Topic: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD - WELCOME, 'A PLAYER'!!

[El Lobo]

Why is Bissouma right for us though?
He doesn't play in a pressing system and doesn't really pass the ball forward - isn't it a bit odd to look at our strengths and weaknesses in midfield and want another deep lying athlete type?

Our Wijnaldam replacement if we buy one should be significantly different to him

We didnt really know we were getting Gini when we bought him though, so maybe the idea would be similar for Bissouma and the Bissouma we see now would be nothing like what we'd ask him to do here

[clinical]

Glad to see people are joining the Bissouma train. Plenty of space on board. He’s a really classy player and better going forward than his current role allows.

He's a good player no doubt. But surely we need someone who scores goals.

[Drinks Sangria]

Would be really intrigued by someone like Nkunku as that winger/AM, and then maybe someone like Vlahovic as a No9?

Rumours persist that Nkunku has a similar release clause to Konate - a bit higher, €40m/£34m as opposed to €34m/£29.5m for Konate. If that's true and funds allowed, I'd help them push the wheelbarrow full of notes up to Red Bull headquarters.

[FlashGordon]

Why is Bissouma right for us though?
He doesn't play in a pressing system and doesn't really pass the ball forward - isn't it a bit odd to look at our strengths and weaknesses in midfield and want another deep lying athlete type?

Our Wijnaldam replacement if we buy one should be significantly different to him

Because for all his limitations Wijnaldum has still been a major cog in our machine over the past few years. Smart to get another player in like that who has the potential to grow with the team. Did they press much in Newcastle before we signed Gini?

Curtis Jones will be the 3rd midfielder in there to progress the ball in the games that require it, in my opinion.

I'd love someone like Aouar, I just don't see us going for him this window.

[Barefoot Doctor]

Rumours persist that Nkunku has a similar release clause to Konate - a bit higher, €40m/£34m as opposed to €34m/£29.5m for Konate. If that's true and funds allowed, I'd help them push the wheelbarrow full of notes up to Red Bull headquarters.

He strikes me as a really, really obvious Edwards' target. And if it's true he has a release clause (and it seems everyone at Leipzig does, just depends on when it becomes active) then you'd imagine he'd be high up on one of our lists.

Plus, he's 23 and I'm fairly sure Jurgen gets an alert on his phone every time a talented footballer celebrates their 23rd birthday.

https://fbref.com/en/players/7c56da38/Christopher-Nkunku

[Chris~]

He's a good player no doubt. But surely we need someone who scores goals.

Unless we're planning on changing what we want from midfield it's not really going to matter too much if they score goals for other teams.

[clinical]

Unless we're planning on changing what we want from midfield it's not really going to matter too much if they score goals for other teams.

We have no options to change it at the minute. We don't have a goal scoring midfielder.

[Drinks Sangria]

He strikes me as a really, really obvious Edwards' target. And if it's true he has a release clause (and it seems everyone at Leipzig does, just depends on when it becomes active) then you'd imagine he'd be high up on one of our lists.

Plus, he's 23 and I'm fairly sure Jurgen gets an alert on his phone every time a talented footballer celebrates their 23rd birthday.

https://fbref.com/en/players/7c56da38/Christopher-Nkunku

I don't let myself go on Nkunku's FBRef Doc - it makes me sad he doesn't play for us already! Probably my favourite non-Liverpool player to watch at the moment, just a whirlwind of frighteningly good movement, decisive passing and ability in front of goal. Another one PSG let go stupidly like Diaby at Leverkusen.

In my eyes, if the release clause is indeed €40m, you're getting a player that in normal circumstances costs you £60m - £70m+. I feel, vaguely, that he's on a similar level to Salah when he joined from Roma.

[El Lobo]

We have no options to change it at the minute. We don't have a goal scoring midfielder.

Naby was 1 in 4 before he came here, Gini better than 1 in 4 before he came here and at international level, Thiago has never been particularly prolific but still better than he has here, Ox about the same.

A goalscoring midfielder is only going to score goals if he has the system to, and clearly at the moment the system isnt particularly designed to get loads of goals from midfield

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Naby was 1 in 4 before he came here, Gini better than 1 in 4 before he came here and at international level, Thiago has never been particularly prolific but still better than he has here, Ox about the same.

A goalscoring midfielder is only going to score goals if he has the system to, and clearly at the moment the system isnt particularly designed to get loads of goals from midfield

And that worked out perfectly well for us in 18/19 and 19/20 so I don't see why we suddenly need a goal scoring midfielder like its the key to success. If Mane re-discovers his form and we sign a more prolific no.9 we will be absolutely fine.

[El Lobo]

And that worked out perfectly well for us in 18/19 and 19/20 so I don't see why we suddenly need a goal scoring midfielder like its the key to success. If Mane re-discovers his form and we sign a more prolific no.9 we will be absolutely fine.

To be fair I think the manager said recently he wanted more goals from midfield.

But the idea that 'we dont have a goalscoring midfielder' is just daft. Like we could just drop peak Lampard into Ginis role and he'd still be scoring 20 a season.

[Skeeve]

And that worked out perfectly well for us in 18/19 and 19/20 so I don't see why we suddenly need a goal scoring midfielder like its the key to success. If Mane re-discovers his form and we sign a more prolific no.9 we will be absolutely fine.

The manager has stated that he wants more goals from midfield and realistically, if our system isn't ideal for getting goals out of a midfielder anyway, adding somebody who also doesn't get any in other systems doesn't seem like the ideal approach compared with getting somebody who gets some already while recognising that they probably won't increase their total per season with us.

[tubby]

A goalscoring midfielder is only going to score goals if he has the system to, and clearly at the moment the system isnt particularly designed to get loads of goals from midfield

Yup, been banging this drum for a while now.  The 8s in our midfield don't get the opportunities to score goals because the system requires them to be tactically disciplined, covering fullbacks and pressing in midfield.

I'm all for a change of approach next season, but if we stick with the current set-up, we'll still see the midfielders in the fullback positions for a huge chunk of the match.

[Red Cactii]

I don't let myself go on Nkunku's FBRef Doc - it makes me sad he doesn't play for us already! Probably my favourite non-Liverpool player to watch at the moment, just a whirlwind of frighteningly good movement, decisive passing and ability in front of goal. Another one PSG let go stupidly like Diaby at Leverkusen.

In my eyes, if the release clause is indeed €40m, you're getting a player that in normal circumstances costs you £60m - £70m+. I feel, vaguely, that he's on a similar level to Salah when he joined from Roma.

It’s interesting watching the ex-PSG youth players make the grade elsewhere, most of them seem to be exceptional in a technical sense and good enough to play at any big club. Having watched a good chunk of him at PSG I was stunned that he only went for 12m€ with no buy-back, he’d do superbly in their current squad. Nkunku has an absolutely wicked final ball on him as well which does wonders against packed defences, I’d love him to sign for us. Get agent Ibu onto it after he signs 

[Drinks Sangria]

It’s interesting watching the ex-PSG youth players make the grade elsewhere, most of them seem to be exceptional in a technical sense and good enough to play at any big club. Having watched a good chunk of him at PSG I was stunned that he only went for 12m€ with no buy-back, he’d do superbly in their current squad. Nkunku has an absolutely wicked final ball on him as well which does wonders against packed defences, I’d love him to sign for us. Get agent Ibu onto it after he signs 

They've been terrible for it, which is so strange because they've moved heaven and earth to attract youth products from elsewhere - Ajax and Barca's academies have been raided by PSG - but put in scant effort to keep their own prospects. Nkunku played around 50 senior games for them before they sold him and had done well. Same story with Diaby, he played 25 games and got 5 goals and 9 assists as a 19 year old for them and they just let him leave for a song to the Bundesliga.

Shiny toy syndrome - always looking for the next mega-money signing when promoting from within would be the better shout. You can't tell me any of Icardi, Kean, Sanabria, Draxler or Rafinha - all signed at higher fees than the above two were sold for - are producing better than the aforementioned two should they have stayed.

[Coolie High]

All these wingers names being mentioned just makes me realise even more how good Sancho is.

[lionel_messias]

Yup, been banging this drum for a while now.  The 8s in our midfield don't get the opportunities to score goals because the system requires them to be tactically disciplined, covering fullbacks and pressing in midfield.

I'm all for a change of approach next season, but if we stick with the current set-up, we'll still see the midfielders in the fullback positions for a huge chunk of the match.

Agree with you and somehow in there we need to let Curtis Jones grow his wings as a number 10ish type who is free to shoot and score goals.

I think the Fabinho | Thiago Axis(tm) should allow him to do that though...

[clinical]

All these wingers names being mentioned just makes me realise even more how good Sancho is.

I'd love him here. Won't happen unless Mane or Salah are sold.

[Drinks Sangria]

All these wingers names being mentioned just makes me realise even more how good Sancho is.

He's a touch stigmatized within our fanbase because of how close it felt he was to Utd last season and now with all of the Haaland hype and his slower start to the season, people aren't talking about him anywhere near as much. He also hasn't had much England recognition and people tend to shy away from those they've not seen play.

The fact of the matter is that at barely 21, he's already produced 3 'Elite' seasons. That's wild. For any player, chaining together the numbers he's produced with the consistency he has, in a top 5 European league, is exceptional.

And yet he doesn't seem to get the praise such performance warrants. We're talking about a player who is amongst the best in the game already and is only 21. He's better than Hazard was at the point he joined Chelsea - as a framing reference.

13 goals and 19 assists aged 18-19 in 41 matches.
19 goals and 19 assists aged 19-20 in 42 matches.
12 goals and 16 assists aged 20-21 in 31 matches (and counting).

His progressives are all exceptional, his shot creation stats are incredible and the plain black and white of him producing over 100 combined G+A in less than 150 matches before he's even 21 speaks for itself. Even if he just continued the same numbers for the rest of his developmental peak he'd be brilliant. As it is, he's a freak.

If he's really available for £70m or so it's an absolute no brainer.

[Coolie High]

I'd love him here. Won't happen unless Mane or Salah are sold.

I would rather spend 60-70m on him than 30 m on some of these other options, it shouldn’t rely on Salah or Mane being sold when you have a world class player who is 21 and could be here potentially for the next 9-10 years, it’s actually silly when you think about it, it should be a no brainer.

[lionel_messias]

I would rather spend 60-70m on him than 30 m on some of these other options, it shouldn’t rely on Salah or Mane being sold when you have a world class player who is 21 and could be here potentially for the next 9-10 years, it’s actually silly when you think about it, it should be a no brainer.

Perhaps Edwards and gang have drown up quiet plans, meanwhile, at twice the price, Mini Raola on his Haaland beat is throwing around Rolexes and velvet dressing gowns in various meetings where he is showered in bearer bonds and import M&Ms by high-cost escorts.

[Coolie High]

He's a touch stigmatized within our fanbase because of how close it felt he was to Utd last season and now with all of the Haaland hype and his slower start to the season, people aren't talking about him anywhere near as much. He also hasn't had much England recognition and people tend to shy away from those they've not seen play.

The fact of the matter is that at barely 21, he's already produced 3 'Elite' seasons. That's wild. For any player, chaining together the numbers he's produced with the consistency he has, in a top 5 European league, is exceptional.

And yet he doesn't seem to get the praise such performance warrants. We're talking about a player who is amongst the best in the game already and is only 21. He's better than Hazard was at the point he joined Chelsea - as a framing reference.

13 goals and 19 assists aged 18-19 in 41 matches.
19 goals and 19 assists aged 19-20 in 42 matches.
12 goals and 16 assists aged 20-21 in 31 matches (and counting).

His progressives are all exceptional, his shot creation stats are incredible and the plain black and white of him producing over 100 combined G+A in less than 150 matches before he's even 21 speaks for itself. Even if he just continued the same numbers for the rest of his developmental peak he'd be brilliant. As it is, he's a freak.

If he's really available for £70m or so it's an absolute no brainer.

Good post, he’s incredible, the closest I’ve seen to a Hazard Neymar type talent since those two broke through, he’s just turned 21 and you can argue he’s been at a similar level to our front three since he was 19.

I think 70m is a good price for him, akin to United getting Rooney for 30m all those years ago.

[Nobby Reserve]

Sancho or Mbappe?

[Dave McCoy]

To be fair I think the manager said recently he wanted more goals from midfield.

But the idea that 'we dont have a goalscoring midfielder' is just daft. Like we could just drop peak Lampard into Ginis role and he'd still be scoring 20 a season.

Hah, yeah no.  Lampard basically played as a second striker.  He would be our Firmino now but suck at it and we'd all boo him off the field.  Gini/Hendo as the 8's could go multiple games without even a touch in the box.  It's not even close to the same thing.

[El Lobo]

Hah, yeah no.  Lampard basically played as a second striker.  He would be our Firmino now but suck at it and we'd all boo him off the field.  Gini/Hendo as the 8's could go multiple games without even a touch in the box.  It's not even close to the same thing.

...what? 

[Dave McCoy]

...what? 

Uhh, I don't now seems pretty clear to me that I disagree with your statement.  There's no way Lampard would score 20 if he played the same role as Gini. 

[Hazell]

You're not looking at the whole pie Lobo. Liverpool is one big pie, and if they've let Wijnaldum in charge of the midfield of that one big pie, then he'll be in charge of the pie, and Lampard is the fruit...

[CraigDS]

You're not looking at the whole pie Lobo. Liverpool is one big pie, and if they've let Wijnaldum in charge of the midfield of that one big pie, then he'll be in charge of the pie, and the Lampard is the fruit...

Lampard is def more like a pie.

[El Lobo]

Uhh, I don't now seems pretty clear to me that I disagree with your statement.  There's no way Lampard would score 20 if he played the same role as Gini.

Well...no, clearly. Thanks for making my point I guess?

[Dave McCoy]

Well...no, clearly. Thanks for making my point I guess?

Hah.  I guess you meant the opposite.  Was poorly worded then to me but I'm guilty of that myself at times.

[Hazell]

Lampard is def more like a pie.

Very true.

[Racer]

What will it cost to replace Gini £30m-£40m ? That’s the problem with the summer window we will have to spend somewhere in that region just to stand still, this will impact on developing other areas of the squad. It will sure be an interesting window.

[Schmidt]

What will it cost to replace Gini £30m-£40m ? That’s the problem with the summer window we will have to spend somewhere in that region just to stand still, this will impact on developing other areas of the squad. It will sure be an interesting window.

We already bought Thiago and Jones has had a great breakthrough season, if you look at the numbers we have in midfield we might not need to replace Gini, as long as we don't get stuck using midfielders in defense again.

[paisley1977]

Sancho or Mbappe?

Both and Haaland

[FlashGordon]

Hah.  I guess you meant the opposite.  Was poorly worded then to me but I'm guilty of that myself at times.

Wasn't worded poorly at all, have another read of it.

[Samie]

Choupo- Moting

[rawcusk8]

Choupo- Moting

He’s outshone Mbappe and Neymar so far, would be difficult to prize him away from Bayern but I hope we at least try.

[Drinks Sangria]

Choupo- Moting

Maybe still has his gaff in Stoke? Would be silly not to at least chance our arm.

[PeterTheRed ...]

Twitter chatter that we are interested in Vlahovic from Fiorentina.

Good. I've mentioned him before, and he could be the typical Edwards signing ...

[Vinay]

Maybe still has his gaff in Stoke? Would be silly not to at least chance our arm.

What does gaff mean in this context bruv?