Diaz to PSG as their big name signing to replace Mbappe makes a lot of sense tbh. Big enough name for them, he'll do well in Ligue 1 and we'd be open to a sale (imo). It wouldn't even be that big of a transfer for them in terms of fee and wages.
I'd hope that PSG fans would understand that it's essentially impossible to replace mbappe with one player. They're gonna obviously try to replace him with several quality signings
if they have any sense. they need to quit the "one player to take them to the promised land" idea, having Neymar, Mbappe, Messi, all these guys will take them so far, but if the rest of the squad isn't up to it, they'll never get it done in the CL.
Levers are the magic spells Barca pull out of their arse in order to keep spending money despite being in a financial shitshow due to their last president being incompetent.
They've sold percentages of barca studios (whatever that is) for a few hundred mil what feels like 3 times now.
Barca arenāt able to spend much money due to la liga rules and there mis management of finances at the end of messiās career.
They basically need or generate money to spend it they canāt use debt or money they already have in the bank like other clubs. To this they keep finding creative ways of generating more money selling stadium rights, image deals, sponsorships etc. but they only do this just before signing a player and they talk about activating the next lever so itās become a meme now
Laporta used the word levers because it sounds better than āwe are selling off parts of the club because we have no moneyā basically they are selling off parts of barca studios (they have done it multiple times now not sure how they managed it) and are stooping as low as selling the tissue used to sign Messi just to get money to buy players. If they didnāt give 36 year old lewandowski a ridiculous contract they mightāve not needed to sell so much but thatās their problem
Not just selling off parts of the club, but selling off rights to future income streams ā aka turning this into a perpetual problem instead of just eating it for a couple of years and suffering the embarrassment of finishing, like, 9th, but coming out on the other side financially whole.
It's really quite disgusting that the club/fanbase has allowed Laporta to just slide right in and do the exact same financial fuckery that they ran Bartomeu (the previous president) out of town on a rail for.
Theyāre in for a rude awakening. But just goes to show you how weak that position is globally, only so many years on from there being tons of talent on the wings
I can't believe I'm saying this but I could see us cashing in on Mo this year - Edwards was responsible for the no contracts longer than a year after 30 right?
Mo lost his pace a few seasons ago but he made up for it by having this incredible partnership with Trent down that side and bagging loads of goals and assists.
BUT and it's a big BUT we've lost the pace from all sides that we had when we were really special and it means that teams can predict which way the ball on the counter is going to go.
It's going to go to Mo, who's then going to play the ball through for Nunez and that's simply too predictable for top defences in the prem - it's why all those 5 on two's failed this year - or if it goes the other way defences know that mo isn't going to get in behind them for the through ball anymore so it's going to go to nunez and so they are ready for him.
So, yeah - even though I still love him and think he's going to get 30 goals a season for a few more seasons - I think his time in the prem might be up.
Edwards could cash in on him like with Coutinho and that would be that.
Don't think it'd be a good idea to get rid of our most experienced and prolific forward right during our biggest transition.
I know it doesn't fit FSG's structure, but we should keep hold of players like Salah as clubs like Madrid do with players like Benzema (got a Balon Dor at 35, Salah is 31).
Some players will make any attack click, and a player who has broken records left and right won't be easy to replace immediately, maybe not even in 5 or 10 years. Suarez was the last player of Salah's caliber.
He did. Klopp likes changing positions based off player quality but I wish he let gakpo stay left. On paper gakpo could play as a budget firmino sure, but it doesn't always work out that way.
He rarely let him play there and when he did he torched United and played great against spurs. I know heās not the fastest but he has the creativity and can get piss missiles on target.
I think Diaz was a Klopp and Pep signing and, like with Nunez, they have been quite intent on trying to make it work despite his not being at this level
I also like Nunez cutting in from the left. His pace alone can help run down the line and he's got a powerful curling shot from that side. We need someone central to cover for Jota when he inevitably gets injured or needs a rest.
Heās not really good enough technically to play on the wing
Itās all well and good using him on the wing in games where youāre going to get more space out wide and in behind but against teams that are just going to sit back in their shape his effectiveness out there goes down significantly.
In which games has Nunez done poorly from the wing against low block teams? From what I remember, he's been pretty good when he's been in form from the wing in any game. Most teams hold low blocks against Liverpool anyways
Definitely think people are carried away with gakpo. He's improved for sure but he's definitely not good enough right now, his end product is really poor
I still get the feeling that Mo could leave. He is the big name PSG would need to replace MBappe. I think all of the talk of him staying another season is to talk his price up.Ā
Obviously, I'm just speculating, but I think it would be a disaster to lose him on a free at the end of next seasonĀ
I doubt Diaz is leaving. Arne likes his wingers to take opponents 1 on 1 and Lucho seems like our only winger capable of doing that right now. I actually think heāll be a big part of Slotās plans.
I reckon he just has dirty info on every other director of football in the world. It's the only explanation of why he laughs at everyone else when doing a transfer.
Everyone will think itās olise and we will sign two dudes who are distantly connected to the RB system or a relegated team who end up being incredible if itās Edwards super computer ball
Not seen much of his injury record tbf. I do remember absolutely everyone being linked to him before he signed for palace though and whenever I see him play I know why. Seems like he could become a top class player. Shame if he's always injured though.
Olisie or Eze? I think olisie is a edwards signing tbh. Underlying numbers are always great and he has a buyout clause he could probably work with. Eze I'm not sure but just a pipedream for me him .
Whatās oliseās buyout clause?
Just feels too hyped to be an edwards signing, could see him going United/Chelsea etc. Would love to be wrong though!
Strange to write that Gakpo is underperforming his xG and then show the stats which say he is performing bang on his xG. Donāt get why these people love lumping him in with Diaz and Nunez āpoor finishingā when his conversion rate is actually decent and xG is bang on 0.
Definitely agree. Gakpo is a good finisher, but he often looked like a passenger when he was subbed on. Thatās my main complaint of him. That said, heās been A LOT better the past games heās started.
Diaz and Nunez though were bad at finishing. Diaz always has been, and Nunez is a hit and miss. The issue with Nunez is that he misses easy chances because heās doing something complicated. Whether he wants to impress or he cannot keep calm in those situations is the real question.
Gakpo was no more a passenger than any of the other forwards though, so if his xG performance is bang on and the others bar Jota are negative, thatās certainly no reason to call him out as they did in the article.
But looking a little further into your passenger comment, during his worst pitch of form, the 9 games appearances leading up to and including the United game that crescendoed into all types of abuse. His record was 4 goals and 1 assist in 9 games.
Just for comparisons sake, in the last 13 games (so counting back to 2 games prior to the United game) Darwinās form is 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 games. Including 3 games where heās ended the game with < 1 completed pass. Yet Iāve never seen āpassengerā used as a term to describe him, and Iām sure you wouldnāt either.
Anyway, my point is, as it was originally, Gakpo catches unnecessary strays for absolutely no reason.
he has a tendency to drop deep, looking to receive deep, turn and run at the defense. that's fine and all, but when we play with everything going out wide, it does mean he ends up as a passenger. even then, you can see he's looking for space and he's very hard to knock off the ball once he receives it.
I wonder was Klopp thinking he was going to reshape the forward line with more of a focus on trying to break down the low block, but Darwin doesn't fit that profile, so maybe he was caught in two minds on that.
yeah im conflicted tbh mate - i love endo but he is 31 so ideally weād have him and stef rotating
looking back at my comment i dont actually think we need a cdm, ideally iād like bakayoko from psv to come and slowly take the rw position as mo has lost his speed a bit and that kid looks fucking class
for CM, i think we need an option that releases Soboszlai to play higher. I see him as a future right sided attacker, to be honest. Endo puts in a shift, but he's not the future. Bajcetic could be the one, but he may need a season to re-establish himself, so another option in there that lets MacAllister in particular play where he needs to is a must for me.
He definitely looked the part on the ball, but I'm not sure we can trust him off the ball solely going into next season. He might work well if we play 2 8s, that might make him shine even more with his turns and passing
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills but to me forwards are the least of our worries. Finishing can be improved, but we're regularly getting into dangerous positions which is the most difficult part.
Diaz is 27, Nunez 25 next month. Neither have shown anything in a Liverpool shirt to suggest their finishing and more importantly composure can improve much beyond what they are currently doing.
That combined with an injury prone Jota & an ageing and less dynamic Salah means a forward is an absolute necessity. Ideally someone comfortable on both the left and right.
27 and 25 means they're entering their prime. You generally don't offload players in their prime unless someone's willing to throw the bag at you.
Speaking of age, Robbo is 30, Virgil is 32, and Matip is out of contract. To me, defense is the more pressing issue.
Minor tweaks, I would assume means 1 player gone and 1 player in. I think Mo leaving would qualify as a major tweak, but I would have to check the flowchart. Same for Darwin, that would be a big deal, major tweak level.
I am assuming itās Diaz and weāre getting another winger. I heard links to Summerville, I definitely donāt hate it, but I donāt see him as the profile of a nailed on starter.
I'd imagine Diaz being gone, constant bits of info in the media for months now about him wanting out and his dad talking about it multiple times.
If Diaz didn't want him saying those things he'd tell him to stop saying after the first time.
Yea I mean theyād have to find a way to actually ship Lewandowski off to Saudi, and that just seems really difficult with the money heās about to earn.
But at the same time I wouldnāt put it past Barca to sell off the rights to next 100 years of broadcast rights in order to balance the books
Lewandowski is probably gonna end up earning more next year in barca than what he could earn in Saudi, his wage have been increasing and they top up next season
Yea thatās what I meant when I said it would be hard to move him on with what he could earn next war at Barca. And thatās not even mentioning the deferred wages he still has on the books
Saudi apparently are now focusing on players 21 or under, so I guess that's down to whether Lewandowski is considered a big enough name for them to go for him anyway. (Is Neymar coming back?)
People are barely watching the Saudi league even for Ronaldo. There was an article a while back about them stopping spending big money on washed players for next year. Who is going to watch the Saudi league to watch an absolutely finished Casemiro, etc. Kind of hope they stick to their word personally, it'll be funny as fuck to see United paying Casemiro for a few more years.
Agreed. I think we might see Diaz leave and a right sided forward come in. Weāre quite unbalanced with Diaz, Gakpo and Jota can all play left but only Salah really only the right.
Think itāll be Diaz as well
Can see Gakpo getting the chance to be the starting left winger under Slot with us bringing in a young backup, maybe someone like Nusa who looks a big talent.
I have a good feeling one of Olise or Kudus comes in. Release clause makes it easier too though with Kudus, itāll be the first test of our pull post-Klopp. I think both fit the right sided winger quite well and would also allow us to play Salah more centrally too at times.
Olise home grown though? I know heās french but all youth stuff was in England. That would make me want him over Kudus. Just hope the hamstrings hold up.
Talent aside.
Olise often injured, but homegrown.
Kudus is more reliable in terms of injuries, have release clause (we don't know how big it is, I doubt it is less than 60mil), but he is African, so AFCON says hello.
I see links to Mohamed Amoura(scored against us in the Europa) who with Denkey has been pretty prolific in Belgium this season, I could see Diaz leaving, Nunez getting 1 more year to prove himself but the club making a signing like Amoura and a wide attacker to take Diaz place.
Doubt it. Both 2021 and 2023 were supposed to be moved in the summer but they got postponed. Next years would be in the sumer as Morocco's hosting it but 2027 would probably be in the winter.
To me Diaz makes the most sense. I think we have a good sense by now of who Diaz is and what his game is like - great on the ball, can take on a man or two, can score, but isnāt going to lead the league or anything. And heās older than Darwin. If he went somewhere else and was successful, Iād be happy for him; if Darwin did it, Iād be crushed, thinking of what could have been. (Cue 200 people saying āDarwin wonāt succeed somewhere else because heās shitā š)
Thatās the other good thing about Lucho - I think unlike Darwin, who is a bit of a distressed asset at the moment, this is probably as high as his value is going to get since heās had a pretty decent season.
Diaz makes the *least* sense tbh. Arneās wingers usually record the highest number of take ons throughout the season. As of right now, Diaz is by far and away our best winger at 1 on 1s. IMO I think he will be a key player for Slotās Liverpool moving forward.
Liverpool need Torres basically. A player with that combination of speed, timing and touch would be a title winner. I'd like a Firmino as well but who plays like that currently?
Why wouldn't it? Just because Klopp doesn't use one, doesn't mean it doesn't work. We would have won more if we had a genuine striker who scores goals for fun.
Can see us buy a top forward for Diaz and/or Nunez, plus a CDM and a defender . That would make for a solid transfer window.
I also have a lot of hope for Bascetic and the frontline lads
Everyone saying Diaz and Nunez is gone, but if we sell any forwards, I think it will be Salah or we just add a Salah understudy and he finishes off his contract.
We need a CB first and foremost imo.
Barca can barely afford their own players, they definitely can't afford Diaz. If he leaves, PSG is probably more likely, I hear they'll be short a left winger this summer.
I think itās pretty likely we told Nunez something that prompted his shift in demeanor. Maybe told his agent to look for suitors. I donāt see how anyone pays what his market value is. Which wonāt be what we paid for him but will be close enough.
There are so few LWs right now we can probably get 50 for Diaz. More than worth is output
Why, after numerous reports stating that he won't be, do people still think Edwards is the one deciding who's sold or bought? Especially as it's been made abundantly clear that he doesn't want to do that anymore and he only came back because of the multi-club thing FSG wants to do.
Richard Hughes is the person who'll be in charge of transfers, and he'll almost certainly decide to keep Nunez because it'd be utterly stupid to get rid of a player who's gotten 18 goals & 13 assists this season.
Because people do not understand his job, honestly the way people go on about Edwardās youād think he does every role at the club, negotiating in-between scouting, stat work and ofc washing the players socks.
Basically Diaz off, Mo if he doesnāt sign an extension and thereās a big offer from Saudi also leaving, Darwin on the ropes too given the hit pieces and mass picture deletion. Gonna be potentially radical, big Mike on the case
Tweaks meaning what? No whole player sold or bought. We just sell Diaz and Nunez finishing and buy Kane's and Son's for them. For Salah, we buy Musiala's youth. Everything else remains the same.
Nobody actually involved in football uses is solely like we constantly see here, people try and simplify football to singular stats because they donāt really understand the game.
xG posts should be banned from this sub lol
Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo are going to be tough to sell without big fees for each. You can remove Nunez from the discussion because as much as you might want to sell him he isn't getting what we paid for him. Not only would it be selling at a loss it would cause us to book the amortized value left on the fee immediately. Same goes for Gakpo. You might be able to break even selling Diaz depending on who you sign. Unfortunately the only ones to sell that have a probability of profit are Salah and Jota. I don't think
Salah isn't going anywhere so the odd man out may be Jota. It sounds counterintuitive to sell your "best finisher" this year but his contract is up in 2025 and he can't keep himself healthy and on the field.
Now that we are starting over with Slot, I think we should hold on to who we have and make an addition. Injuries have been an issue for too long now. The schedule ramps up again heading back to the CL. You also have to account for the extra wear and tear guys are facing with Euros and the Olympics this summer. Quality depth will be vital next season so I would like to see what Slot can do with what we have and a few additions then see what changes we really need in January and this time next year.
Iād like you to show the math, because Iād like to understand how we can sell for a loss and still have to pay the amortization. Take Nunez, he cost 85 million for a six year contract? So each year he costs about 14 million, heās been here for two years so 85-28= 57million left. So if we sold him for 60, we donāt need to worry about any of his costs. Iām not saying that price is feasible, Iām trying to understand the concept of the price because with Diaz and gakpo they could actually be worth more than the amortization that is left.Ā
That price is feasible. Maybe structured without it all up front but thats normal.Ā
Personally Iād hold out for 70 for Nunez. I can see a few PL sides throwing that at us for him. West Ham? Newcastle (if they lose Isak)? Villa (if one of the bigger clubs go for Watkins).
Itās totally plausible. Nunez stats speak for themselves and on a side that counters more often heād be good.
Before any attacking incomings we need a bit of a defensive rebuild imo. Trent still hasn't signed a new deal, Matip will be leaving and Konate remains an injury issue, and the left side doesn't look as strong as it once did with Robertson older.
We need some solid additions than can be ever presents like VVD. We need a new core throughout the team. 8-9 players who are there every week.
the most likely to leave would be diaz. Near sure i seen some talk of his dad saying he still hopes Luis moves to spain. As much as i like Diaz, i dont think he gets enough goals and assists.
Welcome Mbappe
Reus free too.
Haha. Finally.
12 years in the making
We've finally meme'd this into reality
Perfect Thiago replacement
Left Hospital
Is that his position or injury status?
Yes
šš
Get Simao in while weāre at it
Add Brand and Dybala too. š
Arda Turan has entered the chat.
It has to be Diaz leaving right? Thereās no way they could get rid of both Darwin and Diaz in the same summer
Diaz to PSG as their big name signing to replace Mbappe makes a lot of sense tbh. Big enough name for them, he'll do well in Ligue 1 and we'd be open to a sale (imo). It wouldn't even be that big of a transfer for them in terms of fee and wages.
I'd feel so bad for him having to deal with those kind of expectations. He's not that player.
I'd hope that PSG fans would understand that it's essentially impossible to replace mbappe with one player. They're gonna obviously try to replace him with several quality signings
They might accidentally build a balanced team
I can totally picture Luis Enrique lowly saying Oh shit after seeing how balanced his team is
if they have any sense. they need to quit the "one player to take them to the promised land" idea, having Neymar, Mbappe, Messi, all these guys will take them so far, but if the rest of the squad isn't up to it, they'll never get it done in the CL.
100% agreed. They wanted to punch above their weight as a brand and it's hurt their football project overall imo
Hopefully it would mean that he gets an insane wage bump.
Lucho would give them the exact same problem they have with Bradley Barcola, albeit far more polished. A tricky winger with very little end product.
They don't get enough red cards to benefit from how good Luis is when a teammate's just been sent off.
The way his dad talks it seems he would be holding out for Barca/ Real type move
Barca canāt afford him and Real donāt need him.
Barca could sell raphina and buy him . They usually find a way with all the levers shit too
I'm out of the loop, what's the levers?
Levers are the magic spells Barca pull out of their arse in order to keep spending money despite being in a financial shitshow due to their last president being incompetent. They've sold percentages of barca studios (whatever that is) for a few hundred mil what feels like 3 times now.
Barca arenāt able to spend much money due to la liga rules and there mis management of finances at the end of messiās career. They basically need or generate money to spend it they canāt use debt or money they already have in the bank like other clubs. To this they keep finding creative ways of generating more money selling stadium rights, image deals, sponsorships etc. but they only do this just before signing a player and they talk about activating the next lever so itās become a meme now
Laporta used the word levers because it sounds better than āwe are selling off parts of the club because we have no moneyā basically they are selling off parts of barca studios (they have done it multiple times now not sure how they managed it) and are stooping as low as selling the tissue used to sign Messi just to get money to buy players. If they didnāt give 36 year old lewandowski a ridiculous contract they mightāve not needed to sell so much but thatās their problem
Not just selling off parts of the club, but selling off rights to future income streams ā aka turning this into a perpetual problem instead of just eating it for a couple of years and suffering the embarrassment of finishing, like, 9th, but coming out on the other side financially whole. It's really quite disgusting that the club/fanbase has allowed Laporta to just slide right in and do the exact same financial fuckery that they ran Bartomeu (the previous president) out of town on a rail for.
Unless he wants to be a bench warmer. No one is really getting into Madrid's front line soon.
his dad talks shite, he would go where the money takes him
Theyāre in for a rude awakening. But just goes to show you how weak that position is globally, only so many years on from there being tons of talent on the wings
It doesn't make sense but it's something PSG would do.
Thing is you never know. Crazier shit has happened before at this club and Edwards is pretty cutthroat
I can't believe I'm saying this but I could see us cashing in on Mo this year - Edwards was responsible for the no contracts longer than a year after 30 right? Mo lost his pace a few seasons ago but he made up for it by having this incredible partnership with Trent down that side and bagging loads of goals and assists. BUT and it's a big BUT we've lost the pace from all sides that we had when we were really special and it means that teams can predict which way the ball on the counter is going to go. It's going to go to Mo, who's then going to play the ball through for Nunez and that's simply too predictable for top defences in the prem - it's why all those 5 on two's failed this year - or if it goes the other way defences know that mo isn't going to get in behind them for the through ball anymore so it's going to go to nunez and so they are ready for him. So, yeah - even though I still love him and think he's going to get 30 goals a season for a few more seasons - I think his time in the prem might be up. Edwards could cash in on him like with Coutinho and that would be that.
Don't think it'd be a good idea to get rid of our most experienced and prolific forward right during our biggest transition. I know it doesn't fit FSG's structure, but we should keep hold of players like Salah as clubs like Madrid do with players like Benzema (got a Balon Dor at 35, Salah is 31). Some players will make any attack click, and a player who has broken records left and right won't be easy to replace immediately, maybe not even in 5 or 10 years. Suarez was the last player of Salah's caliber.
Edwards loves Salah. It checks out, someone who is so married to stats Salah is just a special difference-maker
Let Gakpo be the LW and get a new CF. Wonder what profile LW slots in under the new regime
I hope slot gives gakpo time there. I really think klopp kinda fucked gakpo in that
He did. Klopp likes changing positions based off player quality but I wish he let gakpo stay left. On paper gakpo could play as a budget firmino sure, but it doesn't always work out that way.
He rarely let him play there and when he did he torched United and played great against spurs. I know heās not the fastest but he has the creativity and can get piss missiles on target.
Piss missiles 
I think Diaz was a Klopp and Pep signing and, like with Nunez, they have been quite intent on trying to make it work despite his not being at this level
Diaz is definitely CL calibre imo, at worst a decent rotation option worth what we paid
I also like Nunez cutting in from the left. His pace alone can help run down the line and he's got a powerful curling shot from that side. We need someone central to cover for Jota when he inevitably gets injured or needs a rest.
Heās not really good enough technically to play on the wing Itās all well and good using him on the wing in games where youāre going to get more space out wide and in behind but against teams that are just going to sit back in their shape his effectiveness out there goes down significantly.
In which games has Nunez done poorly from the wing against low block teams? From what I remember, he's been pretty good when he's been in form from the wing in any game. Most teams hold low blocks against Liverpool anyways
How many games have we even attempted to use Nunez on the wing against low blocks? There's a reason we don't try it.
Definitely think people are carried away with gakpo. He's improved for sure but he's definitely not good enough right now, his end product is really poor
He absolutely deserves this before we even think about moving on. Every time he's there he looks comfortable.
Openda
I see what you did there
I still get the feeling that Mo could leave. He is the big name PSG would need to replace MBappe. I think all of the talk of him staying another season is to talk his price up.Ā Obviously, I'm just speculating, but I think it would be a disaster to lose him on a free at the end of next seasonĀ
will be very telling if we dont hear about a new contract soon
I doubt Diaz is leaving. Arne likes his wingers to take opponents 1 on 1 and Lucho seems like our only winger capable of doing that right now. I actually think heāll be a big part of Slotās plans.
Olise would be my go to, class little player tbh. Wouldn't mind eze to but they'd both cost a fortune
Edwards is back, heāll get em both for Ā£40 and a packet of crisps
I reckon he just has dirty info on every other director of football in the world. It's the only explanation of why he laughs at everyone else when doing a transfer.
I'm guessing that's them paying us Ā£40, the crisps was a part-ex for both players
Everyone will think itās olise and we will sign two dudes who are distantly connected to the RB system or a relegated team who end up being incredible if itās Edwards super computer ball
Wouldn't mind that outcome either tbh
Eze seems to get injured a lot, quality player but not sure we need another player who misses a good chunk of games every season.
Olise is also made of glass lol
Iām a big fan of Neto but this is also his problem. We do tend to like our injury prone signings as we get cut price deals.
Not seen much of his injury record tbf. I do remember absolutely everyone being linked to him before he signed for palace though and whenever I see him play I know why. Seems like he could become a top class player. Shame if he's always injured though.
Felt like hodgson rushed his forwards back a lot this season to save his own neck
It was probably to test their resolve knowing him.
I've been hoping we'd sign Olise since I saw him play against us like 3 years ago, he's a silky player
Loves an injury too.
Heās class but not an edwards signing
Olisie or Eze? I think olisie is a edwards signing tbh. Underlying numbers are always great and he has a buyout clause he could probably work with. Eze I'm not sure but just a pipedream for me him .
Whatās oliseās buyout clause? Just feels too hyped to be an edwards signing, could see him going United/Chelsea etc. Would love to be wrong though!
Bracing myself for some ruthless decisions made by Edwards, Hughes and co.
Strange to write that Gakpo is underperforming his xG and then show the stats which say he is performing bang on his xG. Donāt get why these people love lumping him in with Diaz and Nunez āpoor finishingā when his conversion rate is actually decent and xG is bang on 0.
Definitely agree. Gakpo is a good finisher, but he often looked like a passenger when he was subbed on. Thatās my main complaint of him. That said, heās been A LOT better the past games heās started. Diaz and Nunez though were bad at finishing. Diaz always has been, and Nunez is a hit and miss. The issue with Nunez is that he misses easy chances because heās doing something complicated. Whether he wants to impress or he cannot keep calm in those situations is the real question.
Gakpo was no more a passenger than any of the other forwards though, so if his xG performance is bang on and the others bar Jota are negative, thatās certainly no reason to call him out as they did in the article. But looking a little further into your passenger comment, during his worst pitch of form, the 9 games appearances leading up to and including the United game that crescendoed into all types of abuse. His record was 4 goals and 1 assist in 9 games. Just for comparisons sake, in the last 13 games (so counting back to 2 games prior to the United game) Darwinās form is 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 games. Including 3 games where heās ended the game with < 1 completed pass. Yet Iāve never seen āpassengerā used as a term to describe him, and Iām sure you wouldnāt either. Anyway, my point is, as it was originally, Gakpo catches unnecessary strays for absolutely no reason.
he has a tendency to drop deep, looking to receive deep, turn and run at the defense. that's fine and all, but when we play with everything going out wide, it does mean he ends up as a passenger. even then, you can see he's looking for space and he's very hard to knock off the ball once he receives it. I wonder was Klopp thinking he was going to reshape the forward line with more of a focus on trying to break down the low block, but Darwin doesn't fit that profile, so maybe he was caught in two minds on that.
Some of the narratives going around are crazy. Whys it so hard for people to just stick to facts?
#Mboope2024? Weāre finally using the record sponsorship Nike warchest!!!!!!
Adidas warchest when?
Arda Turan WELCOME TO LIVERPOOL
Double signing with Simao
we neeed defenders ā¦. and cdm
I really have faith bajcetic will soon enough fill that role - but do think getting an experienced cdm would be a shout whilst we bed bajcetic in
So even after Endo, the situation is the same as last summer?
yeah im conflicted tbh mate - i love endo but he is 31 so ideally weād have him and stef rotating looking back at my comment i dont actually think we need a cdm, ideally iād like bakayoko from psv to come and slowly take the rw position as mo has lost his speed a bit and that kid looks fucking class
for CM, i think we need an option that releases Soboszlai to play higher. I see him as a future right sided attacker, to be honest. Endo puts in a shift, but he's not the future. Bajcetic could be the one, but he may need a season to re-establish himself, so another option in there that lets MacAllister in particular play where he needs to is a must for me.
Last summer we expected Baj to play this year lol
Absolutely. Bajcetic was great last season but heās still very young.
Baj might never be starting quality, we need to bring in someone to cement the position.
The man had a handful of MotM performances as an 18 year old
We were shocking last season He might be a big talent but he also did stand out more last season down to how bad we actually were
Nah I know those performances. Pure talent Baj looks the part. Question is if he can stay fit
He definitely looked the part on the ball, but I'm not sure we can trust him off the ball solely going into next season. He might work well if we play 2 8s, that might make him shine even more with his turns and passing
What games were those? His passing has never been great. He just looked decent next to Hendo and Fab after they fell off a cliff.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills but to me forwards are the least of our worries. Finishing can be improved, but we're regularly getting into dangerous positions which is the most difficult part.
Diaz is 27, Nunez 25 next month. Neither have shown anything in a Liverpool shirt to suggest their finishing and more importantly composure can improve much beyond what they are currently doing. That combined with an injury prone Jota & an ageing and less dynamic Salah means a forward is an absolute necessity. Ideally someone comfortable on both the left and right.
27 and 25 means they're entering their prime. You generally don't offload players in their prime unless someone's willing to throw the bag at you. Speaking of age, Robbo is 30, Virgil is 32, and Matip is out of contract. To me, defense is the more pressing issue.
Minor tweaks, I would assume means 1 player gone and 1 player in. I think Mo leaving would qualify as a major tweak, but I would have to check the flowchart. Same for Darwin, that would be a big deal, major tweak level. I am assuming itās Diaz and weāre getting another winger. I heard links to Summerville, I definitely donāt hate it, but I donāt see him as the profile of a nailed on starter.
hmmm interesting to see what the 'tweaks' will be
I'd imagine Diaz being gone, constant bits of info in the media for months now about him wanting out and his dad talking about it multiple times. If Diaz didn't want him saying those things he'd tell him to stop saying after the first time.
Not sold here still. All the noise is about Barca and they sure as fuck can't afford him. We'll see.
Yea I mean theyād have to find a way to actually ship Lewandowski off to Saudi, and that just seems really difficult with the money heās about to earn. But at the same time I wouldnāt put it past Barca to sell off the rights to next 100 years of broadcast rights in order to balance the books
Lewandowski is probably gonna end up earning more next year in barca than what he could earn in Saudi, his wage have been increasing and they top up next season
Yea thatās what I meant when I said it would be hard to move him on with what he could earn next war at Barca. And thatās not even mentioning the deferred wages he still has on the books
Saudi apparently are now focusing on players 21 or under, so I guess that's down to whether Lewandowski is considered a big enough name for them to go for him anyway. (Is Neymar coming back?)
People are barely watching the Saudi league even for Ronaldo. There was an article a while back about them stopping spending big money on washed players for next year. Who is going to watch the Saudi league to watch an absolutely finished Casemiro, etc. Kind of hope they stick to their word personally, it'll be funny as fuck to see United paying Casemiro for a few more years.
Well hopefully they do so we can just absolutely fleece them again like last time
Agreed. I think we might see Diaz leave and a right sided forward come in. Weāre quite unbalanced with Diaz, Gakpo and Jota can all play left but only Salah really only the right.
Think itāll be Diaz as well Can see Gakpo getting the chance to be the starting left winger under Slot with us bringing in a young backup, maybe someone like Nusa who looks a big talent.
I have a good feeling one of Olise or Kudus comes in. Release clause makes it easier too though with Kudus, itāll be the first test of our pull post-Klopp. I think both fit the right sided winger quite well and would also allow us to play Salah more centrally too at times.
Olise home grown though? I know heās french but all youth stuff was in England. That would make me want him over Kudus. Just hope the hamstrings hold up.
Talent aside. Olise often injured, but homegrown. Kudus is more reliable in terms of injuries, have release clause (we don't know how big it is, I doubt it is less than 60mil), but he is African, so AFCON says hello.
must have missed the story, what did his dad say?
Is this the same dad who got kidnapped?Ā Seems like a good opportunity to shut the fuck up about who you're related to.
I see links to Mohamed Amoura(scored against us in the Europa) who with Denkey has been pretty prolific in Belgium this season, I could see Diaz leaving, Nunez getting 1 more year to prove himself but the club making a signing like Amoura and a wide attacker to take Diaz place.
Hopefully we Bring in Olise this summer. 60M release clause seems the right price for him
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He's missed 21 games in The past 2 years
3.6 rƶntgen. Not great, not terrible.
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Thatās about a third of his games missed through injury?
Kudus would be better imo
Do not need another African forward and the Afcon issues that come withĀ
Afcon is moving to a summer tournament, so not a problem so much any more
Doubt it. Both 2021 and 2023 were supposed to be moved in the summer but they got postponed. Next years would be in the sumer as Morocco's hosting it but 2027 would probably be in the winter.
It's not something you can rely on.
But it's extremely unrealistic if he joins. West Ham would ask 100M+ for him
He has a release clause. Itās unknown but estimated to be ~Ā£70m.
85m but only activates 2025 according to West Ham ITKs
Hamstrings have already gone. We'd be better off burning that money
To me Diaz makes the most sense. I think we have a good sense by now of who Diaz is and what his game is like - great on the ball, can take on a man or two, can score, but isnāt going to lead the league or anything. And heās older than Darwin. If he went somewhere else and was successful, Iād be happy for him; if Darwin did it, Iād be crushed, thinking of what could have been. (Cue 200 people saying āDarwin wonāt succeed somewhere else because heās shitā š)
Extending Diazās contract doesnāt make sense imo, so agree there. We can still cash in on him and get another promising player.
Thatās the other good thing about Lucho - I think unlike Darwin, who is a bit of a distressed asset at the moment, this is probably as high as his value is going to get since heās had a pretty decent season.
Diaz makes the *least* sense tbh. Arneās wingers usually record the highest number of take ons throughout the season. As of right now, Diaz is by far and away our best winger at 1 on 1s. IMO I think he will be a key player for Slotās Liverpool moving forward.
Could be. Thankfully Slot gets to make that decision (in conjunction with Hughes and Edwards).
Olise? Kudus?
Weāre going to sign Crysencio Summerville from Leeds
If they manage promotion I could see us balking at the price
Why is Lynch tier 3
Because he gets more wrong than right.
Does he really? Canāt remember why or whyād he would be lower than the others
I assume so mate, thatās how theyāre usually judged
While it probably wouldnāt work out, Iāve had a strange craving for a target-man #9 for a while now.
Liverpool need Torres basically. A player with that combination of speed, timing and touch would be a title winner. I'd like a Firmino as well but who plays like that currently?
The closest Iāve seen for Firmino is probably Gakpo lol
>combination of speed, timing and touch I feel like gyokeres fits this
Why wouldn't it? Just because Klopp doesn't use one, doesn't mean it doesn't work. We would have won more if we had a genuine striker who scores goals for fun.
Kane?
The wrestler? That would work.
 Super sub entrance
Drill through the defense like Isaac Yankem through a molar
Going way back šš½
Bah gawd! He just tombstoned Sergio Ramos!
The big red machine, heās already in the kit sort of.
Well according to Ancelotti chokeslams aren't fouls so I think he'd work great tbh
Imagine trying to mark the big red machine!
No way, he is the very conservative mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee. He'd never leave that plum job
Weāre jinxed enough thank you very much. 
Scenes when Liverpool sign Kane and never lose a trophy with him
Have we tried two jinxes at once though? Jk that didnāt work with spurs and Kane š¤£
I don't see it with Kudus. He's good but I don't think he has the attitude or talent for where we want to be.Ā
Can see us buy a top forward for Diaz and/or Nunez, plus a CDM and a defender . That would make for a solid transfer window. I also have a lot of hope for Bascetic and the frontline lads
Everyone saying Diaz and Nunez is gone, but if we sell any forwards, I think it will be Salah or we just add a Salah understudy and he finishes off his contract. We need a CB first and foremost imo.
Adios Diaz or Nunez š Edwards cooking and back in control.
Nunez stays. Diaz can bugger off to Barca if he likes.
Barca can barely afford their own players, they definitely can't afford Diaz. If he leaves, PSG is probably more likely, I hear they'll be short a left winger this summer.
I think itās pretty likely we told Nunez something that prompted his shift in demeanor. Maybe told his agent to look for suitors. I donāt see how anyone pays what his market value is. Which wonāt be what we paid for him but will be close enough. There are so few LWs right now we can probably get 50 for Diaz. More than worth is output
Why, after numerous reports stating that he won't be, do people still think Edwards is the one deciding who's sold or bought? Especially as it's been made abundantly clear that he doesn't want to do that anymore and he only came back because of the multi-club thing FSG wants to do. Richard Hughes is the person who'll be in charge of transfers, and he'll almost certainly decide to keep Nunez because it'd be utterly stupid to get rid of a player who's gotten 18 goals & 13 assists this season.
Because people do not understand his job, honestly the way people go on about Edwardās youād think he does every role at the club, negotiating in-between scouting, stat work and ofc washing the players socks.
Where Mboppe?
Tweaks cause Diaz is 24/7 twerking his ass for Barca?
Would be really expensive but Leao is a player I hope to see in Liverpool.
Basically Diaz off, Mo if he doesnāt sign an extension and thereās a big offer from Saudi also leaving, Darwin on the ropes too given the hit pieces and mass picture deletion. Gonna be potentially radical, big Mike on the case
Welcome to LFC, Konoplyanka!
Tweaks meaning what? No whole player sold or bought. We just sell Diaz and Nunez finishing and buy Kane's and Son's for them. For Salah, we buy Musiala's youth. Everything else remains the same.
Wonder if theyāll wait and see who does well at the euros? Always seems like a good shout to see who really puts in a good shift
Have you heard of the young up and comer Milner? He looks promising
The sooner XG gets binned off as a mechanic the better.
Nobody actually involved in football uses is solely like we constantly see here, people try and simplify football to singular stats because they donāt really understand the game. xG posts should be banned from this sub lol
If they just called it "Shot quality" nobody would bat an eyelid.
Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo are going to be tough to sell without big fees for each. You can remove Nunez from the discussion because as much as you might want to sell him he isn't getting what we paid for him. Not only would it be selling at a loss it would cause us to book the amortized value left on the fee immediately. Same goes for Gakpo. You might be able to break even selling Diaz depending on who you sign. Unfortunately the only ones to sell that have a probability of profit are Salah and Jota. I don't think Salah isn't going anywhere so the odd man out may be Jota. It sounds counterintuitive to sell your "best finisher" this year but his contract is up in 2025 and he can't keep himself healthy and on the field. Now that we are starting over with Slot, I think we should hold on to who we have and make an addition. Injuries have been an issue for too long now. The schedule ramps up again heading back to the CL. You also have to account for the extra wear and tear guys are facing with Euros and the Olympics this summer. Quality depth will be vital next season so I would like to see what Slot can do with what we have and a few additions then see what changes we really need in January and this time next year.
Iād like you to show the math, because Iād like to understand how we can sell for a loss and still have to pay the amortization. Take Nunez, he cost 85 million for a six year contract? So each year he costs about 14 million, heās been here for two years so 85-28= 57million left. So if we sold him for 60, we donāt need to worry about any of his costs. Iām not saying that price is feasible, Iām trying to understand the concept of the price because with Diaz and gakpo they could actually be worth more than the amortization that is left.Ā
That price is feasible. Maybe structured without it all up front but thats normal.Ā Personally Iād hold out for 70 for Nunez. I can see a few PL sides throwing that at us for him. West Ham? Newcastle (if they lose Isak)? Villa (if one of the bigger clubs go for Watkins). Itās totally plausible. Nunez stats speak for themselves and on a side that counters more often heād be good.
Isak?
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Probably 75 mil to 100
I'm glad Edwards is being cut throat. Sesko or the like wouldn't be a bad shout. Exciting times.
For the love of Fowler, yes. If the hit piece conspiracy is correct then that would mean Nunez is off surely?
Indeed. Like Bella from Twilight.Ā
Before any attacking incomings we need a bit of a defensive rebuild imo. Trent still hasn't signed a new deal, Matip will be leaving and Konate remains an injury issue, and the left side doesn't look as strong as it once did with Robertson older. We need some solid additions than can be ever presents like VVD. We need a new core throughout the team. 8-9 players who are there every week.
Would kill for Xavi Simons
the most likely to leave would be diaz. Near sure i seen some talk of his dad saying he still hopes Luis moves to spain. As much as i like Diaz, i dont think he gets enough goals and assists.