Yeah I saw that video of him saying that. I think he is a done deal for the summer the way him and his agent have been speaking.
Absolutely. The way Inter are... £10m-ish could do it? If the player wants to go. Here's hoping. Tidy player and early business is always good.
Ukraine aren't in the world cup, so his value won't go up. I did wonder if we could get even better than Konoplyanka, but we really need a wide left player with pace, to mirror Sterling, allowing Coutinho to play central more. It all gives us more options and the guy seems keen to join us, hopefully £10-15m and we have a bargain and money to spend elsewhere.
An upgrade from Konoplyanka would be Reus at Dortmund, would love us to put a bid in and test the water. Also, I hope we renew interest in Shaqiri.
i reckon a lot of our targets will depend on where we finish, we would have more pull if you can say league champions than a team that finished in the top 4.
We'll still be going for A) Emerging talents from weaker sides B) Players desperate to move league/club to prove themselves C) Those wasted by the depth at their current club Kono seems like categories A and B. If we were looking at category C... Alexis Sanchez? There won't be a professional footballer in Europe that hasn't seen us this season or the game on Sunday. We play football you'd want to be part of, and Rodgers' project would surely be very attractive.
There won't be a player in the world of football that wouldn't want to be in a team that plays in the way we do. That doesn't mean we could sign Messi in the summer, it means we play very good football that players will want to be part of.
No Messi please, he's great but has already peaked in terms of his performance in relation to his pay and age. More signings like Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling please And Henderson too, people laughed at £16m but I only thought the gamble was if he would reach his full potential or not and now he is doing so he is well worth what we paid to our team
Yeah, Hendo's looking like a steal for 16million. Obviously still limited in some areas of his game, but for a player who's really found his passing range this season, presses and can link up with intricate passes when needs (and English!), he's a great signing. I don't expect us to lavishly spend top dollar on players this summer. As Yoda says, we'll be looking for promising talent who haven't made it yet or who are swamped by the players above them and need a shot elsewhere. I wonder what Lamela's price would be right now...top talent even before he moved to Roma but really struggled at the start and then, due to expectation, was dropped and ignored since. Konoplyanka I'd expect us to be back in for, if not pre-agreed already. I personally wouldn't want Richards, but he looks like a Rodgers type of player; huge potential only a few years ago, can't break into the City team and wouldn't cost the world. Injuries a concern, but no doubt we'd assess him just like we did with Papadonkasaurus. Shaqiri is another who's behind in the pecking order after a big move and can't get many opportunities. If Robben and Ribery stay at Bayern, he might be another Rodgers type.
Wasn't it £16m with achievement clauses? Pretty sure winning the league will activate a payment or two.
Rival in their eyes. Didn't we have this conversation with Arsenal fans last summer? Only we were the ones claiming to be rivals?
Benfica striker Rodrigo, who has been targeted by Arsenal and Liverpool, admits he does not know where he will be playing next season. The Brazil-born striker has had an excellent season, netting 11 league goals to fire Benfica to the top of the Portuguese league table, as well as striking four times in Europe, including a goal in his side's 3-1 win at Tottenham in March. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have been tracking the forward, who spent time on loan at Bolton in the 2010/11 season. Benfica sold Rodrigo's economic rights to a private investment company in January and the 23-year-old, who has represented Spain at several junior levels, is not yet sure if he will remain in Lisbon this summer. He told ESPN Brasil: "I do not know what will happen next year. I really like Benfica. Of course there is interest in playing in other leagues, but playing at Benfica, the club that I like, would not be too bad either." Colombian hotshot Luis Muriel could be on his way out of Udinese in the summer after his agent revealed that the forward may seek pastures new in search of greater first-team opportunities. The highly-rated 23-year-old has been monitored by table-topping Liverpool, as well as Manchester United, over the past few seasons. He has had a difficult season at Udinese this year, managing only 12 league starts, but his representative Helmut Wennin insists the player is focused on his current club and securing a place in Colombia's World Cup squad - for the time-being. He told Calciomercatonews: "For now, he wants to play all the games possible with Udinese and the play the best he can ahead of the World Cup. Here we talk about football and Muriel is prepared to move wherever there is an opportunity." Wennin also played down talk Muriel will seek a move to Fiorentina in order to link up with his friend and compatriot Juan Cuadrado, who is wanted by Arsenal. The agent added: "[Will he go] to Fiorentina with [Juan] Cuadrado? Cuadrado is a great friend of his, but he has many others." Borussia Dortmund defender Marcel Schmelzer has emerged as a target for Liverpool, according to reports in Germany. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to strengthen in the summer and a new left-back is high on his list of priorities. German paper Bild have now claimed Liverpool are keen on BVB full-back Schmelzer but the Anfield side may face a fight for the 26-year-old. Real Madrid have been linked with the German international in the past and reports say Dortmund will seek a fee of around £10million for Schmelzer, who is under contract until 2017.
Marcel Schmelzer reminds me a bit of Baines. Excellent delivery with hi left foot. Not too sure how good he is defensively though? £10m seems a decent price though
Iago Aspas will not quit Liverpool in the summer, insists agent ‘There is no possibility of Iago returning to Spain or going anywhere else,’ he said. ‘Iago has a four-year contract with Liverpool and is very happy to be with the Reds, apart from the fact that he would obviously like to play more.’ Aspas has scored just one goal in 14 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season.
I'm split on Aspas. If we get £7m offer then I'd say sell him, but otherwise I hope we keep him. Squad depth is a problem and will be next year but with the CL. I think we won't play a very strong team in the League Cup like we did thi year which means players like Aspas/Alberto/Kelly/Toure will probably get a lot more game time. He will have 1 years experience in England under his belt and might be able to push on and make a decent contribution.
