3 Jul 2015

Transfer Stunner: Liverpool chase 'genius €45m playmaker who'll sign for £160k-a-week. Priority?

In February, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers spent several days in Italy on 'club business' in an alleged bid to lay the 'groundwork' for signing Roma star Miralem Pjanic. Rodgers reportedly held a meeting with Roma, but Pjanic later claimed that he'd personally had no contact with LFC. Speculation has cooled over the last few months, but new reports suggest that Liverpool are back in for the Bosnian playmaker.

According to Italian newspaper Tutto Mercato today:

* Liverpool and Manchester United are set to battle it out of for Pjanic.

* Roma have slapped a €45m transfer fee on the player in a bid to ward off interest.

In a recent interview, Roma President James Pallotta confirmed that Pjanic is for sale, when he told reporters:

"We're businessmen. If someone comes in with a stupid number for a player, you have to listen to it. You can't just say no, no matter what"

Pjanic reportedly wants £160k-a-week to sign for Liverpool, and if the Reds give him that, the mercenaries at Anfield will inevitably come out of the woodwork at some point and demand parity (*cough* Sterling).

Some info about Pjanic, described by Roma coach Rudi Guede during the past season as a 'genius':

* Central midfielder, who can also play right wing.

* 18 goals/33 assists in 144 apps for Roma (Goal/assist every 2.8 games).

* This season: 5 goals/10 assists in 46 apps.

* Passing accuracy: 91%

* Current contract expires in 2018.

* Speaks 5 languages: Luxembourgish, French, English, German and Italian.

* Studies sport and physical education at the University of Sarajevo.

Last season, Pjanic scored a wonder-goal against Milan, prompting Guede to describe him as 'maradona-esque'.


Italy legend Francesco Totti is also a huge fan, and in a recent interview, he raved:

"Pjanic is our little prince, our Principino. I always liked him...both for the way he plays and the rapport we forged. I have a weakness for truly strong players.”

As noted yesterday, if Liverpool sign another top-class central midfielder, I just don't see how Emre Can is going to get regular game-time in his preferred position.

If Jordan Henderson is - as expected - promoted to captain, then he'll play most games, and a player who costs €45m is not going to sit on the bench all season.

Is Pjanic worth €45m and £160K a week?




Author: Jaimie K


66 comments:

  1. I'm not particularly enthused with this news about Pjanic. He is a good player and is a deep lying Central Midfielder but what we need is a dedicated Defensive Midfielder (Or in Rodgers' mind, another Central a Midfielder who can press effectively) and Pjanic is not that guy.

    I was hoping to be able to get Illaramedi as our DM but I think Rodgers is going in another direction. What I am assuming is that Rodgers is trying to negate the need for a DM by utilising three high-energy midfielders to press the opposition, a bit like Chile attempted in the Copa America.

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  2. ...'genius' huh...? five languages huh.....?..


    ...so that's €9 millions of sweet euros per separate dialect.....


    ...so, then, let's get him to give up one maybe two...or just give em back...or give him shock therapy so he forgets at least two...remember we're paying him lots of googly monies 'cos he's a 'genius'...so if he's less of a genius maybe we can persuade them to sell for less.....


    ...or maybe roll steven hawking up next to him so he 'looks thick' and not at all like a 'genius' and maybe we can drive the rate down to perhaps a few pence.....just a little thought...


    ...no.....I don't have heat stroke......and yes...I'm being serious... 8-/

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  3. Agreed on three high energy midfielders, especially if those three would be Can-Hendo-Milner and in exactly that order

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  4. Really mate, why al the ........ ?

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  5. ...so many other issues to debate orme mate......

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  6. ..wind, water or out? ;-)

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  7. swap him for Can-Hendo-Milner any time ;)

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  8. I think,that we need DM very urgently,Illaramendy with 91% successful passes is right man for us.Also the price 15 mil. is acceptable.

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  9. Well looks like City should hopefully be back for sterling. They have had there FFP restrictions lifted.

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  10. Leave Pjanic where he is and get Illaramendi. Sharpish!!

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  11. Is Sharpish akin to Luxembourgish?

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  12. I think we need DM,Illaramendi is good enough for us with 91% successful passes.The price 15 mil.is acceptable.

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  13. Figured as much.

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  14. You must be very unpopular at orgies ;-)
    (and, yes, my joke - such as it is - is made in full awareness of the poll-pole homonym).

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  15. I like it, it makes him sound enigmatic and a bit creepy... like he's talking really quietly... just whispering really... in the corner... of your room.... just.... quietly standing... watching you sleep....

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  16. Yes, he can speak Luxembourgish, French, English, German and Italian, but is he able to bark in any of them?

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  17. ...softly stroking your hair whilst taking measurements for his new person suit.

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  18. Ian Ayre: "We can still afford to sign the top players"

    Erm...

    ...so why aren't we?

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  19. Ian Ayre: "Our transfer policy is sustainable"

    Transfer policy example 1: Sebastian Coates.

    Bought for £7 million
    Sold for £2 million
    Net Loss = £5 million + £X hundred thou/million on wages.

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  20. Because most top players want to play in the CL

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  21. Remind me who brought Coates again

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  22. Still waiting for that LFC standard striker to take the heat off Sturridge and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, keep us relevant during Daniels AWOL periods...of which there seem to be many.

    I hope to god FSG aren't going to try to placate us disgruntled lifeblood of the club with just adding Origi and Ings after last year.

    Liverpool FC deserve a bit better than a league wide liability like Origi was last year and a player from a Championship team imho

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  23. Well if we had a half decent Manager we have a potentially great striker in Balo.

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  24. Haha, good edit, I wholly concur!

    I'm still annoyed at last year. We got our noses in front of the Red Scum for the first time in how many years?

    Then proceed to invest over £100 million in players worth a whole let less than that...
    ...while utd spend their way straight back ahead of us again. Can't see us overtaking them under our current "brains trust" hence, annoyed at them!

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  25. Not convinced by Balo...

    ...but 1 quintillion per cent convinced by BR, just not in a good way : (

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  26. Illa for £15 million really would be a snip, no?

    I guess that's why we're not interested...too good a deal...

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  27. Ghost of Suarez8:40 pm, July 03, 2015

    In a word...no!

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  28. Most Europeans speak 5 languages. Or, at least most educated, north west Europeans do.

    Dated a Dutch girl when I was a teenager. She spoke 5 langauges.

    Being educated in Britain, I only spoke the one....
    ...unless you count "the language of love" ; )

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  29. Poor old Stephen Hawking...

    Wouldn't surprise me if he ditched the wheelchair and tried walking in an attempt to attract less ridicule... ; )

    (Just kidding, of course)

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  30. I once saw a drunken Mancunian teenage girl do all three simultaneously ; )

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  31. Whatever propelled Ian Ayre to jet to Chile,complete a deal without any hassles to get Firmino should ..help us complete this seasons transfers...I noticed that there is a real shift from the buys Rodgers made before...Concerning the above subject matter,we don't need him just as we don't need Benteke....

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  32. Firmino...might play left back soon..lol!!!

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  33. Example 2 and 3- Syarwz and Sterling. I won't do the math...

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  34. What morons would pay a player 160k a week for a goal/assist every 2.8 games?

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  35. ....oh how much of a truism it really is when it was said 'each person views a painting in his own terms'...ie..you see what you wanna see...


    ....people, it's called pausing and breathing...


    ....enigmatic...wow...! ....creepy...hahahahahahaaaaaaaa, fell off my chair...thanks for that...hahahahahaaaa

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  36. I don't think we need him but please don't say we don't need the player becuse of the stats.

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  37. ...hahahahahahaaaaaaaaa...!


    ...I shall be henceforth known as DinMan the Hannibal........ ;-)

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  38. I get it now, you rest your pinky on the keyboard........

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  39. ...there are literally so many visions going through my very sick mind right now but I shall resisit the temptation to relay them here...for risk of being straight-jacketed and taken away.....


    ...'pinky'....heheheheeeee....

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  40. ...hey hug kiss you reckon we'll have the first 1 quintillion pound player....?


    ...you reckon it'll be Joe messi-xavi Allenaldo.....?

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  41. ..hey come on bro...look on the bright side....we've got a very green grassy pitch......

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  42. Liverpool need this type of player. They haven't somebody who can run a game since Alonso left for Real

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  43. Yes I agree Arsenal have a plethora of players that play that role

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  44. Stand by for ecamples 4 through 23...

    Just kidding.

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  45. The way the American economy is going, we may soon be buying 1 quintillion dollar players

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  46. We do have an absolute fuckton of money though.

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  47. It's a universal language like esperanto

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  48. If I'm not mistaken the Italian league produced more goals per game than the English and Spanish leagues. Not bad for a bankrupt league that's supposed to be boring. I love the transfer speculation and take most of it with a pinch of salt. But, think we really need to concentrate on the club from the bottom up and look at how the youngsters are coached because there seems to be a great disparity between potential and the first team. Why can't we coach our own players like this?

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  49. Would be a class addition to the squad but a cm is not a priority. A striker is. I'd love it if we got Volland and El Sharaawy. Two technical, mobile forwards with excellent work rate.
    Sell on Ballotelli Lambert and Borini and we should raise about 30m which would go along way to getting those two lads.
    If we end up selling Sterling for 50m then we could afford to go after Pjanic and maybe a better 1st choice keeper.
    We should probably move Allen, Markovic, and lovren too to help keep the costs down and because of all the players who won't get regular football, these have the best resale value.

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  50. This guy only makes sense if Henderson is moved back or if markovic and Allan's are traded. This feels odd. We need two strikers not twenty play making mids.

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  51. Yokohama Liverpool Fan12:53 am, July 04, 2015

    It's a little surprising he can't speak Bosnian???

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  52. Yokohama Liverpool Fan12:56 am, July 04, 2015

    Anyone think Aranguiz will be good signing!?
    A high energy MF who has good tactical awareness, diatribution and tackling ability.

    Would be an upgrade on Allen.

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  53. Get rid from Christian Benteke.Just get sign Gonzalo Higuin and Alexandre Lacazette,LFC will become complete strong team.They will ready to compete for next season.I believe...

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  54. My thoughts exactly!

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  55. Didn't Higuain cost 55 mil? If Pjanic is someone we would actually pay 45mil for, why wouldn't we get Higuain for a little more, and fill a more pressing need?

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  56. Pieter Engelbrecht8:10 am, July 04, 2015

    allen due for new contract grrrrrrrrr

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  57. He a genius, Ming also a multi lingual genius.... 3 more and we can enter University Challenge.

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  58. We still haven't replaced Alonso, and Pjanic can be our guy.

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  59. Pjanic is a massive upgrade on hendo,can or milner . 45m is insane but if we can get him for 30m it would be amazing . Can would be the sub and thats ok with me .. we need a decent bench.. look at our rivals . its a long season

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  60. I totally agree. Sorry for the delayed reply.


    You're completely correct. If either Can or Hendo - or anybody - need to be rotated for the improvement of the team, so be it. We need quality in depth, as you say.

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