Thiago.... Ja ????

[dmishra]

Agreed. Thiago is a luxury frankly given that we have Henderson, Fabinho, Wijlandum, Keita, Milner, Chamberlain already vying for the three midfield spots. Not to mention Jones who really should be staking a claim for regular game time next season.

That said, if you can add a genuine world class player to a team which has already won the title, it's never a bad idea. And Thiago does have something different from the rest of our midfielders with his supreme technical ability.

So I don't mind signing him, provided it's not at the expense of signing a pacy attacker. Improving on Origi should the main focus in this transfer window. The sheer drop in our attacking play when either Salah or Mane sit out is the biggest weakness in the squad.

Backup LB should be the next on the list, though I agree with the sentiment expressed by some that having a full time specialist LB as backup isn't the best idea given that Robertson will start about 80% of the time. Either bring in a talented young kid who can be developed, and is good enough to start occasionally if required, or get a versatile player (say McGinn) who can cover a few positions like LB, CM etc.

 

[dmishra]

Melissa Reddy has a piece today saying no contact from us yet, though Klopp is a known admirer. Also says that Aouar is the midfielder Edwards and team have been targeting for the long term, so it'll be interesting to see of they abandon that and go for a 29 year old in Thiago.

 

[737Max]

Melissa Reddy has a piece today saying no contact from us yet, though Klopp is a known admirer. Also says that Aouar is the midfielder Edwards and team have been targeting for the long term, so it'll be interesting to see of they abandon that and go for a 29 year old in Thiago.

The only way we'd get Thiago is if one of the senior midfielders goes. Swap deal for Gini perhaps? But I'd hate that personally as he's so integral to the way we play. I like Aouar, can see why they're pushing for him.

 

[Hansern]

They’re probably waiting to see what type of fee Aouar will command this summer if he leaves. Was talk of Lyon selling for a reduced fee.

 

[737Max]

They’re probably waiting to see what type of fee Aouar will command this summer if he leaves. Was talk of Lyon selling for a reduced fee.

Well they missed out on a champions league place, did they miss out on a Uefa Cup spot too? Could see him going for around 30-35m which is a steal

 

[dmishra]

I would love to get Aouar.

I always say that Man City constructed their squad over the last decade in two phases. Phase one was Kompany, Silva, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure and Aguero. That core got them 2 titles in 11-12 and 13-14. Phase two was getting De Bruyne and Sterling - two very good young potentially world class players signed just at the right time to ensure that they continue the work already done by their ageing core.

We need to do something similar. Aouar could be our De Bruyne. But we need to find a top class young attacker as well.

The only problem with getting someone in like Aouar today (or even Thiago for that matter), is that we simply have too many midfielders at the moment.

A midfield purchase might make sense once Milner retires and one of Chamberlain or Keita is sold. Need to bear in mind that Curtis Jones is someone we need to develop as well.

 

[Halmeister]

Aouar would be great, but a pipedream I reckon, unfortunately. Certainly this summer.

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

Though Klopp hasn't been 100% on his transfers, by and large, he gets it right. If we sign Ali, and as a result we win CL or the League, we will all forget about the £25m-£30m transfer fee.

None of us are transfer experts, how many of us thought Carroll, Balotelli and Downing were good exciting signings?

Am...none of us?

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

The only way we'd get Thiago is if one of the senior midfielders goes. Swap deal for Gini perhaps? But I'd hate that personally as he's so integral to the way we play. I like Aouar, can see why they're pushing for him.

Might be harsh but I'd happily get rid of AOC

 

[Dreambeliever]

Might be harsh but I'd happily get rid of AOC

Why?

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

Why?

I don't think his all round play in the midfield is clever enough and I don't think he every plays well in the front 3. He's a decent player that's why I said it might be harsh.

 

[Frogfish]

. ..... The only problem with getting someone in like Aouar today (or even Thiago for that matter), is that we simply have too many midfielders at the moment.

A midfield purchase might make sense once Milner retires and one of Chamberlain or Keita is sold. Need to bear in mind that Curtis Jones is someone we need to develop as well.

Really? I don't think so at all. We typically use 3-5 midfielders per game and this is what we've got : Fabs (26), Keita (26), Ox (25), Hendo (30), Gini (29) and Milner (34) with the kids, Jones and Elliot, as backups (Lallana and likely Shaq will be on their way). So we've only got 6 established midfielders (though Millie is rarely going to be a 90 mins man, more a sub either on/off from now on) and that's when all are fully fit. In reality we can count on having 1-2 on the physio's table per game.

City by comparison have 9 quality midfielders (D.Silva leaving but who knows who else they may buy) not including kids (bar Foden) : Rodri, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Foden, De Bruyne, B Silva, Luka Ilic, Mahrez, Sterling plus 8 other youngsters or squad players (who can play MF) at the same level as ours.

We are short at least 1 maybe even 2 midfielders at a stretch.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Really? I don't think so at all. We typically use 3-5 midfielders per game and this is what we've got : Fabs (26), Keita (26), Ox (25), Hendo (30), Gini (29) and Milner (34) with the kids, Jones and Elliot, as backups (Lallana and likely Shaq will be on their way). So we've only got 6 established midfielders (though Millie is rarely going to be a 90 mins man, more a sub either on/off from now on) and that's when all are fully fit. In reality we can count on having 1-2 on the physio's table per game.

City by comparison have 9 quality midfielders (D.Silva leaving but who knows who else they may buy) not including kids (bar Foden) : Rodri, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Foden, De Bruyne, B Silva, Luka Ilic, Mahrez, Sterling plus 8 other youngsters or squad players (who can play MF) at the same level as ours.

We are short at least 1 maybe even 2 midfielders at a stretch.

Gruijic will be in the squad next season as a replacement for Lallana and back up for fabs..

Jones will push on next season... Elliott maybe.. but he is too Raw attn, although incredibly talented

A replacement for Shaq is likely on the cards, but we will probably have to sell first.
Wilson too will likely be sold.. There is your funds..

Fraser coming in on a free for back up for the front 3, I can see happening..

We need a LB, probably another AM/ someone who can support the front 3..

 

[Halmeister]

Luka Ilic? Had to google him. Hasn't made an appearance, so I wouldn't say you could include him as one of the players competing for a spot in City's midfield. You certainly couldn't call him a "quality" option.

Mahrez and Sterling don't play in that midfield 3, so I wouldn't include them either.

So they have 7 players realistically competing for 3 spots.

I'd say 6 is about right. 2 players for each position. It's certainly not a priority position considering we have 1 recognised left back and nobody who is even remotely close to deputising for any of the front 3.

 

[Frogfish]

Luka Ilic? Had to google him. Hasn't made an appearance, so I wouldn't say you could include him as one of the players competing for a spot in City's midfield. You certainly couldn't call him a "quality" option.

Mahrez and Sterling don't play in that midfield 3, so I wouldn't include them either.

So they have 7 players realistically competing for 3 spots.

I'd say 6 is about right. 2 players for each position. It's certainly not a priority position considering we have 1 recognised left back and nobody who is even remotely close to deputising for any of the front 3.

You clearly are not considering City's formations (from WhoScored):
Mahrez - has 8 appearances in midfield this season.
Sterling - has 11 appearances in midfield this season.

Ilic - OK I mixed him up with someone else, delete him. However the point is that they have far more midfielders offering tactical flexibility, especially when players are injured, than we do - and they are going to be the team we have to beat. The other point, clearly, is that our core of 5 plus Millie, Jones and Elliot is nowhere near enough when Klopp uses 3-5 midfielders per match. A couple injured when we are playing 2 games a week and we are up shit creek.

I wasn't disputing priorities - I wanted Werner ahead of anyone else this transfer Summer. However our midfield will undeniably be short considering Milner adding another year to his Not Out status and Lallana & Shaq. (more than likely) on their way. To say nothing of that core having been played mostly week in week out for the past 2-3 seasons.

That being the case is there is a very obvious hole in the squad that Jones or a 17 year old can't be expected to fill (and most people agree that it isn't a Grujic or Wilson sized hole).

 

[mwake]

Having Grujic next season will be nice but I don't think we really need him emergency style. What we really need in that midfield is a KDB type. Keita was supposed to offer some of that creative play but I don't think he will ever be able to offer that next level creative skills that you get from a KDB type. I've never seen Thiago play so I can't comment on him. But If he's able to solve our inability to break teams down from the midfield then he definitely could be useful.

 

[Halmeister]

You clearly are not considering City's formations (from WhoScored):
Mahrez - has 8 appearances in midfield this season.
Sterling - has 11 appearances in midfield this season.

Ilic - OK I mixed him up with someone else, delete him. However the point is that they have far more midfielders offering tactical flexibility, especially when players are injured, than we do - and they are going to be the team we have to beat. The other point, clearly, is that our core of 5 plus Millie, Jones and Elliot is nowhere near enough when Klopp uses 3-5 midfielders per match. A couple injured when we are playing 2 games a week and we are up shit creek.

I wasn't disputing priorities - I wanted Werner ahead of anyone else this transfer Summer. However our midfield will undeniably be short considering Milner adding another year to his Not Out status and Lallana & Shaq. (more than likely) on their way. To say nothing of that core having been played mostly week in week out for the past 2-3 seasons.

That being the case is there is a very obvious hole in the squad that Jones or a 17 year old can't be expected to fill (and most people agree that it isn't a Grujic or Wilson sized hole).

Sterling and Mahrez do not play in that midfield 3. Wide midfield, behind the striker, maybe. But as part of the midfield 3 it's always the usual suspects - the Silvas, De Bruyne, Rodrigo, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Foden. Heat maps and all that might show they move about, obviously they do, but in terms of the lineups of the team, they always start with some combination of those 3 in the middle.

Can't argue with the rest of the post, except to say that you could argue injuries for any position anywhere, really. We have 4 first team centre backs (I'm begrudgingly including Lovren there), if 2 of those got injured, we're down to the bare bones. But you wouldn't say we need to sign a CB really.

 

[Halmeister]

Think Jones coming in provides a 7th option. Who knows what will happen with Lallana. Can't see Grujic staying, but you never know with the tightening of the purse strings.

 

[MomoWASright]

Lallana is definitely going.

[article]
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed he will not select Adam Lallana again because he wants to protect the midfielder’s impending free transfer from Liverpool.

Lallana signed a short-term extension to stay until the end of the season but has not featured in a match-day squad since the restart. The 32-year-old, whom Klopp described as “a legend”, has several options when his deal expires and a reunion with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester appears most likely.
The former England midfielder has made 178 appearances for Liverpool since his £25m move from Southampton in 2014 but Klopp will not consider another outing in the final five matches because he wants to ensure the player remains fit for a transfer.

The Liverpool manager said: “It is clear Adam will leave the club in the summer, if the summer ever starts. I already miss everything about him. In this moment he is still here but we will miss him. He is one of the most influential players on the training quality I have ever had in my life. He is an incredible professional.

“But now we have a difficult situation and I will respect Adam a lot. Everything with Adam is sorted, let me say it like this. He is so fit, he is training, everything is fine, but the future is his future. And if we need his help on the pitch we can get it. He trains 100% but as long as we don’t need him, he will just train.”

Klopp added: “There were a lot of discussions about players without contracts. With him there was not even a discussion. It was clear Adam would extend his contract and he wanted to do that as well, but he will not put any risk on his future or whatever. That is absolutely clear. He is one of the most important players of the time since I am here so I wish him only the best for the future. From my point of view he is already a legend here, so he can become a legend somewhere else from next season.”
Liverpool visit Brighton on Wednesday and Klopp insists he will not rest any other players to prepare for next season. He said, however, that the champions may be in better condition for 2020-21 than many of the teams still involved in European competition.

“We will have a short break, we will have hopefully a short pre-season depending on when we start, and that is pretty much the same for all the teams apart from those who are still in Europe. I don’t know how they will sort that,” he said. “If [Manchester] City goes through to the Champions League final at the end of August that is really, really tough. Or United, Chelsea and Wolves; they are all still in Europe and it would be really tough for them. For us it is already tough but I think we can deal with it.”[/article]

 

[rurikbird]

The only problem with getting someone in like Aouar today (or even Thiago for that matter), is that we simply have too many midfielders at the moment.

The difference with Aouar is that unlike Thiago he can play wide left as part of the attacking 3. A bit like Iniesta – CM/winger. So he could potentially solve both problems at once, although his attacking style is much more Coutinho than Mane.

 

[dmishra]

That was the Aouar maybe of a couple of years ago. He's now firmly embedded in that Lyon side as a deeper midfielder.

 

[Frogfish]

Jurgen Klopp was asked about the speculation after Liverpool’s Premier League win over Aston Villa, and was typically reserved.

“Thiago Alcantara is a really good player. Like a lot of other players out there, I like (him) a lot. But that’s all I have to say about that,”

So not ruled out then.

 

[Halmeister]

Jurgen Klopp was asked about the speculation after Liverpool’s Premier League win over Aston Villa, and was typically reserved.

“Thiago Alcantara is a really good player. Like a lot of other players out there, I like (him) a lot. But that’s all I have to say about that,”

So not ruled out then.

He always says things like that. He even admitted that, but it isn't in that quote there. It's his standard response when asked about a particular player.

 

[Frogfish]

He always says things like that. He even admitted that, but it isn't in that quote there. It's his standard response when asked about a particular player.

Actually no ... he often says we have no interest.

 

[Halmeister]

@Frogfish

He even says here it's his generic, go-to response.

 

[peekay]

That was the Aouar maybe of a couple of years ago. He's now firmly embedded in that Lyon side as a deeper midfielder.

Is he a Coutinho style player?

 

[Frogfish]

@Frogfish

He even says here it's his generic, go-to response.

Regardless. He's nixed many in the bud ... I remember Messi

 

[Holle]

Is he a Coutinho style player?

He's no wanker though.

 

[dmishra]

Is he a Coutinho style player?

Lyon have played him both as a no. 8 and a no. 6, though like Rurik pointed out, he's played some LW also. Creative player, very good close control in tight situations, but a good defensive work rate as well.

 

[King Binny]