Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2018

Harry Palmr

Melissa Reddy in goals

Leon Goretzka, who has his pick of elite clubs with his Schalke contract expiring this summer, has long been under consideration and is set to reveal his destination next month.

Lazio’s imposing “Sergente” Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has also been monitored, but the Serie A side are reluctant to let him leave - expecting a fee of around £90m if he does - while the player has insisted he’s happy in Italy.

Liverpool have done plenty of recon in the centre of the park, where there are several strong options that marry with their stylistic demands.
In an attacking sense, Thomas Lemar preferred moving to Anfield rather than linking up with Arsenal in the summer, and with Monaco insisting he is not on the market next month, if they scale back their £92m valuation of the Frenchman in the off-season, he should remain in the mix.

There has been no shortage of defensive assessment too, where Jose Gimenez, Aymeric Laporte and Manuel Akanji are just three attractive candidates.

There is also a decision to be made in the goalkeeping department; the area in which Liverpool are still not punching in the same bracket as the Manchester clubs and Chelsea.

:eek: Whole new team!

SlickRic

i honestly don't know what anyone's issue with the VVD signing could be unless you're an accountant.

and if you're an accountant, you're probably not an accountant for FSG or Liverpool FC, so it shouldn't concern you.

with the amount of money coming in from TV rights (for many years to come), Champions League, ticket sales, the likely sale of Coutinho, FSG's own wealth...the reality is there is a pit of money available. we are no more cash poor now than we were before this purchase, and we've a player better than what we have.

VVD is quick, strong, brilliant in one-on-ones, can hit a dead ball (which might be handy after Cout leaves), is a threat from corners and wide free kicks, can take the ball out of defence confidently and can pass. his addition will help offensively as he can stride out and pass (like you see Otamendi or Stones often do for Pep). He is ideal for Kloppball.

we're past the age where money means anything in the game, especially in England.

City spent over £100m on full backs. another £50m on Stones. bar maybe Mendy, who thought any of them were 'worth' the money paid?
José spent £89m on Pogba, knowing where transfer fees were heading. Not long after he spent £75m on Lukaku, who'd proven nothing at the top end of the game.
Even Arsenal spent over £50m on Lacazette. And Wenger is the ultimate accountant.

in an ideal world, Klopp spots a VVD type player in La Liga, spends a fraction of the money, allows them to bed in to the League, trains them, improves them, etc etc etc. But the goalposts have changed. Klopp said 18 months ago that he wouldn't be part of 'this football' where astronomical transfer fees become the norm. he knows that isn't realistic anymore. small clubs can pay top dollar and keep their players on huge wages. therefore premiums on the players you want that clubs don't have to sell are huge. it's just the way it is.

there is no romance in the game anymore. it's business. and Liverpool might just be starting to learn that to get ahead, and to actually compete with the Citys, Chelseas and Utds of this world, a few of these types of purchases are necessary.

I'm not an accountant.
i don't give a fúck.
back the manager.
get the player.
simple.

well done to everyone involved.

monkey9

Turtyturd wrote: »

I thought a bit of time to reflect on their stupidity and a nights sleep might have calmed down the cult of Mourinho but they seem to be doubling down on their Van Dijk ‘expertise’. Hard to take it seriously when they’ve considered Phil da face and Smalling as the best defenders in the league.

Those lads were claiming Chris Smalling to be one of the best centre backs in Europe a few seasons back. I'd just leave them to it to be honest.

monkey9

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

I agree with Lloyd we have been bent over a barrel with this price, he will need to be amazing to justify the price tag but needs must and we can only be happy that Klopp got his man and was aggressively backed by the owners. I thought you'd be in favour tbh Lloyd I know you wanted us to drop a wedge on Hulk before IIRC you're all about that aggressive spending are you not?

How could he possibly justify his price tag? It's a silly phrase these days. Everybody is paying silly money. I just want him to perform and perform to the expectations that Klopp has of him. Once he does that, that justifies his signing. His price tag means nothing to me.

monkey9

rob316 wrote: »

You have on many ocassions advocated spending huge sums on players I remember quite clearly Falcao was one. Why are you pouring cold water on this?

Just to be contrary i suspect.

mosstin

SlickRic wrote: »

i honestly don't know what anyone's issue with the VVD signing could be unless you're an accountant.

and if you're an accountant, you're probably not an accountant for FSG or Liverpool FC, so it shouldn't concern you.

with the amount of money coming in from TV rights (for many years to come), Champions League, ticket sales, the likely sale of Coutinho, FSG's own wealth...the reality is there is a pit of money available. we are no more cash poor now than we were before this purchase, and we've a player better than what we have.

VVD is quick, strong, brilliant in one-on-ones, can hit a dead ball (which might be handy after Cout leaves), is a threat from corners and wide free kicks, can take the ball out of defence confidently and can pass. his addition will help offensively as he can stride out and pass (like you see Otamendi or Stones often do for Pep). He is ideal for Kloppball.

we're past the age where money means anything in the game, especially in England.

City spent over £100m on full backs. another £50m on Stones. bar maybe Mendy, who thought any of them were 'worth' the money paid?
Jospent £89m on Pogba, knowing where transfer fees were heading. Not long after he spent £75m on Lukaku, who'd proven nothing at the top end of the game.
Even Arsenal spent over £50m on Lacazette. And Wenger is the ultimate accountant.

in an ideal world, Klopp spots a VVD type player in La Liga, spends a fraction of the money, allows them to bed in to the League, trains them, improves them, etc etc etc. But the goalposts have changed. Klopp said 18 months ago that he wouldn't be part of 'this football' where astronomical transfer fees become the norm. he knows that isn't realistic anymore. small clubs can pay top dollar and keep their players on huge wages. therefore premiums on the players you want that clubs don't have to sell are huge. it's just the way it is.

there is no romance in the game anymore. it's business. and Liverpool might just be starting to learn that to get ahead, and to actually compete with the Citys, Chelseas and Utds of this world, a few of these types of purchases are necessary.

I'm not an accountant.
i don't give a fúck.
back the manager.
get the player.
simple.

well done to everyone involved.

No-one on here will give one single **** if VVD plays to his potential. It's funny to hear people moan as if we're spending their money and moan then when FSG aren't spending their money.

garra

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

In order for it to become “value for money” VVD would need to become one of the top handful of players in the world. Like Lukaku, that ain’t happening.

so, you have shifted 180 degrees since your "show me the money" days...

You are incorrect in your assessment of the value derived from this deal.. You are talking comparisons with previous transfers but the owners will only care in terms of the money spent versus trophies won / business success of club.

Your assessment of value is only of use to keyboard jockies who love a good debate about how great their english football club is, compared to how great the other's favorite english football club is.

niallo27

SlickRic wrote: »

i honestly don't know what anyone's issue with the VVD signing could be unless you're an accountant.

and if you're an accountant, you're probably not an accountant for FSG or Liverpool FC, so it shouldn't concern you.

with the amount of money coming in from TV rights (for many years to come), Champions League, ticket sales, the likely sale of Coutinho, FSG's own wealth...the reality is there is a pit of money available. we are no more cash poor now than we were before this purchase, and we've a player better than what we have.

VVD is quick, strong, brilliant in one-on-ones, can hit a dead ball (which might be handy after Cout leaves), is a threat from corners and wide free kicks, can take the ball out of defence confidently and can pass. his addition will help offensively as he can stride out and pass (like you see Otamendi or Stones often do for Pep). He is ideal for Kloppball.

we're past the age where money means anything in the game, especially in England.

City spent over £100m on full backs. another £50m on Stones. bar maybe Mendy, who thought any of them were 'worth' the money paid?
Jospent £89m on Pogba, knowing where transfer fees were heading. Not long after he spent £75m on Lukaku, who'd proven nothing at the top end of the game.
Even Arsenal spent over £50m on Lacazette. And Wenger is the ultimate accountant.

in an ideal world, Klopp spots a VVD type player in La Liga, spends a fraction of the money, allows them to bed in to the League, trains them, improves them, etc etc etc. But the goalposts have changed. Klopp said 18 months ago that he wouldn't be part of 'this football' where astronomical transfer fees become the norm. he knows that isn't realistic anymore. small clubs can pay top dollar and keep their players on huge wages. therefore premiums on the players you want that clubs don't have to sell are huge. it's just the way it is.

there is no romance in the game anymore. it's business. and Liverpool might just be starting to learn that to get ahead, and to actually compete with the Citys, Chelseas and Utds of this world, a few of these types of purchases are necessary.

I'm not an accountant.
i don't give a fúck.
back the manager.
get the player.
simple.

well done to everyone involved.

I feel this should be a must read post in every thread. It's impossible argue with anything in it.

klose

Not sure if it was posted but henderson is out till february, chance for ox to stake a claim in midfield and lallana will see more game time.

Potential Underachiever

monkey9 wrote: »

How could he possibly justify his price tag? It's a silly phrase these days. Everybody is paying silly money. I just want him to perform and perform to the expectations that Klopp has of him. Once he does that, that justifies his signing. His price tag means nothing to me.

By playing well and becoming a very important cog in the team for years to come, unlike say stinking the place out like Carroll did and us getting ridiculed about dropping 75m clams on him. It would be great if in a couple of years we're saying we got a bargain.

NukaCola

SlickRic wrote: »

i honestly don't know what anyone's issue with the VVD signing could be unless you're an accountant.

I think everyone is happy he signed but it's not a crazy statement to say its mega money. I mean, it is a talking point. I dont think anyone has said its a terrible move just that the market has no value in it. You can be happy he signed and surprised at the price at the same time.

Morzadec

It's an absurd fee.

Delighted we got him.

Great to see the ambition it shows and that we might finally start matching the Manchester clubs and Chelsea in the transfer market, which will give us a real chance at trophies.

Is there anything really else we can say than that?

monkey9

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

By playing well and becoming a very important cog in the team for years to come, unlike say stinking the place out like Carroll did and us getting ridiculed about dropping 75m clams on him. It would be great if in a couple of years we're saying we got a bargain.

That's all just justifying his signing which is all that matters. The price of players has gotten out of control especially over the last couple of years that i don't care anymore. It's up to the club to know and decide if they can afford the fees and wages paid. I don't read the club's accounts, i just watch the players on the pitch.

Morzadec

The squad is now shaping up to be the best we've seen since 08-09.

At that time we had probably 4-5 players we could call world class - Torres, Gerrard and Alonso (undisputed), Mascherano and Reina also arguably falling into this category.

The Rodgers team only had Suarez.

Since then we've had a few on the cusp.

For me now Cout is the real deal. Salah really looks it too. If VVD is as good as he looks and his price says then hopefully he can climb into this bracket. My own personal opinion is that Keita will show it from day 1, he looks incredibly unique and effective in his well-roundedness.

So we're getting towars that 4-5 player area again.

It's starting to look like a team that will consistently be in the last 8 of the CL again, so qualification this year becomes huge again.

Just hope we can hamg on to Coutinho. 150m not enough for me now.

bennyineire

If you want a good laugh head over to the Man U thread for a while, basically half of all the discussion is between Man U fans arguing for and against if VVD is top class or not :p:p

SlickRic

NukaCola wrote: »

I think everyone is happy he signed but it's not a crazy statement to say its mega money. I mean, it is a talking point. I dont think anyone has said its a terrible move just that the market has no value in it. You can be happy he signed and surprised at the price at the same time.

i don't think everyone is that happy at all.

there are a certain section of fans that really do worry an awful lot about net spend.

happyoutscan

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't think everyone is that happy at all.

there are a certain section of fans that really do worry an awful lot about net spend.

Let them, I'm over the moon.

kingshankly

Heard a stat this morning since klopp took over Liverpool they have lost 43 points from winning positions more than any team in any league in Europe

Turtyturd

Was 41 before the Arsenal game.

ricero

Morzadec wrote: »

It's an absurd fee.

Delighted we got him.

Great to see the ambition it shows and that we might finally start matching the Manchester clubs and Chelsea in the transfer market, which will give us a real chance at trophies.

Is there anything really else we can say than that?

Thats all i wanted from FSG and they have delivered with the van dijk deal. We are a huge club and it was time we started to show this in the transfer market.

Turtyturd

bennyineire wrote: »

If you want a good laugh head over to the Man U thread for a while, basically half of all the discussion is between Man U fans arguing for and against if VVD is top class or not :p:p

Wouldn’t have him ahead of Bailey of Jones.

PhlegmyMoses

bennyineire wrote: »

If you want a good laugh head over to the Man U thread for a while, basically half of all the discussion is between Man U fans arguing for and against if VVD is top class or not :p:p

I was one the people giving my opinion. Head over and discuss it if it interests you.

PhlegmyMoses

Turtyturd wrote: »

Wouldn’t have him ahead of Bailey of Jones.

Bailly and Jones are very good defenders. So is VVD I know your whole identity on here is some online war with United fans, but at least keep it grounded in reality.

murpho999

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Bailly and Jones are very good defenders. So is VVD I know your whole identity on here is some online war with United fans, but at least keep it grounded in reality.

In fairness, the chat about the VVD signing and Liverpool in general in the Utd thread is unreal. Especially when you consider how little Utd transfers would get discussed here.

Lots of biased wishful thinking in stating that VVD would not make Utd's first 11 despite being one of the highest rated CBs in English football.

Reminds me of posters a few seasons back saying that Suarez would not have gotten into the Utd side.

I just wish people would accept that sometimes rival clubs get things right at times whilst your own club gets things wrong.

SuperTortoise

WTF is going on around here, all the utd lads are in here and all of our lads are in the utd thread!!

klose

kingshankly wrote: »

Heard a stat this morning since klopp took over Liverpool they have lost 43 points from winning positions more than any team in any league in Europe

Hence why klopp is spalshing 75 million on a centre halve depressing stat all the same.

SuperTortoise

Look at it this way, it's 13.6m a year over his contract, which is not a huge sum of money, ultimately he should be judged in 4/5 years time to see if we got value out of the transfer.

Of course we all make judgements on players after only a few games which is'nt fair really, i make them too, but i'll give VVD time before i value his contribution.

Knex*

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40730793

Decent scout report on VVD from the guy who spotted him for Celtic.

One_Of_Shanks

SuperTortoise wrote: »

WTF is going on around here, all the utd lads are in here and all of our lads are in the utd thread!!

Yeah at this stage we may just unite the two threads. And call it the united thread.
Oh wait....

Tusky

Whatever about the price - I'm delighted to see Klopp investing in the defence. Van Dijk is not going to solve all of our problems, but he should be a huge upgrade on what we currently have.

If we can sign a new keeper in the summer and a central midfielder with serious defensive qualities, we should be a serious contender next season. Would be a major bonus if we could somehow convince Coutiniho to stay another year, although very unlikely.

And if we can finish second or third and stay in the Champions League for as long as possible this season then it would be solid progress.

Virgil van Dijk £75m
Naby Keita £48m
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £35m
Mohammed Salah £34m
Sadio Mane £30m
Georginio Wijnaldum £25m
Andy Robertson £8m
Marko Grujić £5.1m
Loris Karius £4.7m
Ragnar Klavan £4.2m
Joel Matip free
Dominic Solanke free

Harry Palmr

Dominic Solanke will cost something from the tribunal (god knows if that has been settled yet!)

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Yeah at this stage we may just unite the two threads. And call it the united thread.
Oh wait....

We can have a combined posters XI

Knex*

One_Of_Shanks wrote: »

Yeah at this stage we may just unite the two threads. And call it the united thread.
Oh wait....

Combined threads top 20 posters should probably be done first.

edit: Damn you Harry

PhlegmyMoses

murpho999 wrote: »

In fairness, the chat about the VVD signing and Liverpool in general in the Utd thread is unreal. Especially when you consider how little Utd transfers would get discussed here.

Lots of biased wishful thinking in stating that VVD would not make Utd's first 11 despite being one of the highest rated CBs in English football.

Reminds me of posters a few seasons back saying that Suarez would not have gotten into the Utd side.

I just wish people would accept that sometimes rival clubs get things right at times whilst your own club gets things wrong.

Yep, Liverpool fans never discuss United and have no interest in them (despite the guys in here discussing United right now and reading the thread, including you.)

United fans are deluded for thinking that two highly rated defenders are better than another highly rated defender.

When people were saying that about Suarez, United had Rooney and RVP, two players up there with Suarez in terms of ability once it became clear that both of them were over the hill it would have been a stupid argument, but not at the time.

If anything, its you who is showing his allegiance, by suggesting that there us no argument to be made. I just wish that people would accept that nothing in football is black and white, and that many arguments can be made either way.

But if it makes you feel better, United fans are different and inherently worse Liverpool fans. Hint: They aren't

BorneTobyWilde

FSG's Net spend on players in each of the succeeding seven years that they're at club

2011: Ins £109.95m Outs £79.1m Net spend £20.8m

2012: Ins £30.23m Outs £14.3m Net spend £15.93m

2013: Ins £65.3m Outs £28.7m Net spend £36.6m

2014: Ins £116.85m Outs £72.875m Net spend £43.975m

2015: Ins £88.5m Outs £76.02m Net spend £12.488m

2016: Ins £69m Outs £86.5m Net spend -£17.5m

2017: Ins £163.9m Outs £47.25m Net spend £116.65

Total: Ins £718.73m Outs £404.745m

FSG net spend on players in seven years - £313.99

Average per year - £44.86

pjohnson

poolboy wrote: »

Watching Utd fans try convince themselves Phil Jones is better than VVD. It's been a quiet Christmas for me I'll give you that but this is brilliant.

I said Virgil wouldnt be parachuted in ahead of Jones now as in this season. I acknowledged he may become a partner to Bailly next season. He cant be that match fit as he has not been playing that regularly at Southampton. I know as a United fan I'll be laughed at, but even Carragher who I presume would be respected here has said Virgil may need more training before he is ready to play for ye. Carragher even went as far as to suggest Virgil needs to loose weight before he is at his best for ye.

Irishmale0399

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

FSG's Net spend on players in each of the succeeding seven years that they're at club

2011: Ins £109.95m Outs £79.1m Net spend £20.8m

2012: Ins £30.23m Outs £14.3m Net spend £15.93m

2013: Ins £65.3m Outs £28.7m Net spend £36.6m

2014: Ins £116.85m Outs £72.875m Net spend £43.975m

2015: Ins £88.5m Outs £76.02m Net spend £12.488m

2016: Ins £69m Outs £86.5m Net spend -£17.5m

2017: Ins £163.9m Outs £47.25m Net spend £116.65

Total: Ins £718.73m Outs £404.745m

FSG net spend on players in seven years - £313.99

Average per year - £44.86

And as a result we have a club which is financially sound, a new stand extension and a trainer that many clubs world wide would love. Never forget where we were with the last owners.....not too long ago.

Potential Underachiever

pjohnson wrote: »

I said Virgil wouldnt be parachuted in ahead of Jones now as in this season. I acknowledged he may become a partner to Bailly next season. He cant be that match fit as he has not been playing that regularly at Southampton. I know as a United fan I'll be laughed at, but even Carragher who I presume would be respected here has said Virgil may need more training before he is ready to play for ye. Carragher even went as far as to suggest Virgil needs to loose weight before he is at his best for ye.

Surprisingly and sadly he gets a lot of disrespect, even Gerrard does, I'm sure that will blow your mind! Seems to be the same folk who 'diss' both.

BorneTobyWilde

Penny for Benitez's thoughts. He can't get a dime out of Mike Ashley.
Mike is taking advantage of Benitez's ability to keep them in league, and has every intention of collection that 100m in TV money and putting it in his pocket.
Why spend when manager will keep them up, that is winning to him, if he could do same for next 5 year he could pocket 500m while not giving Rafa a dime for players.
We're so lucky to have FSG and Klopp.

murpho999

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Yep, Liverpool fans never discuss United and have no interest in them (despite the guys in here discussing United right now and reading the thread, including you.)

United fans are deluded for thinking that two highly rated defenders are better than another highly rated defender.

When people were saying that about Suarez, United had Rooney and RVP, two players up there with Suarez in terms of ability once it became clear that both of them were over the hill it would have been a stupid argument, but not at the time.

If anything, its you who is showing his allegiance, by suggesting that there us no argument to be made. I just wish that people would accept that nothing in football is black and white, and that many arguments can be made either way.

But if it makes you feel better, United fans are different and inherently worse Liverpool fans. Hint: They aren't

You are the first person to mention the word deluded so why do you bring it up?

Anyhow, VVD was wanted by a host of clubs so why can't Utd fans just accept that he might be a good signing instead of just blinkered posts about the fee and how Utd's defenders are supposedly better?

Suarez of 13/14 would have walked into the Utd side that Moyes had and to think otherwise is folly.

I don't think that Utd fans in general are so blinkered but there seems to be more than its fair share of them on Boards and I would still argue that a transfer by Utd would not generate as much discussion here.

BorneTobyWilde

VVD has a goal every 9 game average. We hadn't had that since Hyypia .
He can be a game winner in those tight 0-0 games

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKyXAfoY5Lc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f09pn6XtbNo

Turtyturd

Did rent-a-quote actually say that?

About the weight, not the training?

pjohnson

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

Surprisingly and sadly he gets a lot of disrespect, even Gerrard does, I'm sure that will blow your mind! Seems to be the same folk who 'diss' both.

Turtyturd wrote: »

Did rent-a-quote actually say that?

I guess I see what you mean. Didnt expect that.

Morzadec

Knex. wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40730793

Decent scout report on VVD from the guy who spotted him for Celtic.

"What he can bring to the Liverpool back line that it currently lacks is the ability to play out from the back.

He can drive forward with the ball at the same time as being able to spot a 50-60-yard pass and deliver it with accuracy"

I think this is huge and probably hasn't been mentioned enough, as we tend to have this reductiveness when talking about players positions and what are they supposed to bring to the club (i.e. "defenders defend, attackers attack").

As we repeatedly rightly point out that there's more to Firmino's game than scoring goals, we should rightly be expecting more from VVD than just someone who can keep out the opposition.

For me, a huge weakness of ours continues to be our inability to break down teams that park the bus. The wins against Bournemouth and Swansea recently shouldn't make us forget matches at home against the likes of Everton, United, WBA, Burnely etc... - teams who came just to stifle us.

Matip is good (imo) at taking a bit of responsibility and initiative in these games in driving the ball forward and trying to make brave forward passes to break the lines. VVD should be even better.

Centre-backs inevitably are allowed the ball unchallenged in these games. The two of them together could start to make this type of tactic a potentially dangerous ones for teams to employ.

Looking at some stats, VVD brings a lot in this area in terms of dribbles and key passes. Then of course you have his aerial set piece threat, which I think Lovren brings to some extent.

Then he also seems to have a reasonable shot from range which at the very least might cause players to rush out to block him, opening up more space.

Challenging Man City next season seems a pipe dream right now to be honest, but if we are to have any chance we need to turn all those frustrating 0-0 and 1-1 draws into the comfortable wins they should be.

It's already happened 4 or 5 times this season, so you're talking probably 10 -15 points over the course of a season. The difference between a 4th placed 75 points or a possible title challenging 85-90 points.

So TLDR, VVD should help us in breaking down buses next year due to his willingness to drive the ball forward, attempt more adventurous passes and have more of a goal threat.

This is as big an issue for this team imo as our defensive frailties.

These kind of attacking traits from a CB are very rare, but essential for a big team. I can see why we might have forked out 75m for VVD if he indeed has these attributes as well as being a superb defender, versus spending 40-50m on a superb "defender" who has little to contribute when we have the ball.

Utopia Parkway

rob316 wrote: »

you can't win here with some.

Van Dijk signs for city - "disaster, club going no where, another target slips through us, FSG penny pinching, just pay whatever it takes"

Signs for Liverpool - "over paid, saints laughing at us, crazy money, do the club actually scout players or just sign all Southampton players? "

The transfer strategy is becoming what we have wanted forever, just buying the right player at whatever cost be it £10m or 75m.
Klopp couldn't get Keita this summer we tried all we could but we made damn sure no one else could next summer.
Klopp couldn't get Vvd this summer we tried all we could but we made damn sure we got him at the next opportunity and had to blow man city out of the water with a huge bid.

It's like Gary Neville. A few days ago he was praising Guardiola for not hanging around and spending big money on the areas of the team that City needed to improve. Their full-backs and goalkeeper.

Last night when asked about Van Dijk he was "ohhhh it's a lot of money". It's the exact same situation.

I think Klopp has spent about 20M on the defence including goalkeepers in almost two and a half years. Everyone knew we needed some major investment in that area.

PhuckHugh

A welcome addition but Liverpool's main problem is still midfield - The defence has zero protection and that's not going to change... Might be ok against bottom half teams but top teams will punish Liverpool more often than not - Look at the midfield for all three Arsenal goals recently -- You'd slaughter u12s if they carried on like Liverpool's midfield do defensively.

SlickRic

Put it this way, Mats Hummels was one of Klopp's key players at Dortmund.

Is that because he's a brilliant defender, or because he can hurt you from the back if you allow him the time you'd normally allow CBs?

VVD has been bought for much the same reason.

Turtyturd

gimli2112

That's so good it almost looks photoshopped

monkey9

Knex. wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40730793

Decent scout report on VVD from the guy who spotted him for Celtic.

After reading that, i can't believe we only paid 75m.