{"id":518,"date":"2016-06-10T14:29:40","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T14:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=518"},"modified":"2016-06-10T14:29:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T14:29:40","slug":"liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-june-10th-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-june-10th-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club Transfer Rumour Round-Up: June 10th 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is the day that the 2016 European Championships finally get underway in France. Will that stop people from throwing their toys out of the pram over Liverpool FC\u2019s transfer policy? It seems unlikely, to be honest\u2026<\/p>\n

Even though the transfer window doesn\u2019t open until the start of next month and we\u2019ve already signed three players – two in crucial positions – it isn\u2019t enough for some that we aren\u2019t signing every player we\u2019re linked with. Never mind that the links are often literally made up by websites and newspapers in order to generate clicks, we\u2019ve been linked with players so why the hell aren\u2019t we signing them?!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth bearing in mind that pretty much everyone is on holiday. Liverpool played 673 games last season and that takes its toll not only on the players but also on the people who work at the club. Imagine being the bloke who is responsible for booking the travel and hotels for the players! Most importantly of all, Klopp needs a break and he\u2019s the guy who has to put a seal of approval on all decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Klopp

Klopp Watches On<\/p><\/div>\n

So, really, it\u2019s no surprise that things are slowing down a little bit. There\u2019s no need to get stressed about any of it, especially in comparison to other teams. \u201cUnited have signed Eric Bailly!\u201d \u201cCity have signed Gundogan!\u201d So what? We weren\u2019t ever going to be going for either of those players; nor, if we\u2019re honest, would we be in the mix for the sort of players that the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona are likely to be going for.<\/p>\n

The truth is that Liverpool are, for the time being, swimming in a different pool to the bigger and more recently successful sharks. We have to box-clever, try to do things differently from the other teams and give ourselves the best possible chance of coming out of it all on top. We\u2019ve already done one thing to give ourselves the best possible advantage: Signed J\u00fcrgen Klopp.<\/p>\n

Most Liverpool fans were delighted when the German arrived in the dugout, so now it\u2019s time to sit back and trust him to get things right. Will everything work every time? Probably not. But what we need is to trust him. He was a brilliant manager and Borussia Dortmund and he hasn\u2019t lost that. If he thinks Ben Chilwell is the answer at left-back then do you really think some whiney kid on Twitter knows better than him?<\/p>\n

Anyone, enough moralising. Here are the rumours and bits of transfer news worth talking about this week:<\/p>\n

The Out<\/h2>\n

Kolo Toure<\/h3>\n

Kolo, Kolo Kolo, Kolo Kolo, Kolo Kolo Toure\u2026 What a character. What a guy. He was treated a bit like a figure of fun when he arrived at Anfield and it was easy to forget that he was part of the Arsenal team that went unbeaten for an entire season. It\u2019s also easy to forget that he was one of the first people to say we could win the title just before we nearly did back in 2013-2014, having arrived in the summer.<\/p>\n

Toure made 71 appearances for the Reds scoring just one, brilliant, goal. He was keen to stay, saying after the Europa League final, \u201cOf course I want to stay. It\u2019s a great club to play in, but the manager has his plan and any decision I will respect. He is a top manager and he knows what he is doing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"mooinblack

mooinblack \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

There is a school of thought that he should have been kept on for his experience or offered a coaching contract, but the player himself wants to stay on the pitch for the minute and would likely have refused had he been offered. Last season felt like one in which he gave his all, putting his body on the line again and again when asked to step to the plate after the voluntary suspension of Mamadou Sakho.<\/p>\n

We might have been able to get a few more games out of him but with no European football to swell the fixture list, Joel Matip arriving when the window officially opens and Joe Gomez likely to be a decent option moving forward, would that be fair on the player?<\/p>\n

Regardless, Liverpool will confirm today<\/a> that Toure is on his way out of the club when his contract runs out at the end of the month.It\u2019s been a laugh, and I for one wish the Ivorian a very successful future.<\/p>\n

The Out?<\/h2>\n

Cameron Brannagan<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ll be honest, I had to double check it wasn\u2019t April the 1st when I read this story, but it appears that Liverpool\u2019s midfielder is attracting the interest of not one but two of Spain\u2019s biggest clubs. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are reportedly interested<\/a> in taking the 20-year-old off our books.<\/p>\n

The Reds have seen in the past what happens when a worldwide juggernaut like Barca or Real come calling, with Philippe Coutinho also likely to be the subject of interest from one of them before too long. Will Brannagan be tempted to leave Merseyside before he\u2019s even had half a chance to establish himself in the Liverpool first team? Perhaps, but given J\u00fcrgen Klopp is determined to give young players a chance and we need to bolster our midfield it seems unlikely that we\u2019d let him go without a fight.<\/p>\n

The rumoured fee for the Salford born, two-footed wonderkid who apparently takes one of the best free-kicks at Melwood is around \u00a35.5 million plus add-ons. Is that enough to warrant letting him go if he\u2019s good enough for Los Blancos and the land of Messi and Suarez to consider buying him? We\u2019ll see as the summer goes on, I suppose.<\/p>\n

The Rumours<\/h2>\n

Gonzalo Higuain<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s virtually impossible not to get excited when your club is linked with a brilliant and exciting talent. The Higuain rumour appears to have come from nowhere in particular, especially with Liverpool letting it be known that J\u00fcrgen Klopp is quite happy with the four strikers he\u2019s got on his books at the moment. But we can dream, can\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

How you feel about the Higuain rumour<\/a> really depends on how you feel about transfers in general. If you\u2019re scrolling through is Instagram and making notes about who he\u2019s following and what he\u2019s taking photos of then you probably need to open a window or go for a long walk.<\/p>\n

\"Celso

Celso Pupo \/ shutter stock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

If, on the other hand, you\u2019re all about enjoying the dream then there\u2019s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun thinking about it all. For example, the striker is rumoured to have a buy out clause of \u20ac94.7 million Euros and Liverpool are hoping for a \u2018substantial discount\u2019. Well I\u2019m hoping for a substantial discount on a new Ferrari, but both seem about as unlikely as each other. I don\u2019t do \u2018likelihood ratings\u2019 but if I did this one would be scoring very low indeed.<\/p>\n

\n

From a conversation with someone at #LFC<\/a> yesterday, they have no interest whatsoever in Higuain. Not bluffing. Just an absolute non-starter<\/p>\n

\u2014 Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes) June 8, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n