Liverpool 2017-18: Salah Days are Here

67YAZ

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Well, Klopp delivered a top-4 finish and a return to the Champions League in season two. It may have been a little nervy towards the end, but that's all in the past. Now there's money to spend!

The squad's biggest shortcoming last season was depth, especially among the attackers where any combination other than the Fab 4 - Countinho, Firmino, Mane, & Lallana - struggled to break down defenses, particularly against smaller sides that parked the bus at Anfield. And for the second half of the season, the Liverpool bench was largely a bunch of teenagers chaperoned by Loris Karius. Building up squad depth for a more congested schedule is Klopp's top priority.

To that end, there's a small group of significant names routinely tied to Liverpool so far: Van Dijk, Salah, Brandt, Keita, Lacazette, & Sessegnon. It's an ambitious list, but one that addresses all of the positions:

  • Attack - Holding onto Coutinho is job #1 (if the Barcelona rumors are true). I'm sure Klopp will work the phones hard to find Sturridge a new home, but who will bite given the possible wages? I also wouldn't be surprised if Origi moved on. He's very talented, but I'm not sure he has the legs or passing to fit Liverpool's system; he could be very successful as a lone striker on a counter-attack minded side. Bringing in Lacazette and one of Salah or Brandt would provide some high-end depth to the attack, but the price tags being floated around are eye watering.
  • Midfield - Lallana proved himself to be an instrumental catalyst for this side, and Wijnaldum seemed to be growing into a similar role towards the end of the season while Lallana was out. Bringing in Keita would provided much needed help for Henderson and Can and bring an incredible work, but I'm skeptical that RBL will accept any bid. The big questions are, can Henderson stay healthy? He was fantastic when on the pitch. Whither Can? Will he resign? Should Liverpool want him to?
  • Defense - Matip-Lovren were a solid combo, but there has to be more depth here. Van Dijk would be a huge signing, but what's the backup plan if he opts for Man City? I have massive respect for Milner - a late-career position change, being elected vice captain in his first season - but a true LB is needed. There's rumors that Andrew Robertson has already been signed, and I think he's a solid two-way fullback that will have a long EPL career. Would Sessegnon be a short-term improvement? Would a Milner/Robertson/Sessegnon group be enough to success in Europe?
  • Keeper - Mingolet will never be the ball handler & distributor that Klopp wants, but he came up huge time and again down the stretch. He is a world class shot stopper. Karius still has loads of talent, but lost all confidence last season. I'm not sure what gives here. Maybe a loan for Karius to rebuild him and bring back Ward as the back up?
Klopp has said that he wants to have his squad settled in time to start the pre-season. That should mean a lot of action over the next month.
 

Carbo Loading

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Sounds like Sessgnon is off to Spurs so that's off the table, as is Brandt. The Echo is reporting they are negotiating with Roma for Salah and hope to get him for under 40 million pounds. The Echo is also saying they are still in play for Van Dijk and are willing to go toe to toe with City and Chelsea for him. My feeling is Liverpool put out Van Dijk, Brandt, Sessegnon, and Keita as targets but really did that as a smoke screen for others they feel have more value.

Frankly I think the only players on the team they feel are starters going forward are Firmino, Coutinho, Mane, Karius, and Can. I think they would like to eventually replace everyone else. Lovren was shite I don't care what anyone says. Matip was solid, but lost his way anytime an opponent hit on the counter. Lallana for all his work rate should really be the top guy on a lower table team. He should only be a backup on a team looking to win the league or go deep in the Champions League. Milner's salary is a drag, hopefully they find a true LB and put him on the bench until they find a mid table team to take his horrible salary of their hands.

This is a crucial transfer season for FSG. Are they really willing to invest in bringing in the players that will keep them in the Champions League? That remains to be seen. The new CEO who came from EA Sports admitted today they are still looking for value overall. There's a part of me that thinks they want to keep spending to a minimum because they think Klopp can "coach them up". That's not going to work when City, ManU, Chelsea will spend whatever it takes and Spurs and Arsenal are more attractive teams due to location and system.
 

67YAZ

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As fine as new home kit is....



...the new away kit is ugly.
 

SoxFanInCali

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As someone who tends to hate all the crazy away kit designs...I don't really mind this one.

Looks to be based on the 1995-96 away kit, but the green is a lot more subtle with the pinstripes.


I don't think I'll buy it, but on the field it will look fine. Definitely better than the highlighter kits.
 

Carbo Loading

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Mane's injury has me terribly concerned. I'm unconvinced he can be reliable. I hope I'm wrong.

Do you really see Karius overtaking Mignolet? He didn't seem impressive in his short stints. It's possible I'm missing something.
Listening to some of the Anfield Index podcasts, there's a feeling Klopp still believes in Karius and thinks he's the long term solution due to his distribution superiority over Mignolet. I think Mignolet will be the starter out of the gate next season which he deserves, but by the end of next season I think Karius will take over. He'll have more opportunities to play with Champions League and hopefully Liverpool won't punt the FA Cup again.
 

Zososoxfan

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I may be old school, but give me the best shot stopper over distribution in a keeper any day. Maybe if your offense really sucks and the keeper can legitimately start a break consistently, otherwise, keeping the ball out of the net has to be worth so much more.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Listening to some of the Anfield Index podcasts, there's a feeling Klopp still believes in Karius and thinks he's the long term solution due to his distribution superiority over Mignolet. I think Mignolet will be the starter out of the gate next season which he deserves, but by the end of next season I think Karius will take over. He'll have more opportunities to play with Champions League and hopefully Liverpool won't punt the FA Cup again.
I've heard speculation that Ward may come back from his Huddersfield loan to serve as the backup/cup games keeper, and Karius could end up at Huddersfield on loan to get some Premier League experience.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Van Dijk's preferred destination is reportedly Liverpool

As always with silly season, I'll believe it when I see it, etc - £60m sounds nuts, but that's the price of proven quality these days. It also helps that his presumed partner Matip was brought in on a free, though they'd be making ~£310k weekly between the two of them.
 

ehaz

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Van Dijk's preferred destination is reportedly Liverpool

As always with silly season, I'll believe it when I see it, etc - £60m sounds nuts, but that's the price of proven quality these days. It also helps that his presumed partner Matip was brought in on a free, though they'd be making ~£310k weekly between the two of them.
I think this one is real. Even Paul Joyce (actually reliable) is reporting it. Rumors are that they'll match the highest wage offer at around 200k per week.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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ehaz

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Di Marzio is now reporting that Liverpool is setting his sights on Napoli's Faouzi Ghoulam for LB. That would be incredible - he's a great player and fits Klopp's desire for a tall, athletic, backline (plus, Champions League experience to boot!). But holy crap this squad is gonna be decimated for a month every two years when the African Cup of Nations rolls around.

- Ghoulam (Algeria)
- Salah (Egypt)
- Keita (Guinea)
- Mane (Senegal)
- Matip (Cameroon, but retired)

It would be pretty cool though to have half of your outfield starters from Africa.
 

67YAZ

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It would be pretty cool though to have half of your outfield starters from Africa.
Until January 2019 when half the first team is playing in Cameroon.

I was surprised to read that Salah is "only" looking for £90k/week. That makes a deal in the £30-35m range a bit more palatable.
 

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PedroSpecialK

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Eh... Van Dijk has 5 years left on his contract, so Southampton's probably giving Liverpool a polite "fuck off already" while knowing they can recoup ~80% of the fee with one of City/Chelsea if Liverpool are reprimanded. Kind of a win/win for them even if there's nothing there.

His Dutch teammate Wijnaldum had reportedly been in his ear about making the move, but that doesn't exactly constitute tapping up.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Sounds more likely they thought they'd get a bigger fee from City or Chelsea. Add that to the annual Southampton raid and you get a pissed off board.

Still .. it's a completely ridiculous claim. ALL teams - including the Saints - in European football do business this way. You talk to the player to see if there's interest .. you agree on terms and then you approach the team and haggle on the transfer fee.
 

67YAZ

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I think the fall out with Puel and the hackles over Van Dijk are evidence that the Southampton board want to take the next step, something like becoming what Everton is right now.

A few years ago, a Saints coach that finished 8th and went to a cup final would be lauded as a hero. But Puel is being ousted for not playing a more fluid, attacking style and at least challenging Everton for 7th place. Losing Van Dijk months after agreeing to an extension puts Southampton in a tough spot; it's just not easy to annually replace as much talent as they have been transferring out.

2016-2017 Outgoing
Mane
Pelle
Fonte
Koeman

2015-2016 Outgoing
Clyne
Wanayama
Schneiderlin

2015-2015 Outgoing
Shaw
Lambert
Lovren
Chambers
Lallana
Pochettino

Toss in Arthur Boruc, who left on a free, and that's a quality staring eleven with two top notch managers.

Even as a Liverpool supporter, I respect the Saints board for trying to protect their squad and build themselves into a top-tier team.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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I think the fall out with Puel and the hackles over Van Dijk are evidence that the Southampton board want to take the next step, something like becoming what Everton is right now.

A few years ago, a Saints coach that finished 8th and went to a cup final would be lauded as a hero. But Puel is being ousted for not playing a more fluid, attacking style and at least challenging Everton for 7th place. Losing Van Dijk months after agreeing to an extension puts Southampton in a tough spot; it's just not easy to annually replace as much talent as they have been transferring out.

2016-2017 Outgoing
Mane
Pelle
Fonte
Koeman

2015-2016 Outgoing
Clyne
Wanayama
Schneiderlin

2015-2015 Outgoing
Shaw
Lambert
Lovren
Chambers
Lallana
Pochettino

Toss in Arthur Boruc, who left on a free, and that's a quality staring eleven with two top notch managers.

Even as a Liverpool supporter, I respect the Saints board for trying to protect their squad and build themselves into a top-tier team.
Oh , for sure .. I can see why they'd be pissed. I was none too happy when Xavi Alonso and Luis Suarez left .. but that's just the business of football. According to ThisIsAnfield Southampton pulled the same tactic with Toby Alderweireld, Shneiderlin and Colum Chambers when they moved on to greener pastures. The supposition is it's to simply ensure favour with the club's supporters.

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2017/06/liverpool-strongly-reject-southamptons-claim-illegal-approach-van-dijk/

Liverpool, are, of course denying any wrongdoing.
 

fletcherpost

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The weird thing is that one would think Liverpool and Saints had a pretty good relationship at this point given the amount of business they've done in recent years.
That's exactly what i was thinking when i heard the news. I think Southampton have been well paid the last few years for their players, maybe they think, he scousers dinnae take the piss. Maybe in retrospect they think they've sold relatively cheap and/or this is just something they feel they need to do moving forwards to protect the value of their crown jewel, and send a message to the rest of the big clubs.

Cos I'm sure a wee phone call could have sorted this out and kept it from being a story. They're a well run club with a very smart chairman.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Well this is certainly bizarre. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall of Ralph Krueger's office throughout this.

I should say, not a great look for FSG here either...
 

ehaz

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That's embarrassing. I can't imagine that Jurgen Klopp is excited to be working with this kind of incompetence from the DoF.
 

67YAZ

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Total amateur hour and a real self-inflicted wound after 48 hours of excited, glowing stories about how Klopp has brought a certain allure back to Anfield. Looks like Stefan de Vrij is the back up choice, and Lazio is looking for something in the neighborhood of £30m despite the center back entering his walk year. de Vrij isn't the all around CB that Van Dijk is, but he might be better bang for buck. (Searching for silver linings...)
 

ehaz

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Some of the rumours out there are that Klopp might have had a clandestine meeting in Blackpool with VVD, this might have been his doing, not FSG.
Yeah but this is fairly commonplace in transfer sagas. What is not normal is the constant leaking from the club to journalists - to the point that when LFC initiated conversations with Southampton over a fee the whole world knew that Klopp had already spoken with VVD.
 

Schnerres

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So no van Dijk?!?

Considering RB Leipzig´s players, the only one who could be coming over is Emil Forsberg. I doubt Leipzig will let Keita leave, even for 60+mil.€. He is too important for their central midfield and entire game. Timo Werner did not say anything about coming over or leaving and he is just in the perfect situation for him. At 21, he has so much time ahead, if he ever wants to make a move for the PL. So then there´s Forsberg(25), another attacker, who just broke the Bundesliga record for assists in a season and repeatedly refused to commit to Leipzig. He still has a contract, but he seems like the guy who plays for money ("I´m just concentrating on the next match, instead of my long term contract situation[...BLABLA].")

RB Leipzig has lots of money, will add players (for the CL run) instead of selling, so the only way they are really getting away from a guy is if someone is unhappy and brings back money, which Forsberg would be, no doubt.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Ok .. maybe I need a little education here.

What kind of contact with players under contract is allowed? Phone calls? Text messages ? (That was an earlier rumour today), clandestine meetings under London Bridge?

Is this usually a nudge nudge wink wink scenario?

Case in point: Two days ago Romelu Lukaku claimed he has already agreed personal terms with another PL team (presumably Chelsea). Now , exactly how were these terms agreed to if contact is not allowed?

Case in point: Arsenal Wenger in 2015(?) tried to lure Suarez to Arsenal. Did he make frantic waving motions at Suarez on the street?

Case in point: Mo Salah in 2014(?) .. Salah was all set to join Liverpool when Morinho calls him up and persuades him to join Chelsea.

I could go on and on.

So.. is "illegally" contacting a player only illegal when his current team complains? Or, is the usual procedure to get permission from the club before entering into negotiations? Bearing in mind this all happens before the actual transfer fee is agreed?

While it doesn't look good, tapping up seems to be a widely recognized and accepted form of football business.

Personally I think two factors were at play here.

-Southampton wanted VVD to stay
- if he was going anyways they wanted Chelsea or City as the destination as they figured to get a bigger fee.
- selling another star to Liverpool looks bad with the supporters

Liverpool caved because there was
- tangible evidence of contact
- there's no way in hell they were paying the reported asking price (70m pounds)

This sucks for the player as it's going to be difficult to now sell him to City or Chelsea as there's been lots of very public stories about City offering 200,000 a week and all that.how is that not tapping up?
 
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SoxFanInCali

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Here's what continually bugs me about all the talk of Liverpool needing better defenders. It isn't that signing a defender for 40 or 50 million GBP will suddenly make the defense great. The system Klopp plays means that defenders are going to occasionally get exposed. I don't care who you put back there. Yeah, we need depth, but I don't know if a record-breaking signing is needed back there.

The main thing I think needs work is set piece defending, and that's not just on the center backs, that's the entire side. If they can maintain the possession stats they had this season and avoid the goals off corners due to blown assignments, they will be fine.
 

JayMags71

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Setting aside SFIiC's valid argument on VDV, It seems to me that any time we have our eye on a transfer target (Salah, Mane, Gylfi Siggurdson, Willian, Mkhitaryan, Roberto Soldado) it turns into a protracted saga that typically ends in failure. The VDV failure seems to fit this pattern, and it's concerning.
 

fletcherpost

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Here's what continually bugs me about all the talk of Liverpool needing better defenders. It isn't that signing a defender for 40 or 50 million GBP will suddenly make the defense great. The system Klopp plays means that defenders are going to occasionally get exposed. I don't care who you put back there. Yeah, we need depth, but I don't know if a record-breaking signing is needed back there.

The main thing I think needs work is set piece defending, and that's not just on the center backs, that's the entire side. If they can maintain the possession stats they had this season and avoid the goals off corners due to blown assignments, they will be fine.
If you get a world class central defender in his prime, you get a player, like a John Terry, who can lead the back line, and get his fellow defenders well drilled when it comes to positioning during set pieces. Such a player can influence and improve other players. Just like an attacking player can get better by playing with Suarez, so too a good defender can really improve working with a world class one.

Is VVD that player? He's pretty quick. He reads the game well. Can he martial the back line imperiously, like Terry could and still can, (Terry lost a few yards, that was his undoing.) I guess most of you would know better than me, since you probably watched more games last season. He was excellent for Celtic but it's a weaker league, more room for error.

Still, I think it's weird that Liverpool dropped their interest. They might need to find anothe feeder club moving forwards.
 

67YAZ

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The fixture list is out, and holy hell is the holiday stretch brutal - 4 games in 10 days. But I think March-April-May set up pretty well for them, may be able to collect up some points down the stretch. Now if only they can manage a transfer or two...



12 August – Watford (A)
19 August – Crystal Palace (H)
26 August – Arsenal (H)
9 September – Manchester City (A)
16 September – Burnley (H)
23 September – Leicester City (A)
30 September – Newcastle United (A)
14 October – Manchester United (H)
21 October – Tottenham Hotspur (A)
28 October – Huddersfield Town (H)
4 November – West Ham United (A)
18 November – Southampton (H)
25 November – Chelsea (H)
29 November – Stoke City (A)
2 December – Brighton and Hove Albion (A)
9 December – Everton (H)
13 December – West Bromwich Albion (H)
16 December – Bournemouth (A)
23 December – Arsenal (A)
26 December – Swansea City (H)
30 December – Leicester City (H)
1 January – Burnley (A)
13 January – Manchester City (H)
20 January – Swansea City (A)
30 January – Huddersfield Town (A)
3 February – Tottenham Hotspur (H)
10 February – Southampton (A)
24 February – West Ham United (H)
3 March – Newcastle United (H)
10 March – Manchester United (A)
17 March – Watford (H)
31 March – Crystal Palace (A)
7 April – Everton (A)
14 April – Bournemouth (H)
21 April – West Bromwich Albion (A)
28 April – Stoke City (H)
5 May – Chelsea (A)
13 May – Brighton and Hove Albion (H)
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Funny thing is, the condensed schedule sucks, but the fixtures themselves couldn't have worked out better, with the toughest match first, followed by two home matches against lower-mid table teams, and wrapping up at Turf Moor, a place that should yield points (yeah, I know LFC haven't done well against Burnley in the PL era, but they should still get a result at Turf Moor).

I really like this schedule, since they're not likely to face UCL contenders in consecutive match days right now. With the early start and the likely congestion between domestic cups and (hopefully) the UCL, not having to contend with consecutive tough matches in the league is a relief.
 

67YAZ

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Reports of Roma and Liverpool finally agreeing to a fee for Salah - up to £39m if all clauses are met. Still pending a medical, and the long floated wage is £90k/week.

A few weeks ago I though anything over £25m would be too much, but when keepers are being transferred for £30m...I guess that's the just the price at the high end of the market when you're buying established players from other Chmapions League squads.
 

ehaz

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Salah's medical is taking place right now. What can they do to still screw this up?
 

PedroSpecialK

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His body is too weak from Ramadan fasting to perform basic fitness tests, does not pass the medical.

Liverpool move onto Demarai Gray.
 

Schnerres

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ESPN says Napoli offer 12.5mil € for Moreno and Liverpool says it´s too low. I don´t know how much they paid, but seeing he played in 18matches (8 starts!), that is a lot of money.
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.

This tweet shows a couple of things:
- The names on the back of this year's shirt will be straight across rather than arched.
- Roberto Firmino is getting a new squad number (looks like 9).
 
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swiftaw

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His body is too weak from Ramadan fasting to perform basic fitness tests, does not pass the medical.

Liverpool move onto Demarai Gray.
I would still sign Gray anyway, going to need him in 18 months when both Salah and Mane are in the African Cup of Nations.

Also, they turned down a bid of $11 million for Moreno, I would've taken that in a heartbeat (apparently they are holding out for $15 million).

What's left on the shopping list? You'd have to think at least 1 left back and a central defender.
 

SocrManiac

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The minimal list is a central defender and left back. I wouldn't say no to a pure striker, either.

From my perspective (and I seem to be alone in this), I'm afraid they need to be locking down the center of the park. Henderson's durability scares me. Emre Can isn't the guy yet, and Lucas certainly isn't the long term solution. If the opportunity presents itself, I think they need to pounce on a CDM.
 

67YAZ

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The minimal list is a central defender and left back. I wouldn't say no to a pure striker, either.

From my perspective (and I seem to be alone in this), I'm afraid they need to be locking down the center of the park. Henderson's durability scares me. Emre Can isn't the guy yet, and Lucas certainly isn't the long term solution. If the opportunity presents itself, I think they need to pounce on a CDM.
Fully agree, hence the interest in Keita. But I have a heard time imagining RBL willingly selling this summer, and there hasn't been a ruckus raised the player.

I'm really disappointed that Dahoud moved at such a low price without a fight. My theory is that since Can shares an agency with Dahoud, the agency wasn't going to allow two of its players compete for playing time.

I'd love to see Ruben Neves come in.