01 Aug 2024 14:01:50
Let's just say that PSV follow up their interest on SVDB (I'd prefer not, I'd like him to stay, but anyway! ) .
Who would you prefer if we were able to send Sepp + cash?
Bakayoko or someone we have been linked with recently in Veerman?
01 Aug 2024 14:36:10
Hypothetically, speaking… If salah isn't sold this summer I wouldn’t bother signing Bakayoko to sit on the bench - mo is so resilient that he plays most games 90 minutes. Maybe one for next summer
I haven’t watched veerman play other than the euros so can’t comment on that but I would be wary of signing players straight from the erideverse for CM as they will have a lot less time and space in the PL and, it’s a big step up.
01 Aug 2024 14:43:07
Neither are good enough. Our youth are better.
01 Aug 2024 14:48:20
Forgive me for this (as it's going to sound Victor-esque) but Bakayoko is just another Anthony, Assaidi, Ziyech, Bergwijn etc level winger in my opinion. The Dutch league has a habit of making forwards look better than they are. Gakpo was worth the risk because he was abolsutely tearing it to pieces and had more goals/ assists by the January we signed him than players like Bakayoko accumulate in a whole season. But even Gakpo hasn't exactly hit the ground running in the Prem or been an unequivocal success.
It's such a weak league defensively in Holland that for a forward player playing there to be worth the gamble they have to be churning out exceptional numbers. Suarez for example scored 49 goals in 48 games in his last full season at Ajax. That's the level I expect from players in that league to know that they're good enough to step up. Gakpo had 13 goals and 17 assists in all competitions by January. So Bakayoko's 14 goals and 14 assists in the entirety of last season just doesn't fill me with any confidence. I do like Veerman though, but not sure he's an upgrade on what we have in his position. Of the two, he'd be my pick by default, purely because Bakayoko's numbers are just plain average for that league. I think we should be aiming higher, and PSV don't deserve our business after the derisory offer for van den Berg anyway.
01 Aug 2024 15:25:02
Hey chaps, thanks for the replies. Adam, I take your point about a weaker defensive league 'artificially' boosting attacking stats.
However, we need to consider age too.
Both Gakpo and Suarez were 23/ 24 when they joined us, whereas Bakayoko only turned 21 earlier this year.
So you could say that his stats will have improved by the time he has another couple of seasons under his belt (wherever that may be) .
Doesn't mean I would necessarily go for him - I genuinely don't know.
And Navy, I have a sense that Salah may go this summer after all, sadly.
01 Aug 2024 15:30:56
Gakpo over Bakayoko, all day for me. And if it is to replace Salah, we can do a lot better than him. I wouldn't mind Kubo, personally. And should Sepp be sold, I would use that dough to get a DM.
01 Aug 2024 16:47:25
I like Gakpo, think he is quality.
01 Aug 2024 16:52:46
What makes you think salah will go this summer zed?
01 Aug 2024 16:55:42
Salah looked sharp for his goal last night.
I know it’s only pre season but he still took it exceptionally well.
01 Aug 2024 17:13:28
I’d say Bakayako, he’s definitely raw but I think there’s a good player in there. His decision making needs to improve and a bit one footed but he’s got good close control, great speed, strong, decent finish and good in the air.
But I do hope Sepp stays. And I also see Salah staying too.
01 Aug 2024 17:57:32
Gmil, I'm not sure that we would want to lose another player on a free.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it - maybe he has already signed an extension and the club are waiting to announce it, but I really don't like us losing out on lots of potential transfer fees (to reinvest) year after year.
I think if the Saudi's come back with £80m+ and Salah is amenable, I think we may take it.
01 Aug 2024 18:17:32
I never really get the fans worrying about losing transfer fees. I’ve never lost a wink of sleep over transfer fees or wages.
If a player moves on a free and the club haven’t tried to sell that player previously or they give someone big wages then that means they are comfortable with the financial side so why should we as fans worry.
As fans not a single thing changes for us financially when we sell a Coutinho for 140 mill, buy a Vvd for 75 mill or put a Salah on 350k a week or when we announce a new record sponsorship deal.
01 Aug 2024 19:06:46
Sorry JK but of course the transfer fee matters, especially for a club where the owners don't put in their own money. If we had got say £90 million for Coutinho do you think we would have been able to buy both VVD and Alisson or just VVD. If we hadn't signed Alisson would we have become Premier League winners and European champions?
01 Aug 2024 19:30:10
Thunderbird I 100% agree with everything you’ve said mate.
I said it doesn’t matter to fans. If the club are happy for Vvd and Salah to run their contracts down then it means they can afford to do it.
01 Aug 2024 20:36:58
Our it means we can't afford to (or don't want to) spend the money on their wages. Especially given their age.
No one likes leaving money on the table which is why fans want to see their club squeeze the most they can out of the players.
We are all too quick to complain about tickets prices, TV subscriptions, etc and less money in the coffers can easily mean a higher increase elsewhere.
01 Aug 2024 21:06:48
Brommers the club have saved 8 mill on Klopps wages, 12 mill on Thiago wages and 6 mill on Matip wages. Plus also over 100 mill for the upcoming season tv money.
What fans have from that ithai coming season is increase in ticket prices, increase in tv subscription and streaming costs and increase in club shop.
Please tell me again how the club squeezing money out of the players is for the fans.
01 Aug 2024 21:26:17
Have we really saved 8 million on Klopp when we've had to pay for Slot's (albeit lower) wages?
The less money that comes in to the club means the less money that we can spend on better replacements. Thunderbird already used a great example with selling Coutinho. We need to sell players to buy better ones than we'd otherwise be able to afford.
01 Aug 2024 22:12:52
I feel like we are debating different things Bommers mate.
I totally agree with Thunderbird where he says the club sell players to buy players and I have no issues with that.
What I’m saying is it doesn’t matter how much the club buys players for or sells them or pays them a week it has no bearing on fans.
My point wealthier was the club appear to have saved a significant amount of money on wages plus the added income of the increased attendance and ticket prices and tv subscriptions have increased.
Ticket prices will always go up because they only affect about 1% of the worldwide fan base. And if they can no longer afford to buy the tickets then there’s another queue of 60 thousand people who will.
01 Aug 2024 22:36:05
People are really caught up in the idea that we can't let a player leave for free! Mbappe, Messi, Lewandowski, Alaba, Zlatan all moved on a bosman at some point and still at their peak!
For me, letting Mo leave for free next season is less harmful than selling him now and spending that money on an unknown quantity.
In this first season under Slot I would much rather have Mo here as much for his presence and professionalism than to see all that experience walk out of the door. And if it's for free, then so be it. Despite no transfer fee, we recoup the salary. same applies to VVD as well.
02 Aug 2024 00:44:00
Faith, Salah and VVD will pay back their salaries if they leave on a free? Doesn’t seem likely and don’t see whoever signs them on a free to pay Liverpool their salaries for this year for Liverpool to recoup the money ?.
02 Aug 2024 00:48:16
Interesting point @Faith, I’ve wondered about the fuss with free transfers too.
For instance, VVD will be 34 when his contract is up. He will have / has given us the peak years of his career. He was an integral part of a world class club side and will have helped to generate considerable interest in (potential) sponsors for the club and it’s revenue streams. t 34 we are not going to expect a lot of money, even if he was still on contract for another couple of years. Surely the club will have factored this in when they offer a contract (and note it is the club doing the offering) .
The club can, of course, chose to try and sell a player before his contract is up, and whilst a player may not want to leave there are ways in which a club might exert pressure for the player to leave.
I have to say if the club are happy for players to tun down 5heir contract then I don’t see an issue.
02 Aug 2024 11:41:08
If players want to leave on a free then there is absolutely nothing under the sun that anyone can do about that. As @Faith said, free transfers happens all the time. If Mbappe can go on a free then, why can VVD or Ali or Salah go on a free? What rule says they can't do that? I think people are putting standards on things that people do all the time as a "no-no" for LFC. Just so y"all know, we ain't that special.