United paying £50m for someone who makes them worse?
Don’t know how that can be unpopular.
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With Harvey being used as a replacement for Mo it meant we only had 1 midfielder on the bench last weekend. It’s maybe enough if we bring in Chiesa and allow Harvey to be used in midfield, and/or we back it up with a couple of academy kids ready for spells in the first team, but we’ve been moving on most if not all of the kids who have played in recent years. What is the situation with McConnell? Is he staying? @Sweeting
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There’s Gravy, Endo and Macca all ahead of him in the more withdrawn mf role. He’d get cup games, but hard to see him starting in the pl or cl.
He needs to be playing every week at this stage. Hope that happens at Salzburg.
Didn’t McConnell suffer an injury? He was set to go on loan but the injury happened.
I think the youth that is likely to get some game time in midfield might be Nyoni.
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They did buy Bobby.
Re. them getting game time, they are young, but they aren’t 17 either, going into a league that they should be more than good enough to play regularly in.
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Swap for Hincapie?
I believe, for his development, it would be valuable to give Nyoni 4 to 5 senior games this season in a cup (if possible).
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I think it is probably expecting too much of Trey. There is a big difference between getting rewarded with occasional appearances when the set up agrees it is the right circumstance to do it vs being required to bail out the first team due to lack of available players. Especially when we’re talking about a 17 year old vs players who are 19-20.
I understand the value to Bajcetic to go somewhere where he’s going to get more games, but not at the expense of our first team’s needs. And 3 players for 2 spots, when one of them has big question marks over him, and another struggled through last week with a groin issue (grav) is very thin.
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While they are not obligated to play Bobby since it’s a outright purchase, I heard that any loan for Bajectic will include an obligation to play him regularly in midfield or else a recall is possible.
No, damage control for the recruitment plan - not providing the ‘perfect’ option, but at least giving Slot another talent to work with.
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Yes, they bought Clark.
I’m sure a condition of the loan for Bajcetic will be playing time. I’m not sure the loan move to Salzburg is locked down yet, and I think I saw that another team was trying to loan Bajcetic too.
I like the Salzburg move, with the Lijnders connection especially, but a key condition will have to be a sufficient amount of playing time. If he goes there to train, he would be better off to train under Slot, with better players at Anfield. But game time is what he needs most.
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I saw the same reporting, but it is one those of over extrapolations to make a point. You cannot require that that the team plays the players, but all our loans are structured in a way that heavily incentives the team to play them. Any loan for Baj would be one where we are all confident that he is going to play regularly and structured in a way that incentivizes it
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I expect Nyoni to take Bacjectic place in the squad meaning he will play the odd game here and there. On paper at least, we have 6 options because I see Slot playing Elliot as a midfielder. I see Dom, Mac, Jones and Elliot as the more advanced midfielders and Grav and Endo behind them. Nyoni will not be expected to start or play too many games to protect him as Slot said.
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If Bajčetić stays free of injuries and does well on loan (Salzburg has proven to be an excellent developmental step for quite a few great players over the last few years), he likely replaces Endo in Liverpool’s first team next year. I don’t think he’ll need more motivation than that.
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That is twice as many options for the role that requires one player as there for the role that requires two.
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I know what you mean because of the double pivot? I see that too but what I mean by more advanced is in an attack mode, it’s likely for Mac and Dom (Jones & Elliot) with Grav/Endo as the one to stay back. Of course these players other than maybe Endo could mix it up in terms of on field roles but in terms of numbers and even skillsets we are not short
Is that even necessary? it’s not like he didn’t have others to play with, but we let them go.
Fairly happy to see Bajcetic get a loan move. The lad needs to be playing and going somewhere where his manager knows him already would be really good for him and hopefully us.
Still think we need another midfielder though. The knock Jones picked up and all of a sudden we’ve just two midfielders on the bench, Endo who you’d only really bring on for Gravenberch and Elliot who you’d probably only bring on for Szoboszlai in midfield but who actually replaced Salah.
Nagging sense we’ll end up finding ourselves short and with Bajcetic, Morton and Clarke (Mcconnell also likely) all gone we’re limited on young players with that first team experience too.
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Yeah, this is my concern. Maybe not that problematic with last season’s collection of kids who can be called upon if needed, but we have moved on all the most developed ones meaning the gap between first team and academy is pretty big.
This is maybe a benefit of the proposed Chiesa move in that it allows Harvey to go back into midfield bolstering our numbers there.
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