Liverpool Rumours Archive April 24 2019

24 Apr 2019 18:19:11
Matip getting a new deal?
that would be a very brave one from Klopp if true.

24 Apr 2019 19:05:46
I don't see why, honestly don't know why he gets half the stick he does. He's perfect for what he is, a back up centre half to the main pairing which, when Gomez is fit is Joe and Virgil. I also think we as Liverpool fans compare our other centre halves to Van Dijk now which is unfair as he's the best defender i've ever seen in the Premier League. Matip would comfortably get into the likes of Man U's and Arsenals first 11's and he's never kicked off when out of the side. Obviously we'd all like a De Ligt or a Alderweireld buts its very hard and unrealistic to expect to have four world class centre halves at 1 club.

24 Apr 2019 19:15:23
Not old ”give them a new deal just prior to punting them around” scam?

I like the kid but wouldn't be confident starting a season with him as 3rd choice CB behind JG and VVD.

24 Apr 2019 19:22:48
agreed little naby. can't have 4 1st choice CBs and Matip has done a job for us no doubt.

24 Apr 2019 19:32:55
Unnecessary hate, on the verge of trolling. We are on our biggest winning streak since Klopp took over and he’s started every game bar one. The Hendo bashers obviously have a new target. I agree he’s better than any of united and Arsenal’s defenders. Definitely an excellent third choice cb.

24 Apr 2019 20:02:20
Lerchy, I'm a HUGE Hendo lover and I think Matip is not good enuff for us long term.

24 Apr 2019 21:29:18
But he hasn’t put a foot wrong since January? Who would you replace him with? Realistically not fm.

24 Apr 2019 22:06:08
I don’t rate Matip and believe he is someone we can improve upon.
BUT

Where are the fantastic centre backs who will be 3rd choice? I doubt they’re out there and it is responsible to protect the squad in this way.

24 Apr 2019 22:44:11
Well said Ron.

24 Apr 2019 23:06:46
Matip is 3rd choice at centre half, and yes, he is not good enough for the 1st team, but I am happy enough for him to be a back up,
its Lovren who needs replacing, cos the man just can't stay fit, its a long hard season, and we don't need passengers if we want to stay as a top side,
we def need to keep on adding one or two class players, this will keep us at the top .

24 Apr 2019 23:12:50
he's perfect for us. unless he wanta to leavto be a regular starter then ok fair enough. but other than that as 3rd or 4th choice, he is experienced and steady enough.

24 Apr 2019 23:18:01
There are not many great centre backs in football anyway, Joel Matip has been a great back up in my opinion. As Ron said there are no fantastic centre backs happy to be third choice.
Even if Liverpool bought a so called top centre back, where would that leave Gomez.
Matip is not as terrible as he is made out and gets too much stick here. He has definitely made a positive contribution to the team so maybe he deserves a new contract as a backup defender.

24 Apr 2019 23:39:06
Ron, I rate Matip higher than you do but I agree 100% with the rest of your post. Well said.

24 Apr 2019 23:58:11
Maybe not longterm Redwolf but even having him as backup allows Jana-Hoever to learn his trade as back up to Trent at rightfull until he moves inside. What does it say to him if we keep buying big names to block his path because this kid could be our very own De Ligt. At the end of the day we have two world class centre halfs and two top end defenders in reserve. Show me a team in this league that's better stocked at centre half.

25 Apr 2019 01:51:01
Lerchy you say he hasn't put a foot wrong since January? How do you come up with that assessment? He's been exposed in the majority of matches. he so often gets dragged out of position and commits to challenge unnecessary tackles. If he gets a foot in everybody cheers and claps, but most of the time he shouldn't even be putting himself in scenarios,! You don't see virgil sprinting out to wide areas 50 yards from goal with little threat on just to make an unnecessary tackle, he often needlessly risks us being left wide open when he should focus on maintaining shape. You can see VVDs frustration with him many times during games.

25 Apr 2019 07:50:56
No axe to grind with Matip and believe he's a better backup than Lovren, but I really think Gomez needs to be back in the team asap as I think he'll be a better bet for these last 5/ 6 games we're about to play!

25 Apr 2019 07:56:02
All these experts who want Matip gone - are you really a better judge of player than Klopp?

25 Apr 2019 08:06:46
FlashTheRed. Not at all, just stating my personal opinion of him through watching him play. I don't have an axe to grind with him for no reason, he's just the one player who I really don't rate. And your point with klopp has no basis anywat. When all CB were fully fit and available he was the 4th choice clearly.

I just don't rate him personally, and I hate having to criticise any of our boys.

25 Apr 2019 09:57:43
If Matip is meant to be fourth choice then he is way ahead of Klavan before him, and marginally behind Lovren, if at all.

25 Apr 2019 10:05:11
Matip was getting brickbats in the first half of the season because he was clearly playing poorly. His second half has been a clear improvement, and as good as the first year he joined. So it's all relative to player form and performance, as it should be.

25 Apr 2019 13:15:32
I think he's a decent choice for a 3rd or 4th choice defender for Liverpool, but as I keep saying any time this topic arises, our 3rd and 4th choice CBs (in most people's eyes) are earning over £200k a week in total, and that's not sustainable, especially when you consider that big Virg will no doubt be after a rise, and Joe's wages are only going to go up as soon as he cements himself as a first choice.

Fair play to Matip, he's played his part in our fantastic season more than Lovren has, which probably puts him as 3rd choice, it's just the financials that I have an issue with.

25 Apr 2019 14:07:56
I think right now, going by improvement shown and fitness consistency, I'd be more inclined to let Lovren go and maybe get a younger CB (not world class, but decent) to compete with Matip for 3rd and 4th place.

Joe and Virgil are our clear top pairing. Someone who can compete with Matip (and potentially improve
a little) would be good. Lovren earns a big wage which might be a bit too much now for a 4th choice CB that's injured quite a bit.

I mean, he did well with Croatia and LFC getting to the WC and CL finals, but it might be time for him to move on now for his own good too if he's dropped to 4th choice.

25 Apr 2019 14:24:24
Matip's done great these past few weeks, Klopp got him for nothing and obviously rates him.

I'd rather we ca$hed in on World Cup Finalist Lovren and spent that money on a tried and tested as backup to Gomez and Matip (if we can find one) or promote one of the yutes. Looks like you can put anyone next to VVD and he'll play well.

Gotta trust in Klopp, Shirley?

25 Apr 2019 15:06:21
By far the biggest issue I have with Matip is he’s a big lad, very tall, but he seems scared of the ball in the air. He loses far too many challenges in the air but also, if a ball is going over the top, he let's it bounce behind him!
That is the number 1 cardinal sin for a central defender. Never, ever, EVER let the ball bounce behind you! Matip must have missed that basic principle. It’s easily rectified and to be fair it’s a good few months since I’ve seen him do it, but it used to happen almost every game.
Other than that infuriating trait, he’s as good a back up as we’ve had for a while and it makes sense to keep him around 👍.

25 Apr 2019 17:31:41
Look im not a big fan of matip personally, but he's wearing our red liverbird upon his chest and I'l always support and back him when he does so and he does try his best but his ability is limited and it frustrates me that some overlook his match performances as a whole. He's a very weak link and has got away with a lot of incidents which could easily have had many fans calling for his head.

I know this is ifs and buts. but in about 4 weeks there were 4 clear incidents which he was very fortunate to get away with. Against United the offside flag saved his blushes as he swiped a clearance with his wrong leg into our goal. It was correctly offside but matip didn't know that and defended the situation poorly.
In the same week he attempted the exact same clearance with his wrong leg against bayern. The ball hit Allison's chest fortunately, no one spoke of this ever again, he was at fault vs Southampton goal then.
Against spurs his rash decision to lunge desperately at Kane on halfway line directly led to sissoko going 1v1. If he slots that in which he should then the title dream was probably vanished then.

Now I'm not bashing the guy completely I'm just pointing out moments which could have cost us dearly, they haven't though so he's been excused from criticism. He has performed slightly better lately but is always vulnerable in any moment. It's also clear to see how Trent has struggled much more with matip beside him. I know it's all ifs and buts. but he does make many errors which go unnoticed by many. If we win silverware this season he's earned his medals and has played his part but if we want a CB who may need to slot in for months at a time in the future then I feel matip needs upgrading. Feels harsh saying this as we're in a purple patch but the fact remains he is 8 or 9 times out of ten our weakest performer and most vulnerable.

Just clarifying I'm not bashing the fella, he's just not the standard of defender we should settle for as competition in a world class defence.

25 Apr 2019 17:21:43
Isn't it time Masterson stepped up 20yrs old now.

Oh and don't call me Shirley.

Was that airplane or naked gun?

25 Apr 2019 17:26:26
This move surprised me, because I expected Lovren to be cover to Virgil and Gomez next season. I'm fine with Matip though. Like a backup QB in the NFL, the plan isn't to go into the season with him as your primary option, but you also don't want your season derailed because he has to play for a stretch of games because someone is injured. I like Lovren more, but it may be a better use of resources to sell Lovren (and his contract) and go with Matip. Lovren is too good to sit in long stretches too, so maybe it's just time to move on so he can go get more playing time elsewhere.

25 Apr 2019 18:29:18
He hasn't been offered a contract yet and there has just been a mention of talks opening. He may well have the ambition to ask for playing guarantees (a beast that the Eds have said is a key element of a players contract nowadays) and I can't imagine a huge financial increase so he may look for sureties elsewhere and turn down a bit part role.

25 Apr 2019 23:33:00
If im not mistaken we have conceded just 20 Goals this season, less than any other team in the PL. Some of you need to get a grip. Matip has been a part of that and if you look at the stats when he has played I think you will all find that he is a valuable member of the squad not on a huge wage either and bought for peanuts. As a player that will never be first choice he is more valuable than you think.

26 Apr 2019 13:23:25
I'm pretty sure he is on a huge wage.

26 Apr 2019 13:31:03
I doubt any of our centre backs will look to leave this summer, realistically its their best chance of a prem title, assuming we don't win it this year.

26 Apr 2019 18:19:17
I'd assume the contract talks will involve a pay cut. You have to remember that he's on higher wages than normal due to him being signed on a free.

23 Apr 2019 23:23:16
Mate of mine told me Liverpool have been allowed to speak to João Félix, about a move in the summer, apparently held talks with him and his club a few days ago, apparently my mates " brother in law " is a Solicitor for the club, and is involved in transfer contracts, I don't know how to take it as I'm sure solicitors don't get involved in the sort of thing do they? Who knows.

{Ed001's Note - solicitors would only have an involvement at the contracts stage, not at the talks stage.}

24 Apr 2019 05:27:44
Some days ago is read the overview from Ed02 and he mentioned that hard work was put into completing a move for Felix to a club which aas not Liverpool. My guess is that is a spanish side.

24 Apr 2019 05:52:05
No its juventas they are trying hard to get him.

24 Apr 2019 07:34:13
I thought as much Ed, thanks for the reply.

24 Apr 2019 08:44:39
I understand that Felix looks like a talent ( though he is playing in Portugal ) but I struggle to see why we would move for him. Firstly due to the price (unless the club think a potential big bid for salah is incoming), and secondly he is only going to look for a move in a few years anyways. I would think there is others available that can still improve the squad in areas but won't be looking for moves to spain in a year or two etc.

24 Apr 2019 08:57:44
thats great ed1, so we are at the stage of talking contract with joao felix. exciting times!

{Ed001's Note - something like that mate, something like that.}

24 Apr 2019 09:30:37
A well known football editor by the name of Mohamed Bouhafsi has also stated that LFC enquired about Felix a few days ago, apparently LFC are 1 of 4 interested parties. (Man City, Juve and Man United. )

{Ed001's Note - well known by who?}

24 Apr 2019 10:32:48
I would let others worry about the money.

This kid looks like a potential generational talent. In which case, the prices being talked about will look cheap in a couple of years.

Of course, he could turn out to be the next Markovic. But I don't remember Markovic scoring hat tricks in the CL as a teenager.

24 Apr 2019 11:03:05
Ed001 as i understand he was the first journo to break that we were in for Fabinho when he wasn't mentioned before, few hours later Fabinho signed. I know most Journos aren't trusted and this guy probably isn't either just thought id share that someone else had said the same as the first poster.

Ed01, do you think there is a chance we are in for Felix or are we just being mixed in with the rest?

{Ed001's Note - that doesn't mean anything as no one mentioned him until the deal was already done. It just means he was awake at the right time.

As far as I am aware, according to his agent at least who would have no reason to talk down potential interest, we are not in the running for him. I can only go on that.}

24 Apr 2019 11:22:44
Yes! It begins! I love a good "my mates brother in law rumour"

24 Apr 2019 12:43:25
Apparantly it's Juventus where he'll probably end up. Being a young Portuguese lad, it's also a dream for him to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

I can't see him ending up anywhere else.

24 Apr 2019 12:46:03
Apparently Ronaldo handed a transfer list to the directors at Juve, including Felix, varane and Isco. Seems ludicrous but really would not surprise me.

24 Apr 2019 20:04:36
Stuie_boy, Francesco Totti used to do the same thing when he was in his prime at Roma. I have NEVER understood how clubs allows these types of things to happen.

25 Apr 2019 00:03:28
I imagine Messi has a similar influence at Barcelona and to some extent, Gerrard at LFC, though I'm guessing. It is shameful if true.

25 Apr 2019 22:25:53
Ed001 Mohamed Bouhafsi is extremely well known by his friends and family and some of his Facebook friends just when you said well known by who I thought I would enlighten you on who he was well known by.

{Ed001's Note - ah cheers mate.}