rgk_lfc

A few years ago, he was considered Klopp's top choice as a replacement for Mane and Salah. I do believe LFC reached out to Leicester but the price was too expensive at that time. Then we moved on to other targets and finally ended up with Diaz. I am not surprised at common targets - Barnes, Thuram, Kone - being linked to both of us as I believe some of the player analysts who used to work for LFC have now moved on to work at NUFC. Dan Ashworth and Michael Edwards are close friends and I am sure the team they assembled has a lot of overlaps in terms of the type of players they look for. Around 2015-2017, we had Sterling and Ibe in our youth team. When you looked at attributes - pace, physicality, dribbling ability, shot-taking - Ibe was significantly better than Sterling. However, Sterling had a significantly better career as he was able to put together his attributes more effectively on the pitch. Barnes, in some way, reminds me of Sterling. He has a lot of attributes at a good to very good level but what he is really good at is putting together his strengths to make the whole, greater than the sum of the parts. I have not followed Barnes in the last year and a half but he impressed me when he broke through at Leicester. Also, there was an interesting comment from one of the analysts on Twitter that the more modern clubs are now buying players based on attributes rather than positions and trusting the coaching to mold them. Mane, a right winger became a left winger and striker. Salah, a left winger became a right winger. Gini, an attacking midfielder became a defensive midfielder. Plenty of such examples, actually I would say even more, in City. Gordon is similar, in my opinion. I posted about him a couple of months ago in the Gordon post. Given the fact that we share analysts who have worked for each other, as an outsider, looking at your transfer purchases quickly without any deep thought, the first thing which comes to mind is that aspect - emphasis on what he brings to the pitch on terms of strengths rather than traditional aspects such as what positions does he play etc.

Very difficult to say one way or the other. He was definitely not a success given his reputation and definitely not a flop either. The constant injuries meant that we could never see him in full flow. He was aesthetically a very pleasing footballer to watch, silky touch, skills on the ball, passing, etc. So when he was on song, he gave us moments when you jump out of the sofa and clap at what he did. To a certain extent, I also think it is not his fault. I am not sure such footballers fit Klopp's midfield ethos. Klopp's midfielders are skillful (not at his level, obviously) but are more physical. He didnt quite fit the template. You can see Klopp going back to his trusted template this season in our midfield purchases. Another aspect I admire him for is his attitude. He has won the lot multiple times (treble twice, CL three times), and at no point did he show any airs. He joined the club and got right into it, embraced the city, the club, the youth team etc. Great person to have in your squad. Very Rafa like in the sense that he immediately got it.

Thiago Alcantara rumored to be in negotiation with Al Ahli

I know you are not aiming at me personally. I come here as an individual and not as a representative of LFC fans. I am on record here congratulating you all when the ownership change went through.

Released Milner, Ox, and Keita over the summer. Thiago has one year left on his deal, and the club has indicated that his contract will not be renewed. There have been rumors that Barcelona is interested in Thiago. After Szobo and Mac Allister, I would be surprised if we were in for both Thuram and Lavia unless Thiago is definitely leaving.

I just want to point out that I avoid participating in such discussions. This is your home, and you come on here to let off steam and legitimate issues against other clubs and that includes LFC. I enjoy the discussion here. I enjoy getting the views of fans of another club which I respect, even if some of them are anti-LFC. And unless I have something to contribute positively, I avoid posting.

Kone is out with a knee injury. The return date is unknown but guesses are it might be as long as six months. I am betting Kone's hope of getting a transfer this window and potentially the next is over.

My best guess, if this transfer goes through, is that he is going to be the Salah replacement when the inevitable 100 or 200 million bid from the Saudi league arrives. We bought Diaz and then sold Mane, Gakpo before we released Firmino, and now Szoboszlai is the Salah replacement.

There is always something to spend it on. Another vacation home or two, an extra flat or two in the best cities in the world, alimony payments, paintings, trips to the upper atmosphere.

Midfielders who can score and assist in double digits are always going to cost more than 50 million. Add to that the English tax, he is young, can press and follow instructions. The reported wages of 250-300K per week seem high if true. But Pochettino (wanted to keep him), Klopp, Tuchel, and Ten Hag wanted him and they are no mugs.

Emery, to me, strikes as a diet Rafa. Obsessive, attention to detail, works harder than practically everyone at the club, and has a very pleasant personality if you get to know him. His teams don't play the most aesthetically pleasing football, but they are tactically so well drilled and you know you are going to get a game. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but I don't think he will win La Liga (like Rafa did with Valencia) or the CL, but he is just below that level, which is a great place to be.

The key is what is the real Arsenal - the one which gave an impressive title challenge for the first 30 to 32 games or the one which collapsed in the last 6-8 games. Assuming last season's title challenge is not a one-off, it is very difficult to find value-for-money signings when you are at that level. You have to overpay to generate that delta which helps you overcome that gap between finishing second and first. And that gap is particularly hard competing against City and Pep. Everyone had exactly the same comments when we overpaid for VVD. To be fair, I was also thinking WTF are we doing? But we needed that investment to help us win the CL and PL.

The great Ancelotti once commented that Chelsea is a graveyard for strikers not named Drogba, and one should never rate a striker based on how they performed for Chelsea.

And Bayern on an average score 3 goals per game in the Bundesliga. I do think Kane can get close to that 41 number, if not equal or beat it.

Bayern scored 92 goals in 34 games this season, and I think that is the lowest in the last few years. They normally score nearly 100 goals. The Spurs scored 70 goals in 38 games. I am not trying to downplay Lewa who is a great player. But I think Kane is not that far behind. Sometimes we are guilty of underrating EPL players. Kane's record in the premier league is insane. I think he is as good and there is a slight chance that he could be better than Lewa. I would be sad to see him leave Spurs as he is a genuinely great striker and I love watching such players. However, if he moves to Bayern, I wouldn't bet against him scoring late 30s number of goals per season, atleast.

@joeyt, @Manxst I meant goals scored in a season. I think he has a decent shot at getting close to 41. He has been putting up close to Lewa numbers in a much stronger league and playing for a much weaker side relative to the opposition. As he has done that he has been continuously developing into an effective playmaker.

I think he will get close to breaking the Bundesliga scoring record and has a decent shot of breaking it also. Kane is that good.

I will be very surprised if that is true. All the reliable journos are saying our targets are Thuram or Kone or someone in that price range and if the money stretches, maybe a central defender who can play right full-back.

Also, they might not be focusing on the traditional European footie fan. Visit Saudi was one of the big sponsors of the IPL. Tons of ads about Saudi tourism in Indian media. I have heard from a couple of friends that it is the same in a couple of other South East Asian countries. A lot of folks in India, Sri Lanka, and other South East Asian countries work in middle eastern countries at all levels - construction workers, shopkeepers, engineers, doctors, and teachers. Places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other middle eastern countries are increasingly viewed as holiday destinations for people from these areas. The Qatar world cup, for example, was very popular with people from these countries. For the first time, people from this region got a chance to attend world cup games and see the stars. Billions of people live in these countries. Their economies are growing, and most of these countries will have GDPs comparable to EU nations in a decade or so. We are talking about a huge body of people with disposable incomes, who love football, but without the deep attachment, someone like you will have to European clubs. Maybe this entire move from Saudi is aimed at them? Like a middle-class family in India or Vietnam, vacation in Saudi, enjoy fine cuisine, new malls, and the weekend afternoon, watch Ronaldo and Salah and Benzema play footy live?

Purslow is excellent on the commercial side of things. Problem is that he likes to meddle in the footballing side and loves associating himself with the old-boy English professional footballing network. He was the main driver in sacking Rafa and appointing Hodgson. He was apparently boasting to everyone about how he managed to convince Joe Cole to reject other clubs and sign for us on a free transfer. If he had just stuck to the commercial side of operations in which he had strong credentials, successes, and connections - he would probably still be at Liverpool.

One week ago, my guess would have been Mac Allister plus one midfielder. But given the links to so many midfielders, we might buy two more. LFC usually doesn't have this level of "information" leaked about Thuram and Kone unless we are serious about both. We are losing Ox, Keita, and Milner. Thiago leaves in a year. Hendo and Fabinho cannot play more than one game per week at a decent level. Carvalho will be leaving on loan. Bajcetic and Jones should get more games this year. The other outlier is Harvey Elliott, who is not a traditional Klopp midfielder and has been overtaken by Curtis Jones in the squad preference list in the second half of the season. If we buy two more midfielders, I wouldn't be surprised if Thiago is allowed to leave (Barca is interested) this year. We are also linked to several central defenders who can play fullback if needed. Matip will most likely be allowed to leave this summer, as it looks like we are committing to TAA playing an inverted fullback/CM formation. There is a limited role for Matip in that formation, and his contract is up next year anyways.

I read an article couple of years ago which gave a rough outline. If I find it, I will post it. It appears the first point of contact is the approximate wage range, and this is often done informally through the agent. If the wage expectations dont match, then the clubs don't bother anymore. With respect to the actual bid, how you structure the payment has a bigger impact than the total amount. For example, we bought Jota only because Wolves were willing to spread the payment over multiple years. For Diaz and Mac Allister, we paid a big lumpsum upfront. Diaz's lumpsum was to help Porto with meeting FFP. Not quite sure why Brighton needed a significant amount upfront. Maybe that is the way they do business. With Coutinho, Barca paid a significant amount upfront. LFC then "sold" the rest of the Barca debt to a finance company which paid LFC a lumpsum, and then Barca paid the finance company. Not sure why that happened, and it might potentially be at Barca's request due to their finances. The other thing I read is that free transfers are sort of very expensive due to initial bonus's, high wages etc and better to stay away unless the player is a special talent.

Which one? Outside of Joyce, Pearce, Bascombe (sometimes), and Neil Jones (sometimes) - I wouldn't recommend any other sources. The midfielders on our radar, according to the reliable ones, are - Thuram & Kone (in touch with both of their agents and clubs), Gravenberch (player interested and we are interested, but Bayern don't want to sell), Lavia and Veiga (admiring from afar but no contact yet).

Makes sense.

https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/06/john-stones-centre-midfield-centre-back-hybrid-role/ https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/walker-cannot-play-inverted-full-back-citys-system-guardiola-2023-04-08/ They gave us a footballing lesson in the defeat two to three months ago. Klopp pretty much adapted that system and played TAA in the hybrid inverted full back role and our performances have been significantly better since then.