Unlike John West- you pick the ones we reject- LFC Transfer Thread

here's the bbc's summary of who-did-what in the PL....

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58403262
Premier League clubs have spent more than £1bn between them this summer - but who will be happiest now the transfer window is closed?

Man Utd ambition must bring title tilt
Manchester United have not held back in this window, saving the most thrilling addition until last with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford after 12 years away at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given the sort of financial backing that demands United rival Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea for the title. No excuses now.
Jadon Sancho is an exciting attacking signing at £73m while Raphael Varane, brought in from Real Madrid in a deal that could be worth £42m, demonstrated his defensive authority amid the chaos of a winning debut at Wolves on Sunday.
And yet, have these eye-catching deals only covered up a glaring weakness that Solskjaer and United have failed to address - namely that they desperately need more quality in midfield?
United have certainly thrown their weight around in the market and Ronaldo is a huge coup but doubts remain about whether they have done enough to be serious title challengers.

Can Man City win title without a main striker?
Manager Pep Guardiola and his players did just that last year, with Sergio Aguero often missing, so who would seriously bet against Manchester City doing it again this season?
City spent £100m on British record signing Jack Grealish to give them another point of creativity but there was disappointment in their lengthy pursuit of Harry Kane, who is staying at Spurs, and the link with Cristiano Ronaldo ended with Manchester United's declaration of interest.
If one team, one squad, can pull this off, it is Manchester City - with Grealish adding an attacking X- factor. But there is no doubt the acquisition of Kane would have made them firm favourites to retain their title.

Chelsea's brilliant window cements status
One final Chelsea flourish brought more midfield quality in loan signing Saul Niguez, from Atletico Madrid. Thomas Tuchel's European champions are in perfect shape to go for the Premier League title.
Romelu Lukaku was the showpiece signing, the striker who will really make the difference at £97.5m, but Chelsea have again dealt wisely - selling Tammy Abraham to Roma for £34m, Kurt Zouma to West Ham United for £25m, and Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan for around £24m. It has been a smart summer.
Chelsea could not prise defender Joules Kounde out of Sevilla but they have had a superb window - and a squad that can challenge on all fronts.

Have Liverpool done enough?
There was a fair amount of social media angst among Liverpool fans about their lack of deadline-day activity, which was mainly confined to the announcement of a new contract for captain Jordan Henderson.
Perhaps it was the big spending of rivals such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United that increased the anxiety. But manager Jurgen Klopp has never been a man to throw money around in a panic - and that suits the well-honed financial model of Fenway Sports Group, the club's American owner.
Liverpool did sign RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate for £35m, with the 22-year-old earmarked as one for the future, but the idea that Klopp or FSG would enter the race for, say, Kylian Mbappe came from the realms of fantasy.
In this instance, Liverpool's fans should trust the manager who has brought the Champions League and a first league title in 30 years to Anfield and a squad bolstered by the return to fitness of world-class talent such as Virgil van Dijk.

Benitez on a tight budget
Rafael Benitez has spoken on many occasions about Everton's ambition since he became the most controversial managerial appointment in the club's history. It is an ambition that has been well hidden in the summer transfer market.
Former Liverpool manager Benitez has only been given £1.7m to pay out on Demarai Gray, who has made an outstanding impression since signing from Bayer Leverkusen, as Everton pull in their horns after years of scattergun spending.
The other deals Benitez has done have all been free transfers - such as keeper Asmir Begovic and two players he knows well from his time at Newcastle United in Andros Townsend and Salomon Rondon.
Director of football Marcel Brands has shipped Moise Kean back to Juventus on loan but failed to find a buyer for James Rodriguez, who is not in Benitez's plans and who will now be an expensive item on Everton's wage bill. Porto were reluctant to take Rodriguez, scuppering a potential move for his fellow Colombian, the exciting winger Luis Diaz.
The problem of finding a long-term successor to captain Seamus Coleman remains unresolved.
Benitez has made a highly impressive start, winning two of his first three Premier League games and also receiving a very warm reception from Everton supporters before his first game at Goodison Park against Southampton.
Everton will rely heavily on his expertise with a thin squad - and any judgement on what he does for now must be placed in the context of his lack of spending in the summer window.

Capital investment?
In addition to Chelsea's outlay, there have been plenty of other deals done by London's Premier League clubs. Arsenal's heavy spending, and miserable start, has ensured there is a spotlight on them for all the wrong reasons.
The Gunners spent more than £100m, yet are bottom of the Premier League after three matches.
Mikel Arteta was certainly busy in the market. Ben White has been the big defensive buy at £50m from Brighton but has been out after testing positive for Covid-19. Midfielder Martin Odegaard is back from Real Madrid on a permanent basis. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has arrived from Sheffield United, and Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has come in from Bologna.
But has Arteta made a real game-changing signing? Early evidence suggests not. A lot rests on that verdict being a hasty and incorrect one.
Spurs have done great business in tying Son Heung-min to a new contract while Kane will guarantee goals, now he is staying.
New boss Nuno Espirito Santo sits at the top of the table having brought in defensive powerhouse Cristian Romero from Atalanta, exciting winger Bryan Gil from Sevilla and added Barcelona defender Emerson Royal.
It took a while for things to get going at West Ham but manager David Moyes will be happy that he can build on his outstanding work, which took them to a sixth-place finish last season.
Moyes has brought in defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea, the talented attacker Nikola Vlasic from CSKA Moscow and added another to his Czech contingent with a loan deal for international midfield man Alex Kral from Spartak Moscow.
West Ham's manager deserved strong backing after doing so much for the club - and he got it in the latter days of this window.

 

oh yeah, right ....
[damn, didn't delete the post in time!! ]

no. Origi didn't make the bench last 2 games ... can't se him getting back on it given what we've seen from Harvey, and both Ox and Taki are ahead of him.

given that our lack of buying is mostly down to insufficient money incoming on sales ... that price tag does smell, for sure.

 

Yep , according to Pearce,


"The big offers expected for Origi, Neco Williams and Nathaniel Phillips never materialised."

 

I'm usually one of the biggest moaners about transfer spending but all things considered, I'm happy with standing pat and seeing what the current squad is capable of. We'll do ok for sure.

 

All the outs this summer-

Gini Wijnaldum (PSG) – Free
Harry Wilson (Fulham) – £12m
Marko Grujic (Porto) – £10.5m
Xherdan Shaqiri (Lyon) – £9.5m
Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin) – £6.5m
Kamil Grabara (Copenhagen) – £3m
Liam Millar (Basel) – £1.3mm

Total: £42.8m

The Loanees

Leighton Clarkson – Blackburn
Rhys Williams – Swansea
Ben Davies – Sheffield United
Ben Woodburn – Hearts
Sepp van den Berg – Preston
Paul Glatzel – Tranmere
Sheyi Ojo – Millwall
Jake Cain – Newport County
Adam Lewis – Livingston
Luis Longstaff – Queen’s Park
Jakub Ojrzynski – Caernarfon Town
Anderson Arroyo – Mirandes

 

Sure, it's a 2018 model car, but it's just as good as the 2022 version, right? It's only had 212,857 miles put on it in the meantime...

Is Bobby better than he was three years ago? Two years ago? Mane? Hendo? Milner? Ox? Keita? Are Jones or Elliott better (at present) than Lallana or Wijnaldum? Would you rather have an almost guaranteed to be fit Lovren in a make-or-break match or maybe have Matip fit for it?
Let's not forget that competition isn't static, either. Is citeh better than two years ago? Maybe, maybe not. Are the chavs and scum better? Most certainly.

We were CL champs and PL champs. We basically had the chance to pick up any players we wanted - and we've chosen stasis. We had a chance to be the favorites for the PL every season while Klopp was sat in his chair.
The Spanish giants are at a low point given their poor finances. There isn't a great Italian team at the moment. Bayern is good, but not as good as they have been in the previous decade. We are in the mix now, just as easily could go out in the round of 16 as win it.
Say what you will about SAF, but the dude was not afraid of change and was (mostly) non-emotional when it came to keeping players around that had run their course. Either through Klopp's own belief in the power of motivation or 'togetherness,' or through penny pinching on the owners' part, we've squandered an opportunity to be THE dominant force and seem to have settled for being a very good side that won a couple trophies and could maybe win a couple more.

Mind you, I hope I'm wrong and we go on a spree next summer and pick up Mbappe, Goretzka, and Silas. to form the backbone of another trophy winning side, but I just don't see it happening.

 

ins and outs chart

Very interesting re Chelsea.

You have to credit them for the business they did in order to end the window with a £31.7m profit.

They invested almost £100m in Romelu Lukaku but were able to more than make that up thanks to a remarkable 39 players leaving the club in one capacity or another.

The sales of Tammy Abraham (£34m), Fiyako Tomori (£30m), Kurt Zouma (£25m) and Marc Guehi (£18m) brought in £107m and the Blues’ squad still looks very strong without them.

Liverpool's £120m gap to Arsenal asks transfer question FSG cannot avoid - Liverpool Echo

 

Chelsea having 39 players leave is ridiculous. I wonder if the FA will ever make a rule about stockpiling players like that.

 

amazing is that only ONE club ended up with more players than they started with. wow.

edit: a hell of a lot of wage bills being trimmed.

 

and City -31. ffs.

 

the club is placing its bets on the squad being stronger overall than it was in 2018-19, and that last year was a one-off given all the injuries.

to me the second point is not an unreasonable expectation. fingers and toes crossed of course.

as to the first point:
I agree with you that Chelsea and Manure have strengthened on the pitch.
- Manure still have a mediocre manager and midfield
- Chelsea have now a very good manager and a hell of a good squad/bench
I'd say City are slightly weaker - adding Grealish doesn't balance out losing Aguero imo
I think we are stronger but not by a huge amount

overall, if we keep our focus on the top 2 prizes and (as usual) play the bench/fringe group in the domestic cups, we can - at minimum - give the other teams a real challenge. their squads are big / talented enough to focus on more than the PL and CL. fine, so be it.

but it's not sustainable after this season. it may not even be sustainable past Christmas depending on injuries.

 

Edwards out!

oh hang on ....

 

Most of the exits from every team are youth teamers with expiring contracts that aren't taken up.

 

We had better get ready to sell mo if his wage demands are true

24 million ukp

 

Liverpool are exploring a possible move for 24-year-old Valencia and Spain midfielder Carlos Soler, who has a £125m release clause in his contract. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp views Soler as a possible replacement for Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, 30, who joined Paris St-Germain on a free transfer this summer.

Liverpool are also interested in 25-year-old Spain attacker Marco Asensio, who is prepared to leave Real Madrid in a bid to relaunch his career.

 

93 mil EUR for Bellingham

 

I think back to the players we were arguing over not even 5 years ago, not to mention 10 or 15, and I wonder what the fuss is all about. We literally have everything we ever wanted from the club.

The club has positioned itself with a spine on long term contracts that is as good, if not better than any club in the world. There will be some tinkering around the edges, but we are in the position to be competing deep into both PL and CL for the next 3 or 4 years. Whoever ends up winning each year is going to need some luck, just like us, but there aren't many clubs who are going to be there year in/year out like we will be, so chances are luck is going to bring us more trophies.

Either way, I'm just going to enjoy the ride. I wish more of the LFC family would do the same.

 

Yes, it's nice to be in the mix for the biggest trophies. Nobody disagrees with that.
But success is fleeting and we've got an aging core now entering their 5th season together (VvD, TAA, Robertson, Hendo, Mane, Bobby, Mo). Our first XI has improved with the upgrade of Allison, but are we truly stronger in the other 3 positions? Our depth has improved on paper, but half our squad is regularly in the treatment room, negating a lot of that advantage.
Our style of play hasn't been stagnant, but it is largely the same as it was in that first season together.
We've essentially spent zero money (net spend and all that jazz) since winning the league while our rivals have splashed HUGE amounts of cash and created buzz around themselves.
We were English, European, and World champions. And there is definitely a chance that we don't win another trophy in the next three years Klopp is here.
Will you be happy having "been there" or will you be upset we didn't press our opportunity to be THE force in the league/Europe?

 

I guess I believe that Klopp and Edwards have brought fundamental change to the football operation and to the club overall, which will continue even after they leave. I'm a believer that continuity and institutional knowledge play a massive role in the success of organizations. The institutional knowledge we have and are continuing to build, not just in players who will be here for a long time to come, (Allison, Trent, Fab, Jota, Robbo, Gomez, Elliott, Jones, Konate) but with the coaches, analysts, and yes even FSG, will sustain us where we are well into the future.

Its an unrealistic goal to expect to be THE force in the league/Europe for more than 18/24 months at a time. No club has ever achieved that. What is a realistic goal is to be firmly established as a CL club year in year out that can win the league when the chips fall our way. We've built a squad that is capable of that and the club has ensured we will have it for at least the next 4 to 5 years. There will be periods where everything falls into place and we are THE force in the league/Europe and there will be periods when things are a bit more difficult and we fall just short of that. That should be a perfectly acceptable outcome because no club in the history of European football has ever been more than that.

Perhaps deep down, I'm just tired of being angry at everything in the world and I'm looking for something in my life I can simply enjoy so I'm choosing to tell myself a story that things are just fine at LFC and you are right to raise alarm bells. Time will tell, but damn its hard to enjoy what is objectively one of the golden eras of the club's history with the constant barrage of doom so many of our fans seem to love to wallow in.

 

agree completely.