Transfer: Winter Transfer Thread Part I - Featuring Less Therapy and More Transfers

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Ferran Torres is great and all but when Will we sign a CB?

When timber and Lisandro ask for free transfers and play for free to fulfil their destiny

 

[Evilo]

Minnow comparatively. They're not exactly setting records in La Liga right now either.

So Arsenal and United are minnow?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He will. But his next step seems like it will consider footballing opportunities and where he will be happiest, and not just where he'll get paid the most, so Barca just needs to be in the game financially...since they seem to be his prefered destination...and a competitive offer to Karim is still unlikely to come close to Coutinho or Doumbele's current wages; given that Dortmund are reportedly the other top spot for him and the wages they offer are well within a healthy Barca's abilities of matching.

So signing an up & comer like Karim doesn't mean Barca can't still improve their financial situation if they also shed some of those less impactful high-earners.

I’ve seen nothing to indicate it’d be anything other than an upset if Adeyemi signs with Barcelona. I guess we’ll see. I think we are bidding against ourselves at this point.

 

[Jussi]

Rangnick said in his presser that he'll get to know the squad first and then decide if they need new players in any areas. Also admitted that it's hard to do that in January.

 

[bluesfan94]

So Arsenal and United are minnow?

Currently I wouldn’t consider a group with either of them headlining a difficult group, no. Like I said, minnows is unfair but it’s clear United/Arsenal are a clear step down from the top end clubs.

 

[Evilo]

PSG wants to get rid of 7-8 players during the winter window :
Rico
Kehrer (well done Tuchel)
Diallo (well done Tuchel)
Kurzawa (well done Leonardo to resign him)
Paredes (Henrique's fault here IIRC)
Rafinha (Leonardo's fault)
Icardi (Messi's fault)
Draxler (Leonardo's fault for resigning him)

Those guys don't want to leave, with the exception of Icardi, who's leaving because he's 5th in the foward chart.

 

[Evilo]

Currently I wouldn’t consider a group with either of them headlining a difficult group, no. Like I said, minnows is unfair but it’s clear United/Arsenal are a clear step down from the top end clubs.

So the CL is a competition for 5 clubs only.
If so then yes, Lille isn't a CL team.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

It's not a competition for five clubs, but there are typically maybe five clubs that can win the competition, yes. Not a shred of controversy about that.

I also don't know how often we ever see the one great team, one so-so team, and two minnows groups. Sure, that might be more straightforward, but this year Lille's group is quite clearly the weakest in the competition.

 

[bluesfan94]

So the CL is a competition for 5 clubs only.
If so then yes, Lille isn't a CL team.

There’s more than 5 top end teams, but yes? Sure, occasionally you get a cinderella run, but typically you end up with titans in the final

Like I said. Which Red Bull team would you rather be in terms of UCL group?

 

[Chimaera]

The problem is FSG. They haven’t signed off yet. That simple.

I don't think it's that simple. While the player has said the correct things, we don't know what the agent says or feels either.

I do think at the end of the day, FSG is likely the one holding up the decisions, but is it their fault if the player wants say, a Messi contract?

He might be the best player in the world right now, but Liverpool are not that club to spend that much on one player.

 

[Chimaera]

With no legitimate financial balance, the CL is a competition for a handful of clubs. But arguably, only a handful can rightly see themselves as contenders each season.

There can be other clubs who could win, but it's really hard to think they would be favorites. The gap in talent between some of the top sides and others is significant.

 

[Savant]

I don't think it's that simple. While the player has said the correct things, we don't know what the agent says or feels either.

I do think at the end of the day, FSG is likely the one holding up the decisions, but is it their fault if the player wants say, a Messi contract?

He might be the best player in the world right now, but Liverpool are not that club to spend that much on one player.

If Salah is the best player in the world right now, you give him a contract worthy of being the best player in the world. His value hasn’t gone down since the start of the season either. It’s gone up. The onus is on FSG to get it done. Salah and his team are not the bad guys here.

 

[Chimaera]

But what's the gap between a really good contract and the quote unquote best in the world player's contract.

What PSG can give a player is massively different then what Liverpool are prepared or even able to pay. And rightly so.

We can debate whether or not they're fully correct in this decision... but their stance is, and probably always has been, that one player who makes it so you can't sign others or construct a balanced roster is not completely worth it. Especially one who is getting out of their traditional peak. I know it's already been thrown out, but yes, FSG dealing Betts was about being cheap, they have the money, but it more so was they did not feel tying up that much capital in one asset is worth it.

 

[Chimaera]

Note, I'm more in the camp of pay him whatever he wants, because he's the best footballer Liverpool have ever had lace them up.

BUT. I don't want to see them pay Salah whatever he might want or feel he deserves (and maybe does honestly deserve), only to be hamstrung to put any product around him worthy of winning stuff. Having Salah, but then not being able to sign any players for the midfield as Thiago, Henderson, Milner and others age out is not a way to keep winning stuff.

I also don't know what exactly each side is offering / asking for. So, some of this discussion might be talking in circles, and be moot. But if Salah wants 500k? I don't know. Virgil's only getting like 200k. I don't know if the club has it in the budget to go out and pay that.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Note, I'm more in the camp of pay him whatever he wants, because he's the best footballer Liverpool have ever had lace them up.

BUT. I don't want to see them pay Salah whatever he might want or feel he deserves (and maybe does honestly deserve), only to be hamstrung to put any product around him worthy of winning stuff. Having Salah, but then not being able to sign any players for the midfield as Thiago, Henderson, Milner and others age out is not a way to keep winning stuff.

I also don't know what exactly each side is offering / asking for. So, some of this discussion might be talking in circles, and be moot. But if Salah wants 500k? I don't know. Virgil's only getting like 200k. I don't know if the club has it in the budget to go out and pay that.

I love Salah and he is a legit top talent but football is never about a player. I think they could "survive" without him just like Chelsea and Real Madrid have survived without Hazard and Ronaldo.
That being said, without Klopp as coach I would be less hopeful.

 

[Chimaera]

It will be a massive hit, and a big change for Klopp to go.


But it does seem like FSG can get appointments correct at some point. Rodgers wasn't a complete stiff, even if it eventually wound up falling apart at the end.

They will take a slide, but FSG are not in the business of being crappy. They might make clubs spend within their means, but the only way they make a profit on LFC is if they keep the stadium juiced and ad revenue rolling. Putting out a side that ends up 10th isn't doing that. Even if they're going to sell (which I don't really know is the case), they likely get the best price of a club in the CL more so than not.

 

[Savant]

I love Salah and he is a legit top talent but football is never about a player. I think they could "survive" without him just like Chelsea and Real Madrid have survived without Hazard and Ronaldo.
That being said, without Klopp as coach I would be less hopeful.

Problem is Salah is a lot better than Hazard and Ronaldo were when they left those teams. Liverpool are also much more reliant on Salah than the other teams were.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Problem is Salah is a lot better than Hazard and Ronaldo were when they left those teams. Liverpool are also much more reliant on Salah than the other teams were.

I am not sure about Salah being better than Ronaldo, I mean Salah is the best player in the league at this moment but before he joined he was a great player in Italy. At some point LFC will have to find their next Salah.

 

[Savant]

I am not sure about Salah being better than Ronaldo, I mean Salah is the bsst player in the league at this moment but before he joined he was a great player in Italy. At some point LFC will have to find their next Salah.

Salah, right now, is better than Ronaldo when he left Madrid. I don’t even think this is controversial at this point.

 

[robertmac43]

The eastern Europe budget signings continue;

 

[Scandale du Jour]

PSG wants to get rid of 7-8 players during the winter window :
Rico
Kehrer (well done Tuchel)
Diallo (well done Tuchel)
Kurzawa (well done Leonardo to resign him)
Paredes (Henrique's fault here IIRC)
Rafinha (Leonardo's fault)
Icardi (Messi's fault)
Draxler (Leonardo's fault for resigning him)

Those guys don't want to leave, with the exception of Icardi, who's leaving because he's 5th in the foward chart.

And they'll spend all of the savings on Vinicius to try to get revenge on Flo.

 

[cgf]

The eastern Europe budget signings continue;

He sounds interesting.

 

[robertmac43]

He sounds interesting.

Definitely an interesting player. As mentioned in the tweet he joins Moder and also Karbownik as young Polish signings. Brighton love their budget kid signings.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Not sure what is going on in red bull but both their big signings barely played.

 

[cgf]

Not sure what is going on in red bull but both their big signings barely played.

Simakan is just returning from covid, but he was a key player before getting sick.

Brobbey is just too young for such a loosely coached team, but he has started getting integrated more recently.