Liverpool Banter

15 Jul 2026 19:04:35.
Bild (trash, I know) are reporting that RBL have decided to keep Diomande as their valuation has not been met.

Apparently City, United, PSG and Chelsea have all communicated their interest to RBL but they've also been informed that none of them are willing to go above 100m.

15 Jul 2026 19:23:20
Good news. 👍

15 Jul 2026 19:55:04
@Chewy,

Their valuation has been met.

Their upfront payment, and payment structure request haven't yet.

Cheers.

15 Jul 2026 20:00:24
@Robbo, are you still adamant it gets done?

Does seem very quiet on the transfer front atm, but I imagine it will ramp up over the next week or 2.

Ken.

15 Jul 2026 20:11:07
Yes, Robbo said two days ago it would, and his message above implies he believes it will happen.

15 Jul 2026 17:08:07
Ahh, Barcola had "one bad game" against very good opposition. The bad game happens to be against real quality.
Barcola played in a farmer's league and Enrique is happy to move him on. The assertness on Barcola and many other's concerning this World Cup is farcical.


James Rodriguez was "amazing" during a World Cup and fooled Real Madrid.
I'll repeat, a six week tournament does not show what kind of player you're getting. When the season starts again some of you will come back to reality of who the "superstars" are.

15 Jul 2026 17:52:23
Never happened for Paul Scholes internationally, and he was great.

15 Jul 2026 17:53:07
Not one person is claiming Barcola is a superstar or world class.

He has potential, he has traits which are very attractive in the Premier League, namely: pace to burn, game intelligence, availability, good close ball control.

He may not live up to his potential, but I can absolutely appreciate why Liverpool would be interested in him.

15 Jul 2026 17:58:58
So can I, Ron, but 100m shouldn't be getting you potential.

15 Jul 2026 18:01:07
That abject 55 minutes by Bradley is a perfect reflection of his entire career to date. That has been all the Barcola critics pointed yesterday, not because of that 55 minutes he is rubbish. That 55 minutes has been a synopsis of his entire career to date. Ineffective, over hyped, confusing, anonymous, clueless and appalling.

15 Jul 2026 18:13:39
So Florian, is it the player you object to or the fee?

15 Jul 2026 18:35:05
In a winger market markedly short of "proven quality" it is potential where you have to turn and unfortunately in the current market that comes with the fee.

15 Jul 2026 18:36:21
You cannot write off Barcola & Co. All the French attackers were poor last night. Olise, with no space to operate in, went MIA. Spain had superb control of the match.

15 Jul 2026 18:46:38
Exactly that, Starseeker. Mbappe was worse than Barcola last night, but are we saying he's rubbish too?

How about Dembele? Olise? They looked like they wouldn't get in Everton's team last night, but are far from rubbish.

Personally I think Barcola is exactly what we need. He is very fast, direct, skillful, and can go either way. What's not to like?

15 Jul 2026 19:10:26
Exactly, Kingkev10. People would be wise to know the difference.

15 Jul 2026 20:01:37
Conor Bradley had one good game for us, and the majority of Liverpool fans I've spoken to think he's the reincarnation of Javier Zanetti... Barcola isn't world class, nor is he useless; he's somewhere on between. Is he worth 100 million? Of course not, but is Fernandes worth 75, or is Tonali worth a 100? Never, but that's the market today, and we helped inflate it last season with the purchases of Ek, Wirtz & Isak.

If Barcola becomes a Liverpool player, I'll support him, but keep my expectations in check. They all can't be Mo, Bobby & Sadio.

15 Jul 2026 20:21:56
Barcola critics had to sit pretty quiet until they could say something.

15 Jul 2026 14:31:18
Is Zabarnyi still being discussed as a purchase or loan to purchase option for us? Was reported here last week or previous week, just wondering if there's been any progress on a deal or is it dead in the water?

15 Jul 2026 16:03:26
Just slow at the moment, Macca. Lots of posturing, World Cup still to be concluded, some players still on holiday. I expect it will all pick up pace next week and towards the back end of the month.

15 Jul 2026 16:29:28
No arguments between him and Murillo also touted. Think they are the two best candidates, especially Zabarnyi, ticks more boxes, played for Andoni already, had Kerkez also as one of his full backs. That's 50% or half your back four who already know the new Andoni System to be implemented. That's a huge advantage for a quicker, seamless transition. Only problem, Enrique would not want to strengthen the team who are going to be his nemesis in the very near future, just like I would not have any business with taking any of his surplus wingers.



Also, knowing Glasner, who my view of him is that he is slippery and underhand with the truth, will most definitely engineer the same situation that LFC had with the Guehi fiasco at the beginning of last season and the following winter transfer window. Indeed, I thank the Lord that Andoni was preferred as LFC manager rather than him. His type of football is anti-football, park the bus for a whole season. Who would want to watch that? Probably the posters who were keen on him for the job, even after what he had done to LFC regards Guehi. "No Thanks".

15 Jul 2026 18:48:33
Zabyarni would be a shrewd and excellent signing. I hope this comes to fruition.

15 Jul 2026 19:49:38
I think so too, Shankly.

15 Jul 2026 12:22:19.
What are people’s thoughts on what we need to do this summer, realistically we’d all love new CMs, DMs, LB, RB, LW, RW, CB; however, if we could only sign 3/4 players where would people prioritise?

Personally I’d keep our main squad players from last season, sell Elliott, Chiesa and any of the youth players who are not looking like making the grade.

Then we add LW, RW, CB and potentially a CM. My picks are Barcola, Minteh, Joao Gomes and Geertruida.

15 Jul 2026 12:31:54
I think we need :-
GK
RB
LB
CB
CB
DM
DM
RW
AM
LW
CF

Nothing that a tweak here and there can't fix.

15 Jul 2026 12:53:02
I don't think we need a lb or a lw at all tbh.

15 Jul 2026 12:54:42
CB (that can cover RB) -
CB
LB (if Kostas is sold) -
DM -
LW (if Gakpo is sold or moved to cover CF)
RW

Need these.

15 Jul 2026 13:00:30
I think RW, CM, RB and CB.

Diomande or Narcola
Joao Gomes
Zabarnyi
RB ??

15 Jul 2026 13:03:55
Was always a minimum of 5 players in my eyes -.

RB - Frimpong and Bradley not ideal.
CB - replace Konate, we're still one short with Jacquet coming in.
DM - replace Macca and/or Endo with someone who is defensive minded.
LW - replace Chiesa.
RW - replace Mo.

Anymore was dependent on outgoings, eg Curtis, Gakpo, Marmar.

15 Jul 2026 14:16:44
You could argue we have replaced Chiesa with Elliot or even Munoz.

Endo didn't play, so he doesn't need replacing, just bring Macconnell.

15 Jul 2026 14:22:29
We need a manager that attends U21 games and training. Anything on that be a bonus.

15 Jul 2026 14:30:15
GK: (ok)
Alisson, Mama, Woodman, Pecsi, Misciur, Davies, Jaros

RB: (lacking in availability)
Frimpong, Bradley, Ramsay, Mabaya

CB: (ok, but quite a young crop)
Gomez, Virgil, Jacquet, Leoni, Ndiaye, Ndukwe, Nallo, Lucky

LB: (ok)
Kerkez, Tsimikas, Beck, Chambers, Scanlon

DM: (lacking in ability)
Endo, Bajcetic, McConnell

CM: (ok unless someone leaves)
Macca, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Jones

RW/AM/LW: (ok unless someone leaves)
Elliott, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Koumas, Gakpo, Munoz, Rio, Chiesa, Morrison, Abe

CF: (ok, Gakpo/Munoz can cover)
Isak, Ekitike, Danns, Wright

Right now I'm thinking we absolutely need a DM and a RB. I like our squad overall though, and think we've already replaced the 3 who left (Konate - Jacquet) (Robbo - Tsimikas) (Salah - Munoz) in terms of numbers at the very least.



I see Alisson, Jacquet, Virgil, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo and Isak as the obvious regular starters, so that is 9 of a very good 11. Macca/Jones and Frimpong/Bradley feel like weak links to me, but we do have the nucleus of a very good side already; they were just being mismanaged by Slot. To summarise, a DM and RB are my priorities as those two positions we lack ability and/or availability. Joao Gomes would be a nice start. Who knows which RB we may target. If Barcola joins then Gakpo will surely go and I think that would make us stronger overall.

15 Jul 2026 14:39:08
You would think for the Munoz fee that he's going to play a lot more than Chiesa did.

15 Jul 2026 14:48:17
MK Scouser, at least 19 of those players you listed won't get anywhere near the first team this season. Or if they do, we're competing with Brentford for a Conference League place. Take the unnecessary padding out, and the squad is ridiculously thin in places.

15 Jul 2026 14:51:30
I always enjoy reading your posts, MK. Just picking up on your 9 regular starters.

Alisson - Cannot stay fit for more than 10 games.

Jacquet - Unproven.

Vvd - Time catching up.

Gravenberch - Needs to get back to title winning form.



Wirtz - Needs to step up. Bang average last season, at best. Jury is out.

Gakpo - Really?

Isak - Needs to stay fit, which is a major concern.

Not all of the above was the fault of Slot.

15 Jul 2026 14:57:21
MK, we were short of one CB last season (we were trying to sign Guehi, remember?). We were very lucky Virg and Ibou didn't get injuries. Jacquet might replace the player profile, but doesn't fix the CB number issue.

Counting on Joe Gomez's availability is a mistake we have made for 6+ years. We need one more to have a reliable 4 CBs, with Gomez a bonus.

15 Jul 2026 15:19:29
To clarify, I'm not saying there aren't other positions I'd like to improve on. I was just sticking to the OP's parameters of 3 or 4 priority signings. I chose to be decisive with my priorities and go with 3.

RB, we are very weak due to injuries, DM we are virtually non-existent due to neglecting this area in the market since signing Endo 3 years ago, and if Gakpo leaves we're reduced to starting Rio, Elliott or Munoz, who are arguably not starting quality.

There's plenty of other areas we could strengthen, sure. But that defeats the whole object of the OP's question if I start reeling off a list of 6 or 7 players. My 3 priorities are a Right back, a Defensive Midfielder and a Starting Winger.

Whether or not a lot of our CB's are young or not, we still have 8 and 4 of them signed in the last 12 months.

Whether or not people like Wirtz and Isak, they cost £225m and will most likely be considered starters as the money men will have serious questions if not. Whether or not people like Gravenberch, he's on £280k a week and will probably be a starter. Whether or not people still think Virgil is declining, he's the captain and on £350k a week so he's hardly going to sit on the bench all season. Alisson being injury prone does not change the fact he'll be our first choice keeper next season when he is fit, and you can probably put your house on that.

Don't come after me just because I'm the only one who took the "priority" parameter of the question seriously haha!

15 Jul 2026 15:32:00
Good response back, MK, to my totally negative post. Your posts are always well thought out, unlike most of mine.

As a bare minimum, we need a RB, an experienced CB, or preferably someone who can play both. A DM and a wide player, left or right, who can also cover for Isak, who will undoubtedly spend most of the season injured.

15 Jul 2026 16:07:55
MK, if you are counting the 3 CB kiddies added to the academy as senior options, then you have to ask yourself what you are planning to achieve next season in the wealthiest and most competitive league in the world.

If the answer isn't challenging for the title, who can we blame for the transformation from champions to where we are?

15 Jul 2026 16:24:34
FPF, I'm happy to count one of them as 5th choice behind Virgil, Jacquet, Leoni and Gomez. We've just paid £60m for Jacquet, so I'm not having it that he's signed to sit on the bench, as you don't really rotate CBs.

I would happily sell Gomez and sign an upgrade, but that just isn't even close to a priority in my mind. Leoni cost about £35m last summer and should be fully fit by August. Virgil is the captain and played every minute in the League last season, so he's unlikely to suddenly become an OAP.



I'd love to sell Gomez and sign Zabarnyi though. It's just not in my top 3 priorities.

My priorities if I expanded on the OP's criteria would be:
1. Sell Jones, sign Joao Gomes
2. Sell Ramsay, sign a RB (not sure who)
3. Sell Gakpo, sign Barcola
4. Sell Macca, sign Kone
5. Sell Gomez, sign Zabarnyi

After that I'd be happy with the squad. 4 and 5 feel like nice to haves rather than crucial components to being in the title race though, in my opinion.

15 Jul 2026 17:20:38
Like this list, MK, and doable.

15 Jul 2026 17:44:17
And there's the problem. Counting Joe Gomez.