By Paul Tomkins. Just to have a view of both sides of the coin. I have already stated, if he goes, he goes BUT we would have to replace him and with Quality of the same level.
Imo the moment Suarez says he wants to leave he should be sold to avoid a drawn out saga but he has not said he wants to leave yet in any way so selling him against his wishes would be extremely stupid.
If Barca or Real Mad make a bid he will want to go. No point holding on to a player that wants to leave. $50mill will buy two "almost Suarez" players... of whom you can bet at least one won't live up to potential... ... or you could look for the bargains... the potential Suarezes... more room for potential floppage but could improve many areas of squad. If we lose him... we lose him and move on. If Rodders does as well with the money as he did in January we progress. If he does as bad as he did in summer we move backwards. We lucked out getting Suarez from the Torres money... unlikely to be as lucky again.
I think the biggest thing is can we find the bargains along wtih maybe one big name. Newcastle with the Cabaye, Santon, Ba, Cisse, etc did very well to rebuild and now with Sissoko as well. It looks to be an interesting summer nonetheless.
Of course this, I think it is, if he is feeling he wants to move, it is better to sell on good terms and get as much cash instead of draggin it out. Also, if he does want to move, i would want it to be done ASAP and not late August ( although that is when I think it would be) to give us time to get the replacements in. Then again, will we splash some cash and try to show Suarez we mean business before then? All ifs and buts until June.
I believe we should only be buying established talent and quality - these players will cost £15m+. They aren't world class but they have the reputation around Europe and have experience playing for a big club in a decent league. Using Coutinho and Sturridge as an example - we did extremely well spending £20m on the pair. In return, we got two young players with experience at big clubs and on big stages. Coming to Liverpool wasn't a shock to them and they understand what is expected which has helped them to contribute instantly. Eriksen will cost £15m+ but it's the type of player we should be buying now. He's not a 'hidden' gem. He's well known all over Europe as being a top prospect - he plays at a high level with one of the biggest clubs in Holland and is an established international. He's not world class yet hence why the biggest clubs in the world aren't fighting for his signature but that's where we come in. We did the same for Alonso, Mascherano, Torres and Suarez. None of them were cheap (Alonso was fairly cheap but still £10m+) but they were very good players with a promising reputation around Europe. We will struggle to buy Cavani, Falcao, Messi etc. They're simply out of our reach. But there are players who are currently playing at a high enough level, a level which is good enough to improve our team. They aren't cheap but they're affordable to a club like ours.
Think its fair to say we have had some poor luck when it comes to returns on expensive players.Lets hope its a case of good luck on potential signings in the future windows.
This. IF we have that 50 +20 that is supposed to be our budget, with 70 mil you can get multiple 15 mil + players in. I think this is where you target teams who have also been in and out of the CL. Pop into Russia to see what they have there, anyone at a Benfica who is looking to move on, Marseille is slipping up, Wolfsburg aren't quite s good but all these teams ave those players that bring experience and quality. Again, the only way Selling Suarez ( for me) makes sense is if we get a massive amount of money, all of it goes to players, and we in turn use it correctly to buy players of the ilk mentioned.
I feel the next 8 games are crucual in shaping up our summer. If we are able to get around another 20 points, I think we would be on about 65 points which is tangible evidence of the improvement upon last season where we only had 52 points. We'd be closer to pushing for a CL spot (Spurs finished 4th with 69 points last season).
I think we also have to remember how big this summer could be in that Skrtel and Reina may or may not leave. Skrtel, Reina, Suarez........ some really big shoes to fill and a lot of replacements needed. Could we get the team chemistry back? How will it change our mentality? etc.
We need to do everything we can to keep Luis Suarez. That is all. lose Suarez and we go backwards, simple as that. (I dont think I could handle going backwards again.) If Suarez leaves, Coutinho will follow suit, we already are missing a leader in defence for next season, Sturridge will lose interest and his form will drop. You thw ill have no idols at the club and their development will either get stunted or they will move on and we will be left absolutely ****ed. Cant lose Suarez and we nee to make champions League next year, so investment to compliment him needed also
I'd go as far as adding to previous comments regarding only accepting 50 million. We should also have the actual replacements practically cemented before we let him leave. No point swimming in money if we end up with no replacement. Supposed transfer money in the bank doesn't seem to be helping Arsenal upwards & onwards as they sell the family jewels every year.
Trouble is, if he goes (and I don't think for a minute he will) the clubs of anyone we're targeting will know we have a large bag of money and will inflate prices accordingly, as usual
Luis has come out on Radio Sport 890 and said that the media have twisted his words about leaving LFC.
