January 2018 Transfer Thread

[Pureblood]

It is still not his natural position.

 

https://www.transfermarkt.com/roberto-firmino/profil/spieler/131789

 

Natural position, schmatural schmosition. 

[Bjornebye]

Not arsed about us bringing in an attacking player this window. I'd much rather a decent keeper or cm

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

Carroll to Chelsea may be off due to an ankle injury.

 

Talk that they're looking at Crouch on a short term deal instead...

[Pureblood]

We're not signing anyone.  If you accept this simple truism it is good for your inner Zen.  

[an tha]

Carroll to Chelsea may be off due to an ankle injury.

 

Talk that they're looking at Crouch on a short term deal instead...

That makes a funny joke....

 

But it is nowhere near as funny as the fact that it isn't a joke!

[Jockey]

We're not signing anyone. If you accept this simple truism it is good for your inner Zen.

Testify!

 

Then watch Death in Paradise.

[Evil_Ways]

To be fair Crouch is probably better than Carroll.

 

 

Anyway Aubameyang, is there even a credible link?

What defense could cope with the speed of Salah, Mane and Aubameyang?

Fuckin hell.

[TheHowieLama]

We should definitely bring in another striking option.

 

We should definitely bring in another player with Coutinhos qualities. 

 

We should probably do each independent of the other.

[Ne Moe Imya]

moof, a good 98% of the time I agree with you, and I totally understand your reluctance to break up something that has been working so well, but we have zero quality outside of those front thee. We have very little flexibility outside those thee. We need depth and options, especially with Sturridge being dead or broken or sold or whatever. These top players don’t come around too often.

 

I fully agree with this.

 

However, I don't think Aubameyang is the answer at all. If Firmino goes down with an injury, assuming Sturridge isn't an option (and all evidence suggests Jurgen doesn't see him as one), then either Mane or Salah can step in. It's not ideal but I honestly think Salah played more centrally would be fine.

 

If I were looking for one player this January it would be a wide player. We saw last season how poor we were when we depended entirely on Mane for pace/goals from out wide. Adding Salah has made a massive difference.

 

Right now our depth behind Mane/Salah out wide is ... a bunch of central players who can play out wide but are worse there. Lallana, Wijnaldum, Ox, Firmino, even Ings and Woodburn - all of them are better in the centre of the park. So if Mane were to go down with an injury right now, we'd be playing one of them out wide and hoping for the best. Not a good idea, we are a much worse team in that scenario.

 

I'd be asking Edwards if he couldn't find a poor man's Salah or Mane in the database that could come in as a short-term depth option, ideally one young enough to possibly challenge those two some day. Not someone who would break the bank; if we want to keep our powder dry to really get 2 big-money players in the summer I'm fine with that. But a wide option could be a really valuable insurance policy right now.

 

Maybe Quincy Promes? Or Gelson Martins, if we could get him for less than the ridiculous £50m rumours? Or with the collapse of the football economy in China maybe we could look at Teixeira again?

 

Not sure what the answer is. But I do think if we're going to do business and we don't think the goalkeeper we want is available in January, then the option that makes the most sense in terms of a marginal gain over what we already have is an insurance policy for Salah and Mane. Other than that, I think most of the ones being talked about don't really move the needle much in terms of the rest of our season. But if one of those two went down with an injury a backup plan like Promes could be the difference between slumping to 5th and holding on to 3rd/4th and maybe giving us a chance at a trophy in one of the cups.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

If Lemar really favours a move to us, then I cant see us signing any stop-gaps for the wide role. Klopp showed with VVD and Keita that he's happy enough to get his man late if necessary rather than accept a substitute. Lemar ticks the box of wide player who can move centrally.

 

I think we'll keep our options open in case any deal can be struck late in the window, or perhaps with one eye on striking a deal now for the summer, but it seems we're willing to roll the dice with the squad we have. Can't say I'm overjoyed at the idea, but if AOC's upturn in form shows anything, it's that Klopp can get a tune out of the players at his disposal. We might skirt closer to fourth than second, but this squad should be capable of getting CL football again next season.

[goose]

I fully agree with this.

 

However, I don't think Aubameyang is the answer at all. If Firmino goes down with an injury, assuming Sturridge isn't an option (and all evidence suggests Jurgen doesn't see him as one), then either Mane or Salah can step in. It's not ideal but I honestly think Salah played more centrally would be fine.

 

If I were looking for one player this January it would be a wide player. We saw last season how poor we were when we depended entirely on Mane for pace/goals from out wide. Adding Salah has made a massive difference.

 

Right now our depth behind Mane/Salah out wide is ... a bunch of central players who can play out wide but are worse there. Lallana, Wijnaldum, Ox, Firmino, even Ings and Woodburn - all of them are better in the centre of the park. So if Mane were to go down with an injury right now, we'd be playing one of them out wide and hoping for the best. Not a good idea, we are a much worse team in that scenario.

 

I'd be asking Edwards if he couldn't find a poor man's Salah or Mane in the database that could come in as a short-term depth option, ideally one young enough to possibly challenge those two some day. Not someone who would break the bank; if we want to keep our powder dry to really get 2 big-money players in the summer I'm fine with that. But a wide option could be a really valuable insurance policy right now.

 

Maybe Quincy Promes? Or Gelson Martins, if we could get him for less than the ridiculous £50m rumours? Or with the collapse of the football economy in China maybe we could look at Teixeira again?

 

Not sure what the answer is. But I do think if we're going to do business and we don't think the goalkeeper we want is available in January, then the option that makes the most sense in terms of a marginal gain over what we already have is an insurance policy for Salah and Mane. Other than that, I think most of the ones being talked about don't really move the needle much in terms of the rest of our season. But if one of those two went down with an injury a backup plan like Promes could be the difference between slumping to 5th and holding on to 3rd/4th and maybe giving us a chance at a trophy in one of the cups.

My thoughts exactly, only expressed better.

[WhiskeyJar]

My thoughts exactly, only expressed better.

The thing that makes us so impressive on the counter pressing is work rate and pace. You need the work rate to continually press and pace to close down faster.

 

Having said that, all of our players can press for 90 minutes and they all work well together. I honestly believe that should Mane or Salah get injured we have enough pace in the team to stand in for them. If that's the Ox, Lallana or Woodburn then so be it, they are not exactly slow, they are not frightening quick which will hurt in counter attacking situations.

 

It would be great if we could have a like for like player but we don't. Buying is not an option either as you would need at least 30million. That player will also need to play back up, not an easy thing to do.

 

We are fine, we just need a number 10 and a goalkeeper.

[Boss]

I agree with the sentiments of the thread but i think Aubameyang is the exception. He knows Klopp's system inside out. He's as fast as Salah and Mane so fits the counter attack. He can press. He's clinical, which is what we need against teams that set up not to lose against us.

 

He's going at a reduced price because of character flaws (Suarez). He's barely been injured more than a few weeks in his entire career. He can play as an inside forward because he started out as a winger. He's also coming from the league most similar to the Premier League.

 

I'd be surprised if he didn't hit 20 goals a season in the league for the next 3-4 years. For £53m, in a league where Danny Drinkwater is a £40m player, it's a no brainer.  

[3 Stacks]

Auba is a bad fit for our front line. Salah and Mane already have high shot numbers and if you add another selfish player like Auba, you have an unbalanced front line. The Lemar link makes far more sense to me. 

 

And Auba scores a tonne, but if people think he's clinical, they'll be in for a bad surprise. 

[Numero Veinticinco]

A bad fit! I think he'd be perfect.

[3 Stacks]

A bad fit! I think he'd be perfect.

 

Then why aren't we in for him? If Klopp wanted him, he'd be here already, given he knows him inside out and Auba is desperate for a move.

 

The answer is that he's a bit of a twat, he's 28 and heavily reliant on his athleticism and because it's just not that good a fit, as I said. 

[Numero Veinticinco]

Then why aren't we in for him? If Klopp wanted him, he'd be here already, given he knows him inside out and Auba is desperate for a move.

 

The answer is that he's a bit of a twat, he's 28 and heavily reliant on his athleticism and because it's just not that good a fit, as I said.

Give my regards to Jurgen next time you speak to him.

[The Guest]

“Another selfish player” 3 stacks? Our boys shoot a lot but I wouldn’t call them selfish.

[dockers_strike]

Klopp loves Bobby that is why.

[Boss]

Then why aren't we in for him? If Klopp wanted him, he'd be here already, given he knows him inside out and Auba is desperate for a move.

 

The answer is that he's a bit of a twat, he's 28 and heavily reliant on his athleticism and because it's just not that good a fit, as I said. 

 

That's probably the biggest issue. When have FSG bought a 28 year old for big money?

[3 Stacks]

“Another selfish player” 3 stacks? Our boys shoot a lot but I wouldn’t call them selfish.

 

They definitely are selfish and it isn't a bad thing. In contrast, Firmino has comparatively low shot numbers to other strikers and it suits our attack perfectly. 

 

I think a Mane, Auba, Salah frontline would be a bit of a shitshow. You need players that complement eachother not three blinkered speedsters who all focus almost solely on scoring. 

[Unrighteous]

1) Keita isn't signed until next season so not a penny will be handed over until then.

2) In 2.5 years of Klopp being in charge we'd have a net spend of £20m (if I grant you Keita), or to put it another way, slightly more than a Ross fucking Barkley with a dwindling contract. Hey ho.

 

It really doesn't matter if we're 30m in the black or 20m in the red over Klopp's stewardship. Our competition is hundreds of millions of pounds in the red during the same period.

[WhiskeyJar]

Let him rot at Arsenal. Plus i trust Klopp' s judgement. He is not worthy.

[mouse1989]

That's probably the biggest issue. When have FSG bought a 28 year old for big money?

How old was Downing when we signed him? But yeah, valid point

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Warnock's alright and normally talks glowingly about Liverpool.

Warnock's shit and blames Rafa for getting Sheffield United relegated, when all they had to do on the last day was not lose at home to one of the very few teams worse than them.