4 May 2015

Boss raves: £15m Liverpool target is 'better' than Hendo, Gerrard and every other Prem midfielder

Earlier this season, Liverpool were linked with a move for 'excellent' Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph, and with Steven Gerrard leaving this summer, the Villa man is sure to be linked with a move to Anfield again this summer. Delph is one of the major reasons for Villa's resurgence under Tim Sherwood, and according to the ex-Spurs boss, the 25-year old is currently outshining every other midfielder in the country.

Speaking to reporters after Villa's 3-2 victory over, Sherwood raved:

"Fabian Delph - there's not a better midfielder in the country at the moment. He breaks the play up, he carries the ball well and he can pass it. He's got everything to his game and he can score. He's vital for us."

In January, The Mirror claimed that Liverpool are favourites to sign Delph, but ex-LFC boss Roy Evans recently urged the Reds to steer clear of the £15m-rated midfielder. When asked if Liverpool should sign Delph, he tweeted:

"No. I'd rather give some of the youngsters a chance if needed"

Evans' opinion on the matter conflicts with the view of Reds legend Jamie Carragher, who recently hailed the midfielder's 'outstanding' talent, and argued that he deserves a regular place in the England team:

"Delph is playing every week for a big club [and] he gives a side real energy and aggression. Plus, because he is left-footed, offers you nice balance in the middle of the park, while he has strike on him, too"

LFC fans got a good look at Delph during Villa's recent 2-1 FA Cup victory, and in my view, he put in a very good performance, particular in the second half, when Villa had Liverpool on the ropes for long periods of time.

The tabloids have taken great delight in peddling the ludicrous myth that Delph is a potential replacement for Steven Gerrard, but any potential deal is much more palatable if Delph is viewed as a potential replacement for Lucas (or Allen), both of whom are eminently expendable.

There are, admittedly, elements of risk:

* Delph's injury history is a major concern. Over the last four years, he's suffered seven injuries (including a cruciate ligament tear), and spent over 400 days on the sidelines as a result.

* Delph is currently a semi-big fish in a (comparatively) small pond; at LFC, he'd be a small fish in a big pond, and there's always a possibility he'll struggle to deal with the pressure and expectation.

* The burden of coming into the club when Gerrard leaves will be added pressure. The media will inevitably compare any incoming midfielder with the captain, and that will bring added pressure.

Delph signed a new four-and-a-haaf year deal in January, so if Liverpool go in for him in the summer, the club will inevitably have to pay through the nose to seal the deal, but that's par for the course at Anfield these days.

Author: Jaimie K


68 comments:

  1. 15 million hahahahahahahahaha

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  2. Unbelievable! Why do you think that a Liverpool manager can still crook a finger at a player and he will come running to sign a contract?

    Delph could have signed for Liverpool in January and chose to stay at Villa - a side that has beaten Liverpool twice this season.

    He knows that Villa are building and will be a force to be reckoned with next season. Not top four but certainly top eight.

    Liverpool's big pond is drying up fast and you c an longer expect to sign big fish especially as there is no Champions League football on the horizon next year, nor quite likely for a few years to come.

    Take a reality check - Liverpool simply aren't that attractive to top players any longer.

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  3. Ooops...Try again.

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  4. Getting ahead of yourself again eh? A few half decent results and suddenly you're going to climb 10 places. Your previous player of the season turned out to not be up to playing consistently for a top 6 club. Your much vaunted top scorer has scored no more than Ulloa of Leicester
    Nobody here will cry if Delph doesn't come.

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  5. no thankyou. will like to take a look at Kondogbia or possibly Wanyama. we need someone who can sit back and give our other players the license to play with freedom, whilst being solid and effective. we need to prioritise selling sterling and buying a defensive midfielder, a right back, 2 effective world class wingers and a quality striker. doing this we can build


    Geoffrey Kondogbia - DM - £15M (wanyama alternative)
    Memphis Depay - LW - £20M (konoplyanka alternative)
    Pedro Rodriguez - RW - £25M (yarmolenko alternative)
    Martin Montoya - RB - £15M (serge aurier alternative)
    Alex Lacazette - ST - £30M (Higuain alternative)
    total: £105M


    sell sterling to man city, who is playing poorly and holding the club to ransom and reminds me of samir nasri at arsenal when he wanted to go man city for money. Sterling is not who he thinks he is and we should sell now, dont know who he thinks he is but this club much bigger than him. we've had worldies like Suarez. get £50M now. sell borini for £10M
    total:£60M


    i believe once we have wrapped up them signings we should make a even bigger statement and sold sterling and borini, we should make even bigger statement and buy another Striker, possibly Benteke or Vietto. then people will know we mean business and hopefully we can try to lift the title. the PL is not good right now and its there to be won next year. we can rival chelsea for the title if we build the team around Coutinho, around his strengths.


    ----------------------------------------Mingolet
    Montoya---------------Skrtel----------------Sakho----------Moreno
    -----------------------Hendo--------------Kondogbia
    -------Pedro--------------------Coutinho---------------Depay
    -----------------------------------Lacazette


    as we saw against QPR, 4-2-3-1 is our best formation but we just need the right players to play it. the number 10 revels as we saw with coutinho. this the formation chelsea won the title with. they have only lost 3 times in all competitions all season. we need the players and we will challenge.

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  6. Sounds good to me... But just a note, Aurier just officially transferred to PSG.

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  7. Villa On The Rise12:36 am, May 04, 2015

    Seriously, why would Delph sign for the Bin Dippers when he did not even
    consider it when his contract was expiring. The only player of note the
    Bin Dippers have signed off Villa was Downing - and he was sold because
    he was average and we got silly money. Let me guess, LFC are going to sign Delph and Benteke for 20 million and in turn give us Lambert and Johnson...lol...Now get real, neither Benteke or
    Delph will come - end of.

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  8. Villa on the Rise?? Is that before or after relegation?

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  9. Villa On The Rise12:47 am, May 04, 2015

    Yep, I'll accept it's been a bad few years, but we have improved hugely under Sherwood and will continue to do so - it's a shame most Bin Dippers cannot face reality even when it smacking them in the face. You are no longer a club that can imagine they want this or that player and he will come. Hell you could not even get Barry when you were in the champs league.

    We have avoided the drop, and will not be to far off you guys next season. We have a good CEO and Manager - perfect combination for success, can you say the same - lol...

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  10. bertrand alternative, we need alternatives if we cant get our main targets. we need pace and end product around coutinho. not like lallana who missed a sitter after coutinho opened up the game, not the first time, lallana the reason we not in top 4, that miss against United was not acceptable and for £25m his half time substitution was deserved. still though, rather see sterling benched than ibe and against chelsea i want to play


    -----------------------Mingolet
    Can----------Skrtel--------Lovren------Johnson
    ----------------Hendo----------Gerrard
    ------Lallana-----------Coutinho---------Ibe
    --------------------------Lambert

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  11. Happy Birthday, Slippy G!

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  12. Well, Bertrand is a LB...


    And again, agree with the lineup :D

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  13. Better tha Hazard? Fabregas? Silva? Toure? Really?

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  14. Where are all these trolls coming from O.o


    Usually this is a pretty safe site, aside from the odd Dean Jones post.


    There are some deluded fans, but they aren't trolls...

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  15. Well I am confident of this...no Red's fan is wasting time on any Villa site...for any reason.

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  16. With Jon Jones suspended and stripped of his Light Heavyweight title.UFC 187: Anthony Johnson Vs Daniel Cormier.Who's your money on?

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  17. Swap Allen for Delph thats the only way i would accept him.

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  18. Johnson, and get your money on Mac Gregor to slaughter Aldo, UFC 189

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  19. Your dream is to finish top 8 next season (if you are not relegated), enough said.

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  20. "At the moment", and his performance against Toure and Silva, Erikson and Henderson is the evidence cited. It's not being suggested that he is a better player, but merely on current form. Get your head out of your arse your world beater Liverpool squad have performed so poorly that Liverpool fans are calling for Rogers' head one year after you were supposedly fending off interest from Barca lol. The world has moved on since 97 you guy's are no longer relevant.

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  21. I think Anthony Johnson too.For Daniel Cormier to take Johnson down he needs to eat some heavy shots.However unlike the Jones fight earlier this year, DC can't trade and expect to last 5 rounds.
    Whoever gets hit hard by Johnson is in big trouble.His power is real at Light Heavyweight.Look what he did to Alexander Gustafsson.
    Rumble by KO.He'll probably defend successfully until Jon Jones returns.Then we'll have a big showdown.Jones will have a tough test.
    My money has been on Conor McGregor to beat Aldo since i saw him destroy Dustin Poirier.

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  22. Stan Dinaround6:05 am, May 04, 2015

    I could like McGregor if only he kept his filthy mouth shut... His distain for the other fighters is excrutiating to watch....Anyone remeber the movie with Brad Pitt... Snatch... Connor all over.

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  23. Stan Dinaround6:08 am, May 04, 2015

    Force to be reckoned with next season... What are you smoking mate?

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  24. Roy Evans is right - give the kids a chanxce - Rossiter and Williams could be a revelation

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  25. Delph a resounding no. Our best newcomer this season probably Can but Ibe gave him a close run; when you spend 112 million you would expect other names to come to the fore. With this in mind I would agree with Ray and suggest Williams/Rossiter et al, be given a run out next season and save all the dosh for a luxurious platinum plated solid gold, red hot, on fire with after burners striker or two.

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  26. Clearly Delph is not that good , otherwise the top 4 teams would be fighting for him let alone clubs from abroad !

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  27. Yeah they could never beat Liverpool.... oh wait a minute ;-)


    They have some very important supporters too or was that West Ham or Burnley oh well it's someone who likes claret and blue blood

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  28. Like I said in Jan, only on a free. I think he signed himselph out of a move there

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  29. rotchie the red9:27 am, May 04, 2015

    realy???...that's like saying someone from london speaks like a scouser...need to go for a hearing test mate

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  30. It made a certain, if small amount of sense if he was at the end of his contract. Definitely not for anything more though.

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  31. I rate him, but not for stupid money. I agree with a few posts here saying that as an Allen replacement, he'd do well. Lucas replacement? Not solid enough. I actually said to my brother when we played Villa that he does everything Allen does, but better. He's quicker, stronger, more tenacious, better passer, drives the play forward better, better at netting goals and playing nice throughballs. He's not a worldy but he'd be a great squad addition.

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  32. The wasted time it took you to write this? You'll never get it back. 15m is ridiculous and he'll never leave for Liverpool. It would be a backwards move to a trophy less club playing Europe league football. I'd be less worried about signing Delph and more worried about losing Sterling. The kid obviously has ambition to play for a top club.

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  33. Embarassing mate

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  34. Reality calling.

    Here's a little something for you to think about:

    Liverpool's wage bill £145m
    Aston Villa's wage bill: £70m



    It's not Brendan Rodgers' crooked finger you need to worry about. It's Brendan Rodgers' massive hoard of treasure.



    Basically he's Smaug. Sherwood is a dwarf. If he's got something Smaug wants he's going to have it off you one way or another.

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  35. The Owners need to back B Rodgers or a new manager with £70-£80M net spend on players and whatever the manager can get shipping out these dead wood average players off clubs pay roll should also be given to manager to spend: As we are £150-£180m from Challenging Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Man United for the league consistently year in year out and every year these clubs will also strengthen to widen the gap on their rivals.
    The two central Midfielders B Rodgers or the new manager should be bring to club at all costs this summer should be:
    1: An Athletic Mobile Class quality ball playing Defensive Midfielder:
    M Schneiderlin Of Southampton Or Lars Bender Of Bayer Leverkusen should be brought to club for £18-£25M
    2: A World Class dictating and dominating Maestro in centre of midfield who will be able to compete against the best central midfielders in world: Examples: Against the likes of Alonso, Cabaye, Cazorla, Fabregas, Gabi, Herrera, Koke, Kroos, Modric,Pirlo, Pogba, Xavi, Iniesta, Schweinsteiger and Yaya Toure.
    Marquee signing one:
    T Alacantra Of Bayern Munich Or M Verratti Of PSG should be brought to club at all costs for £25-£35M

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  36. Not accent mate...... Who was Brad Pitt?

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  37. It's funny I remember another poster saying that Villa were building someone the last time they beat us twice in a season. He said they would finish above us yhe next season. I wonder where he is now. Wherever it is I imagine the walls were padded.

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  38. Jamie is a sneaky so and so and some how manages to get his site seen by other supporters. Must be a link on twitter or something.

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  39. Sharwood a dwarf? What do you make of Allen?

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  40. Believe it or not ..,Johnson is the only reason why we're not in top 4

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  41. Yes a sap for Allen while buying a proper DM is good business, maybe.

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  42. Great team but dream on, five players there who BR won't be able to sign unfortunately.

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  43. Delph is no world class player but I would take him over Allen. He offers more drive and impetus and if we can get him for less than 10 mil as a replacement for Allen ( not Lucas, mind you), I will be happy. Otherwise, forget about it.

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  44. 'less than 10 mil as a replacement for Allen', lots of players could fall in this bracket, but Delph is not at a standard we need to compete.
    He does a good job for Villa but in two years if we manage CL and are playing Barcelona would you really think he could compete on this level?

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  45. Well, yeah. But I am just saying the scenario if the transfer is to happen, what I would be content with. I do not want to see Delph anywhere near our starting 11 but a squad player for cup games and rotation might not be bad.

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  46. Waste of wage fund, Can is a better option IMO, spend what little we have (relatively) on world class players, we have a squad already, that's what last years transfers were for.

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  47. We should have snap him up in January as backup for potential Gerrard replacement but Rodgers and his deluded committee believes Allen is world class. The ship has sealed

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  48. Hahahahaha wow amazing how people like can speak that way. Well I don't blame people like u. It's the incompetence of the lfc hierarchy to put structures in placr to consistently
    Win trophies.
    But then again
    I should remind you how lfc is one of the clubs in the world that can buy Aston feeder club with out transfer budget alone. I can't stop laughing the only reason u have any players at all is because we don't want anymore players from your club cuz frankly downing really didn't work out.

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  49. Oh I couldn't resist. ....and Aston feeder is...?

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  50. I don't see any of the top 4 teams fighting over that Messi fella, either.

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  51. There must be some way we can persuade PSG to send Blaise Matuidi and Verratti to us.

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  52. The Marquee CM we need is T Alacantara Of Bayern Munich Or M Verratti Of PSG. I would prefer Alacantara as he is better on ball and more classier and mobile. But Verratti is awesome also.
    Think Lars Bender Of Bayer Leverkusen Or M Schneiderlin Of Southampton for £18-£25M will be ideal DM replacement as doubt Matuidi would leave France anytime soon

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  53. Maturities is fantastic.

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  54. LOL Liverpool couldnt afford him - would be a step bakwards too

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  55. Vahe Basmadjian6:50 pm, May 04, 2015

    Here we go again. All these players being connected to a Liverpool move. If FSG are seriously considering changing the manager shouldn'e we wait and see who it is and which players he wants to bring in. Better than Gerrard?......................

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  56. For God's sake, aim higher than Ings or Delph! These guys = mid table, plain and simple. That's said, we need to nuke the following:

    Balo
    Borini
    Aspas
    Allen
    Coates
    Enrique
    Lambert
    Markovic
    Need real strikers who CAN FINISH! We pass but don't penetrate. The only thing most of our guys are good at finishing is a post-game pint! WE NEED RUTHLESS SNIPERS with great work rate and creativity.!

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  57. and sailed!!!!

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  58. This must be a different Delph to the one who only recently signed a new 5 year deal.
    I do find the constant linking of anyone half decent to any media darling club irrespective of fact somewhat tiresome.

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  59. Agreed on both counts. Thiago and LB would be top signings.

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  60. Hasn't this club wasted enough money on buying players from mid to lower level English teams ?
    I can jus a

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  61. The Priority signings this summer need to be top class GK , Top class CB, 2 Top class RB'S , An athletic Mobile Defensive Midfielder, A World class CM and two top class strikers.

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  62. Well i had Rumble down to beat Jon so i cant really bet against him now. DC is a great wrestler but he struggled to wrestle Jon, and Jon isnt even a skilled as Rumble in that department. Hes nowhere near as powerful either. I think if Rumble can do what Jon did and use his reach and keep DC on the outside for most of the fight, DC will gas out again by the third. I'd have Rumble to knock him out then or in the fourth

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  63. Last time i checked Conor McGregor is a regular settled Irishman... Not a pikey... If anyone could be compared to Brad Pitt in Snatch it would have to be an English pikey like Billy Joe Saunders or Tyson Fury. And with them comparisons, we'd all see how wide of the mark every aspect of that character is

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  64. Stan Dinaround5:42 pm, May 05, 2015

    Yep! forgot Tyson Fury, all day long...

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