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.