THE reporting of Liverpool’s renewed interest in Mario Gotze (by the unimpeachable Melissa Reddy) was roundly greeted with a consensus of eye rolling and head shaking by the Liverpool FC nation.
Why do we want he who didn’t want us, and has turned out to be a dreadful flop anyway? And he’s now sick as a butcher’s dog too — news this week that he is suffering with a muscle weakening condition called ‘myopathy’.
On first reading, Gotze looks the very definition of a must-swerve signing.
Borussia Dortmund, his current keepers, are awash with attacking talent at the moment. To the extent that the waning but expensive Mario has barely had a look in this season. He represented the club’s marquee signing of the summer at £21.7 million, but now looks eminently expendable.
Gotze’s career stalled at Bayern Munich, where opportunities were thin on the ground during Pep Guardiola’s reign. His star was very much descendent when both Liverpool and Dortmund sought to get themselves something of a bargain (albeit only a relative one) last summer. Dortmund saw off the Reds but their victory has proved a pyrrhic one.
The German club have two options – firstly, to be patient and attempt to rehabilitate Gotze, or, secondly, to view him as no great sacrifice given the alternatives available to them, and to simply attempt to cut losses. The question is: what kind of hit are they prepared to take?
Enter Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp. Jürgen knows the player very well. He made Mario the man he once was. He still has him as a ‘favourite’ on his contacts. Klopp says he has spoken to Gotze about what he is currently going through. He will have a detailed grasp of the fitness issues around the player. The Liverpool manager will have a clear idea of what the probabilities are that Gotze will be able to make a full recovery.
Klopp will also know that at just 24 years of age, time remains on the player’s side. He is also sure he understands the lad’s character and work ethic. Gotze has always been an open book to him. Jürgen is the one manager to have consistently gleaned world class performances from him.
And this is the key – Gotze was world class. The main man in a German World Cup-winning machine. And not just world class in a different life. The player is not touching 30. He is still the right side of being classifiable as a ‘young with the potential to get better’.
Of course, he’s been a pale shadow of his early vintage self for a good while now, and that is why Dortmund are having a big chin scratch about his future. That is why opportunity may be knocking for Klopp and Liverpool.
The noises subtextually emanating from Liverpool are that they only might, if they’re asked very nicely, just might, consider being big enough to take Gotze off Dortmund’s hands. It is a negotiating stance that says we’ll take a punt on him at a low risk price.
Dortmund are thinking – Mario has best part of a four-year contract left and is on something north of £150,000-a-week. Let’s give him a modest pay off and let somebody else take him off our hands – we don’t need him anyway – for something around half the figure we paid for him.
Klopp is thinking – if we could get Gotze for about £8/9m and get him on a wage deal conditional upon appearances, then he might be worth a punt. The downside is that he never regains his full capacity and we’re writing off a modest contract and a relatively small transfer fee. The upside though – pause for a second – the upside bears thinking about. Klopp believes, having spoken to his prodigy, that the fitness issue can be overcome fairly swiftly with treatment. He’s got the inside track from the boy and it all sounds worse than it is. Imagine, if we get him to shake off a problem that has held him back for two years now, and we become the beneficiaries of a reborn Gotze.
A fit Gotze is at the very least a more than solid addition to a squad that hopes to have the resources for a Champions League campaign. For a very modest investment, Liverpool’s bench could potentially be looking a much more formidable proposition.
But Klopp is thinking bigger than this, while simultaneously taking that scenario. He is prepared to bet a relatively small wedge that he can be the beneficiary of the second coming. It is a bet he can afford to make with small change, and at near zero opportunity cost to the rest of his plans. That the manager wants Liverpool to at least be in the conversation should only be applauded.
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Wow….£8/9 mil for a player who has a condition that would appear to be acute and difficult to treat. I think that’s a bit of a nonsense, tbh.
Also, if I was Gotze the last thing I would be doing would be to move to a club on a pay as you play basis given my current medical condition. Much better to sit tight and take the £150k pw until the condition resolves itself (if, indeed, it does).
Bettter that £8/9M spent on a keeper who doesn’t have to “redeem” himself every other game, and proven central/ LB/RB defence.
All sounds a bit reminiscent of justifying mario balotelli….
I thought that at first. But then, THAT Mario was never a player that was ever going to fit our system at the time. The one thing you can say about THIS Mario is that he’s already shown he not only fits Klopp’s way of playing, but thrives under it.
Sounds like his muscle condition could be the deal-breaker though. We can’t have a player on the books on a relatively high wage that won’t play often due to muscle fatigue/strains. I Hope for Gotze’s sake he can overcome it, it’s never nice to see anyone in sport’s career fade away at a young age.
Klopp knows more about him than any of us so let’s accept his judgment on this player. IF, and it is a big IF, we got him, for an acceptable, relatively low fee, and he could be reborn as a player then we’d have done brilliantly well. If we got him for not too much then it wouldn’t be a disaster if he failed . . . how many of them have we had over the years?
If Dortmund want silly money then No! The risk is too great but, for a realistic fee, a risk potentially worth taking as he is/was a superb player.
Rob, we’re crying out for skilful players with pace – that’s what we should be buying – not someone like Gotze (even if we could get him cheap and get him fit). He’s too similar to what we have plenty of already with the likes of Coutinho, Firmino and Lallana, ie, skillful tricky players who are fast but not lightning-quick like Mane.
I’d rather Jurgen had Sanchez as a ‘favourite’ on his phone. Paper talk is that Juventus are favourites to get him for just £25m. If that’s true, and providing we qualify for the Champions League, we should blow them out of the water and see if Arsenal will sell to us (unlikely I know, but we should be trying). Jurgen needs to put a DVD together of the scenes outside the ground before, during, and after the Dortmund game, send it to Sanchez and get in his ear as much as possible – maybe with help from our South American contingent. Not many truly world class players come onto the market, imagine the lift the whole club would get if we signed him. He’s the nearest thing to Suarez there is, hardly ever gets injured, and has got the incredible will-to-win that South Americans from a poor background seem to have (something that as a team we are desperately in need of). The thought of a Sanchez, Firmino, Mane front three would be mouth-watering. Come on FSG, show us you really have got the ambition to play with the big boys.
Crikey. This sounds like a terrible idea. Klopp needs to sit down and stare at the filing cabinet’s worth of medical reports for Sturridge for a few hours and then bin this idea immediately. It’s not just the money. It’s the constant disruption and confusion it causes. And you end up having to play them into form and fitness – undermining the players trying to win every match who end up watching someone who is “fat and shit” struggling to remember how to be good while the points slip away. Please no.
We need to buy a Sanchez type of player operating at the peak of their abilities. Remember. This is Anfield. Not a PFA sponsored day care centre for footballing waifs and strays. Even one’s with a WC winner’s medal in their hospital overnight bag.
No problem with taking a calculated risk on Gotze, all transfers are a risk, and may be Klopps relationship with him could mitigate that somewhat…HOWEVER…won’t be happy if bought INSTEAD of the players we REALLY need (Mane V2, GK, CB, CM, LB)
This is it for me. The big question that is not addressed in the article is whether he is the type of player we need.
Mario Gotze is still a player of Dortmund and there is no signal either from the club or from the player himself for a transfer to another club. Being sidelined for health reasons lately or coach preferences for a few games do not mean that he is a bad player. He just did not developed well at Bayern because of a Bayern playing system and Guardiola’s choices. We all know that Gotze is not Messi, in fact nobody is…but he is a good player with a lot of potential. In my opinion, people should stop critisizing this player and give him some morale. With him or without him Liverpool will do fine…
Are we seriously considering signing another injury prone player on the off chance he might come good?!
We’re gonna get rid of Sturridge because he can’t stay fit and bring in Goetze?
How about just buying a quality player with no issues, huh?
“The main man in a German World Cup-winning machine.”
Scored the winner in the final after coming on as sub, was subbed on or off in 4 other games and didn’t play at all against Brazil.
Not the main man by any stretch.
High praise from the High Lord of the Gutter :D
Thanks Rob.
Just to recap, as so many didn’t actually read the original story (Twitter is an incredible tool for reflecting this), here are the main points:
He is not a priority target. In essence, he is not even a ‘target’ in the full sense of the word – Gotze is a player that would ultimately be looked at if it is SUITABLE for Liverpool. This would encompass confidence over his physical condition, whether a reluctant BVB would let him leave after finally pinpointing the crux of his struggles – for what price, and under what terms etc
Gotze can cover a variety of positions (across midfield and the front line), fully aware and comfortable with Klopp’s demands in each, so when Liverpool box their main business, and if everything aligns as per the factors stated above, they’d consider moving for him.
The focus right now is for him to get the best treatment for his metabolic disorder, reported to be myopathy, which has been the reason for his injury issues.
JK believes MG can unlock his world-class abilities when fully fit and under the right guidance, but of course, he wouldn’t proceed if there would still be big doubts about his physicality.
My personal opinion? If Liverpool sort what they need and Gotze hurdles over his obstacle well and can be taken on loan/at a fair price, wouldn’t be the worst thing to have a World Cup and five-time Bundesliga winner in the squad, who can operate in several positions.
I’m more invested in LFC making sure they bring in their top targets.
Get in there Mell! From your comment here and what I heard you say on the recent AFQ, plus Gutman’s excellent piece above, I’d say go ‘ead Jurgan, get him in on your terms and risk the low transfer fee and pay-as-you-play contract on pulling a gem out of a turd. If his ‘second coming’ produces a player as capable and as versatile as a fit again MG, we are fuckin quids in us Reds. Forget the shared first name, this guy is a proper pro; the other Mario never was anything other than a self-centred clown. They are not of the same planet, so stop trying to draw comparisons lads. If JK thinks it’s worth the risk AT the right price and with positive medical advice, then lets take a punt.