I’m pretty sure that they have, but that doesn’t stop people considering the alternatives. If they did, it would probably kill off 90% of the threads on this forum.
1 Like
Feck me. People want Cherki over Wirtz!
Let him go to City. I am super underwhelmed by their signings. Not improving.
3 Likes
Thats not what was first said it was i would like to see why the club thinks Wirtz is better. Thats not considereding other options the club has done that.
From all the observations isn’t Wirtz seen as value for money many respected German ex-players call him a generational talent. You want the quality you pay the money.
1 Like
There is much to these deals we never get a real view of too. Player preference and wages, not just how good a player is overall - but how they fit into the team and future direction. It’s never as simple as we see it.
2 Likes
I don’t see any issues with wondering how/why we’re willing to pay 3-4 times what Cherki is rumoured to cost for Wirtz. It’s a valid question as the difference is huge.
Equally fair is to wonder why, if that Cherki fee is seen as such good value, did no one move for him in January when Lyon were touting him around for an even lower fee?
Personally, I’m not worried about Cherki going to City as much as I would be if Wirtz was going there. Pep will smash all the joy, spontaneity and flair out of his game anyway and that’s what makes him an exciting prospect.
But Wirtz is a huge investment. One that surely spells then end for Elliott too. I think it’s fair enough to wonder how that might impact spending in other areas of the team. Maybe we’re just still not being used to shopping at the top of the market. We tend to treat ourselves to the occasional splurge rather than this being our typical price bracket.
6 Likes
Cheap shot but…
1 Like
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to say.
While there was abundance of quality, there was no guarantee they would reach their current level and consistency.
It’s a bit more of a case that players who could reasonably be regarded as the best in their position don’t come up often. Add to that, you have to have a player that actually wants to play for us and for a wage that isn’t going to blow our salary structure out of the water.
I think it is reasonable to want to get value for money, I’m more concerned when we can’t find a suitable target and people want us to sign anyone. The Steven Caulker effect, I suppose.
3 Likes
I think one can be pretty convinced by Wirtz’ abilities and still recognise that it’s bit of a risk. It’s just a fuck load of money.
8 Likes
And that comes from the excellent squad that Klopp built and Arne has improved. Also keeping our powder dry for the past 3 windows. It all means when there’s a potential superstar that’s mad keen to play for us, and can improve us, we can pay the big money, while still improving other areas of the squad
5 Likes
Yeah there’s definitely that. But I’d also question whether there was a strong consensus that either Alisson or Virg were the best players in their respective positions at the time we bought them. Clearly we thought that and were right which is what matters.
I’m not really arsed by getting value as such. It’s more what this kind of outlay means for other transfers. Is it a case, for example, of Wirtz and no striker or Cherki and Ekitike? You can see why some people might think the latter offers better value and greater improvement. It’s also entirely possible the club don’t see a striker that’s worth going for this summer and are therefore happy to go all in on Wirtz and use existing players up top to fill the Nunez shaped hole we expect to see.
Ultimately it’s exciting to be shopping in that very top bracket but there is also that fear of lost opportunity elsewhere.
3 Likes
It could also simply be that we checked his background and, due to our “no dickhead rule,” Cherki was immediately eliminated.
We can’t just look at the money. I think other factors are also taken into account, whatever that was in this case.
11 Likes
Knee and jerk come to mind.
Our scouting team have surely seen and analysed much more than us, infinity more than me.
I haven’t seen or know either of these players so know absolutely fuck all I just wait and see what I think watching our players play for us.
Anyway the deal didn’t go through at half time so I’m disappointed, frustrated and highly impatient.
When can we move on to our next target?
1 Like
Got the feeling Wirtz can be like a KDB, while Cherki looks more like a Mahrez.
4 Likes
So you’re saying we should go for both.
5 Likes
Of course it supposes that a suitable striker is available and wants to join us.
2 Likes
They are available and who wouldn’t want to be the next Darwin Nunez.
1 Like
Well I suspect that signing a striker is probably dependent on Darwin going somewhere else.
https://x.com/bayer04Xtra/status/1930919704484262136
Rumors out of Germany …everyone’s saying pretty much the same thing right now. As it looks, they’ve come to an agreement.
It´s Axel Hesse again, a very reliable source when it comes to Leverkusen news.
(Since we have so many injured/missing German players at the moment, I don’t know if Nagelsmann would go so far as to leave Flo on the bench on sunday)
7 Likes