Liverpool FC Team Talk, Gossip, Rumours 2024/25

Hamann wants the club to make Newcastle an offer they can’t refuse for Joelinton.

I think Hamann needs to lie down.

The injuries to midfield are not a surprise. If they looked at the injury record over the past few seasons they'll know thay Keita and Ox can never be relied upon to stay fit for an extended period. Thiago also picks up knocks too.

Also, injuries have a compounding affect. When Keita, Ox and Thiago get injured, the remaining players play more minutes that expected and have less rest that required, leading to more injuries. One signing would solve a lot of issues.

Did Klopp not say Keita injury is worse than first feared and is facing a spell on the sidelines...I may have confused that with someone else but fairly certain that was mentioned somewhere over the weekend.

It could be with so many out now it’s losing track of who’s got what.

Maybe it was an earlier game Naby missed with a sickness and then picked up something in training

I think Jota, Matip, Thaigo, Jones are all due back training after the game tomorrow.

So Klopp confirms we were in for Touchemani

Klopp is flip flopping a bit on this whole midfielder.

I honestly believe he is one who wants the right one and it’s easy to imply it’s the owners who are delaying the signing.

Give Gerrard, Phillips, Ox plus money and Jones on loan for Luiz.

He’s going to be sacked in the next few weeks anyway more than likely.

Quick Stevie do us a solid before you get the bullet...

Apparently he has only been out injured 7 times or something, no wonder we are looking at him, obviously being Brazilian helps with integration with the group...

It's easy to point the finger at FSG, but Klopp is the person that was happy to tell the media in 2019 that there was money available to add to the squad but he was happy to just keep working with players that he had. In 2021 he didn't see the need to sign a replacement for Wijnaldum and got uppity with the media about it. Until there was a dose of reality on the pitch last week, there was no need for another midfielder. All of a sudden he was willing to admit he was wrong and the club were looking for a player. A sensational performance against relegation fodder and news that some players are expected to return to training and Klopp is again willing to take the risk of not signing a midfielder.

In my view, Klopp only wants to add very young players to create a group that will be together for an extended period of time after he leaves - that group will be his legacy. Young signings are a bigger risk and the only way to virtually guarantee that they will prove to be a success is to sign elite level players - Konate (21), Tchouameni (22) and Bellingham (19) certainly fit that profile.

In 2017, Julian Brandt (21) turned down the opportunity of signing for Liverpool. Klopp wanted to wait another year to try to sign him after the 2018 World Cup. Edwards and his analytics team had to persuade Klopp that Salah (25) was the player to sign. That was a massive change in approach to transfers with Klopp as manager - Salah was a player with experience that could deliver immediately and raised the level of the team from also-rans to potential challengers. In that transfer window, Dominic Solanke (19) and Andy Robertson (23) were the players signed before Salah, both young players with potential.

In 2016, an exciting young player, Ante Coric (19) came within hours of signing for the club. He was due to fly to Liverpool to complete his medical when he decided that he wanted to remain with Dinamo Zagreb because the opportunity to play in the Champions League for his home town club meant more to him. In a press conference at the end of the transfer window, a journalist asked Klopp whether he was happy with the club's transfer business that summer and cited Mario Gotze's decision to return to Dortmund instead of joining Klopp at Liverpool. Klopp said that he respected Gotze's decision and then proceeded to talk about his disappointment about not having the opportunity to work with an immensely talented young player, Ante Coric. From the way he spoke about Coric, he believed the player was destined for great things. It certainly seemed possible as he had made his debut appearance for Croatia just before Liverpool tried to sign him. In reality, Coric's career never took off, he signed for Roma in 2018 and has been farmed out on loan to clubs in Spain, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland since.

Since 2017/18, the club has only signed 7 players over the age of 24, only 3 were intended first team players.

• Alisson (25)
• Xherdan Shaqiri (26)
• Adrian (32)
• Andy Lonergan (35)
• Thiago (29)
• Ben Davies (25)
• Luis Diaz (25)

I don't think that signing players under the age of 25 is a strict policy of the club, the efforts that went on behind the scenes to get Salah suggest that it's Klopp who is in control. Klopp was also happy to continue with Karius after the 2018 Champions League Final until it was painfully obvious that he was damaged by the experience, that's when the move for Alisson was sanctioned. Ben Davies would not have been signed if Klopp hadn't been forced into getting defensive cover before the transfer window closed.

He has always taken the optimistic view and assumed that there will always be sufficient quality players available to keep the team functioning. When he spoke about being more willing to take risks with transfers I believe this is what he was talking about. His outlook is great for inspiring confidence in his group of players but he needs to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I doubt the analytics people have been thinking that there is no need for another able body in midfield, but Klopp has and he has the ultimate say in transfers.

The takeaway from all of this is that the mythical right player Klopp will want to sign is no older than 24 but he would prefer them to be younger.

You have to take what Klopp says in public about transfers, performances, players, owners etc with a pinch of salt. He is not going to share all of his thoughts with the media. If he thinks the squad is not strong enough, he's not going to say that publicly.

In fairness we have no cover for Fab,hendo goes back and plays there when Fab is injured or missing.

I think Hendo is as important to our midfield as Fab or Thiago.

He's just being relied on too much when Milner or a young Elliott are put in beside him.

We should have those three, a fit Keita and another of equal standing imo and then the likes of Elliott and Carvalho (Jones to a lesser extent) don't look so bad.

As it stands we therefore need two given Ketia can't be relied upon for injury or (more recently) other unknown personal reasons.

I still remember the court cases in 2010 and almost losing the club to administration. I will take arguing amongst ourselves over owner financing than being put in that situation again. And sure, you could say all the owners need to do it supply some financing, but where does it stop? Once they do that and the masses will not be satisfied it will be to take a loan. Then it is to pay players X as much as he wants and before you know it you are selling future income to get out of a hole you created.

Would Barkley join Liverpool? Even just as an extra body to pad out the squad, give him a contract til the end of the season.

A hundred times this.

I can see him going back to Everton, but he would add absolutely noting more to us than we have already. He's no better than Jones who is on his was back to fitness and no way I'd like to see Barkley getting game time ahead of younger talent in Elliot and Carvalho.

If we were looking at total emergency options, i'd even take Saul Niguez on loan from Atleti over signing Barkley, even as underwhelming as Saul was with Chelsea last year.

Just pick one and get it over with.

It's a badge on honour to be in the Green, while still being successful, but it doesn't take much for that badge of honour to become a stick to beat FSG with when things are not going so well. United spend half a billion on players without a care in the world, while having massive debts. Chalk and Cheese approaches

Luiz is on the bench for Villa.

Team

So unchanged but Matip and Jones on the bench which adds some needed depth.

Hopefully another 3 points on the board tonight