10 Feb 2015

Top Transfer? BR desperate to sign unhappy €27m-playmaker; LFC in-talks right now

Last season, Anfield legends Jan Molby and John Aldridge bemoaned Liverpool's failure to sign Armenian maestro Henrik Mkhitaryan, but with Dortmund languishing in the Bundesliga relegation zone, the Reds are reportedly pursuing the Borussia Dortmund star once again.

According to German newspaper Bild:

* Liverpool have 're-opened transfer negotiations' over a summer move for Mkhitaryan.

* Brendan Rodgers is 'desperate' to sign the midfielder as a replacement for Gerrard.

Mkhitaryan definitely wants to leave, and last week, his agent confirmed:

"Henrikh wants to leave Dortmund at the end of the season. We will have to wait and see what we can do."

In his column for 5-Times last season, Molby observed:

"I was massively disappointed when we weren't able to get Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He would have been perfect for what we needed, an extra bit of quality and real signal of intent."

Molby's former team-mate, John Aldridge expressed similar sentiments recently, when he tweeted:

"It's a blow. He [Mkhitaryan] would have been a great signing: height, strength, goals and more"

After snubbing the Reds, Mkhitaryan - who cost Dortmund €27.5m - revealed the reason why he chose BVB. He told Eurosport:

“Liverpool have a great past, but Borussia Dortmund has a great present. I made this decision with my heart. I’m not worried about the transfer fee – I hope Dortmund don’t regret a cent of it.”

Dortmund's stunning plunge into the relegation zone is one of the shocks of the season, and Mkhitaryan is one of a number of players who've spectacularly failed to step-up this year. The Armenian's stats this season:

* 1 goal/1 assist in 22 appearances.
* Goal/assist every 800 minutes (1 every 8.8 games)

When the going gets tough, Mkhitaryan clearly became part of the problem, not the solution, and that's not the type of player needed at Liverpool right now. Additionally, the midfielder's recent injury history is a concern:

* Three separate injuries since signing for Dortmund in 2013.
* 74 days out injured in total, missing 11 games.

In Adam Lallana, Liverpool already have one expensive, misfiring, increasingly injury-prone attacking midfielder, and spending big bucks on another one is not the brightest idea.

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu is convinced, however, that Mkhitaryan is still the real deal, and in January, he enthused:

"Mkhitaryan is much quicker and runs more than Sneijder. He is a complete player. He creates chances, wins back balls and always keeps on going. It is important for him to find the right environment again."

Dortmund is clearly not the 'right environment' for Mkhitaryan; what about Liverpool?

Author:


85 comments:

  1. He was the player we need back then, but not any more.

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  2. I think he is a great player, he has goals in him, and would I love to see us getting him,
    But I was not aware of his injury problems, long term what is his injury history??

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  3. Hopefully we don't waste money on this player. He is not that great tbh and we already have Lallana who plays in a similar position/style. If we want to go for an attacking player from Dortmund, we all know who that should be. Besides, I would rather fancy Wilshere than Mkhitaryan.

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  4. When he snubbed us he said "Liverpool is the past, Dortmund is the future". Now he can go and sit on it. And we should never go near players represented by Raiola again anyway. The man is a charlatan.

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  5. Typical and unnecessary dig at one of Rodgers signings slipped in there I see, about the "misfiring" Lallana... Other than that, I believe we already have found a "new Gerrard" in Can (another of Rodgers signings). Like Stevie, I can't see too many weaknesses in his game. He can defend, tackle, run with the ball, pass the ball, shoot etc. This lad is something special, and I would bring him into Lucas' role for tonight's game - he is ready!

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  6. for next season have henderson ,can,mkhikitarian and any of romas midfield to battle it out for a place on team .Sell lucas allen .Up top sell ballitelli borini and lambert buy lacazette and ings and loan out wilson ,kent,canos and sinclair .Get ter stegen and bring back illori .leave john glenson and mary lucas at a bus stop.

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  7. For balance sake Alex Song. Mickeytakin or whatever his name is can stay in Germany.

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  8. BR has ruled out Can playing in the midfield in order to avoid disrupting the current team balance.

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  9. If only it was that easy...

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  10. Ya for now but he will move into midfield in time

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  11. The only one who could replace Gerrard is Paul Pogba and that wont happen

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  12. That's crazy. The balance has been changed through the injury to Lucas. Allen isn't up to it, Gerrard is no longer up to it, so that leaves Can.

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  13. I think we can do better than Song. Why not the Bender brothers?

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  14. We have to play Lovren at some point, and Johnson has done ok there. Toure should be available soon too. I don't think we lose as much on the whole by replacing Can with one of these guys as we do by going from Lucas to Allen. Can might well prove to be an upgrade on Lucas so it's possible we might see the team strengthen overall.

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  15. Ballo,Lovren and Allen are the only flops there I reckon.


    Ballo was a gamble from the start, turned out bad but worth a shot seeing as no proven striker wanted to come to Anfield.Do you think Rodgers didn't try for Sanchez and Falcoa? He did, they didn't want to come to Anfield.


    Aspas is a decent player currently doing well in spain, on loan.Moses did his job on loan last season, good squad player imo.


    Lallana is finding his legs and doing some incredible stuff on the pitch these days.We've already sold Assaidi.He was never given a chance in any event.


    The hard workers, Borini and Lambert pitch in with goals when given the opportunity.Moreno is a fluid wingback dat works well in our current system.


    So actually 3 flops from so many signings isn't bad at all.I trust if you dig into City and Chelsea's signings you'll find plenty flops there.


    As you can see with Sterling's contract, we are not a club that pays over the top wages for the proven best like Madrid or now days United as well.


    We nurture young talent as a club. Bring in relatively unknowns and mold them into something bigger and better.


    Our philosophy is unlike the Chelsea's and City's mate.We don't have an oil sheik playing football manager with our club.We've got a proven sports group in charge of us.Something many LFC supporters don't appreciate imo.


    Heck even Mignolet is finding his form again so I have no worries on Rodger's eye for talent.


    You just gotta see the bigger picture and not expect all our signing to hit the floor running as they say.Great things ahead for us.

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  16. We dont need him i would be disappointed if they wasted their kitty on him he has had his chance to come and chose Dortmund he can stay there.
    I would say Lallana is a better player anyway.

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  17. I completely disagree. Johnson is nowhere near as good defensively as shown by his zero tackles in previous games. He is however better on the ball than Lovren who is likely to fall apart once pressed. I would love to see Can in the midfield at some stage but honestly feel that the balance of the defence will fall apart should either of those players play. Tonight will be interesting either way but unfortunately a touch frightening too.

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  18. All of our centre backs have looked better since Lucas has been the midfield shield, even Johnson when he has played there, so it's reasonable to assume Lovren might benefit too. Toure can easily play in the three if not, but I'm not sure when he is available again.

    If you completely disagree, let me know who will be replacing Lucas, because I wasn't moving Can for the sake of it

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  19. Agree Can will be Lucas replacement, but not tonight. Gerrard to come back, he can't risk Lovren against Spurs.

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  20. Looking at this from a business perspective the wage bill will be lowered by Gerard and several other departures also really Liverpools inability to bring in proven top class players makes keeping Sterling essential.
    Looking at it from the transfer record how many millions would we waste before finding a true replacement.
    Look at Markovic many are now rating him but at a similar age he is no where near Sterling i would rather lose him to keep Raheem.
    The club is playing the mediocrity game if it cannot at least keep its better home grown players there will be no titles until they can.

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  21. We don't need to 'replace' Gerrard on the field. Can will fit in the midfield and bring all Gerrards attributes, what we need is cover for Can & Hendo. Lucas looks like injuries may be an issue in the future and we all know Allen is not up to it.

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  22. Toure's not back yet. Johnson didn't look good at all. Zero tackles! Also Lucas won't be there to make anyone look better and it was not just him. Part of the reason is we have had two players who are very good on the ball (Sakho and Can) and Skrtel has been able to cover and play the ball less.

    I think Allen can do a job there. It is far from preferable but as for like for like replacements Allen is the one to choose. He didn't do bad against Everton (although was poor in games previously) He makes more tackles than Gerrard, more interceptions than any other midfielder barring Lucas. On form he can do a job and for me he is less of a risk than the other two.

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  23. Agree, BR is a nutcase and people will just blindly agree to his decisions.

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  24. fair point, I feel we need a strong central midfeilder who wont get bullued of the ball

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  25. Agree, Reus is the player that would dramatically improve the team and make LFC real contenders, if we payed a dramatically inflated price, he would be worth it. All these other names mentioned are not a patch on Reus. Ok Real Madrid is probably his destination but LFC should put in ALL their efforts to get him.


    He seems to get injured but Lallana is good cover.

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  26. If he is half of what hamann was for us we have a new star.

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  27. J W Henry at Anfield tonight, what's his Attendance to Win ratio?

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  28. Woops, he's just signed a new deal. Hope it's just to get a good fee.

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  29. I'm still hoping to see Wisdom as part of our back three next season.

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  30. He's dead right. The only problem is that it seems Allen is the only one he'll consider to play instead of Lucas.

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  31. Wouldn't hang your hat on Origi.

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  32. What happened to Nick?

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  33. So now that Dortmund are in dire straits he wants to jump ship? No way, you can stay there and play second division.


    When Dortmund were riding high you rejected us. It's not like he is setting the world alight with his dazzling performances.

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  34. they wont be in the second division next year

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  35. A ban. He was critical of Jaimie and so got banned.

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  36. Without Sterling, confirmed?

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  37. Ben Smith saying Sterling is out for the match tonight. I would like to see Markovic playing in attack.

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  38. Pity Rodgers cannot keep his trap shut about the deal. 'Raheem will sign a new deal' is all we have heard Rodgers say for months now.


    Can somebody get Rodgers a muzzle?

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  39. Been wanting them for years but if I've learnt anything, the player that looks the best option from a talent and financial perspective is the last one LFC actually consider going for.
    I'm one of the lucky ones, clamored for Sakho for 4 years before we got him - my record is currently 1 for 32

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  40. Between the derby, the two legs at Bolton and Chelsea away im suprised he wasnt injured a while back! Zero protection from the refs

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  41. I hope not, I love Dortmund!

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  42. Quality. :-)

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  43. You mean like when we were headed up by NGog? or Torres post 2008/9?
    Yeah, right.

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  44. Not exactly living up to his name is he?

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  45. This is a serious question: If we don't agree with the content of your articles or with the way you present some of your opinions, how can we let you know without getting banned?

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  46. He's contracted till 2017
    we haven't got a gun to our head yet. Leave him out for a few games now Studge is back and play Ibe. Sterling needs to play to get his big move...

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  47. Why is EVERYTHING about BR?

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  48. The way Sterling is behaving is a disgrace. Obviously we do not know whats going on behind the scenes but I think its clear hes been offered between 70-100 k a year. He is 20, only 20, won nothing, not remotely the finished article. His final ball is poor, decision making poor and he's greedy. He is at a cross roads. He either accepts the new deal or is sold in the summer to a Chelsea/Madrid and then struggles to get game time. He will of course be rich but could stifle his season. I hope this all changes but I can see him being someone who believes his own hype.

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  49. That's the choice for me. You either trust Allen to do the job of replacing Lucas or Johnson/Lovren/toure (when he's available) to replace Can, allowing him to step in for Lucas. Allen has proved unable to do this job in the past, but I would hope Lovren could do better in a three with Can there to do the job that Gerrard was doing earlier. If he doesn't he has to find a new club.

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  50. Look around - 99% of people disagree with me. Their comments stay live because they remain civil, and attack the argument.

    Unless I'm hurling insults, or posting articles with zero reasoning/evidence etc, the way I 'present' my opinions is irrelevant: just stick to arguing the football related points.

    The problem is, so many people are used to a certain way of behaving online; they think that sniping, personal insults, belittlement etc are fine, and it's all down to 'free speech'.

    Nonsense. Elsewhere, maybe, but not here. If people want to post on this site, they have to be civil about it, and drop all the other BS, and that means no pointless, sniping comments about the site, the articles, or other posters.

    People who visit here don't want to wade through countless sniping comments, tit-for-tat arguments and/or bitching about the site; they want to engage in discussion, and read the many interesting comments people post here.

    If I have to delete comments and ban people to achieve an environment where people can debate/discuss in a civil manner, then so be it.

    Ultimately, it's simple: this is a site where people can come and advance any football-related opinion they like - no matter how unpopular - without being bullied, belittled and ridiculed. By the same token, any opinion can be vehemently challenged/attacked etc, and people who post here should expect their views to be taken apart/challenged.

    This should only happen in a civil manner, though. It is perfectly possible to attack someone's argument without sniping, ridicule etc, and if people can't do that, then they're on the wrong site.

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  51. I'm a fan of Rodgers. I'm sure he knows what fantastic potential Can has, but I think he has a bit of a blind spot when it cones to appreciating how important the defensive midfielder role is. He nearly let Lucas go and he didn't try and sign Song because he thought he could fit Gerrard's old legs into that role...

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  52. Yea I've noticed the polls tend to go the same way as the article they're attached to

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  53. Well I won't argue on all the points because after all this is your site and you do what you want.

    But I just don't understand how you can say "the way I present my opinions is irrelevant, just stick to arguing the football related points"... That is borderline despotic.
    Your content is public and every single aspect of it should be open to criticism, otherwise make it a private blog where it's visitors would have to sign an agreement stating they can only discuss such or such point.


    I visit this site often and on many occasions you just don't seem to be able to handle somebody attacking your views in a constructed manner, picking out several flaws in the construction of your argument or judging your perception unfair and hazardous. Adam Griffin notably comes to mind.

    And for me the fact that you only had "I'll make whatever assumptions I like" to Nick's comment is another sign of that.

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  54. Who or what does sterling think he is, he's a 20 year old who has obvious talents in the game and can be a top top player but he isn't there yet. Yes he's having an impact but not enough to warrant him thinking he's te dogs b****x. If he wants to go to spain and sit on the bench for three years until cristiano wanes and still even no garuntee of any playing time, carra says he reminds him of Owen, well sterling needs to talk to Owen about moving to real madrid might open his eyes a little bit and bring him down from cloud coo coo land.

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  55. I think we should break the bank and sign Christian Eriksen to replace Gerrard. Gutted when we didn't get him

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  56. Sturridge is old enough now, and has had the experiences in the past to know how lucky he is to have come to Liverpool at the right time, like the aligning of the planets. Sterling is just a young boy, and his agent could be the one who is greedy, please don't write the kid off as a merc so soon; there could be other things going on behind the scenes. Besides, he would get into any of the elite team squads anyway, except maybe PSG.

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  57. Vyshakh Surreal Rv5:28 pm, February 10, 2015

    I said so in the article with the poll, I say so again. DS is UNEQUIVOCALLY out most important player WHEN HE IS FIT.

    However, when he is not, RS IS. There is no two ways about it and no second opinion about it. This is smear campaign has to stop.

    And I am not saying he is our most important ATTACKING player right now, HIS STATS ARE!
    https://twitter.com/SkySportsNewsHQ/status/564802047254740992/photo/1

    Just have a look.
    Do I agree with all the talk going on about how he is worth more than 100k a week? NO.


    Do I think He is the one the team is relying on the most so far this campaign, and BY DEFINITION, making him our most IMPORTANT by USAGE and OUTPUT ? ABSO- fing- LUTELY!


    It is sad Liverppol are relying on him to the extent we have had to this season, but he hasn't faltered and the recent run in from has been in part thanks to him, or Marvelous #10, LUCUS in FORM, CAN in defence and a formation that works.
    Take one of this four factors out and a win turns into a draw.

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  58. 120k a week does not reflect his importance, he has scored nine goals in 35 apps how does that warrant 120k a week? I'm sorry but his performances this season deserve. Salary of around 90k a week the extra 30k is just ridiculous and greedy, when he's hitting 20 a season getting us into the top four then yes give him his demands, otherwise sell him to the highest bidder and nurture ibe into becoming what his potential is showing us he can be

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  59. Sterling is a fantastic player. Fast, skillful, two footed, can score and create goals, can play very well in a number of positions and is sought after by some of the world's current top teams all at the age of 20! No offence Steve, but I'm glad you're not one of our scouts 😄

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  60. That loyalty can change very quickly when Real Madrid show some serious interest, but I hope you're right and they follow the lead of Reus (whom I have even more respect for now he's stood by Dortmund) when the time comes.

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  61. I agree with your sentiment, but the problem is we'd devalue him and push him to an exit that he's not necessarily aiming for. I've said before, I would have happily paid him the 100k per week he was after at the start of the season. I don't agree with Jaimie saying because he's 20 he shouldn't command that sort of salary, because if someone else is willing to pay it, that's the only reality that matters. Also, I think we were paying to add in a release clause, so that should cost us more if we want it.

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  62. Has the opposite affect on me these days ;-)

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  63. My digits are crossed on any option. Really worried about how any of them will play.

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  64. He can have Luis's (my boxer)

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  65. Don’t know about you,
    But I rarely agree with Jamie, occationally I do agree spot on. I take his view as a part in my opinion, but he rarely changes my view; I make my own judgement watching the team we all love.
    ie
    Skrtel - fantastic
    Sakho - Promising, like him
    Can - Next Gerrard!
    Marcovic - Iĺl give him a chance, looks good at times! :)
    Hendo - sub standard this season
    Gerrard - well... Gerrard
    Lucas - integral! Very important!
    Moreno - Has been good, starting to look exhausted
    Coutinho - WOW! Cant miss a game with him!
    Sterling - Still needs time to develop, devastating finishing, crying at times
    Sturridge - our only natural striker, humble and loyal - gifted - ours
    Ibe - our next hero, will be even better than Sterling :)
    YNWA

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  66. This is shocking he has been offered £1M a week, Henry's wife and BR's youngest child yet even that is not enough for him. He should be dropped immediately and never play for our great club again. We must show him that LFC epitomise all that is good .

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  67. He needs to do something about the assists

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  68. Just look at the latest TV deal for your answer. With that much money floating around who should get it?


    I personally would rather watch Sterling etc rather than BR, Ayres and Henry.

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  69. Sterling need to learn how to pass, Coutinho too.

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  70. Thanks Vyshakh, I've been saying the same thing. It's a witch hunt!

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  71. We can still buy him but i gather it will be for a lot more than originally stated.

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  72. the problem is one of liverpools own making when you have players like johnson and co on mega money...sterling will look at sturridges wages and how much he actually plays and all of a sudden 75/100 g doesn't seem that great .....dont shoot the messenger but the fact is he is our best player

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  73. Very good point about Johnson, and probably other similar players, wages. Very easy situation to imagine isn't it.
    Whether he's our "best" player and if we can afford to play hard ball with him is quite a tricky one I think.
    Being honest I think we'll probably end up offering him wages close to what he wants with a big fat by out fee to protect the investment. Whether that's the right thing to do or not, I feel, will be outweighed by the perception of being a club that doesn't pay reasonable wages in comparison to other top clubs and sells their best players.

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