12 Aug 2014

Done Deals: LFC 'agree' £15m triple-transfer and save £8m in the process. Good news?

It's all go on the transfer front at the moment, and reports this evening suggest that Liverpool are on the verge of completing three separate transfer deals.

According to various sources:

* Sevilla accepted an 'initial' £12m fee for the left-back Alberto Moreno.

* Liverpool have accepted a £1.5m bid from Crystal Palace for Martin Kelly.

* Trabzonspor President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has confirmed that the club has 'agreed terms' on a £1.5m deal for Kolo Toure.

A £12m fee for Moreno is far more palatable than the oft-reported £20m figure, and if the the deal goes through for that amount, then it's an impressive £8m saving, which makes a refreshing change from being constantly ripped-off.

Martin Kelly has been a dead man walking at Anfield for quite a while now, so it's no surprise whatsoever to see him leave. The arrival of Javier Manquillo is the final nail in Kelly's coffin, and with fierce competition at right back, it's definitely for the best if he leaves.

The imminent departure of Toure is also expected, and it's possible that Sebastian Coates' impressive performances in pre-season have sealed the Ivorian's fate. With Coates in the squad, there's arguably no real need for Toure.

Overall, it's hard to argue with any of these deals.

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77 comments:

  1. Some very good work by BR this window with most signings and I'm especially impressed with the Moreno savings. Could buy another 'coutinho' like gem with that £8m

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  2. Shame about Kelly but circumstances just didn't fall his way. I hope he does well at Palace. He has been very unlucky. I hope that Moreno is better than Daley Blind. JK, I thought I read that Moreno was very short (under 6ft). Do you know if that's true? If it is, won't that be an issue on set pieces?

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  3. Moreno deal will end up being somewhere between 16-20M so I don't think people should get too carried away about an 8M saving as don't think that's the truth.

    Happy about Toure and we have done well to get a bit of cash so very good business.

    Bit disappointed we haven't got a bit more for Kelly. I'm hoping we have included some decent add ons and a sell on clause just incase he regains his England form. Having said that it's a deal that suits all parties.

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  4. Pity about Kelly, injuries ruined his career. Good luck to him.

    The one thing good about this window is how well the wage bill has been managed. Kelly and Toure combined probably add up to £100K a week? Add to that Reina and Suarez and we are looking at over £400k a week.



    Of our new signings Lallana and Lovren are probably earning the most but it is not like they were earning mega money at Southampton.


    Overall it has been a pretty good window as we have added the depth to our squad which was lacking and we have not hemorrhaged the wage bill by doing so.

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  5. Give over. One semi0decent transfer fee doesn't excuse Rodgers from criticism for his many duff transfers. And Manquillo has played one game. One. It's not proof of anything.

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  6. You are right but there is also a flip side to what you saying. And that is we should not be quick to assume the words Players that a lot if us had assumption on DS and PC and now those two are our best players. Aspas, Borini, Alberto are all bargain buys and what do you expect on bargains???

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  7. You could see in that one game the potential he has though. Manquillo for £5m was a great bit of business. Two Spanish, pacey, skilful, fullbacks with great technical ability is exactly what Liverpool needed. They'll make the team much smoother on the ball. Johnson on the bench will be a lovely sight too.

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  8. shambles! how is 24 year old up and coming England International Kelly costing the same amount as 33 year old Toure? we should have got at least 5-6 million for hi in anyones books. Life goes on i suppose smh

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  9. on the bright side looks like Kelly is getting into my dream team now looool (4.5 million snip :D )

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  10. I'm too modest to point out that I've been saying all summer that we'd get Moreno in the end. Oh wait...
    The cursory 8 million pound bid for Davies when spurs had already bid 10... Bertrand too... Just decoys to put pressure on Sevilla by making it look like we were looking elsewhere. I imagine the Eto'o rumours are a similar tactic, probably to get our real target to lower their wage demands.

    Kelly and Toure away, Agger probably as well. Ilori and Robinson loaned out and our squad is taking shape. You must admit Jaimie, it resembles somewhat of a plan. All we need is another quality striker and we have a proper squad for the first time in years.

    12 million for Moreno is very reasonable and I really think Ian Ayre has done a pretty good job this transfer window. He may have made mistakes in the past but I feel lots of lessons have been learned and with the new stadium on the way and the commercial side of the club never stronger, even the most pessimistic fan must see that the club is moving in the right direction

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  11. Kolo...thanks for the admirable service for a year. You plugged in when we needed it and gave some strong minutes. Good Luck and God speed in Turkiye.

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  12. Ah, but are the Moreno 'savings' really savings? First of all we don't know the real figures of either the discussions or the conclusion of those discussions. Secondly even if the earlier discussions were around 20 million and he is now signing for 12 million it is possible that there are a number of add-ons based on performance or resale percentages which bring it up closer to the original figure. But in any event I do worry when football fans start to think like accountants....

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  13. There's still time to get a proven striker so don't waver yet.

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  14. Mate he hasnt played for 2 years. It's a long time since he won his solitary cap and has been crippled with injury since. I doubt Roy Hodgson even remembers who he is. 1.5-2mil is about right for him IMO

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  15. Well...the Echo said 12M 'up front' with some add-ons to follow. But who knows what that means.

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  16. Yes, I really hope this means that Coates will be given a chance this season: he definitely has the potential. With Llori gone for the season, Kelly gone, Wisdom gone for the season, Toure going, I wonder whether it means we will keep Agger as well or possibly make another signing in the central defensive areas.....

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  17. Good point about Ian Ayre. When reading some of these forums you'd get the impression that Liverpool was a really badly run club: but this is the team that finished second in the Premiership last season, has qualified for the Champions League, is trying to build a squad for the future and balance the books- doesn't sound like a particularly badly run club to my eyes. Now, if only they could get that elusive striker signing.....

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  18. Here's who played for Chelski today in their final tune-up. I hate those guys, but they're gonna be tough this year. It will feel good when we beat them. YNWA.


    Courtois, Ivanovic (Zouma 80), Cahill (Azpilicueta 46), Terry (Christensen 87), Ake (Filipe Luis 46), Matic (Van Ginkel 80), Fabregas (Mikel 71), Ramires (Oscar 46), Hazard (Salah 80), Schurrle (Willian 46), Diego Costa (Torres 60).

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  19. Ciaran Samuel Caruana1:00 am, August 13, 2014

    i'm not disagreeing with you completely but just to note, his two best imo, coutinho and sturrdige were 20 mil in total.

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  20. I think this is the most positive article of LK's that I ever read, I'l be up early tomorrow to see if the sun still rises!!

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  21. ya but they have the most pathetic manager in world football.

    . . .

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  22. Sound business if you ask me.


    Especially since Suso is not going the other way.


    I still think we're a striker short though.

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  23. What it goes to show is that at the end of the day, the transfer success/failure in the past few years has hinged on Champions League.

    That's why we're picking up players now that we otherwise could not get.

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  24. Players like who...Moreno? Hardly the level of player only a Champions League club could attract. Ditto all of LFC's summer signings.

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  25. For whatever reason it always seemed the Moreno deal was going to get done. Well done to the club for getting that initial fee down as low as possible. There was a worry that we'd have to bite the bullet and pay extra but this hard-line tactic on negotiations can sometimes work out well.


    It's a little disappointing to see Kelly move away from the club. He has one season where he showed tremendous promise but injuries have gotten in the way. In the end he's not a Rodgers type of wing back, he fits a more traditional mould and he can still make a good career for himself.


    I expect the list of CBs at the club to continue to shrink. Toure would have gotten virtually no time on the pitch this season. I think we'll aim for 4 good players on rotation so Agger needs to find a new home and Coates can hopefully have an injury free run. That sets us up to have Ilori and Coates as the emerging defenders for the club and you'd hope that one of them will come good, at which point the other can be considered for sale.


    For all the criticism that Rodgers has received on signing defenders the reality is that we now have a very good defensive squad and if the outgoing fees are reasonable then we'll have done it without spending the way City have had to. Moreno is obviously still some kind of risk and we'll have to wait and see but we've now got depth, youth, experience, leadership and a healthy degree of competition.

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  26. I'd say the people criticising Ayre are just looking for a scapegoat when something doesn't go the way they expected. They don't really have the first clue what is actually going on. How could they? What Ayre does in his business dealings is a complete mystery so the criticism is way off as far as I'm concerned. No one here is a premier league club general manager, I'd guess the vast majority don't even have senior positions in a large business, so on what basis do they have the understanding to judge how effective someone like Ayre is at doing his job?

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  27. Yes...there's that too...good point.

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  28. Why haven't we bought a proven striker yet?

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  29. Except winning the bundesliga every year is equivalent to winning the occasional EPL. In terms of prestige, EPL tears bundesliga a new one, and players know that.

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  30. its something i have been dreading. i will have to get used to it if he continues his rise.

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  31. I actually did right after I wrote the post. God he's short! He better be tough and run the like wind. Don't expect much help from him on set pieces though!

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  32. Manquillo.....Skrtel......Lovren.......Moreno
    ...............Hendo............Gerrard..............
    .........................Coutinho.........................
    Markovic.......................................Sterling
    ........................Sturridge.........................

    Subs: Ibe, Allen, Sakho, Johnson, Enrique, Suso, Can

    Add 1 world class striker and Eureka!!!!

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  33. 6 millions more if we finish in top 4????

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  34. if only we still had Suarez, we would have won the league

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  35. Lovren, Markovic , Moreno. We couldnt have signed them without UCL. Markovic would never have left a UCL club for a team which finished 7th for 5 time in 5 years( if we had finished 6th or 7th). Same goes for Lovren he would have easily left us for ManU or Arsenal.

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  36. When Sterling turns 21 and improves accordingly, he may be worth £80M. He may well be go onto be the first £100M signing, assuming Fenway decides to cash in, which I hope they won't ever do.

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  37. I really like Kelly. He was awesome at RB at one time. But after those injuries, he hasn't been the same. Really sad to see him go. Would have liked to see him given another chance. Hope we can get rid of a couple of more dead weights like Johnson especially.

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  38. Spirit of the Shadows6:08 am, August 13, 2014

    Even if we don't land a forward its been a good transfer window for us . We look like we can achieve a top four finish and maybe a cup win as well. I like it that Rodgers has added players with a winning mentality. Can't wait for the season to start.

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  39. Probably because the number of high enough calibre strikers who are looking for a move is quite low, and most of the ones who are looking for a move have insane wage demands. Everyone seems to think we have our pick of all the best strikers for the right price and wages but Ayre is just dawdling...far from true.

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  40. Well, the club needs to make sure they have a contract strategy that solidly states where they stand and where the player stands when the inevitable happens. Have a huge buy out clause to ensure the club have the say. I also wish they would have cast iron clauses in place to deal with players who refuse to play, that is absolute nonsense.

    Personally I hope Sterling continues on an exponential curve of improvement and does attract clubs like Madrid. But I also hope he wants to stay. It's up to the club to develop in such a way that he wouldn't want to leave. Same goes for any other player. This season is going to be a hugely important one for the future of the club, I hope they don't realise how big it really is and that they don't shit themselves.

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  41. If Manquillo had had a terrible game would you be saying the same thing? The statement would be equally true but I can't really picture it...

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  42. Just look at the response that this article has produced. Sensational journalism to attract attention to the column

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  43. I'm not really interested in whether you can 'picture it'. I would've said exactly the same, and I've made similar points in the past. I don't slate players after one game, ever, and I always argue that one game can never define a player.

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  44. lopez signed for milan last week. wake up.

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  45. Markovic and Moreno are absolutely players that we would not get if we weren't in the CL. The other are debatable....Can probably would have found us less attractive....Lambert would have signed for us in League Two clearly.....

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  46. Why are Markovic and Moreno players LFC would not get without CL? They are young, inexperienced players with comparatively zero bargaining power. Liverpool signed Sturridge, Coutinho, Suarez, Sahin etc without CL football, so the idea that LFC wouldn't be able to attract those two comparatively unknown players makes little sense (IMO)

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  47. Clubs of a lesser standing should place very high value on players that the 2 team league from La Liga want to buy. These 2 clubs don't add value to world soccer but actually destroy potential of good players. Clubs and players intending to join these 2 teams must ask for more than 20 times the value of the player and wages and contract agreements that will make the player exceptionally very rich.

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  48. Coates is a proper defender. He is much better that uncle Kolo. I can bet my last dollar Coates wont create own goals and pass the ball to the last opposition striker in our final third like Kolo.

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  49. Then again, if he triggers the performance bonuses, it means we also have a guaranteed return on that investment. Which you can never say about an initial fee. The way I see it, this has dragged on so long because we did not allow them to hold us to ransom and that's quite refreshing.

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  50. Someone has to cover the post eh? At full back there are a lot of things much more important than height. Actually, I think you'll find that most class full backs of the last decade were never that tall.

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  51. All sounds pretty good to me! Defence is starting to shape up nicely. A good mix of experience and youth.

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  52. AND a Russian Oligarch owner ......... say no more !
    But hopefully he won't be able to access his dosh for much longer :-)

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  53. Imagine how Southampton fans must feel this week...

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  54. Hopefully by the time sterling gets to the level where he's chased by real or barcelona, liverpool are doing so well that there's no need for him to leave.
    The other added bonus his wife's inlaws don't live in spain and does not seem the kind of guy who's wife will dictate his career

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  55. I agree with you... but I also really, really, like the spectacle of thousands of passionate, utterly unqualified people, many of them children -- indeed many of them mentally deranged by the evidence of their online personas -- shouting abuse and threatening recrimination against a rich self-satisfied suit like Ian Ayre. That's been a part of the pantomime of English football for as long as I can remember :)

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  56. Well played by the club to get headlines saying £12m for Moreno. Strongly doubt that we'll have got him that cheaply.

    He is a real class act, an unusual little full-back in the style of Roberto Carlos (not saying he's anywhere near as good, just same type of player): busy, full of flair, aggressive in the tackle, and with incredible pace. It's a shockingly good bit of business. Makes the money Utd spent on that tubby impersonator of Luke Shaw they bought look completely mad.

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  57. You wouldn't have a chance at Markovic or Lovren without CL. No chance at all.

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  58. Moreno will surprise you, I think. He's an exhilarating player.

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  59. Right. So how did Southampton sign Love last season? As I recall, they weren't in the CL. And Markovic? He's 20; any number of of non CL club's could've signed him. Two recent examples add weight to this: LFC signed Coutinho; Spurs signed Eriksen, a player with far more international and CL experience than Markovic.

    Sent from Samsung Mobile

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  60. Statistically Manquillo is brilliant for us

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  61. and Abramovich as cover.....

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  62. I agree with Jaimie that it's too soon to hype Sterling. You don't really know about a player until he's come back from his first long injury lay-off; and seen how he's dealt with his first major loss of form. Sterling's yet to face these challenges, which every player has to deal with, since his arrival in the first team squad.

    Sterling's body is still changing a lot, too, which makes me worry I must say. The way he's bulked up over the last year, the strain on his thighs and lower back muscles is going to be pretty severe. You often see players getting muscle injuries after a growth spurt or a trained physical development. All in all I wouldn't be surprised at all if Raheem had a difficult year ahead. Let's see how he's doing at the end of *next* season at least before deciding whether or not he's the next Gareth Bale!

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  63. And Abramovich to cover

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  64. Initial 12mn, so if Moreno comes out good, we will eventually pay 20mn.

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  65. Thats because there heritage is from Jamaica and the parents are very very religious. I spend a afer amount of time in Jamaica in the close season and have bumped into both of them while there. In fact they do a lot of charitable work in Jamaica.

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  66. Dead Ringer for Stevie

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  67. Moreno recently won the Europa league,the under 21 European championship as well as being a full Spanish international..hardly a player with no status at the age of 22!

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  68. Firstly I think you underestimate the profile of these players. They are both important international players with significant reputations in European football. Secondly their agents aren't stupid. Both players were on their second move after proving their value as top players in the tier immediately below that of Liverpool -- Benfica are even arguably at the same level in certain respects. The next step for young men like them is upwards. If we hadn't signed them then another club at our level would have done. There's no way Southampton could have signed someone like Lovren this season. It'd be like them pulling in Jordan Henderson, Keylor Navas, or Rakitic; a player who has proven himself capable of performing well beyond the quality required for a mid-table side. It's virtually unimaginable.

    Thirdly, worth remembering that last season's Europa league finalists Benfica were already a CL club this season. They are already close to being at our level, at least, but can't quite offer the wages or prominence that Liverpool can of course. His signing is a bit of a coup really. Signing Markovic is like a club such as Dortmund taking Sterling from us -- a really smart piece of business for a young player of immense if unproven promise. Beyond Man Utd, and maybe AC or Inter Milan, I can't think of one non-CL side that could have had a chance of signing Markovic. He's a big deal. Certainly *we* couldn't have signed him without CL on offer.

    I think the Coutinho and Eriksen transfers are both interesting, but Coutinho wasn't getting games at Inter and was clearly finished there. A brilliant signing by us. And Eriksen, well... he messed up, didn't he! Should have come and wandered aimlessly around, scoring the odd free-kick, for us, instead!

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  69. Yeah, I noticed on instagram and facebook that they did. What are they like?

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  70. It's the end of days.

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  71. More likely performance related. So perhaps some for top four, some for winning the league. Some for how many games he gets, some for goals or assists some for motm perhaps? It won't be as simple as we did this have six million.

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  72. It's funny because you'd think from the way they are on the pitch and some questionable hairstyles and cloths they are like that off it.
    Daniel is very much a family man and he's close to them as is Raheem.
    They Raheem when in Jamaica, when he's with his friends and family there switches into a quite strong Jamaican accent.
    Other than that they are pretty typical young men, they like music a laugh girls and games.
    Remember when they go to Jamaica the last thing the really wanna do is talk about football.

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  73. He is great proof that things change quickly, it was January last year that people were talking about him hitting a level and being moved on, also due to his off-the-field problems. Then, after failing in Willian and Salah bids he got a lifeline - Thank god he did.

    I worry if we might lose out on other talents like Suso, Texeira, Ibe, Rossiter, etc unless we have room in the squad.

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  74. We don't normally get massive fees. Only Alonso, Torres, Suarez have fallen into this category, and not sure we invest it well all the time.

    It is time we said no to some clubs, and dug our heels in.

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