I heard on a podcast that Nunez turned down a Sudi offer. I'm not sure of the trust value but I try to listen to people who are at least trying to get it right.
As I was washing the dishes this morning, I think I figured out how the payment for players works. If We buy Wiertz for an inflated 150m, that money gets spread out along the length of his contract. If we sell Quansah for an inflated 50m we can write that off this year. So, between the two players we would have a -20m in PSR spending for this year.
It’s funny how the clubs are bending over backwards to create their own narrative over the fee. Liverpool based journalists saying that there is only 100 million (pounds) guaranteed. German based journalists still saying there is a way the fee reaches 150 million (euros). I think that’s important to both clubs when it comes to future negotiations. It doesn’t matter to us. To us, it’s just the most exciting transfer in our history. Happy Florian Friday to all who celebrate.
I think this is super impressive work from Richard Hughes. Here is a player that was wanted by everyone. They were able to convince him that Liverpool was the club for him, to the extent where Wirtz only wanted Liverpool. This meant that they were able to block out the outside noise, avoiding any bidding war, and negotiate the deal on their terms.
I have a sense that Edwards laid some real groundwork with the owners too make sure they bought into the revamp and the outlay for someone like Wirtz.
Yes, no doubt, considerable kudos to the LFC team but they had had significant help from the naïveté of Wirtz’s agent, his father. I have no doubt that Hughes saw this and was whispering in his ear, so again kudos to the nous and street smarts of Hughes here. In much the same way why you never have family act as your lawyer, accountant or even doctor, having a family member act as your agent is a dumb move. Too close to the subject. More often than not, the mother/father/brother/sister only has one client, and hasn’t come up in the school of hard knocks and sharp elbows that inhabit the world of agents. That learning process is a very good teacher. A smarter agent would have kept Bayern and City in play to drive the price up. Driving the price up means more money as a percentage of the transfer fee and allows Wirtz to go to City and say Bayern are promising me 4 BMWs, can you make it 5? And then go to Liverpool and ask for 3 Maseratis. By clearing the decks, by cutting City and Bayern loose, Wirtz and, by extension, Leverkusen had no one to bid against Liverpool. Meaning less leverage for a) a higher price and b) better personal terms. I’ve little doubt Hughes did a lot of whispering here. But Wirtz’s father wasn’t acting in the best interests of his son, despite thinking he was. A more street wise agent would have known that. The benefits of having a family member act as your agent are obvious even if it’s a bad idea. The 15% stays in the family, the player trusts the agent etc. But too often those family members are ingenués drifting alone in shark infested waters. (For what it’s worth, both TAA and Bradley have their mums as their agents, and I believe Mbappé’s agent is his brother; there are others).
The former Arsenal midfielder and Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is set to join Arne Slot’s backroom staff as a replacement for John Heitinga.
Probably true. But at the same time, an agent who did everything you said, might have driven Liverpool away. I love that Wirtz seems to be making decisions based on what’s best for him as a footballer. I’m sure he’s getting a ton of money in the deal, but it didn’t seem to be his number one priority. Arne Slot’s tactical plan for him is what he fell in love with, and I love that about him.
I’ve little doubt an independent agent would have driven Liverpool away and probably Bayern, as no non-petrodollar club can compete with oil money. My point was that the naïveté of Wirtz’s father served us very well. It might also explain why Mbappé, Caicedo and other high priced luminaries have escaped our clutches in recent years.
I don't fully agree with that take. It may play a part - but everyone has access to so much information now - such that a parent or sibling acting as an agent isn't going to be as out of their depth as expected. Trent12 for example - they weren't naive at all. In fact they were cunning - only taking a four year deal and running it down so that Trent12 would be available for Real Madrid in his absolute prime and get the bumperest of deals. This situation is also driven by Florian himself as noted by Suss. That allows us to get around some of the difficult situations that arise when agents try to overplay their hand.
Perhaps. But strictly from a financial perspective, it was a major error to sideline Bayern and City before the bidding had really begun. That smacks of naïveté. In many respects, Wirtz’s father was our best ally in this transfer.
I think we have already improved our squad depth significantly. The biggest criticism of Slot was that he overused players. I think Gravenberch and Mac Allister were the two who were overworked the most. Wirtz is going to play. We know that. I think that means that Szoboszlai can be used differently this season. In a lot of games we will see Szoboszlai play in the Mac Allister position. That then frees up Mac Allister to play rhe Gravenberch position. He will essentially have 3 of Europe’s best midfielders from last season for two spots. That means that they all stay fresh. In the biggest games we might see all 4 start with Szoboszlai right up alongside Wirtz like we did at Manchester City last season. This is without mentioning Curtis Jones who the manager fully trusts, and can play any of the midfield roles. Slot is going to expect a ton of work from the fullbacks this season. Once the Kerketz deal is done, we will have two top fullbacks for both the left and right. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both fullbacks subbed at 60 minutes in a lot of games and have two fresh ones come on. Again, this will keep everyone from being overused. I would love to see us sign another centerback who can actually compete with Virgil and Konate for minutes. We tried to do it with Huijsen, and hopefully there is an alternative. If we sell Quansah to fund it, thats fine. A third centerback who the manager is willing to use would mean that the other two don't get worn down. Then all thats left is the forward line which is very exciting. If we signed a centerfoward that the manager is excited about, two forwards (maybe 3) could go out the door and the squad depth would still be fine. The point is that we are improving the depth of the squad without having a bigger squad. After all of the sales, we might end up with a smaller squad that has more players that the manager trusts and wants to use, and the players that were perhaps overused last season will benefit.
if it's accurate that Florian only wanted LFC, he may have just told his agent/dad to clear the path asap to avoid LFC being blown out of the water by the petro clubs making ludicrous bids so they could get the best deal they could from us. naivety may have eff-all to do with it, but a smart long-term focus on what's best for his career could have played a major part.