We’ve got Jaros , Jones , Bradley , Gomez , Frimpong , Quansah as homegrown players. We’ve effectively replaced Kelleher (atleast in homegrown numbers) and Trent.
Assuming that Morton (a near certain candidate to leave) and Elliot do leave. I do think that Elliot has to leave but as he’s a homegrown talent , we should be getting competitive offers for him from the English clubs rather than trying to use him as a make weight with Leverkusen.
It’s probably a problem only for this season considering there are still the likes of Bajcetic and McConnell who will turn 21 next season.
I think it’s important that we ensure that the incoming homegrown guys are good enough to be in the first team on merit rather than being simply filler to ensure we’ve got the non homegrown player department optimal. Most of the players are with the possible exception of Quansah and Gomez (considering his unreliable injury record) , but we should still be in the market for upgrading them. If we let go of any further homegrown players (apart from Morton and Elliot, it should be with a view of upgrading them with a player who’s homegrown)
The ECHO understands this had been scheduled before the pursuit of Wirtz ramped up considerably ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League finale at home to Crystal Palace, and both the club and Slot wanted to honour the arrangement.
This is all just background noise about things that were long ago resolved. No idea why this is even being reported, possibly a negotiating tactic.
Or they don’t have anything else new to report right now, except that they don’t want Elliot anymore, although another sparsely used Liverpool player is still a possible option.
Just wanted to comment on the homegrown thing. The rule came in to encourage clubs to use homegrown players, and to hopefully have a pathway from academy to first team set up for the very best. We have done much better than most on that front.
As for the numbers, as far as I am aware, you can only have a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players in the first team squad. Then you top it up with homegrown. There’s no set limit you have to achieve here, but most managers want to have a first team squad to work with of 25 players.
It’s something to watch, but it is completely manageable. We should carry about 16-18 players the manager uses regularly in my opinion, 3-4 more he uses a bit more sparingly, and 3-4 more on the edges of the squad trying to make an impression.
Slot doesn’t work with a huge group, but one or two extra players to last year - not numbers to make up the group, but players that he fancies and will use - will be just the ticket to give us the depth we need to fight on all fronts.
If it is indeed true that Wirtz only wants Liverpool and definitely wants to leave, I think BL needs to also show some respect to the commitment he has put in while he is there and not block his path to his dream move. Of course they need to get a good price for such talent, but not to endanger the move by squeezing to the last drop or to the last million. I think that is what we did with Kelleher but letting him move to a club that he can grow as No.1 and not hold out for a higher price which is definitely what we can do but out of respect for his wishes and what he has done for the club, we let him go for a slightly lower price than expected.
I think we took a little pity on Brentford after letting them move in for Carvalho and VDB. Both haven’t exactly impressed there. That might be a reason for the slightly lesser Kelleher price too.
That’s 27.5m for Carvalho, 25m for VDB and 19m for Kelleher.
Wirtz has made his decision, and Leverkusen has probably already earmarked the money to strengthen the team and sign new players. There’s no going back. An agreement will be reached. It’s understandable that Leverkusen has nothing to give away and is negotiating hard. They have to do that to avoid upsetting the fans, etc.
I don’t think Leverkusen attempting to play hardball when Liverpool aren’t far away from their asking rate is justified.
It’s not as if Wirtz is a 50m transfer that Leverkusen feel fit to make their stand.
It’s a 125m pound transfer and if Liverpool are quoting 108-110m , Leverkusen must wonder whether that 15m is worth it considering that Liverpool have players that Leverkusen are/were interested in too.
get it done!
