Agree. He was a very safe player…never committed to taking risks, kept it simple yet very effective in the things he did such as ball retention and recovering loose balls. Never thought much of him at the time but after he left I began to appreciate him a little more.
He suffers from what I call the Dutch disease where it is almost more important to keep position than win matches.
I’m a go as quickly forward as possible kind of guy most of the times but to each his own. Not missing Wijnaldum one bit and I’m glad we go for a midfielder that thinks forward.
Keita was (emphasis on the ‘was’ part) an extremely dynamic fast moving player, good control, excellent shot on him who was also really good at pressing, as judged by his interception stats. The scoring part we never saw for us really (did he have a confidence problem?) , the ‘fast’ part he lost when he started getting repeated soft tissue leg injuries. I have a feeling late in his career with us he wouldn’t accelerate fully either due to not trusting his body or under instruction.
Like you I haven’t really seen much of him at all apart from a single game and the obligatory Youtube compilation which certainly didn’t impress. He looks to have good control but he looks more like an Elliott in terms of speed than, say, a Salah. I am on board though and I agree with @RER that we will probably see a different Mac Allister for us than what we’ve seen from him at BHA, in part due to having much better players around him and how Klopp will set us up.
Just for someone who doesn’t really get into the summer transfer window crazy season, what does this mean? Is it a Reddit specific joke related to the quality of source, or something else?
Paul Joyce that. Pretty much as good as done.
Also tucked away in there is a little tease about our interest in Thuram and Lavia.
What’s the special trick to see that article as unblocked?
Main bits:
Alexis Mac Allister is set to become Liverpool’s first signing of the summer, with the Anfield club hopeful of concluding a deal this week for the Argentina World Cup winner.
A release clause in the 24-year-old’s contract means the transfer should progress smoothly, although the value of the deal remains uncertain with a range of fees from £45 million through to £55 million and also £61 million having been previously published.
Mac Allister signed a new deal last October, extending a contract that would have otherwise expired this summer, before helping Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar.
While it is unusual for Brighton to include a release clause in their player’s contracts, the fact remains he could have been available for free without that agreement even if it appears his price tag could be below his current market value.
Manchester United had also looked at Mac Allister, but the player’s preference to move to Liverpool forced Erik ten Hag to divert his attention elsewhere. United are keen on Chelsea’s Mason Mount, who has a year remaining on his contract but who is still rated at £70 million by the Stamford Bridge club. United view Mount as worth nearer to £50 million.
Mount, the England international, had also been followed by Liverpool, but their priority has been to conclude a deal for Mac Allister whose high technical ability and his versatility in midfield — he can play as a No 6, No 8 or No 10 — make him a key signing.
Finalising the arrival of Mac Allister is the current focus, but Liverpool will also seek other signings in midfield with availability and price shaping their decision making.
The club has followed Nice’s Khéphren Thuram and Romeo Lavia of Southampton among others, with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having left Liverpool on free transfers.
Pay up or sign up
Kone’s name not popping up here, I wonder if that is significant?
Don’t know, not necessarily.
Some names can be different from different sources.
He also says “among others” which therefore includes Kone, and every other CM we’ve been linked with this last few weeks.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1665659901203427330
Romano now doing the Here We Go’s
“Way less” makes me think the £45m figure that has been bandied around… Excellent news if true. Is Schmadtke already part of these deals or has he not taken the reins yet?
https://twitter.com/dmlynch/status/1665661516568227845
https://twitter.com/clmerlo/status/1665659020617699331?s=46&t=I9B3N5FNSxFdHZy_BQFPZg
Medical on tues/weds
Joyce tends to just talk about done deals- think that list is just mentioning a few media linked players. Obviously hes saying Mac Allister is done.
£40m-£45m is “our” price range so it makes sense
Not reddit specific, but essentially yes. Journalists rated on tier system of reliability. Even on here we judge different journos based on how reliable we think they are, i.e. romano being a tap in merchant, and Joyce being very reliable for us. Joke there being “how reliable is his cousin”
Yes, but I’m wondering whether by naming the two he does, it means that they are the two most likely of interest to our recruitment team right now - or the opposite (and that he is safe to name them as they are no longer our targets despite other media linking us with them?).
It could of course it could mean nothing at all