7 Dec 2014

Transfer Rip-Off? LFC pushing to sign £25m star who's 'one of the best in 15 years'

Over the summer, Liverpool were linked with a £40m double swoop for Southampton stars Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne. Lallana signed for LFC, but Clyne stayed at St. Marys, but new reports (predictably) suggest that Liverpool are once again interested in signing the talented right back.

In November, The Telegraph claimed that Liverpool are 'closely monitoring' £25m-rated Clyne, and according to the Express this week:

"Nathaniel Clyne could join Liverpool. The Reds are now planning for life without Glen Johnson, and Brendan Rodgers [will] make a move for Clyne in January"

Ex-Red Jamie Redknapp is a fan of Clyne, and in a recent column for Sky Sports, he enthused:

"I’ve been really impressed with him [Clyne] this season. He’s athletic, technically good and he’s showing plenty of promise. He’ll learn an awful lot from Ronald Koeman".

Koeman is also impressed with Clyne, and when asked last month about the defender's form, he told reporters:

"Clyne is one of the best right full-backs that I've had in my teams in the last 15 years. That means a lot because I like to play with offensive right and left full-backs and he has those qualities, he's fast and gives good crosses".

The Dutchman is seemingly not worried about the growing rumours linking Clyne with Liverpool. When asked last night about the speculation, he mused:

"If I have to be worried about those kind of rumours, then I will be worried every day and I don’t like that. I like my life and I like to be positive. It’s no issue.”

With only 10 goals conceded in 14 games, Southampton have the best defensive record in the Premier League, and Clyne is an important part of the Saints miserly defensive unit. By Comparison, Liverpool have leaked 19 goals in the same number of games, which illustrates the stark difference in overall defensive quality.

I see no incentive for Clyne to leave Southampton, though. Historically, Liverpool is a much bigger club, but despite a slight uptick in recent results, the Reds are on the slide this season, and I doubt many players will want to join a club where managerial change may be imminent possibility.

Also, I suspect the presence of Ronald Koeman will play a big part in Clyne's decision. Koeman is a legend of the game, and unlike Rodgers, he has an aura about him that only comes from having played at the highest level. I'm sure the likes of Clyne et al are in awe of their manager, and that can only be a good thing for Southampton.

It's all moot anyway, as £25m for Clyne - which Manchester United are seemingly willing to pay - is a laughably exorbitant transfer fee.

Grossly inflated fees for British players are par for the course these days, though (Luke Shaw anyone?) and as the fees for Lallana (£26m), Downing (£20m), Carroll (£35m), and Allen (£15m) show, Liverpool are not immune to this madness.

As such, it wouldn't surprise me at all see Rodgers pay through the nose for yet another British player, but hopefully, FSG have learned that trusting the manager with huge sums of money is a mistake of epic proportions.

Glen Johnson definitely needs to be replaced, but is £25m+ on Clyne a good deal?



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10 comments:

  1. Nevergonnacrackthecode5:15 pm, December 07, 2014

    Morgan schniederlin
    clyne
    Bony

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  2. 25 million, another ridiculously over inflated price for a player just because he's English. Never in a million years will we spend that on a right back

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  3. those 3 players would cost liverpool anything up to 100m

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  4. You spent £20m on a useless centre back.

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  5. in am alternate Universe we signed those three instead of Lovren, Lallana and Ballotelli and are currently in third place in the league.

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  6. Is it just me who thinks we do not need a replacement for GJ? I mean we have Manq, Flanagan and Wisdom who is progressing nicely. Why spend 10's of millions or more in a position were we have adequate cover when we have much more pressing issues

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  7. My problem with that position is that we have 3 good 2nd choices... Flanno might be first, but with that absence...

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  8. True, Only a Sheikh could afford that

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  9. In Sheikh's defence, he never mentioned schindler or whichever spelling we're going with today.

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