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Summer 2021 transfer thread.


manwiththestick
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56 minutes ago, joe_fishfish said:

Brighton absolutely love massive grock centre backs. They were playing one at left wing back last season. Nat fits the ball on the defensive side, not sure he passes the ball well enough for Potter, but he was certainly improving that part of his game last season, especially the short 

Dunk and Webster ( sound like old fashioned biscuit makers !!) aren't exactly Beckenbauer but were very solid. 

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So, to go Footy Manager for a minute, the state of play would appear to be:


Sold:

Grujic £10.5m

Awoniyi (imminent) £6.5m

Millar £1m

Grabbara £3m

Total: £21M

 

Actively looking to sell:

Wilson £10-12m

Shaqiri £10-15m

Karius £Packet of Skittles

Ojo £2m

Woodburn £1m

Origi £12-15m

 

Probably looking to sell but not too fussed:

Phillips £12-15m

Williams £10m

Davies £5m

 

Will almost certainly sell but only if we can get a decent offer:

Ox £20-25m

Keita £25m

Minamino £15-20m

 

Unlikely but outside chance:

Hendo - Can't even put a price on what we might ask for him if he went. Fuck knows.

 

Obviously could be out on some of those figures, especially when it comes to Ox, Keita and Minamino since we don't appear to have leaked potential prices to the press, but should be there or thereabouts. 

 

If we can add the ones we are actively looking to sell to the ones already sold then we're probably looking around £60m. Even if Shaqiri or Origi stay but we sell Phillips or Williams then you are probably looking around the same amount received for incomings.

 

That's potentially a lot of outgoings, and I  doubt it will work out that we will sell everyone we want to, but I hope we just cut the asking price and get rid of most of them. With the exception of Phillips all of those players offered fuck all last season. Getting shot of one of Ox, Keita or Taki would be nice and a decent boost to any transfer fund we may have.

 

Of course, we'd have a tiny squad if most of that did come off so at a minimum we'd need a new midfielder, forward and backup right back.

 

I am very bored in work.

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I think people are reading the Jota comparision wrong. Mo was a bit of a journey man player. Basle, chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, yes he had good goal scoring to games ratio but there werent any other big clubs in for him when we started sniffing. Sadio was seen asa bit inconsistent at Southampton.

 

I personally dont see Jota as this 'squad player' some seem to and I dont think the club did, paying upwards of £45m with add ons either. A player of Jota's standard isnt going to be content being a squad player here. I think Bobby might be looking over his shoulder at Jota this coming season.

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There was an emotional reaction to the news that Jordan Henderson faces an uncertain future.

 

The idea that Liverpool wouldn’t move heaven and earth to ensure their inspirational captain remains at Anfield beyond the end of his current contract in the summer of 2023 doesn’t sit right with many supporters.

 

The Athletic revealed on Monday that talks this summer over a new deal haven’t progressed. What’s currently on the table from the club isn’t an attractive proposition for the player, and that has alerted Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid to his potential availability.

 

Henderson is 31 and will be 33 by the time the contract he’s on now expires. He believes that he will still be just as influential – both on and off the field – into his mid-30s. But given the impasse, it’s clear that some members of the club hierarchy are less convinced.

 

Many view that stance as disrespectful to a loyal servant whose commanding midfield performances and leadership helped Liverpool follow up Champions League final glory in 2019 with their first league title for 30 years last summer.

 

“Just give him what he wants and get it sorted,” was the overriding response from dismayed fans to The Athletic’s story.

 

However, some highlighted the business sense in only offering a short extension heavily incentivised with performance-related bonuses, given Henderson’s age and injury record.

 

It’s a quandary for Liverpool and there are others on the horizon for owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to deal with.

 

Shrewd recruitment enabled manager Jurgen Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards to assemble an outstanding line-up that landed the biggest prizes, also including the Club World Cup, but now the task of building another great team is underway.

 

Liverpool are committed to a strategy of evolution rather than revolution. They are wary of finding themselves in a position further down the line where they are having to rip things up and start again.

 

That’s why a big part of Edwards’ work this summer surrounds getting the club’s gems nailed down to new long-term deals. Alisson, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are exactly the types who Liverpool view as still being absolutely integral to their hopes of success in three or four years’ time.

 

But there’s also an acceptance that, over the next 12 months, the process of refreshing and regenerating the personnel around that core group has to be cranked up a few gears.

 

This is the fifth transfer window since Liverpool won the Champions League in Madrid. Diogo Jota and Thiago are the only new arrivals in that period who have played on a regular basis. Ibrahima Konate, a £35 million summer signing from RB Leipzig, is expected to join them in the coming season. Changes have been minimal but that’s not sustainable.

 

Liverpool know they can’t allow too many players to grow old together and that includes Salah, Mane and Firmino

 

FSG knows it can’t just sit back and allow too many players to grow old together. That was one of the reasons why it didn’t give 30-year-old Georginio Wijnaldum the contract offer he wanted, leading him to leave when his deal expired and join PSG this summer.

 

There are other tough decisions ahead.

 

For example, it’s simply not realistic that Klopp’s long-established front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino will all have their contracts renewed.

 

All three are 29 years old and have each entered the final two years of their existing deals. Liverpool can’t have a situation where the three of them are still on the books at age 33, continuing to be paid huge salaries while way past their best. But the club also can’t have a situation where they are trying to replace all three at around the same time, as the cost in terms of transfers would be huge. The process has to be staggered.

 

Of the trio, agreeing a new contract for Salah is currently the biggest priority. Considering his remarkable record of 125 goals for the club in 203 matches, that’s hardly surprising.

 

Despite the speculation about his future generated by the interviews the Egypt international granted to Spanish media last season, senior Liverpool sources insist his conduct around the club has been impeccable. No one doubts his commitment to the cause.

 

However, there are no absolute guarantees at this stage that an agreement with Salah’s representatives will be reached. The pandemic has had an impact on the kind of pay rises being offered. It has also reduced Salah’s options, even if he was privately considering the merits of embarking on a new challenge.

 

With Mane the next attacker in line for fresh terms after Salah, it’s Firmino who looks to be the most vulnerable. The Brazilian’s place came under serious threat from the dynamic Jota last season. Firmino, who turns 30 in October, finished the campaign strongly with three goals in the final four matches as Liverpool secured Champions League qualification but an overall return of just nine goals in all competitions was disappointing. His influence appears to be waning.

 

If Firmino doesn’t get a new deal, then there’s a call to be made over whether you look to sell next summer and get a fee for him.

 

FSG has shown with Emre Can and now Wijnaldum it’s at ease with losing players for nothing if it makes sense to keep them for their contract’s final year. It would rather do that than extend a contract and risk ending up paying millions of pounds in wages further down the line to someone who is no longer of much value to the team.

 

When it comes to buying replacements, Liverpool’s model won’t change — the signing of Thiago from Bayern Munich at the age of 29 last summer was an exception to the rule.

 

The profile will be players aged 24 or under who are hungry and have something to prove. They will seek value and potential rather than purchasing a finished article already operating at the peak of his powers. In effect, they will be looking to replicate what they did when signing Firmino, Mane and Salah.

 

For a loyal manager who has such a close bond with his players, it won’t be easy for Klopp to cut ties with those who have been so integral to the glory he has masterminded. He had wanted Wijnaldum to stay and found saying goodbye to the Dutch midfielder difficult.

 

But that’s where Edwards comes in.

 

It’s his job to take the emotion and the sentiment out of the decision-making process. He has to be ruthless as Liverpool evolve.

 

There will also be the transition period to oversee if, as expected, Klopp takes a career break when his current contract ends in the summer of 2024. Talk about huge boots to fill.

 

Before then, there’s much to sort out.

 

This isn’t the end of the cycle for the core of Liverpool’s title-winning team, but the end isn’t far away.

 

The need to gradually refresh and regenerate is clear.

 

Resources need to be channelled accordingly, but most fans would be happier if that process included keeping their captain on board.

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3 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

Wolves fans said Jota is a very streaky purple patch player and I think that's how he will turn out. Thats much better than a squad option who never has a purple patch or is never available. See how next season goes for him.

Southampton fans said the same about Mane.

 

And it won't be a hard task showing how dismissive 'those in the know' were of Salah's ability when he signed.

 

I think that the point people are making.

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1 minute ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

Wolves fans said Jota is a very streaky purple patch player and I think that's how he will turn out. Thats much better than a squad option who never has a purple patch or is never available. See how next season goes for him.

Thats also a similar type of opinion that a lot of people had myself included when we signed Salah and Mane.

Jota seems absolutely made for our high press and having the extra chances per match and dominating sides unlike what he had at Wolves will help him fill his boots next season. 

 

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5 minutes ago, Mark M said:

Thats also a similar type of opinion that a lot of people had myself included when we signed Salah and Mane.

Jota seems absolutely made for our high press and having the extra chances per match and dominating sides unlike what he had at Wolves will help him fill his boots next season. 

 

Could be the case.

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I think Liverpool bought Awoniyi for 400 grand from some Nigerian club or academy. He's been out on loan a few times and Union Berlin paid the club £1.5m for his last loan. Not a bad profit for someone who has never played for us. 

 

Grujics original transfer fee has been wiped out by the loan fees for his 3 season long loans and then the £10.5m transfer fee.

 

Same with Harry Wilson although I think he was from the academy. 

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7 minutes ago, Doctor Troy said:

I think Liverpool bought Awoniyi for 400 grand from some Nigerian club or academy. He's been out on loan a few times and Union Berlin paid the club £1.5m for his last loan. Not a bad profit for someone who has never played for us. 

 

Grujics original transfer fee has been wiped out by the loan fees for his 3 season long loans and then the £10.5m transfer fee.

 

Same with Harry Wilson although I think he was from the academy. 

Yep.

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5 hours ago, joe_fishfish said:

Brighton absolutely love massive grock centre backs. They were playing one at left wing back last season. Nat fits the ball on the defensive side, not sure he passes the ball well enough for Potter, but he was certainly improving that part of his game last season, especially the short stuff.

 

Really hope we're the other team in for Camavinga. From what I've seen from youtube and Stacksy's posts he is everything we need in a midfielder.

I can't remember him having any disaster passes either though. And if Potter already has a load of players decent on the ball, logically Nat could continue playing it safe in that regard, but bring a significant aerial dominance to their back half. 

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2 hours ago, m0e said:

Southampton fans said the same about Mane.

 

And it won't be a hard task showing how dismissive 'those in the know' were of Salah's ability when he signed.

 

I think that the point people are making.

Does anyone remember this?

 

image.png

 

Then you look at Mane's first season at Anfield:

Appearances: 29, Goals: 13

 

And Jota's first season for Liverpool:

Appearances: 30, Goals: 13

 

I'm more than happy for him to continue  copying Mane's trajectory!

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I think Jota has a very high potential level he can get to...liked him at Wolves and shouted him up on here when he was there.

 

Whether he reaches that potential level or not and whether it is with us or not, only time will tell of course.

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31 minutes ago, an tha said:

I think Jota has a very high potential level he can get to...liked him at Wolves and shouted him up on here when he was there.

 

Whether he reaches that potential level or not and whether it is with us or not, only time will tell of course.

Yea, he holds his own on the Portugal side as well. Full of absolute cunts but some very skillful players.

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With neither VVD or Gomez playing today, its a reminder that they many not be 100% by the start of the season and will need to be managed through the season. 

 

I would prefer it if we kept Nat Phillips until January at least, however it looks like we need to sell him to be able to buy another midfielder/forward.

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