I'd take Kasper Schmeichel for £25m-£35m from Leicester.
January Transfer Window 2017/18
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Soldato
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I don't think he's really any better than mignolet or karius.
Plus he's about 32 now.
Not many really top keepers available at the moment. I'd rather see the money spent on someone like Aubamayang.
****ing hope not. Mignolet gets a lot of stick compared to a lot of keepers but it's not because he's noticeably worse than Schmeichel or any other keeper outside the top 3, it's because he plays for Liverpool and if he makes a mistake it's a big deal. Look at Mata's free-kick vs Leicester - it practically went in the centre of the goal yet nobody said a word! Had Mignolet let that free-kick in then we've got a 5 minute discussion at the end of the game by Sky's pundits about how Liverpool need a better keeper.
Soldato
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Who is the right player in your opinion?
I believe this approach can only get you so far, and we are already at that place imo. You need to get the "right" players at the club all at the same time. A whilst you bring new players in at your leisure, others will leave, especially if you miss out on CL qualification.
That's the £142m question. As I said earlier in the thread, the club need to look beyond just today and to next summer and what Klopp wants the squad to look like going into the opening day of next season. Do you spend as much as you can to bring in the closest thing to a like for like replacement or do you look to spread that money around other areas and improve your squad? For me it's the latter.
Replacing Coutinho like for like is nigh on impossible and with Keita already in the bag, we've got somebody that will take on a lot of the creative midfield responsibilities. It's looking very likely that Can and both Sturridge & Ings will leave (not that the latter plays a big part) which will leave us needing another midfielder and forward, plus of course we still need a better keeper. The Coutinho fee plus the sale of bit part players and whatever was left in next summer's budget (although we wanted Keita last summer I don't think we'd have signed Ox had we got him so some money has already been set aside there) gives us the opportunity to address all these areas.
I couldn't name specific players we should get because I don't pretend to watch 17 year olds playing in the French 3rd division like some people but if we ended the next two windows with somebody in the Mahrez mould, another Firmino type, a sitting midfielder (not necessarily a defensive midfielder) and a better keeper I wouldn't be disappointed. I certainly hope at least one of the two forward players I mentioned can be brought in now though.
It's certainly not as easy as going out and spending £200m each summer but we have to accept where we are and what we can afford. The only alternative to what we're doing is what Benitez done when he was at Liverpool - he was a lot more pragmatic than Klopp, regularly buying 2nd or 3rd choices and then looking to move them on in a season or two when he could afford better replacements. There's no right answer, it's simply a case of what you can make work best.
Fwiw, if we can get this next 6 months right then Klopp may have made things work. I don't think there's any real prospect of us losing anybody significant in the next two windows. We saw last season that we had an 11 that could compete but we didn't have the depth. The deals we done last summer plus VVD & Keita and our squad's starting to look stronger. Losing Coutinho is obviously a blow but the money gives us an opportunity to complete our squad, maybe not to City's level but at least that of Chelsea's & Utd's. The key to that is spending well though.
Even before Keita your 1st XI is comparable - with VVD you have a better defence, we probably have a better midfield (until the summer at least ) but Liverpool's attack is certainly 2nd in the league and not far off 1st
GK is your biggest weakness vs Utd and Chelsea at least, but with VVD organising the defence better Liverpool should concede far less in the 2nd part of the season anyway.
Still think Liverpool would be nailed on for 2nd at worst come may if the window shut tonight .......without any significant injuries of course (saying that Liverpool cant have as bad an injury history as Utd over the last 3 or 4 seasons, or how it seems anyway)
GK is your biggest weakness vs Utd and Chelsea at least, but with VVD organising the defence better Liverpool should concede far less in the 2nd part of the season anyway.
Still think Liverpool would be nailed on for 2nd at worst come may if the window shut tonight .......without any significant injuries of course (saying that Liverpool cant have as bad an injury history as Utd over the last 3 or 4 seasons, or how it seems anyway)
Regarding the sitting midfielder, would that be a rotating midfielder or a first choice midfielder. With Keita coming to take one "midfield" slot (I suppose we could think of that as the Can slot) , I've seen many saying that a defensive midfielder or central midfielder is also needed. I have nothing against such a thing, I am just wondering if the consensus is that Hendersons time in the central midfield spot would now be considered not first choice and whether that means that his position as Liverpool Captain is perhaps also due to change.
If perhaps the first choice front 3 would be Mane, Firmino and Salah. Then the midfield quartet comes from Wijnaldum, Henderson, Lallana, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner on occasion (plus maybe Lemar/Mahrez if either of them comes). Would you think that the def/sit midfielder would be more of a squad player (maybe slightly less cost) or a first choice (potentially a higher cost for a higher quality)
Our defence is better?
A defence is not about individuals but about the collective and how you set-up. VVD will improve things but we're not going to become a great defensive side overnight.Our 11 can compete with anybody. Prior to Mane's red card we caused City more problems than any side this season but we don't have the depth of others at the moment. And I'd argue that we're weaker now than when the transfer window opened.
100% I'd be looking for a first team quality holding/sitting midfielder. Henderson does a job but it's not a natural position for him (same when Can plays there). I regularly said 2+ years ago that Henderson struggles to play in a regular 2 man central midfield let alone as a lone sitting midfielder - he's improved a lot but he's still not great there. Ideally you want a cross between Mascherano and Alonso, somebody that has the defensive side and aggression to his game but can also sit and dictate play but if you had to lean towards one or the other then it would be Alonso. In the system we play much of the defensive work is done by the 2 midfielders ahead of the sitting player and his role is more as a play maker.
Pretty quiet on the Man Utd front at the moment. I think we have to make at least one signing to lift the team, fans and club as a whole. That's not to say we should go out and sign someone for the sake of it, but there will be a number of players available who can significantly improve the squad (and likely starting 11). We can't afford to penny pinch at all, and have to go in aggressively and sign the players Mourinho wants.
Caporegime
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I can't see us signing anyone unless we sell someone really.
one bid already rejected apparently...
Caporegime
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As in the one that just moved to Milan in the summer?
That's the one. Not hit it off in Italy and with rich backers with strong links to mendes its not that far fetched.
Caporegime
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Huh, must have been quite the flop if they want rid that quickly.
Ridiculous really.
Soldato
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Oooh, we're back in 2012.
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Sounds to me like they want to sell him and anybody who clubs want to sell gets linked to us to drum up interest. Same with James Rodriguez in the summer. Be surprised if there is anything to it, even if there is a good source now linking us to him.