Liverpool Banter 2

12 Aug 2026 13:54:22
Seen reports Guela Doue refusing to train as wants transfer to us.
Don't know how true the stories are.

12 Aug 2026 14:41:19
Every time I have watched him so far, I have been underwhelmed.

Even when watching the WC, I was more impressed by Wilfried Singo than Guela Doue.

12 Aug 2026 14:45:07
Would have some of that.
If he has half the ability of his brother, he would still be a great signing.

12 Aug 2026 15:39:51
Where are you seeing this grino, I've not seen anything on Doue.

12 Aug 2026 16:02:34
Indeed, MKS. Why would he do that?

Never seen us linked with him nor his brother.

12 Aug 2026 16:18:37
This story (and another one, see below) both come from the Kopite View, which is now being picked up (i.e. paying for advertising) on NewsNow.

OK-ly written opinion pieces with no substance. For example, the Doue piece claims to be repeating what "@roberts_katz of Anfield Index" is saying, that apparently Doue is refusing to train.

"apparently" is part of the post on X. So, up to you whether to believe or not.

Also, The Kopite View cite "exclusive sources" (without naming them this time) that we have apparently started a convo with Palace re Adam Wharton.

Again, up to you to decide!

12 Aug 2026 12:37:26
Non Liverpool related but how on earth is Roberto Martinez landing the Netherlands job? Talk about consistently failing upwards. Maybe it’s the Dutch just having a laugh, if you want evidence of this. Use Google Translate to find out what “you can” or “whipped cream” are in Dutch.

12 Aug 2026 13:22:31
Football is one of the only careers that rewards you for failing. We've seen it happen with players and we've seen it happen with managers.

12 Aug 2026 13:33:19
Most tipped for being in the running would rather coach at club level.

12 Aug 2026 13:36:36
Collecting and destroying generational International teams like Thanos with the stones.

12 Aug 2026 14:03:01
The people who run football associations are often uninvested, uninterested people with authority well beyond their competence. A nation considering itself a serious contender would go nowhere near Martinez. If the only other contender was Slot, then that is just unfortunate, but a coach in one of the junior teams would be well worth a go before either of those two.

12 Aug 2026 14:40:34
Hahaha slagroom.

12 Aug 2026 14:42:47
Remember Paul Merson (can't believe I am referencing him) describing his support being driven by one of those Men In Black neuralizers?

12 Aug 2026 16:06:58
Indeed, Dracred. I'm sure you know the term called "Failing Up".

All one has to do is have a period where you were really good and even if you are absolutely washed and have failed (pun intended) everywhere else since then, that clout is still there and someone is gonna look at that and ignore all your failures after that.

Sad.

12 Aug 2026 16:19:50
This all dates back to an incident in the mid-2000s, including the people who subsequently went on to be heads of their respective country FAs, Martinez, some whipped cream, and a hidden camera.

Make of that what you will.

12 Aug 2026 17:21:33
The thing is, Oli, you mentioned having a period when you were really good. I'm not entirely convinced he's ever had that.

Even with the FA Cup win, he managed to get relegated at the same time.

12 Aug 2026 19:07:19
Wassa, I see your point. I was more talking about his time with Belgium. Now that Belgian team was stacked (built by Marc Wilmots). But when he got hired after him, they were ready to win off the back of Wilmots' efforts.

So even tho they got close with him in charge (WC 3rd place in 2018), and on another day, they make that final, but hey, the French were worthy winners in the end.



After that, it has been failure for him with Belgium and now Portugal. Like I said, being good for a period in the past is all you need to get jobs these days, even tho you won as much as I did when you were good.

12 Aug 2026 12:15:45
My ideal ending to the Barcola saga is it doesn't happen... we end up with Rayan and Mbaye instead - Rayan off the right, Isak through the middle and Rio off the left is such an exciting profile.

12 Aug 2026 13:29:08
I suspect it would be too late to switch to Rayan now. They would have no time to get a replacement in.

12 Aug 2026 13:35:54
Totally agree - that's just been my dream signing since I saw him play in the league. Couldn't believe a Brazilian winger with a physique so suited to the Prem - think even at 100m it would look a steal in a few years' time.

12 Aug 2026 13:37:03
Rio's not ready to be our go-to on the left.
Although he looks a promising talent, we haven't seen anything from his style that suggests he'd be ideal for providing service to Isak.
We need a senior LW and RW, not 2x RWs. We already have 2 backup wingers who are capable of playing either side.

12 Aug 2026 13:45:41
Defo won't be getting Rayan, guy has a 130m release clause and he only joined Bournemouth 6 months ago. They won't be in a rush to sell unless of course that release clause gets hit, which we all know it won't.

12 Aug 2026 13:49:10
Actually, Chewy, what we really need is a right back and a solid defensive midfield player. What we seem to be doing instead is chasing attacking glory rather than having anything solid to play behind them.

12 Aug 2026 14:07:41
Johnny, I agree, mate, but I was purely talking about wingers. Yes, we do need a RB at the moment, desperately imo. Last season's situation was disastrous, and entering this season without a proper resolution could prove to be an unbelievable oversight. I've said before that a senior RB and CB would be ideal, but it seems Araujo may be seen as a stop-gap solution until next summer.



When it comes to a proper DM, I lost all hope as soon as Grav got that new contract a few months back. I see lots calling for a proper DM, but where would one fit in a mid 3 of Wirtz, Dom, and Grav if the club is confident Grav is their man? I can only see us bringing in someone like Wharton or similar if Macca goes.

12 Aug 2026 16:20:23
Rayan's clause isn't active until next year. Doesn't mean he'll be any cheaper now, mind!

12 Aug 2026 16:25:46
Lsred, you think Rayan is just gonna run to us in a pinch after watching us relentlessly court other wingers like Mbaye and Barcola in public?

Not sure if this is how you court someone you would like to either sign as a club. Or be with in a relationship.

12 Aug 2026 11:35:28
Is it me or is one of the biggest mistakes we made last summer was letting Tyler Morton go, with no buy back clause included? He's looked brilliant playing in France and last night's game particularly highlighted that.

With Curtis Jones looking like he's about to leave for Inter and the club listening to offers for Endo, I can't help but think he would have been a solid squad option for this season.

12 Aug 2026 13:18:53
No! He's found his level, that's all. Was never good enough for Liverpool, so you can put this one to bed in my opinion.

12 Aug 2026 13:17:34
I was wondering about Morton just yesterday, Parky. And I do agree, no buyback was a miss here as I do think he is a great squad option with development to go.

I think Ed001 said a few months/years ago that the most sensible option, if you have invested in an academy, is to use those players to fill holes and provide cover.

If we have, say, 16-18 first team ready players with our first 11 being internationals/world class, then the remaining 7-9 places should be academy grads, instead of £20-£30m 'stocking fillers' (sorry for the analogy!).

We do not have a buy back, but we do have a 20% sell on clause so we effectively have a 20% discount on brining him back, but that would likely be a fee of at least €40m+ given his progress in the last year.

12 Aug 2026 13:38:09
That and Kelleher, 2 poor decisions by the club, I felt at the time.

12 Aug 2026 14:41:26
Kelleher wanted to leave and I can't blame him. He's good enough to be first choice at another PL club, but if he stays with us, he'd forever be a no2 behind Allison.

Not sure if we have a buy back clause, though, but if we don't, then I agree that it's a huge mistake on our part.

12 Aug 2026 14:45:21
Chewy, I'm not so sure on Kelleher anymore.

I would agree with Klopp that he was the world's best No 2 keeper.

However, if Iraola is going to play a similar way to Klopp, I haven't seen Kelleher push on enough with his distribution - something we also criticise Mamar for.



I would say that between Jaros and Pecsi we could grow our next Alisson, but the one who is head and shoulders ahead of everyone else is Diogo Costa - he's our man if we can get him!

12 Aug 2026 15:50:57
Dracred, I think Kelleher could have been convinced had we not brought in Giorgi. As we know, Alisson does tend to miss an awful lot of game time with injuries, and Kelleher had plenty of game time because of it.

Zed, Kelleher's distribution is better than Giorgi's in my opinion; he's significantly better with the ball at his feet and less prone to error in dangerous situations; it just comes off more composed and well-rounded to me, but that was for us.

Admittedly, I haven't seen enough of him since he left to comment on how he's playing at the moment.

12 Aug 2026 15:51:46
Really? I always thought Kelleher was good with his feet. Not a lot of top goalies out there.

12 Aug 2026 16:21:14
Yeah, no debate that he's better than Mamar, but Alisson has massive shoes to fill, and I'm not 100% that Kelleher is the man to fill them.

12 Aug 2026 19:52:26
Whatever keeper is our number 1 when Ali goes won't be at his level. We have to get used to the idea of that. The only direction to go from him is down.
Hopefully we'll get someone half as good as Ali has been and we'll still have a world class keeper.

12 Aug 2026 20:14:51
Ali will take some replacing, but great keepers are scarce at the moment.

Be better to pay millions to the best doctors and surgeons to keep him going for longer, and offer him a new contract.

12 Aug 2026 11:13:21
A lot of talk naturally about Barcola and the hokey cokey of if it's done or not. I'm sure Barcola will happen so just concerned that we haven't replaced Robbo and haven't addressed the obvious RB problem yet.

The Greek is nowhere near good enough (the reason why he went to Roma, they didn't want him and shipped him back) and Kerkez was a mixed bag last season.

I know Araujo can cover RB but we need him to play CB, unless the club feels that Jacquet will be fit and ready to start the prem.

Hopefully things are happening behind the scenes but growing concerned, with less than two weeks to go until the prem, that we're spending so much time on Barcola but haven't sorted full backs.

Would be very risky not to sort it.

12 Aug 2026 13:34:23
Can't see any fullbacks coming in to be honest. Tsimi will be backup to Kerkez and we just brought in a CB who can cover RB alongside Frimpong whilst Bradley recovers. There is no room in the squad for more fullbacks.

12 Aug 2026 14:00:00
Only my humble opinion, but Tsimi isn't anywhere near good enough.

He needs to be moved on and a replacement found if there's no room in the squad for full backs.

Admittedly, I haven't seen Araujo play at RB, but let's hope he's mustard, as Frimpong isn't good enough at RB in the prem, which is why we played other players out of position at RB instead of him.

12 Aug 2026 14:14:22
Agree with Hansen, Araujo seems to be the temporary solution for the right side/centre back issue, and whilst Tsimi isn't a great player, he has filled in relatively adequately for us before, so I can't see the club being concerned with LB, at least not until next summer.

Kerkez was seen as the best up-and-coming LB in the league in '24 and now with Iraola at the table, I'm sure the club has complete confidence in the lad.

None of it's ideal, but I think the club is more concerned with scoring goals atm, and plans to address conceding them next year!

12 Aug 2026 12:17:53
Hi eds1.
Apologies if you've answered this before. Do you see wirtz becoming the player we all dreamed of this season under Iraola?

{Ed001's Note - maybe next season, but this season the sudden step up in physical demands required will mean it is mostly going to be about getting up to speed. He needs the rest of the team to be reading his passes before he does them and that is going to take time too. At least we should see that understanding growing this season, as they will actually be doing some training!}

12 Aug 2026
New image uploaded to the
Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled, Barcola at Anfield

Click picture for larger image

12 Aug 2026 10:54:26
£1.19?
That's a good Mbaye.

12 Aug 2026 10:56:02
Hughes has done it again!

12 Aug 2026 10:56:19
Wow, he's bigger than I thought.

12 Aug 2026 11:04:41
That's what she said last night, KE. 😉

12 Aug 2026 11:13:15
What is between "L" & "FC" on the stands? The forbidden initials.

12 Aug 2026 11:15:54
Seems like all spark and no fizzle to me.

12 Aug 2026 11:17:14
Might be as close as we get.

12 Aug 2026 11:32:16
She was talking about your belly, Barry. 😜

12 Aug 2026 12:08:07
Barr Cola has a great bit of fizz in his game.

12 Aug 2026 12:25:45
Well, I would like to have agreed with you, @Barry, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for those exact words, 34 years and counting.

12 Aug 2026 12:45:32
Ke same as brother, same as. 👍

12 Aug 2026 13:35:37
Don't lie to yourself, Barry, you've been waiting far longer than 34 years to hear those words 😉 I've only heard it once in 41 years... but choosers can't be beggars or whatever the saying is.

12 Aug 2026 13:58:40
I cannot lie, MB.

12 Aug 2026 10:22:06
Hopefully AI and Hughes can go and find some more reinforcements on the QT like Munoz and Araujo, so we are better prepared for AI ball in a couple of weeks time.
Between Diomande and now Barcola, it really is getting frustrating and so dragged out.

So here's hoping the club continues to have other transfer activities, both in's and outs going on in the background like they did with Munoz and Araujo.

12 Aug 2026 12:30:32
He looks great in red.

12 Aug 2026 10:54:06
I don't claim deep knowledge here, but Munoz looks like he will be some player. He doesn't strike me as the type to dilly dally on the ball. If we keep Gakpo, who I don't think is awful at all, we have enough on the left with Rio there too and Ekitike hopefully coming in the new year.
The bigger problem is right wing. If Munoz can cover part of that, great, but ideally we go for someone quick with the skill to beat defenders.

I haven't seen much of Rayan, but if Ed01 rates him, I will trust that. Don't get me wrong, I would love Barcola to join, but I would quietly prefer we didn't spend the quoted amount on one player and instead invested in quality where it is most needed.

12 Aug 2026 09:52:14
Bit of a theory I'd like people's thoughts on - does anyone feel like we've set a dangerous precedent with the Ekitike / Isak fiasco last summer? Was great fun for us at the time of course, but have Liverpool now given themselves an image of "we'll take your ideal replacement, and then STILL take your player"?
By all accounts, it seems like PSG aren't willing to let the Barcola deal go through until they have their replacements boxed off (especially seeing as we were also apparently sniffing round Akliouche and Torres ourselves).



In a similar vein, you'd think we'd have learned from the Guehi situation last year too that we can't always wait for the selling club to get their replacement sorted.

12 Aug 2026 10:30:12
Any player who comes in now will have less than 10 days to bed in until the season starts.

A new manager is trying to instil his philosophy and playing style onto a new group, and anyone late to the party will be behind the curve.

12 Aug 2026 10:49:10
Maybe to a certain degree, but to be one of the big boys you have to make big boy decisions. The club wanted both Isak and Ekitike and were unconcerned about Newcastle's feelings.

Real Madrid, PSG, Man City are pretty unforgiving in the market.

They puff out their chests and do what needs to be done.

Of course, you want to be as diplomatic as possible to not sour relations with all clubs, but essentially all is fair in love and war.

12 Aug 2026 10:54:43
I agree with that, JK, but the club can't be thinking short term like that and sign the wrong players at the wrong price just so we can get them through the door early.

Any player coming in has to be the right player regardless of timings.

You sign a player for the long term success of the club and they might not be up to speed in the first couple of months, but, long term, they will integrate and hopefully improve the team.

12 Aug 2026 10:56:41
It's not just about Liverpool.
Ekitike and Isak chose Liverpool over Newcastle, and PSG will be doing what's best for PSG.

12 Aug 2026 11:01:26
Agreed, get the right player a coupla weeks later than the wrong one.

12 Aug 2026 11:33:00
No, targets are targets, despite the rumours, we didn't only pursue Ekitike just because Newcastle were, he was a genuine target. Barcola, Godts, Torres, Akliouche, they're all players of genuine interest. Top teams will always compete for signings, and attempt to leverage interest to their gain, that's the game, it's always been that way and always will.

Yes, I agree, we should have learnt from the Guehi deal, especially with a new manager and during a World Cup year, the aim should have been to get business done ASAP.

Looks like things will go down to the wire and we'll end up bringing in players who will get no pre-season, Isak 2.0 essentially. I've been advocating for Godts (particularly) and Torres, we could have had both for less than the cost of Barcola. But what can you do? We just have to hope the Barcola business gets done and that he does the business.

12 Aug 2026 11:37:26
Rios & Florian fully agree on the right player.

Not sure if my comment insinuated getting any player for the sake of it, as that wasn't the intention.

More, we've seen how important pre-season was last year. Any player coming in now doesn't get a pre-season with the team.

The fortunate thing is, the World Cup has more or less disrupted the majority of clubs' pre-seasons.

12 Aug 2026 11:37:50
Preseason this time around is not effective because of the extended World Cup imo. Macca just returned not too long back, so he wouldn't have had time to get up to speed with Iraola's football, too. Our other first teamers, too, wouldn't have had much time with Iraola, and those who did are seemingly on the way out.

So I'm not too concerned about getting targets in early now, since I feel that we are going to struggle in the first few games regardless.

12 Aug 2026 12:44:22
They'll only have to get onto the first half stuff and rinse repeat because no one wants the 2nd half showings so far!

12 Aug 2026 12:49:30
It's not that simple, @chewy. Just because PSG are signing them doesn't mean they would have signed for us if we tried.

A lot of players would rather go where they can compete for trophies and the team who's won the Champions League two years in a row is a much better choice than the one who is gonna spend a season or two bedding in a new system, manager and players who will probably compete for top4 but nothing else.

12 Aug 2026 12:52:01
Yeah, JK, I know you weren't insinuating that, mate. I was just blurting out my thoughts as usual.

Preseason is important, but I do think you have to remember the situation at the start of last season to put it in its proper context.

Firstly, most of our squad (and the manager) checked out as soon as we won the league in 2025, which was April 27th. So they had May and June without doing any serious training. Then the Jota tragedy happened on 3rd July, and I believe the players were due to report back to preseason training on 5th July. That was obviously put back due to the players mourning and attending Diogo's funeral etc.

Like we've seen a few of the players say, the last thing they wanted to do after coming back was to play football, so you could imagine that preseason wasn't as intense as it should've been at least for the first few weeks.



So that gives the players the best part of 3 months without doing any intense training. It's very easy to lose your fitness in that amount of time, and then it's very difficult to get it back.

Plus there was a lot of player turnover with the likes of Isak (no preseason) and Wirtz walking into a dressing room that was mourning a team mate. That will affect different players to different degrees but neither really got going at all.

This season is different purely due to the shorter time the players have had off, and they would've returned to preseason at full intensity. I don't expect us to have the same fitness issues as we did last season once we get going.

12 Aug 2026 13:02:26
Rios, no worries, mate.

With you on that. Fingers crossed, Iraola can get his stamp on this squad. I just feel he needs more, and the sooner he gets them the better for him. But I know it's not as simple as that.

Got just over 2 weeks left of the window, so let's hope it proves to be a successful one.

12 Aug 2026 13:27:37
Amen to that JK.

I actually don't feel the squad is as far off as some seem to think on here.

All teams have issues with their squads that they need to address. Arsenal, for example, need pretty much an entirely new attack. Saka is probably the only decent attacker they have and they've done zilch to address that so far.

If refs start clamping down on set pieces, they are bang in trouble.

I'm hoping we get Barcola over the line as a do feel we need more pace in the team.

If we then play Grav in his best position at the 6 then the midfield is a title winning midfield. Get Jaquet and Leoni fit along with Bradley and that sorts the defence. VVD does need to step up. He was poor last season, but at least we'll have the players to enable Iraola to pull him out if he needs it.

I actually think Ali's fitness is key because if we have to rely on Marma for any length of time it'll cost us dearly.

12 Aug 2026 13:59:06
Rios, good to see you so confident, mate, but unfortunately I don’t hold the same confidence as you.

Keeping Ali & Bradley fit is easier said than done. Jacquet and Leoni will be returning from 7 and 12 month lay offs, and are unknown quantities. Macca & Grav need huge improvements on last season, Wirtz and Isak also. Ekitike is coming back from probably one of the worst injuries a professional athlete can get, and I fully agree on the Marma comment.

Some of Elliot, Endo, Chiesa, Munoz & Araujo could all have decent seasons and contributions, but could just as likely fall flat on their faces.



In regards to Arsenal, they out scored us last season as a team, so they seem to work. Certainly will be interesting to see if refs do clamp down on them, but I’m not gonna lie, I watched them 3 times last season and that was against us twice and CL final, so I don’t really have a clue.

Despite what probably seems like a moan and groan, Im fairly confident that the club will compete for top 5 again, and it will be far better football to watch.

Actually can’t wait for the season to start now.