January 2023 Transfer Thread

[Guest]

Bellingham is the new MF. 

[El Rojo]

Probably an attacker high on our list who we could get now for cheaper than the summer if we moved fast. A sensible move given how brittle Jota/Diaz/Nunez have already proven to be compared to Salah/Mane/Firmino. 

 

Is there potentially some advantageous accounting/tax sleight of hand too in agreeing a deal before the end of the calendar year?

[etho]

We've been crying out for an attacker but I had no faith we'd go and get one. Not sure if he's any good but at the price looks like a great deal. And takes the pressure off of rushing Jota and Diaz back. Have to think with the nature of their injuries the club are expecting it may be a slow road back to where they were

[Colonel Bumcunt]

Gakpo plays in Diaz's position.  

I don't see a problem with 2 players vying for one spot. 

Jota is on the other side, with Salah. 

Bobby and Darwin in the 9. 

I don't see an overstocking problem. Doak will get runouts, there's still a lot of games going. 

 

I'm assuming we've moved because we saw an opportunity at a quite reasonable cost.  Can't argue with that logic.  We will still go for Bellingham or whoever if we balance the price/value equation. 

[razor]

1 hour ago, chrisbonnie said:

Apparently Gakpo is staying in his house. 

 

 

He's been locked in his basement for the past 12 days.

 

"The footballer puts the contract into the basket..."

[HBenn]

4 minutes ago, Colonel Bumcunt said:

Gakpo plays in Diaz's position.  

I don't see a problem with 2 players vying for one spot. 

Jota is on the other side, with Salah. 

Bobby and Darwin in the 9. 

I don't see an overstocking problem. Doak will get runouts, there's still a lot of games going. 

 

I'm assuming we've moved because we saw an opportunity at a quite reasonable cost.  Can't argue with that logic.  We will still go for Bellingham or whoever if we balance the price/value equation. 

Read that the club see him being able to play across all 3 forward roles. Looking at some of his highlights from the WC he seemed quite effective on the right.

 

If he can play on either wing that would be pretty good. 

[cloggypop]

3 hours ago, J-V said:

I think Cloggy rates him and for that reason I'm out.

 

Good man

[HBenn]

Not saying he is moving to us, but based on Fernandez's comments of "just focusing on the game on Friday" think he will be off from Benfica soon. 

[Lee909]

21 minutes ago, HBenn said:

Not saying he is moving to us, but based on Fernandez's comments of "just focusing on the game on Friday" think he will be off from Benfica soon. 

 

He's fully focused on Fridays game against Leicester 

[HBenn]

26 minutes ago, Lee909 said:

 

He's fully focused on Fridays game against Leicester 

Ha! Could well be that. 

Well if he really is a target for us in the summer and reports are accurate that Utd are in for him now then maybe we will look to go after him as well now. 

Not to say we will get him of course but it does sound a bit like he will be on the move. 

[Josef Svejk]

"Despite... being linked with a move for Enzo Fernández next month, Liverpool are not in the market for Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder." Andy Hunter. 

[Scott_M]

Allegedly…

 

 

But take with a pinch of salt…

 

[El Dangerous]

2 hours ago, Josef Svejk said:

"Despite... being linked with a move for Enzo Fernández next month, Liverpool are not in the market for Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder." Andy Hunter. 

Our interest probably extended to “How much? HOW MUCH!” *hangs up phone.

[Scott_M]

Anybody able to post this article please?

 

 

[Elite]

Klopp could convert an extremist into a pacifist.

[Salou]

Lots of noise around Enzo to either us or mancs for the 120 million euro release. That is an insane amount of money, very frustrating if he is one of the 'risks' we weren't willing to take last summer that Klopp was talking about. 

 

Also you pay that much for Enzo guaranteed that Dortmund aren't accepting less than 150 for Bellingham in the summer. On paper we should be able to finance 270 million euros for 2 midfielders but that seem's very very steep.  

[Bobby Hundreds]

7 minutes ago, Salou said:

Lots of noise around Enzo to either us or mancs for the 120 million euro release. That is an insane amount of money, very frustrating if he is one of the 'risks' we weren't willing to take last summer that Klopp was talking about. 

 

Also you pay that much for Enzo guaranteed that Dortmund aren't accepting less than 150 for Bellingham in the summer. On paper we should be able to finance 270 million euros for 2 midfielders but that seem's very very steep.  

Probably united its mad how much they go over on fees. The money they spend is insane.

[Lee909]

Caicedo at 60/70ml for me. 

[Vincent Vega]

1 hour ago, Scott_M said:

Anybody able to post this article please?

 

 

Jurgen Klopp has turned the transfer window tables on Manchester United

Before it was United and Sir Alex Ferguson engineering the transfer coups but now Klopp is the one helping lure players, such as Cody Gakpo

By Chris Bascombe27 December 2022 • 2:17pm
 

There was a period in the 1970s when Liverpool used to delight in calling impromptu press conferences where they would unveil a new signing like a magician making a great reveal.

The idea of the Anfield transfer coup was born and stuck during the golden age when the savvy club secretary Peter Robinson was head of covert operations.

Intended or otherwise, there have been echoes of Robinson’s choreography in three of the Merseyside club’s most recent purchases ofLuis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and now Cody Gakpo.

 

 

The template is familiar. A rival club tracks a transfer target for months, puts all the details in place for a bid and enjoys what they believe are fruitful negotiations with the player.

And then it drags on without agreement, a sense of foreboding takes hold and sure enough it emerges another club has been secretly waiting to jump from behind the curtain.

Manchester United were equally masterful at engineering such transfer coups during the Sir Alex Ferguson era, when occasionally it was Liverpool who were left scrambling for alternatives while laughably and unconvincingly trying to save face by arguing the lost target ‘was not of much interest anyway’.

Today the roles are reversed again as the 23-year-old Dutch international Gakpo - who has spent the last six weeks being described as ‘Old Trafford-bound’ - prepares for an Anfield medical before his £37 million transfer. In the enduring battle for supremacy between Liverpool and United, Gakpo’s decision demonstrates how despite Erik ten Hag’s side currently being above Jurgen Klopp’s in the Premier League, the prospect of playing for the German coach continues to give the Merseysiders’ an edge when the clubs go head-to-head for the same players.

Gakpo’s decision could be seen as following a transfer power struggle which began in the era when Sir Matt Busby and Bill Shankly were identifying the stars who could have been either Old Trafford or Anfield legends.

Denis Law would have been a Liverpool God if the Kop board had not hesitated in the early 1960s, and in 1970 Lou Macari had gone so far as making it to Shankly's office to sign a Liverpool contract, only for United to make a last ditch intervention and hijack the move.

By 1989, Liverpool’s dominance was such that they could adopt a watching brief to see what United were up to, and if the circumstances were right Kenny Dalglish would confidently pounce in the knowledge the player would change his mind. That famously proved the case with Swedish international Glenn Hysen, who said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to United when Dalglish and Robinson made the call after Ferguson presumed the centre-back had informally agreed to the Old Trafford switch from Fiorentina.

Ferguson would laugh last. In 1999, Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier thought he would be parading Mikael Silvestre in front of the Kop, but Ferguson had other ideas.

“Ferguson phoned me and the choice was easy to make,” Silvestre later recalled.

The same was true of Nemanja Vidic in 2006, who started to give worrying vibes to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry as they tried to convince him to join the then European champions.

"Then Manchester United came,” Vidic said. “Fergie called me at my apartment and said: 'I watched you play for Serbia against France - I want you here'. Everything was done very quickly, within two days."

The Ferguson-factor was always decisive. Players saw United in the 1990s and 2000s and were lured by the prospect of long-term, consistent success under a coach who guaranteed the highest standards, rather than the occasional cup glory enjoyed at Liverpool at the time.

Now Klopp’s talent and charisma - and the attacking style he demands - is Liverpool’s greatest asset in every transfer pursuit.

It is Klopp who empowers Liverpool to confidently play a waiting game which, under any other manager, might be considered too risky.

Once a player talks to Klopp, providing the finances are in place, they will find it difficult to say no.

Liverpool's recent high profile deals have been executed with similar precision, with the club maintaining respectful relations with the selling club, requesting to be kept informed if long-term targets become available.

A year ago, that is how they learned that Porto were in talks with Tottenham Hotspur for Diaz, and last summer Liverpool’s recruitment team were aware that United had made an enquiry to Benfica for Nunez. Once the asking price was established, Liverpool knew if it was within their budget and could make their move in the knowledge they were the players’ first choice.

History appears to have repeated itself with Gakpo, Liverpool long-time admirers of the speedy attacker but initially prepared to wait until next summer to bid.

They were prompted to act now by a combination of factors, not least the fact they risked losing the player entirely if PSV Eindhoven chose to sell to United in January.

Injuries to Diaz and Diogo Jota allowed Klopp to convince his board they should bring forward their plans - the impact of Diaz when he signed last January another sound reason for Liverpool giving their campaign fresh impetus.

When Gakpo, Diaz, Jota, Nunez and Salah are all available, Klopp will have a fluid and versatile strikeforce.

Questions will no doubt be asked as to why United were so slow - an accusation which similarly plagued Liverpool whenever they were gazumped during the Ferguson era.

Certainly it would appear United still need greater efficiency in their transfer operations, while rumours of the disintegration of Liverpool's recruitment office amid high profile departures and the owners' plea for external investment have been greatly exaggerated.

But sometimes the answer is uncomplicated.

Given the choice, elite players want to play for Klopp, and Ten Hag evidently has more to do to restore the era when a United offer cannot be refused.

[HBenn]

24 minutes ago, Salou said:

Lots of noise around Enzo to either us or mancs for the 120 million euro release. That is an insane amount of money, very frustrating if he is one of the 'risks' we weren't willing to take last summer that Klopp was talking about. 

 

Also you pay that much for Enzo guaranteed that Dortmund aren't accepting less than 150 for Bellingham in the summer. On paper we should be able to finance 270 million euros for 2 midfielders but that seem's very very steep.  

If we were in for him at that price you would think we have new owners. Cannot believe that Henry would agree to pay that much more for a player available for £10m last summer. 

[Vincent Vega]

Handy site worth bookmarking as it lets you view web pages that are behind paywalls. Just copy the url from the article you want to read onto the site below. 
 

https://www.removepaywall.com

[Jairzinho]

15 minutes ago, Vincent Vega said:

Handy site worth bookmarking as it lets you view web pages that are behind paywalls. Just copy the url from the article you want to read onto the site below. 
 

https://www.removepaywall.com

Reported.

[Bobby Hundreds]

That money that Enzo would cost you'd just use it on Bellingham. If we've got such a wedge this window I'd throw it at Bellingham.

[Code]

Enzo Fernandez will end up at Newcastle I think. 

[Lee909]

Seem to be so e links with Khephren Thuram.