has been a squad player. In that case the notion that he is "one for the future" isn't so bad. I'll admit that Rodgers got away with some not so great signings last year because as it turned out we just didn't need those players. Even if they were substantially better players I'm not sure that either Aspas or Alberto would have improved our final league position or even played much more than they did. That means Aspas is a purchase we didn't need to make while Alberto can still be considered a player with potential, even if you have to stretch your imagination to see it. I don't consider them to therefore be significant failures because signing them didn't really cause us any problems. They were simply redundant. I agree that if we end up relying on Markovic and he doesn't produce then of course that's a problem. But if we don't need to rely on him then the idea that he can have a year to adapt and improve, despite the big price, is not so ludicrous. So how we view these signings still needs to be tempered by who else we buy. I don't see Markovic being a regular starter, I see him as a spark off the bench who can maybe push Sterling for game time. We should still expect a top drawer attacking player to be signed so Markovic is unlikely to be required to start most games. If he then lives up to his price tag next season I would still argue that it's a good move. To me it's all about what we can do without causing damage. Spending money we don't need to obviously is not a good thing, but if wasting money on small money transfers is the worst case scenario then it's not bad in my book.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes back to the problem of not being able to attract top talent. What do you do then? We have to resort to what Rodgers has done to date: improve the existing talent, bring through the existing youth, sign some fringe players from other teams and hopefully get one or two confirmed quality players each year. Spending money on youth and talent is something he's also done beyond that and it hasn't paid off yet. But it does seem like it's a clear part of the plan.
ReplyDeleteI guess what's hard for us to get our heads around is that we signed both Torres and Suarez from Europe and both of them turned out to be superstars. Neither of them were particularly risky buys, certainly not like Markovic. Both had good stats in their respective leagues, Suarez was scoring goals like a demon. There was some risk, but it's a long way from spending what amounts to a similar amount of money on a far less proven player. Maybe that's just how the market has changed and maybe buying a star striker from a slightly lesser European club is not possible any more. Where is the next Torres or Suarez? Do we have to give up on the chance of getting another player like that? Is that perhaps Rodger's biggest shortcoming as a manager?
How have Man Utd added "seriously top-class signings" ?? they paid $30m for an 18yr old in Shaw and $25m for Herrera who has never been capped by Spain and is all potential as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Arsenal and Chelsea have strengthened - but the difference is Liverpool don't want to meet these ridiculous wage demands of some of those players (Khedira @ $160k a week for example)
What position do you suggest? Become a scout for LFC? Really don't know his contribution to the club so far.
ReplyDeleteRojo is good but injury prone, better go for rodiguez
ReplyDeleteDavies not good enough than Moreno who is the Best spanish left back.at the moment.
ReplyDeletewhy aren't we seriously going after Reus, Vidal, Blind; guys who have proven something and are true first team guys not bets on the future. We just lost the most creative, determined and productive player on the planet and that production , not just goals but pressure, needs to be replaced throughout the roster since we wont find it in one guy. Sanchez was the best candidate but wanted London. OK fine. What about these guys?
ReplyDeleteIf he were to mature he should have done it by now. It's not like he's not had enough lessons to learn. If we would buy him and sell him on we'd get even less for him because it would be another club in a long line trying to off load him. Why take the risk? He's not that special.
ReplyDeleteDoes Lazar Markovic cut it for you? He has the potential to be one of the very best in Europe.
ReplyDeleteMarco Reus not looking to move? This is why he was upset with Barca because he rejected Man Utd's advances because he thought Barca were in for him and went for Suarez instead. Reus is looking for a move, even if Dortmund don't want him to move.
ReplyDeleteMarkovic a mid-table player? Can a mid-table player? And just because Lallana and Lambert were signed from a mid-table club, does not mean they are mid-table players.
ReplyDeleteI would rather Lukaku than Bony.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, Mancini wasn't exactly the most personable manager and was pretty easy to fall out with.
ReplyDeleteIn his first season in the Europa League, he was named in the Europa League team of the season, Markovic I'm talking about, he already is class and has the potential to be one of the very best players in Europe, by one of the very best, I mean top 5, he is that good.
ReplyDeleteTwo's allowed, three and you're out.
ReplyDeleteSounds just like what people were saying about Sturridge not to long ago to be fair....
ReplyDeleteHe was injured in the last warm up game before the tournament - Reus
ReplyDeleteBiting someone won't end their career, stomping on their head will.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, with the side Man Utd are putting together and with van Gaal, they will finish 4th, Spurs in 5th, Everton 6th, Arsenal 7th ;)
ReplyDeleteHe didn't have to "correct" anything with Sturridge and Raheem was just a 17 year old kid thrust into the big time. Both have proven to be good characters and even better players. Sorry, it just annoys me when people say that those two players have ever had attitude issues - it's just lazy media labelling with no foundation and it always seems to happen to young black players.
ReplyDeleteThey have only signed Shaw (who didnt have a season much better than Evra, Evra was one of Uniteds good defenders last year) and Andrea Herrera who i havent seen alot of must must be an improvement but thats a small improvement. All depends on who they sign as also have to think about the Moyes/van gaal effect.
ReplyDeletePapers reporting he is available for just 14-15m.
ReplyDeleteive got the same concern..., with the way other teams are buying "World class" players and we seem to be paying over the odds for mediocore young Swansea and southhampton players really bugging
ReplyDeleteI did read we had bid for Ben Davies. I also read the other day that we wanted both those players. All just gossip like.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to find a good left-back. I think, we have only 2 options left - either meet Seville's price & buy a LB for 10 years or spend small & just look for a back-up of Enrique via loan, we can try again next year. There is absolutely no point spending for Davis or Bertrand, I don't think any of them improves the squad than the Frenchman. Someone needs to be given a hard time on how someone like Ashley Cole could go to Italy for that so of money & we are still playing tug of war for last 3 months.
ReplyDeleteno your wrong he gives 50% of his wages to charity! yes he hates being subbed or losing but thats a good thing! he has fire in his belly and wants to win every match. I agree he will have a few problems but for 14 mill we could take him rodgers will get the best out of him and then in a few years time (i dont think he would be a loyal red) he will move on for a huge profit
ReplyDeleteDamn. Get off Suarez's di*k already!
ReplyDeleteWe've only bought 2 Southampton players that dont really fit into the 'young' category. Markovic has 114 senior league appearances to his name and some Champions league/Europa league experience and 4 league titles at just 20 yrs of age. Emre Can has a Bundesliga's winners medal, a season and a half worth of experience in the that league and some champions league experience too. The only player who, to me at least, is just a squad player is Lambert from the signings we've made so far.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool Echo saying that we told Sevilla to shove their asking price for Moreno up their backside.
ReplyDeleteReports also saying Swansea have rejected a bid from LFC of £8m for Ben Davies.
I wonder if Seville screwed us over seems strange Aspas loan deal is done when at 27 they just should have sold him and the Moreno deal has collapsed.
ReplyDeleteThe loan deal has an option to buy. If Aspas has a good season then his price goes up plus he is off our wage bill for a season.
ReplyDeleteReally? Sturridge set his house on fire? Was he suspended by his own club? Did he show up on telly wearing a Man U jersey? Did he get in a shoving match with his manager on the training ground?
ReplyDeleteprefer him to moreno too
ReplyDeleteI agree. At his age, we should have only sanctioned a permanent deal. Aspas is essentially a free player (obviously plus wages) for Sevilla with no guarantee of a purchase down the line regardless with an option to buy.
ReplyDeleteNot getting anything for him only limits us during this window.
But if Sevilla refused to take him permanently and and we said no to the loan deal then he would be having a holiday at Anfield this coming season while being paid for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there would be other parties interested, I'm just saying the club should have waited a little longer to see if a better deal could have been done. The only reason for this is that we could throw the 5mil or so we could get onto another big money deal, it can make a difference.
ReplyDeleteConsider this scenario, Sevilla just use the deal to add some back up to their squad and don't exercise their option to buy. We are left with an older and still useless Aspas on the books for another year.
But, who really cares, it's just Aspas :)
Moreno is garbage on FM, and from what I've seen of him in real life he should only go for half of what his club have quoted.
ReplyDeleteSince this is game related, I have to commend you on your site. I checked it out a while ago because of your marketing efforts (JK's freeby) and I really enjoyed my time there. I think you deserve a lot more hits than what I assume you currently get. Keep up the good work.
Waited longer when they will not budge on the Moreno transfer fee? Waiting for Sevilla would be like running into a brick wall.
ReplyDeletePoint is that if Aspas has a good season in Spain then his price goes up, Aspas will attract interest from elsewhere and then when Sevilla say they want him then they have to pay our asking price and if they refuse then we sell him to another club that may be interested.
Plenty of window left i would have tested the waters i am sure there is a buyer there somewhere not like Seville dont have any money.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned more so though at Napoli wanting to loan Lucas saying they cant afford him when they are offering good money for other players.
I personally hope we never loan a player to an Italian club ever its a mistake.
Buy Reus AND Balotelli plus Navas. Sure up the defence and we'll scare teams into their own halves again. We'll have great striking options across the board then, we were very lucky with injuries last season. We need to KNOW that we have at least TWO 20+ goalscorers at the club in every competition. Balotelli is reportedly being sold for around 15 million, which isn't a gamble at all given amounts paid for just bench-warmers these days. Reus would give us a free kick specialist, a winger, a striker and someone to scream them in when teams defend deep. He moves a lot like Torres did and also shows the brilliance of Bale. We DESPERATELY need proven quality and goals. Navas wouldn't ship 50 goals in a season for ANY team if his world cup appearances are anything to go by. We have the money. Get the dead wood out and bring in some Proven Class.
ReplyDeleteA brilliant post.
ReplyDeleteluis muriel,jay rodriguez reus or bony in that order ...we will have a better allround team this season ...in two or three windows we have gone from a team of only a few skillfull to a full team of players being comfartable on the ball...another two or three windows and we will truly be back at the top table ....all we need is the support again except this time dont celebrate the league before its over ...understandable but ridicolous Y.N.W.A
ReplyDeleteSevilla released news last year of their financial problems so they will haggle on the last penny.
ReplyDeleteWell they basically told Liverpool after the sale of Rakitic they did not need to sell Moreno so i gather the situation is not too dire.
ReplyDeleterooney was at my nans 80th ...no one invited him
ReplyDeleteWe had a really good core of players. Gerrard in his prime is much better than anything we have now. Alonso, Hamann, Garcia. Players like Cisse and Baros may not have the quality of some players we have now but certainly popped up with some goals. Also I would argue it was Venice prime. He was truly a European coach, something Rodgers has not yet shown or perhaps developed.
ReplyDeletejames rodriguez not jay i am so sorry please find a way to forgive me
ReplyDeleteThey have made it clear they want a big pay day and the player will only leave on their terms. How much do you think Moreno is earning? If Sevilla sell Moreno they need to bring in a replacement which costs them money. If Moreno stays then it is at no loss to them.
ReplyDeleteI think Markovic is going to make a massive impact. I've watched about a dozen of his games last season and my feeling is that he'll excel in the Premier League and fit brilliantly into the way we play. I suspect we might see a return to the front three, with Markovic and Sterling playing in the same side quite frequently, which is a stunning prospect.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Id rather risk 14mil on him than risk that amount on the likes of Borini.
ReplyDeleteYeah well they have Navarro on the books already so they would probably bring through an academy player or buy a back up option, which would only require a small outlay.
ReplyDeleteI just hope someone from LFC is reading this and takes note
ReplyDelete.I don't know if anyone else out there has signed an alternative left back that is doing well. If so I think they have a duty to say so It could save an awful lot of time money and frustration.
I prefer the injured one.
ReplyDeleteI have googled him and he seems quick. Apparently he can only be caught in circumstances unlikely to occur in a televised football match.
ReplyDeleteYea, I'm disappointed with him so far, especially after the scouts said he would be good. Although he did get an assist in his latest game, so maybe things will get better.
ReplyDeleteOne player who is doing amazingly for me is Domencio Berardi from Sassuolo, we should sign him.
Thanks man, always nice to hear good things. We have some plans to try and grow a bit more, but its hard to devote the time to it, when working full time as well.
Jaimie, are you aware that other Liverpool fan websites steal your article titles? And articles?
ReplyDeleteWait for a different party, not Sevilla. Plus if they are playing hardball, why farm them a free player?
ReplyDeleteAspas isn't like Borini, where he could potentially be worth a lot of cash (IMO). Aspas max fee is 5mil, and we are better off getting it sooner rather than later
The option to buy would have an agreed, set fee. Otherwise, every club in the world has the option to buy Aspas. He can hit 30 goals, he can score none, that fee would still be the same.
Why is LFC baffled by the reports?!?! Isn't Reus the kind of player we should be trying for? My Manu friends were already jealous when they heard this rumour. Want it to be true all the more.
ReplyDeleteStop hitting the space bar before every comma, Mark. It is downright irritating!
ReplyDeleteCould you possibly email me some examples? Cheers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they are baffled as they haven't inquired about him, doesn't matter if they would like him they would still be baffled if people are saying a bid has been made etc when there is no contact atm.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the fee is based on Aspas's performance for Sevilla.
ReplyDeleteWhy would we agree a set fee when we could get counter offers if Aspas has a good season? So Sevilla will be allowed to have him for £5m if another club comes and offers us £8m?
And you know better do you?
ReplyDeleteIan Ayre has had a massive impact on the commercial side of our business and has grown this side of things exponentially over the last 2 years. He also played a major part in forcing hicks and gillet out so I wouldn't crucify him just yet. He's ten times better than Rick Parry ever was
ReplyDeleteVery good points
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we just buy the whole Swansea and Southampton squad and be done with it.i don't get why we fu** as* around with these negotiations for weeks on end wasting time when it's quite simple . Seville won't accept anything less than what they value him at so either were willing to pay that amount or we're not then move on surely ? Even man utd whi aren't in champs league seem to be having no trouble going for top stars while we seem to be relying in second rate or players that aren't proven yet. I know the transfer window isn't closed yet but it goes get a bit fustrating when we see the likes of Arsenal bringing in one if barcas stars without losing any of there own players and we lose our best player by far and bring in Southampton and Swansea players . Allen was the last Swansea star we bought £15 mill and he's not exactly set the world alight .
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the Brondby vs LFC friendly. Chance to see many of our youngsters in action and Can will most probably play too.
ReplyDeleteUTD can blow cash like there is no tomorrow and still run at a profit. If we are offering wages of let's say 100k a week then the mancs will just triple that.
ReplyDeleteI never believed this rumour
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't sign Ben davies, either Bertrand or Moreno
ReplyDeleteI don't think Borussia would sell Reus, just because they lost Lewandoski to Bayern but I would of thought because we just sold Suarez, we need a world class player like Reus, Muller or Falcao.
ReplyDeleteDon't get the hate for Ian Ayre, he's done an incredible amount of work in terms of marketing revenue, Liverpool got left so far behind the likes of Utd in terms of marketing revenue it was a joke, the amount of deals he has secured is pretty damn good. granted he may have messed up on one or two signings (although we'll never know full details)..and why should we be held to ransom for players...oh, and I'd rather have moreno than davies...but i'd rather have Reus than Bony....but hey ho...
ReplyDeleteNever seen a defender whose weakness is tackling. Also Moreno has started playing in LB position for last 1 year because he failed as a winger
ReplyDelete...drop dead sexiness?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a good feeling about this.. Remember Aquilani? Milan had to buy him if he plays certain number of matches. Even though he was one of their better players they just stopped using him 7-8 matches before the end of the season...
ReplyDeleteGranted! Looks like spuds just had their bid of £10m accepted.
ReplyDeleteHe did have a handful of lousy crosses- but very solid in defense..
ReplyDeleteI doubt the fee is performance based as that is fairly uncommon.
ReplyDeleteWhat you've asked is correct. If there is an agreed fee as part of the loan deal with Sevilla, let's just say 5M, he can be signed for 5M. If another club comes in and offers 8M, we can accept that offer too however Aspas would have to join the latter for us to receive that 8M. The highest Aspas bid could be 25M, though Sevilla, with an agreed fee as part of the loan deal, can snap him up for 5M.
In a way it's quite limiting, however we and the club have to be realistic and accept Aspas wont go for very much at all. So if it's true that there is a certain agreed fee, every club wanting him will just bid that amount.
But some reports suggest we rejected a initial bid of £5m from Sevilla for Aspas.
ReplyDeleteIf true then we probably are not interested in an offer lower than what we paid for him.
If Sevilla do not want him after the loan but then went on to have a good season, pushes up his price, other offers come in. Off our wage bill for a season sell him at the price we paid or make a profit = win win.
And let us not forget about the loan fee Sevilla have to pay us. Do not see why someone would think loaning Aspas who is redundant to be a bad thing.
Aspas cost peanuts compared to Aquilani and surely is on much lower wages.
ReplyDeleteThe loss we made on Aquilani should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Aspas.
Yes but I am worried it will be a similar scenario(Reina included)- a year after we decide we do not need he is back at Melwood with us not knowing what the fcuk to do with him.
ReplyDeleteReina and Aquilani were on massive wages. That is why we struggled to get Aquilani off our books as well as now with Reina.
ReplyDeleteAspas most probably is very affordable for Sevilla.
But they probably have their own youngster who will come off the bench to replace (probably) solid Aspas and the following year they simply won't need him..
ReplyDeleteAre Liverpool looking to repeat the mistakes of last season?. We now have CL football, money in the bank yet still no world class players coming to the club what will the excuses be this time around that it is too clod, wet and windy in Liverpool in reality we are weaker than last year come on Liverpool get a grip
ReplyDeleteAspas in La Liga vs Aspas in the EPL are two different things.
ReplyDeleteIs the loan fee confirmed? There isn't always a loan fee.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say loaning him out is a bad thing, but Aspas is a clear fail and the correct solution isn't just farming out failures on loan. I just think that even getting a lesser fee for him sooner rather than later is far more beneficial for us as we are looking to make some moves in a very important transfer window.
Either way, I'm not fussed as it's Aspas. He wont play for us again. But, IMO we should just cut our losses now as I don't believe he will rise in value at all.
Surely, and I hope he proves that again.
ReplyDeleteWe are "baffled" to be linked with a world class player but being linked to Bony, Lovren, etc at 20M+ is perfectly acceptable. It's a little weird how the club tripped over itself to distance itself from even thinking about a classy player like Reus.
ReplyDeleteI cannot see FSG wanting to make anymore losses. Every million down the drain is detrimental to our FFP profile. Having Aspas off our wage bill, even should he be earning low wages is a positive.
ReplyDeleteThere are rumours they are going to buy Vidal as well. And Ander Herrera is supposedly a very good player, so as far as the Man Utd midfield goes, he is a very big improvement, considering their midfield last season had Fellaini and Cleverly. Also, van Gaal has a much bigger reputation and pulling power than Moyes does, so I can see them getting players of a much higher calibre than Moyes got. Moyes hasn't won any silverware, van Gaal has won considerable amounts of silverware, in Netherlands (former Ajax manager) where he won the Eredivisie, the domestic cup, as well as leading AZ to the Eredivisie, as well as the Champion's League, Spain (former Barcelona manager) where he won La Liga, Germany (former Bayern Munchen manager) where he won the Bundesliga and took them to the Champion's League final. He is a very good manager, will he be a good fit for Man Utd who are still very much run by Ferguson? I don't know as they are both two very big, controlling egos.
ReplyDeleteBob, Name me one experienced world class player B Rodgers has signed this summer?
ReplyDeleteYet A Wenger signs: A Sanchez(25) and Kheidira(26) is on the way there.
J Mourinho has signed D Costa(25) and C Fabregas(27) and is about to bring in F Luis(28) is on his way
Pellegrini has signed Fernando(27) Of Porto and B Sagna(31)
Players like Lambert, Lallana, Can and Markovic we could have signed last season without Champions league football?
B Rodgers should offer Barcelona 25-28M for Pedro(26), but i have a sly feeling that B Rodgers may go for T Walcott(23) again somewhere along the line this transfer window
And what possible difference does this make to how he performs for LFC? None whatsoever. He did nothing for Liverpool; how he performed for Celta Vigo has no relevance now.
ReplyDeleteWasn't arguing with you, Professor Twist ;-) Was only having fun with your typo.
ReplyDeleteI can't name one experienced world class player B. Rodgers has signed this summer seeing as how there isn't one (and probably won't be throughout the course of this window). By the bye, I am not convinced Pedro would be well-suited to the PL, though I wouldn't mind us taking the gamble and signing him anyway.
Apparently we have scrapped the Moneyball stats-based signings and are now signing players based on whether or not they have gorgeous hair (Lambert excluded). Do us a favor and come up with a list of those available players that meet that requirement.
Clearly you are seeing my comment to suit your reply.
ReplyDeleteAspas in Spain should perform well as he is suited to La Liga vs the EPL.
Happy now?
Happy that you understood what I was implying.
ReplyDeleteThe outlay brings up another thought:
ReplyDeleteHow does the club abide by FFP this year? The Suarez money will help, but we seem to be spending that.
We haven't sold much.
So if we are going to continue to buy, and let's assume we get significant cash from the CL this year, will that be enough to abide by FFP?
Arsena buy Alexis sanchez , manchester united buy Luke Shaw, Anderson Herrera and now Vidal we just buy B players
ReplyDeleteAnd Chelsea buy fabregas and Diego Costa great players
ReplyDeleteAgree with you
ReplyDeleteOnly for 4 months.
ReplyDeleteIf we wanted to sign Reus it would cost his release clause which was set at £32m the same as Gotze. I can't remember where I saw it but I watched an interview with Klopp where he was talking about losing Gotze to Bayern and disclosed that Reus has the same clause.
ReplyDeleteAs the purple faced drunken uncle once said 'you need to build from a position of strength'. How do Liverpool not understand that to actually WIN titles you need to target at least a few of the big players. I mean come on. I'm all for signings like Lallana to give the squad strength and signings with lots of potential like Markovic. But you need to sign the odd top player to really strengthen. Especially when you lose your best player. Show more ambition LFC
ReplyDeleteLet's just put I this way. I'd be delighted for us to sign either one but unfortunately looks like a pipe dream. LFC never show that short of ambition.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha ha , Pedro(26) is a world class winger that guarantees any club 15-23 goals a season with the odd assists. He is pace to burn and is a serious goal threat. And he would be a very good signing for the club
ReplyDeleteAre all those playerz got high attributes on fifa lol
ReplyDeleteNo, do not sign balotelli he is confused, attention seeker, trouble, and is not worth the trouble.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why LFC is trying so hard to sign Moreno. Anybody noticed Greece's left back Jose Cholevas how good he was at the World Cup. Maybe LFC should turn their attention to Greece. I think he can be a great fit for Anfield. Anyone who can alert LFC please do it. It may be helpful.
ReplyDeleteExactly..........
ReplyDelete