{"id":1304,"date":"2018-07-19T12:54:31","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T12:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2018-07-19T12:54:31","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T12:54:31","slug":"liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-july-19th-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-july-19th-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club Transfer Rumour Round-Up: July 19th 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In football, there are a number of arguments that really annoy me. One of the big ones is the idea that where you come from geographically somehow dictates whether or not you\u2019re a \u2018proper\u2019 supporter of a football club. We\u2019ve all heard people saying that the opinions of Scousers are more important than those of out of towners, which is about the most ludicrous thing I\u2019ve ever heard. I\u2019ve been on the Kop and heard Scousers spend most of the match slagging off every player whilst not even watching the actual football before then getting off on eighty-five, much as I\u2019ve been next to out of towners who sing all of the songs and support the team passionately for ninety minutes. Neither are indicative of the wider group in any way.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Bored with the locals\/ wools arguments. Honestly there are scousers who don\u2019t give a toss about football and out of towners who are passionate Reds that get behind the team. Good and bad in both.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John Richter (@jonricLFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonricLFC\/status\/931542283757019136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Another thing that annoys me immensely in the world of football arguments is that of net spend. I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s anything as pointless as talking about a club\u2019s net spend, for all sorts of reasons. Those that want to defend a club\u2019s transfer policy will point the outgoings, those that want to criticise it will look at the incomings. Neither give you the full picture, nor are they all that relevant. Let\u2019s have a quick look at Liverpool\u2019s outgoings over the past couple of seasons to see what I mean. Here they are with the rumoured amount of money we made for them keeping it limited to those worth mentioning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Philippe Coutinho &#8211; \u00a3142 million<\/li>\n<li>Christian Benteke &#8211; \u00a327 million<\/li>\n<li>Mamadou Sakho &#8211; \u00a326 million<\/li>\n<li>Jordon Ibe &#8211; \u00a315 million<\/li>\n<li>Joe Allen &#8211; \u00a313 million<\/li>\n<li>Kevin Stewart &#8211; \u00a37 million<\/li>\n<li>Martin Skrtel &#8211; \u00a35.5 million<\/li>\n<li>Lucas Leiva &#8211; \u00a35 million<\/li>\n<li>Luis Alberto &#8211; \u00a34.3 million<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those that are obsessed with net spend will look at Liverpool and say \u2018our net spend is \u00a315 million in profit!\u2019 or whatever, without taking into account that you receive money for outgoing players. Here\u2019s why I think net spend will always and forever be a stupid argument: If we\u2019d kept Benteke, Sakho, Ibe, Allen and Kevin Stewart we\u2019d be roughly \u00a388 million more in the red than we currently are. The net spend lads would be delighted we\u2019d spent so much money. But we\u2019d also still have Benteke, Sakho, Ibe, Allen and Kevin Stewart on our books. They\u2019re bang average players that were never going to play in a J\u00fcrgen Klopp team, so why on earth would people be so keen on keeping them?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"ht\">Klopp&#8217;s transfers if Alisson signs &#x2b07;<\/p>\n<p>Grujic \u00a35.1M<br \/>\nMan\u00e9 \u00a330M<br \/>\nKarius \u00a34.7M<br \/>\nVan Dijk \u00a370M<br \/>\nMatip \u00a30<br \/>\nKlavan \u00a34.5M<br \/>\nWijnaldum \u00a325M<br \/>\nSalah \u00a338M<br \/>\nSolanke ?<br \/>\nRobertson \u00a38M<br \/>\nChamberlain \u00a334M<br \/>\nKe\u00efta \u00a354M<br \/>\nFabinho \u00a340M<br \/>\nShaqiri \u00a313M<br \/>\nAlisson \u00a368M<\/p>\n<p>SPENT \u00a3394.3M<br \/>\nRECEIVED \u00a3288M<br \/>\n&#x1f4b0; NET SPEND \u00a3106.3M <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1IeEp0pYID\">pic.twitter.com\/1IeEp0pYID<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFCTransferRoom\/status\/1019695322887524352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to transfers, the only thing that matters is what the squad looks like when the window shuts. I honestly don\u2019t care about the players that have left the club, they don\u2019t interest me at all. How will the team line up when football matches are going to be played? Does it look good? Are there positions that we need to fill? If so then let\u2019s get them filled. If not, why would it possibly matter how much money we\u2019ve spent? Would supporters preferred it if the club overspent on the players that they bought in order to ensure that our net spend is high? It\u2019s an idiotic argument and one that I\u2019ve got absolutely no time for.<\/p>\n<h2>The Runners And Riders Of The Rumour Mill<\/h2>\n<p>All summer long I\u2019ve been saying that things will hot up once the World Cup ends. The Premier League\u2019s bizarre decision to shorten its own transfer window means that things feel a little bit like they\u2019re going to reach fever pitch over the next week or so, but how much will Liverpool be involved?<\/p>\n<h3>The Ins<\/h3>\n<p>There has been one confirmed signing since last week, one player signing a new contract and one lad who will almost certainly be a Liverpool player by the time a publish this piece, so I\u2019m going to roll the dice and include him in this section of the piece. Don\u2019t blame me if it then falls apart, I\u2019m not that powerful.<\/p>\n<h4>Xherdan Shaqiri<\/h4>\n<p>The rumour that the Reds wanted to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City began almost as soon as the season ended and the Potters were relegated. The fact that the Swiss international had a release clause of about \u00a313 million certainly helped to make his arrival more likely given that that\u2019s buttons for a decent attacking player who has experience playing for such European stalwarts as Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. No, things didn\u2019t necessarily work out for him with either of those clubs, but they weren\u2019t managed by J\u00fcrgen Klopp, so that\u2019s kind of irrelevant. The manager has history of keeping tabs on players that he likes, so it\u2019s no surprise to see him refer to the move as a \u2018no brainer\u2019 once it went through.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Xherdan Shaqiri says he wanted to sign for Liverpool a few years ago but it never happened&#8230; &#8220;I&#8217;m really happy that now I&#8217;m finally here. I want to improve myself too, I want to be with the best and I want to win titles&#8221; (Pic via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LFC<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CapitalReports?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CapitalReports<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iXTCRHjITD\">pic.twitter.com\/iXTCRHjITD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CapitalLivNews (@CapitalLivNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CapitalLivNews\/status\/1018015132054671360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The interesting thing is going to be finding out how often he\u2019s going to play. Many people are looking at him as though he\u2019s nothing more than a squad player who will come in when the big boys need a rest, but I wonder if Michael Edwards and his crew are viewing him that way? Certainly they didn\u2019t agree with most supporters who felt that Mohamed Salah was arriving as backup for Sadio Man\u00e9, so might Shaqiri have a bigger role to play than we\u2019re all thinking? The answer to that, you imagine, will lie with the player himself. He didn\u2019t do enough for either Inter or Bayern to be kept around, but he was always a big fish in a small pond for Stoke. The good news for us is that if he becomes the player that he believe he is then we\u2019ll have one hell of a forward on our hands. If he doesn\u2019t, it\u2019s about as risk-free a transfer as you can get.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Likelihood Rating: DONE DEAL<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Alisson Becker<\/h4>\n<p>The superstition around football is something that I have simultaneously bought into in the past and yet also do not understand. There\u2019s no question that I\u2019ll get messages from people abusing me for putting Alisson Becker in the \u2018Ins\u2019 section should the transfer go on to fall apart, but I\u2019m no more guilty of doing anything worth criticising than Dejan Lovren is when he gives a confident interview ahead of a match. At least with Lovren he\u2019s actually involved in the game so criticism has some basis, whereas people on the internet really can\u2019t \u2018jinx\u2019 anything, no matter what people say. When Nabil Fekir failed his medical it was because of a quick-fix operation years ago, not because @DaveKopite1892 tweeted out the photo of his club interview.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-cards=\"hidden\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Monchi: &#8220;We haven\u2019t finalised anything yet [with Alisson]. But it is true that the negotiations are advanced and he\u2019s over in Liverpool now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When a very substantial offer comes in, you have to consider it. We weighed up the pros and cons and decided to speak to Liverpool.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KBSgsR9aj7\">pic.twitter.com\/KBSgsR9aj7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ASRomaEN\/status\/1019896863141650433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Barring something mad happening in the medical this time around, Liverpool will announce the signing of Alisson Becker from Roma either later this afternoon or tomorrow. It\u2019s a \u2018world record fee for a goalkeeper\u2019, but that\u2019s slightly misleading. The work of Paul Tompkins and The Tompkins Times shows how football inflation works differently to inflation in other areas of life, meaning that Alisson\u2019s price is <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BassTunedToRed\/status\/1019607366839480320\/photo\/1\">more closely aligned with the signing of Tim Flowers<\/a> by Blackburn in the 1990s. Add into the fact that we may well end up getting in the region of \u00a330 million for our current crop of shot-stoppers and that looks like very good business indeed. At a time when goalkeepers are something of a premium, getting in one that performed in the top bracket of \u2018keepers around the world last year and fits our system well is ideal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Likelihood Rating: 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Rhian Brewster<\/h4>\n<p>I\u2019m not going to go into too much detail about Rhian Brewster, given that I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-june-21st-2018\/\">wrote about him more fully a few weeks ago<\/a>. However, given the lad is highly thought of by J\u00fcrgen Klopp and signed a professional contract with the club this week, it\u2019s only right to mention him briefly here. The youngster is one of the most exciting talents on our books, being spoken of by those in the know in terms not too dissimilar to that of Raheem Sterling when he was first breaking through the ranks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Delighted to have signed a new deal with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LFC<\/a>. The love and support the club have shown me means a lot to me. From fans, Academy coaches and the first team! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YNWA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#YNWA<\/a> &#x2764; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HRAnE2xDNP\">pic.twitter.com\/HRAnE2xDNP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rhian Brewster (@RhianBrewster9) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RhianBrewster9\/status\/1019326340229672960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Klopp is a man that knows how to develop players, that much is clear. That he mentioned Brewster when he recorded a video of Mo Salah\u2019s Player of the Year celebration shows you how highly he rates him. If he continues to develop along his current trajectory then Liverpool fans might find themselves getting just as excited about him as we are our current front three. This piece of news has largely been forgotten in the excitement of the Alisson transfer, but it\u2019s absolutely worthy of remembering for the years to come. He\u2019s out injured right now, but I expect him to feature once he\u2019s back and fully fit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Likelihood Rating: DONE DEAL<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>The Ins?<\/h3>\n<p>The rumours emerging from the club right now are that Alisson, presuming we get his signing across the line, will be the last incoming of the summer. I\u2019m not entirely sure that that\u2019s true and think it\u2019s part of the massive misdirect operation that\u2019s been underway behind-the-scenes ever since the Virgil van Dijk deal fell apart. Even so, here is the latest rumour to hit the presses:<\/p>\n<h4>Nabil Fekir<\/h4>\n<p>The most amusing thing about Nabil Fekir is that the only person who keeps brining his name up is the Lyon Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas. The Reds are briefing the press that we\u2019re no longer interested in him, but I\u2019m not sure that that\u2019s anything other than a negotiating stance and a misdirect. After all, we\u2019ve needed a new number ten since we sold Philippe Coutinho and we were interested in Fekir enough to agree a fee, so why would we suddenly decide we don\u2019t want him and won\u2019t be looking for an alternative?<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_1261\" style=\"width: 341px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1261\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1261\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Nabil_Fekir_2015_cropped-331x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"331\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Nabil_Fekir_2015_cropped-331x400.jpg 331w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Nabil_Fekir_2015_cropped-166x200.jpg 166w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Nabil_Fekir_2015_cropped.jpg 496w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1261\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By Thomas FABRE (File:Nabil Fekir 2015.jpg) [<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>], <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Nabil_Fekir_2015_(cropped).jpg\">via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p><\/div>The only sensible answer I can think of, other than \u2018it\u2019s nonsense and we\u2019ll still sign him\u2019, is that Daniel Sturridge has been making references to training in a \u2018new role\u2019, so maybe that\u2019s what Klopp\u2019s got in mind? I do think that we\u2019ll still end up signing Fekir and Lyon seem to think so too, reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/sport\/football\/transfer-news\/nabil-fekir-transfer-latest-liverpool-12933249\">giving the Reds a two week deadline to get the deal done<\/a>. Klopp, meanwhile, has said that he doesn\u2019t want to be making any signings after the club leaves on its tour of the US. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Likelihood Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>The Outs?<\/h3>\n<p>There have been a few rumours this week, such as Marko Grujic heading to Turkey rather than back to Cardiff, but only one that\u2019s really eye-catching:<\/p>\n<h4>Danny Ward<\/h4>\n<p>Is Danny Ward\u2019s position as \u2018Liverpool\u2019s number one\u2019 the shortest lived in the club\u2019s history? Just as we get used to the idea that the Welshman might be given his chance to impress and take over as our first-choice goalkeeper, rumours emerge that <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RVfIzAu2Ae\">that he\u2019s off to Leicester City for \u00a312 million<\/a>. Some in the press are saying it\u2019s to give Kasper Schmeichel some competition, others that he\u2019ll replace the Denmark international who might be off to Roma.<\/p>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_1019\" style=\"width: 519px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1019\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1019\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Danny-Ward-509x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"509\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Danny-Ward-509x400.jpg 509w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Danny-Ward-255x200.jpg 255w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Danny-Ward-65x50.jpg 65w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Danny-Ward.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1019\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By md.faisalzaman from Worcester, MA [<a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>], <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File%3ADanny_Ward_2014_(cropped).jpg\">via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p><\/div>From a Liverpool perspective, the most important thing is that he\u2019s not going to be our number one. I don\u2019t dislike the lad, but given he only played one game for us last season when the world was crying out for us to give someone else a shot, I\u2019m not convinced that he\u2019s good enough in the long-term either. Too many were simultaneously saying that neither Loris Karius nor Simon Mignolet were good enough whilst also suggesting that Ward should be given a chance. That rumours kiboshed now and that might spell interesting news for Karius as a number two\u2026.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s all starting to kick-off. Our squad is looking really tasty, so I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we start to move on some of the dead wood over the next fortnight.<\/p>\n<p>Until next week\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In football, there are a number of arguments that really annoy me. One of the big ones is the idea that where you come from geographically somehow dictates whether or not you\u2019re a \u2018proper\u2019 supporter of a football club. We\u2019ve all heard people saying that the opinions of Scousers are more important than those of out of towners, which is about the most ludicrous thing I\u2019ve ever heard. I\u2019ve been on the Kop and heard Scousers spend most of the match slagging off every player whilst not even watching the actual football before then getting off on eighty-five, much as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1306,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}