Summer Transfer Window 2017 Thread

[Dolphin Ziggler]

First topic message reminder :

The rage from La Liga is exciting.

That money argument does show you why there's no need to worry about Bale not having suitors. If Everton can throw £48m at Siggy, Liverpool can offer upwards of £70m for Nany Keita then I can't see Man United being scared of throwing £90m at Bale.

[GSC]

He s vastly overpriced at half that

[GSC]

For those sums why not try for Hazard, an actual world class talent.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Mental that 1) Barcelona are bidding that for him and 2) liverpool are turning that down

[LionsV2]

Apparently liverpool turned down £118m for Coutinho

If I'm Barca im walking away from this deal. He's vastly over priced at near £120m. Not even worth continuing a pursuit

Who really cares?

[Luke]

Apparently liverpool turned down £118m for Coutinho

If I'm Barca im walking away from this deal. He's vastly over priced at near £120m. Not even worth continuing a pursuit

Who really cares?

Coutinho's Agent?

[Guest]

Agreed with their original stance, but now at £118m, and the player wanting to leave, it's beyond stupidity to reject.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Christian Eriksen would be great for them. Probably blown their chance of getting him for anything remotely reasonable as people will value their player at whatever Barca were willing to go for to get Coutinho

[GSC]

Burnley actually spending some money, 15m+ on Chris Wood

[Crimey]

The thing is the actual real money offered was around £82 million with several add ons including multiple Champions League wins and Coutinho winning the Balon D'or. That £82 million just isn't worth it to Liverpool. What would they do with it? Their targets are already unavailable, even when offered a combined £150 million this summer and suddenly adding £82 million to the budget, as well as losing their best player with 10 days left of the transfer window, makes no sense at all. Not to mention Coutinho signed a new contract a couple of months ago without a release clause so he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

[Afro]

So Everton's first choice line up will presumably be:

Pickford

Coleman - Jagielka/Williams - Keane - Baines

Gueye - Schneiderlin

Rooney - Sigurdsson - Klaassen

Sandro

That looks an incredibly slow side. I can only assume Rooney will then be a bench option and maybe Bolasie and Mirallas will play for width? 

Sigurdsson is a good player, I'm just not sure that after signing Rooney and Klaassen and already having Tom Davies and Ross Barkley (as it doesn't look like he'll be sold) it makes much sense. 

I can't quite work out what our first choice side will be, but I'll be amazed if that is it. Korean has gone for quick wide players in each game so far.

[GSC]

Carl Jenkinson off to Birmingham on loan. Also Sam Gallagher

[Beer]

The thing is the actual real money offered was around £82 million with several add ons including multiple Champions League wins and Coutinho winning the Balon D'or. That £82 million just isn't worth it to Liverpool. What would they do with it? Their targets are already unavailable, even when offered a combined £150 million this summer and suddenly adding £82 million to the budget, as well as losing their best player with 10 days left of the transfer window, makes no sense at all. Not to mention Coutinho signed a new contract a couple of months ago without a release clause so he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

I actually think Liverpool are doing the right thing here. The £82m was also staggered over 5 years, which is a joke. They've just made PSG pay £200m upfront, so they have cash. Either pay Liverpool £114m in cash, or stop wasting everyone's time.

[BamBam]

Staggered payments are the norm with transfers

PSG paying upfront for Neymar is just how the buyout clause system works, plus the fact that they're doped to the eyeballs by petrodollars means it makes no difference

[Beer]

I get that, but they have £200m in the bank. There's no reason they can't pay the money up front.

[BamBam]

I see your point, but in reality it makes literally zero difference unless the team Liverpool signs its replacement off also wants 80m up front - Liverpool would also stagger the payments

[Beer]

It's the principle though, isn't it? Barca want Liverpool's star player, this close to the end of the window, so pay up. PSG didn't have to pay the release clause in full, that's just what Barca said, mainly so they could cry FFP foul play.

[LionsV2]

It's about time the English clubs played Barcelona at their own game, if they want him they'll have to pay in one lump sum.

[Hero]

Expect this to change with a few days left to go but as it stands Paulinho is still the top transfer fee incoming to La Liga this summer (doesn't include the Vinicius Jr transfer as that won't go through until his 18th birthday), there's certainly been a change this summer from their domination.

[Hero]

	Incoming	Outgoing	17/18 Balance (so far)	16/17 Balance
Premier League	1,120m	594.92m	-588.82m	-783.68m
La Liga	386.91m	570.92m	204.45m	-31.55m
Bundesliga	442.4m	319.62m	-136.42m	-96.19m
Serie A	742.73m	558.53m	-204.68m	-47.17m
Ligue 1	533.61m	474.26m	-65.95m	-7.2m

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Liverpool won't do it with anyone else, and don't really need cash up front. No one needs it, it's always staggered, my only issue is clubs (like West Ham) who do it with clauses.

Don't blame them for this, by any means, but they need to sort their own business out regardless rather than playing this game and missing out on additions they definitely need.

[lfc91]

Starting to see a scenario develop in my head:

August 31st: Coutinho goes to Barca for 120-130 million, over 100 up front (regardless of what the owners say he would have to be sold for that).

Liverpool don't bring in a replacement (how could they, apparently they have a grand total of 1 target per position and they couldn't get those in with a full window.

January-Feb: Nobody brought in, "no value in the january market etc etc"

Summer 2018: "We can't attract the required quality of player with no champions league blah blah blah".

Maybe just being the ultimate pessimist, but this window hasn't exactly filled me with confidence.

[westisbest]

Brighton apparantly showing interest in Hourihane.

Hopefully nothing will come of it.

[GSC]

128m and Lucas Moura the latest Mbappe rumour.

Also PSG want fabinho

[Crimey]

The Coutinho deal is considered dead by Liverpool, Barcelona and Coutinho and his agents now. So hopefully he can get over his "back injury" now and get back to playing.

[MrPoncho]

M'Bappe expected to be a PSG player before next week's deadline. Apparently the first year sees the player go on loan with a fee to be agreed for the full transfer next summer to avoid further questions of PSG blatantly making a mockery of FFP

[Guest]

Sam Clucas to Swansea for £16.5m

[GSC]

Conte on the verge of walking to be replaced by Tuchel

[LionsV2]

Is Conte a spoilt brat or something?

[lfc91]

£101 million + 37 million in add ons for Coutinho. That offer comes in July and I say bite their hand off. Now it is about lack of time to find replacements and principle. Also the fact that they appear to be strategically timing these bids for maximum disruption (first day of season, and both days of the champs league qualifier legs) makes me adamant they should not be allowed to have him.

[Fernando]

Sell Coutinho buy Aubameyang play Firmino AM not CF & your better already.

[Hero]

Sell Coutinho buy Aubameyang play Firmino AM not CF & your better already.

This

[lfc91]

Potentially. Would be happy enough if the wrapped up the deal before coutinho was allowed to leave. The point is I don't believe they would. The club have showed a complete inability to get the players they want signed up, no reason to assume this would change for Aubameyang with a week to go in the window...

[Fernando]

By the sounds of thing all you need to do is slap £70m on the Dortmund desk and it'll be fine unless you try installments & clauses Poopie

[Dolphin Ziggler]

As has been pointed out, the whole point of Klopp's style is to be a group, not build around a star.

Coutinho money in the bank, Salah takes his role on the left anyway, buy a central midfielder and a centre back. Or a top keeper.

[Guest]

Conte on the verge of walking to be replaced by Tuchel

Doubt it, seeing as Tuchel was removed from Dortmund for doing essentially the same thing as Conte, in arguing with the board & hierarchy above him. Seems media driven to destabilise Chelsea, and it's slightly boring now. The Spurs performance & result, should of put this to bed.

[lfc91]

Don't disagree at all. But, as I said, if in a whole transfer window they have failed to bring the required players, what are the odds the could do it in 1 week when teams are doubling the price because they know the money you have available?

[Crimey]

Sell Coutinho buy Aubameyang play Firmino AM not CF & your better already.

Been playing too much Fifa.

We have to play three in midfield or expect us to be even worse defensively! Never mind removing one of those midfielders to play an out an out centre forward.

[Hero]

It's only the past couple of seasons he's been moved to the CF role, at Hoffenheim he was predominantly an AM, in 33 games there in the 14/15 season he played 22 of them as AM and got 11 assists, the year before he got 12 assists in 25 games from that role.

[lfc91]

It's only the past couple of seasons he's been moved to the CF role, at Hoffenheim he was predominantly an AM, in 33 games there in the 14/15 season he played 22 of them as AM and got 11 assists, the year before he got 12 assists in 25 games from that role.

When you say AM do you mean the traditional behind a striker role? Think the point is Coutinho is being lined up to play deeper than that, part of a midfield 3 as opposed to attacking 3.

[Crimey]

It's only the past couple of seasons he's been moved to the CF role, at Hoffenheim he was predominantly an AM, in 33 games there in the 14/15 season he played 22 of them as AM and got 11 assists, the year before he got 12 assists in 25 games from that role.

I'm aware of that, but that was now three seasons go, he's played as the main forward for the last 2 seasons for Liverpool and that's where he's performed best. Liverpool are poor enough defensively without playing with one less midfielder, and also losing Firmino's pressing from the front.

[Hero]

Or even as ThisisAnfield suggest by reverting to a 4231 formation and sticking Firmino in the AM role:

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2017/08/4-2-3-1-formation-make-return-liverpool-season/

[Crimey]

Liverpool are already bad defensively with the extra protection. That team would get absolutely torn apart. At least at the moment with the 3 up front and the 3 in midfield, we have Firmino providing defence from the front with his pressing and Henderson is able to drop off into defence.

Only way that formation would work is if Can and Henderson both dropped really deep and essentially played right in front of the centre backs but I don't that would work in a Klopp side. It would mean there is too much space down the flanks, at the moment Henderson can drop in between the centre backs, allowing them to split and cover wide. Emre Can simply doesn't have the discipline to play that deep. Klopp tried the double pivot in his first season and it never worked, especially with that personnel. That formation is just far too attacking.

Great for FIFA, but not for reality.

[Fernando]

I doubt it would change your system any differently tbh Crimey. If Firmino drops back into the 3 he ran about enough last year to be effective there. Auba likes to press aswell.

On the plus side it's nice to see you accepting Coutinho is off unlike most Liverpool fans ive spoke to cos with Salah/Mane out wide he'd have been shuffled into that 3 aswell and he's lazier then Firmino.

[Fernando]

Zlatan has signed a new 1 year deal at United

[Hero]

Klopp for the majority of his time at Dortmund played 4231 with pressing forwards, it worked for him then, Firmino and Aubameyang both are willing to do that.

[GSC]

Barca agree deal for Deliver rising to 110m

[westisbest]

We've been linked with Snodgrass.
Would take him.
Probably more suited to this level.

[GSC]

Bruce actually planning to coach anyone up or just trying to survive on big names.

[westisbest]

We've got some good youngsters at Villa.
Good to have a blend of youth at experience.
Re Snodgrass, worked with him before, could be decent addition if he arrives.

Having said that, no to bothered if he doesn't come, have enough options.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Steve Bruce: "In that respect it has been a difficult summer. I have not been able to spend millions." Incredible.

Also apparently keen to let McCormack go.

Please take Snoddy off us; he's not a bad player, but he's slow and it just hasn't looked like working. A panic move and worse than signing Fonte

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