Disagree, Bertrand is quite clearly a step up on Targett and it's not a small gap imo. That's not to slate Targett though, just Bertrand is a very good full back bang in his prime.
No. Just no. Bertrand is streets ahead. Not just quicker physically but thinks faster. Also links up much better going forward.
Its all in the air as there is no offer. Would you pay 25 million for Danny Rose ? most people including the ex England manager and most pundits would have Rose ahead of Ryan so the 25 mil would seem good business, also its a different Matt that plays for the u21 team than you see in the first team, he is more relaxed, more at home. I'm not saying Matt is as good as Ryan, I am saying matt would be a different player at the end of the season than he is now, and the club would have made 15 mil on ryan
Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. You can't throw youngsters in at the deep end. Targett holds us back compared to Bwrtrand. We need to let him develop slowly at his own pace. We really, really, really, really need Bertrand IMO. He should be first on the team sheet with VVD and Forster
Logically I agree, as teams should play their best team, and as I said Ryan is better than Matt. But on the other hand if Ryan was sold (not going to happen) I think Matt has it in him to move up a couple of notches, out of interest would you pay 25 mil for danny Rose and do you consider him better than Ryan?
I don't know, man. I consider myself solidly in the Every Player Has His Price/It's a Business camp. But I don't think you can sell Bertrand right now. Maybe if this offer had come earlier in the window, or if we hadn't lost our manager and Wanyama and Mame as well as the Fonte drama. But things are looking a bit sketchy right now in a lot of ways and selling Bertrand IMO would destablize things drastically. He is worth 25m to keep around another year. And it's not like his value goes to 0 if we don't sell him, so he really costs us much less than that. I don't think any of this is really happening anyway.
I don't see anything that suggests target has more in his locker. The fact that he does well at u21 and is average in the first team suggests he is not currently at the level we require. He is fine for back up but if we really want him to be LB of the future he needs to go on loan and play a full season. Hes not getting in ahead of Bertrand any time soon.
I truly cannot see Saints or Bertrand for that matter genuinely being interested in the Alleged Liverpool offer. Saints will have had it made clear to him that he, like the others, recently given new contracts, are seen as the future stability of the club. If the club go back on this it will become an open door for all the others who recently upped their contracts. As well as making the club statements fully hypocritical and would cost them over time a lot more money than any profit they make from the sale of Bertrand. Personally I think it is a lot of showmanship bullshit from someone in Liverpool who are of the opinion that Liverpool can do anything they want to whoever....most probably an Everton supporter or even a disguised bid from Koeman........
Matty at the start of this season compared to the start of last season is tons better. The biggest difference is between the ears. He was still a rabbit in the headlights this time last season and wouldn't get forward much for fear of making an error. The switch to a back five and the improved results following his inclusion in the side last season seems to have given him a big shot in the arm. I think he feels he belongs at this level and now he is playing more relaxed, the technique in his left foot which is of decent quality is now more consistent. As for Danny Rose, if I was Liverpool I would pay it. Southampton don't have the resources to buy players at the price we sell them for
I like Matty Targett, & am looking forward to seeing him develop - as our 2nd choice RB. Imo we really missed Ryan on Saturday.
Excellent post on Matty. On the money. (We probably do have the resources in your last sentence, but choose a different strategy. A strategy that a lot of fans clearly aren't aware of).
In todays market, Danny Rose probably is worth £25m, yes. Would I pay it? Probably not. Would anyone? Someone would, for sure.
*Left Back* Agreed. People forget that players rarely appear on the scene as a great player. There have been exceptions, in Shaw, Bale, etc, but usually young lad develop into good players and Matty is doing just that.