TRANSFERS are difficult to keep a secret nowadays. Very rarely are the press caught out with a shock announcement for a first-team player coming to Liverpool. There are just too many people, not to mention too much money, involved in any potential transfer for it to stay out of the papers (even if the true stories are joined by a few that leave the football clubs in question scratching their heads as to who dreamt them up).
We have known Liverpool’s main targets this summer for a while. They have been repeated by those that know these things on a weekly — even daily — basis ever since the season finished (and in many cases even before). However, the confirmed news overnight on Tuesday that the targets are the targets, and that in many cases bids have been lodged, led to a strong online reaction with many claiming Liverpool lack ambition.
It looked like the final nail in the coffin for anyone hoping for a big star under the radar (which incidentally is the tag line of my debut album). Was it an overreaction based on information we already pretty much knew? Well, yes, this is the internet. But was the reaction wrong? I’m not sure it was. I largely agree that the names are rather worrying when we consider what the current Liverpool squad needs. It currently looks heavy on depth but low on genuine quality.
Are the names that we are being linked with really a solution to that? The kind of players that will turn us from getting to finals to actually winning them? Or, are they yet more 6/10 players (being generous having watched Piotr Zieliński for 45 minutes the other night) to replace the ones that will leave?
The argument against this reaction, of course, is that ‘In Klopp we trust’. Basically, Jürgen Klopp has built a career from developing promising young players signed for modest sums, and we should leave him to it. And, in fact, that is what he was brought in to do.
I’m not sure this argument completely washes, a view discussed on this week’s subscriber show, The Gutter.
[audioplayer file=”https://www.theanfieldwrap.com/uploads/2016/06/230616GUTTERCLIP.mp3″]
Firstly, we shouldn’t assume that we can just throw any young player at Klopp and he will turn him into Marco Reus (who cost a reported £14.5m by the way when Dortmund signed him). If that was the case then we shouldn’t sign anyone and just give him the academy. They need to be the right young players — those with a high enough potential to turn into top-class footballers.
We also shouldn’t assume that, because Borussia Dortmund had success in a certain market, with a certain transfer policy, that Liverpool will too just because we have taken a manager and his coaches. Klopp himself admitted in his first press conference at Liverpool that he is used to having a limited role in identifying players. That he worked and works under a recruitment structure.
At Borussia Dortmund that was headed by Sporting Director Michael Zorc. A man who “stands for Borussia Dortmund like no-one else” according to Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke. Since Klopp left Dortmund have continued to sign and develop talented young players. Liverpool’s record under our current transfer structure is far less impressive. Do we trust them to start finding the right players just because the manager has changed?
It is also wrong to speak of all young players in the same way with regards to their experience and what they are ready to do for the first team of a top club. This summer Borussia Dortmund have signed 19-year-old Ousmane Dembele, who turned down Liverpool, 18-year-old Emre Mor, who was fantastic for Turkey against the Czech Republic and Portuguese starting full back Raphael Guerreiro, also thought to be targeted by the Reds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc0OT5ZDXI4
They are young players, but ones coveted by scouts around the world and, more importantly, players you’d fancy to hit the ground running for their new team. You just don’t get the same impression with the likes of Ben Chilwell and Zielinski, both of whom spent their last seasons on loan from their parent club because they weren’t deemed ready for teams where the pressure is much lower than it is at Liverpool.
Liverpool have targeted a high level of player too, admittedly. As mentioned earlier, they lost out on Dembele to Dortmund. They’ve also been turned down by Gotze, when he had been keen, and it doesn’t look like Mahmoud Dahoud is going to come either. So there does seem to be a consensus within Liverpool Football Club that a certain level of player would be useful. They are just struggling to get them to join.
This is likely to be, partly at least, a knock-on effect of not being in Europe (Liverpool, not the UK…). The seeming consensus that we will challenge for the title just because we have less games worries me. The 2013/14 campaign is seen as the evidence, but we bought poorly that summer, too. The difference was we already had Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling, Gerrard and Henderson.
Only half of those are still at the club and their replacements are nowhere near the same quality. For a repeat of 13/14 we need not just less games but also a better starting 11. Do the players we are linked with make you feel that is likely? Or are we just buying yet more bodies for ‘the squad’. It feels to me the latter. But, much like the country’s future, I guess only time will tell.
The notion that players would be knocking the door of it’s hinges to play for Herr Klopp doesn’t seem to be panning out to well.
It’s still silly season. I enjoy reading the articles that fly around day to day but rarely put any faith in them.
Give klopp a full pre season woth what he has and maybe we will be decent.
Ok, so we’ve already got matip (excellent piece of business imo), grujic who I know sweet fa about and Karrius (honestly ain’t seen anything of him so I’m on the bench at the moment) but let these guys who played well plus the additions gel over pre season and let’s see where we’re at.
yep a falsehood, I’m afraid players are driven by money and money alone
You can only spend the club into that league by paying out fees and wages at a super-inflated level, as Manchester City has done…its not even about winning things or being in the champions league really (albeit spending hopefully results in this!) Leicester won the prem and are in the CL, how many ‘world class’ players will they sign this summer?
it’s no real surprise the that best [young] talents have an ever wider choice of destinations and a lot of the fanbase are demanding we spend as much as it takes to get them here. They’re not interested in balancing the books of course.
But there is some logic to what they are targeting. Henderson and Can are our 1st choice CMs so we are looking at understudies which is what Zielinsky (just returned from injury) & Grujic are. Even talents like Dahoud might take a season to settle if they arrived (he might if they lose their CL qualifier).
For LB, many fans are tearing their hair out for not getting rid of Moreno and getting Hector in (never mind he’s busy in France right now). But it’s clear we’re not getting rid of Moreno and buying Hector would result in him leaving for a starting role somewhere.
Klopp looks like he / the club wants to develop Moreno further so we’re buying / looking for a defensively talented understudy who has a great chance of getting lots of game time if he is indeed talented. And maybe Moreno becomes a better defender too and we limit the transitional activity that isn’t good for team development. But fans don’t like this and are blaming FSG being tight for it.
Karius was welcomed but he’s exactly the same. 22 years old, he’s nominally an understudy to Migs. Now he will likely quickly take the starting spot but it’s not guaranteed. He may need time to adjust. He’s not Ter Stegen but then TS wouldn’t come to us, so it’s a bit pointless moaning about it.
We found in prior summers that higher profile names wouldn’t come to us, forcing us to get younger talents and questionable PL players from the likes of Southampton, and Goetze followed that trend this summer.
His agent clearly saw Liverpool’s level as good for his current performance level while his father clearly disagreed.
The Euros are suggesting that this agent had it right though perhaps a Juve, Arsenal or Chelsea remain a possible though not certain destination for him.
The attempts to get a wide AM have not been about understudies. Teixeira in January, Goetze, Mane are all starting calibre players. Klopp wants to upgrade in this position. Fans are not enthused by Mane though he has a very good profile for that role.
He is inconsistent but then he’s 24. Payet was even less consistent at his age and while everyone knew his talent wasn’t close to the french national team at that age and didn’t really start to shine until he was 26.
One further thing about the CM position other than the fact we are buying understudies. I think Klopp wants to move to a fast moving CM pair that move the ball forwards very quickly. As we all know, Henderson is quick to move the ball sideways and backwards so while Klopp is happy to work with him, he’s looking at having quite a different nature of midfield within 2 seasons I’d say, moulding some youngsters to do that. That’s why I think we’re not looking at a Kovacic or Pjanic type player quite apart from Can & Hendo would want to move if they weren’t starters.
Now time will tell if Klopp’s central midfield will do the business. Spurs have gone Dier / Wanyama as a central pairing which will be heavily defensive and tough to play against (they already were this season though). It’s a different emphasis. We’re not looking to use DMs and the jury is out on if that will work. It didn’t for Rodgers and it has to be said we still conceded heavily under Klopp.
That difference in CM/DM preference might be more telling than which players we end up getting in. There’s no doubt Masch did an important role for us and Lucas before his injury.
Finally the transfers seem to address specific role needs in the team and not too many of them. Klopp has determined that wholesale changes aren’t required and it’s mainly about understudies with a couple of 1st team players at most. He must be happy with the squad and the reduced schedule plus better pre-season preparation work.
To critique this we would have to acknowledge that improving on last season is about beating the West Hams/Broms, Palaces & Southamptons more than having playing royalty on the pitch. So rather than moaning about transfers fans should ask if we’re likely to do that this season. Beat the dross, win the league. Beat the dross, win the league.
thanks for your work guys.
Let’s just buy Southampton’s targets and go large next year with the money we have saved.
you need to look at what we are doing, transfer wise, in the context of what Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho were when we signed them – gambles, potential, other clubs cast offs.
Its not right to compare what they became in our red shirts to who we are buying. you have to compare what they were when we signed them,.
Or in the context of every other signing besides the few who were sold up. For a huge profit.
er , people are missing the elephant in the room. Lifestyle choices play an important part in transfer decisions these days, not only money. In this respect, L4 is going to be behind london , especially where wags have a say.
Dortmund are 7 years further down this track than we are, and almost all things bar money are better there too(in terms of developing players and facilities /knowledge etc).
its a waste of time trying to put a label on targets until they have signed and you’ve seen them play for half a season (at least). FSG/JK are going to build something sustainable and realistic within the given circumstances . weather this is a title challenging outfit or not remains to be seen, but bottom line is, get used to LFC not being a major pull anymore…thats only in the old generations heads..so lets accept and make do with what we have and get behind it.
We could sign Angel Di Maria, Falcao, Robinho – the list is plentiful of these big names who’ve come to the PL and actually been a bit shit.
Or we could sign a 22yo Fernando Torres. A Disgraced Luis Suarez. A young Basque lad called Alonso. A West ham reject called Mascherano.
We just need to get off this bollocks that big names are what’s needed. The name means fuck all. Its what they do in the shirt – and no one can predict how that’s going to work out, so best to simply calm down and see what plays out.
Squad value correlates to league finish. Leicester changed nothing. And next season,normal service will resume, just as transfer business under Klopp is as it was under Rodgers.
Tell yourself different if it makes you feel better.
Torres, Suarez, Alonso and Masch all had plenty of games under their belts before they joined us.
We’re trying to sign an unproven, massively inexperienced 19yr old with 11 appearances under his belt as the solution to our left back problem for the league next season which starts in 8 weeks.
Then fuck off and support a London club and take your Lifestyle wid ya.
Having lived in both cities the standard of living in the North West is far higher.
You seriously think footballers live in fucking L4?!
Who are you kidding? Dortmund is a fucking dump and makes Liverpool look like Saint Tropez.
Unless you’re into smokestacks and scenery straight out of Dickens ‘Bleak House’, no one wants to live there.
Suarez was nobody’s cast off.
FSG/JK are building as sustainable club, a which will be able to consistently finish between 10th and 6th with the odd push for fifth and a few seasons highlights against Everton and the historical Manchester clubs, who have long forgotten us as rivals.
I support it, I am behind it, it just doesn’t get my money to swell fucking John Henry wallet.
Sorry to be a pedantic bellend – Michael Zorc.
Yes. Sorry. Not sure what happened there! JG
I hope everyone realizes that
a. Klopp is still on vacation.
b. The Euro is still not over
c. The Copa America is only ending on Sunday
d. The summer transfer window only ends on August 31
e. Brendan Rodgers, the biggest source of leaks in recent years, is no longer with us.
I would suggest everyone lay down their pitchforks for now.
Seems the superfans are only interested in the club during the season….
Very pleased with developments surrounding. I think some fans are letting the fact he is a Southampton player cloud their view a bit.
This player is dynamite. The sort of forward whose pace and raw running power mean that less circumstances need to be in his favour for him to effect the game. He absolutely decimated our backline last season and I’m really surprised some are forgetting how unplayable he can be. Sure, he is inconsistent, but a 24 year old forward can be forgiven that when you consider what he offers.
*surrounding Mane
We lack ambition because the people above the manager don’t need success like we do as fans or Klopp does. The mancs are signing a player Klopp signed for Dortmund when we tried to get him three years ago. It doesn’t matter who the manager is because we’re just gonna over pay for lads from Southampton who have had one decent season because of wages.
Reckon we’ll finish 5th-6th and get beat in the FA cup final. Everyone will rightly still believe in Klopp’s abilities generally speaking but wrongly believe the year after will finally be our year. Same as it ever was.
Would have been a lot happier signing Wanyama for 11M and pushing Can further forward. The Zielinski-Allen swap is doing my head in.
If you’d even be remotely happy that Liverpool would sign Wanyama for any amount of money whatsoever, then you really have no right to complain when we sign Mane.