{"id":560,"date":"2016-07-15T11:59:19","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T11:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=560"},"modified":"2016-07-15T11:59:19","modified_gmt":"2016-07-15T11:59:19","slug":"liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-july-15th-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-transfer-rumour-round-up-july-15th-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club Transfer Rumour Round-Up: July 15th 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece about Liverpool\u2019s transfer activity to date. In it I made the point that there was still a fair amount that J\u00fcrgen Klopp has to learn before he can make firm decisions about the players he needs to buy. My point was that, for one thing, he\u2019ll know who he wants to get rid of but he can\u2019t be certain that they\u2019ll definitely go and until that is sorted he won\u2019t be 100% certain on his squad size or his budget.<\/p>\n

Another thing he\u2019ll be aware of is the emergence of talented youngsters. For all that supporters might be desperate for us to buy in huge talent like Manchester United and Chelsea are prone to do, that\u2019s not Klopp\u2019s way. He is all about developing the talent at his disposal. Sometimes that might involve buying a young player with real potential, such as Loris Karius, and seeing just how far he can take him. Other times that will mean working with players that are making their way through the Academy and giving them a chance to prove themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Klopp\"

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

Let\u2019s be honest, pre-season friendlies aren\u2019t exactly an indicator of what\u2019s to come in the season in front of you when you go up against the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan, let alone Tranmere and Fleetwood Town. Yet what these games can give you is a sense of relationships between players, of how different members of the squad work when under pressure.<\/p>\n

Klopp is also notorious for his vicious pre-season training methods, so the period the club is in right now will give him an idea of which players can handle it and which ones can\u2019t. Everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club (and Manchester City and Milan etc.) knows what sort of character Mario Balotelli is. No one is expecting him to suddenly revive his career, especially under a manager who is so demanding from his players. But what if, randomly, it clicked and Mario was in first thing every morning and was the last one to leave at night? It\u2019s never going to happen, of course, but if Balotelli suddenly \u2018got it\u2019 and proved himself to Klopp now then the German would be given an opportunity to re-assess things.<\/p>\n

\"photoplanet.am

photoplanet.am \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Equally, most people consider Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner to be the model professionals; remarkably fit, keen to prove themselves at every opportunity and reliable at every turn. What if Klopp\u2019s triple sessions were too much for them? What if they decided it really isn\u2019t for them to be arriving at Melwood at seven in the morning and doing shuttle runs? Better to know they don\u2019t have the mentality that the German demands now rather than midway through a title challenge.<\/p>\n

This is what pre-season is for. Klopp is learning all the time and he\u2019ll be using his new found knowledge of the squad he\u2019s got at his disposal to consider what to do next in the transfer market.<\/p>\n

Learning From Fleetwood – With Caveats<\/h2>\n

It was only Fleetwood Town. It was only a pre-season friendly. It was only our second game. Not all of the first team are even back in training yet.<\/p>\n

You can add as many caveats as you\u2019d like to Liverpool\u2019s performance against Fleetwood Town on Wednesday evening. There\u2019s no point in getting over excited, so the caveats are helpful and important. But that doesn\u2019t mean we have to ignore everything all together. We can take things from the game, learn from them and move forward with that knowledge.<\/p>\n

Whenever people spoke about Liverpool\u2019s transfer dealings before the pre-season games got underway, Marko Grujic was referred to as \u2018one for the future\u2019. He\u2019s a \u2018talented young player\u2019 who \u2018can come in for cup games and things\u2019. But did his performance against Fleetwood suggest he might be a little bit more than that? He won a penalty after some lovely movement and then scored a very well-taken goal. He also hit the post towards the end of the half.<\/p>\n

\"mooinblack

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

Ryan Kent used to be a slight, talented midfielder who could develop but had a lot of work to do. Now he\u2019s looking built. These are two strong players who can offer cover and give us options in the middle of the park. Their ability and work-rate may well allow Klopp to worry less about the imminent departure of Joe Allen. Neither Kent nor Grujic are likely to start every game, but neither did the Welsh Xavi so it\u2019s a little bit of like-for-like.<\/p>\n

Lazar Markovic didn\u2019t exactly set the world alight, but he showed some lovely movement and worked well with the forwards to cause Fleetwood\u2019s defence problems. So too did Man\u00e9 and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Ejaria gave the sort of inconsistent display that you\u2019d expect from a young player, but he also delivered a pass with such perfect weight on it that it made you sit up and take notice.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most eye-catching performance of all was delivered by young Ben Woodburn. An unknown for those of us that don\u2019t watch many of the Academy games, Woodburn\u2019s goal and two assists was the debut of dreams for a sixteen-year-old. Again, it\u2019s not exactly as though he\u2019s ripped apart a well-drilled Chelsea defence but he\u2019s given Klopp a wee bit to think about. Perhaps the manager was toying with looking for another attacking and the teenager has told him he only needs to look closer to home.<\/p>\n

\"almonfoto

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

Let\u2019s be clear, no one will be all that happy if our starting XI against Arsenal features all of Kent, Ejaria, Alexander-Arnold and Woodburn. If one of them was on the bench, however, would that be such a major issue? If Can, Henderson, Milner, Lucas and Coutinho are all injured at some point next season would it cause mass panic if one of those young midfielders made it on to the pitch? I\u2019m not so sure it would. Or, more importantly, I\u2019m not sure it would cause problems for J\u00fcrgen Klopp and it\u2019s his opinion that matters the most.<\/p>\n

The Outs!<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been coming for most of the summer, but finally the Reds have confirmed the departure of two more players. I\u2019ve spoken about them at length in the past, so I\u2019ll just give them a passing mention here for the sake of completeness.<\/p>\n

Martin Skrtel<\/h3>\n

Gone to Fenerbahce for \u00a35.5 million. He wasn\u2019t always the biggest problem, but he was very rarely part of the solution. Our defence will definitely be stronger without him.<\/p>\n

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Martin Skrtel completes transfer to Fenerbahce: https:\/\/t.co\/08eSXbdjZn<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/78y4QVHBN7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 14, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n