I see the young Argentinian LB we were linked to has been reported as finalizing a deal with Bournemouth. That raises the question of how legit our interest was or whether people knew Bournemouth had done the leg work in identifying and then put two and two together with him being here now and assuming we needed a new LB.
But the other question is what does this mean for Kirkez? Would they really sign a highly rated 19 year old for a position where their current #1 is himself only 21 if they believed he was staying long term?
Or that he missed a lot of the foundational tactical work and so is playing catch up in a period when we dont have that much time on the training ground.
I think it is clearly a case of Bournemouth preparing for a future without Kerkez. Whether that happens this month, or probably more likely in summer after Soler beds in, remains to be seen.
Looking at the Man U game and Newcastle games, maybe even the Chelsea games, we seem to struggle against a hard working combative midfield and maybe that is where Tchouameni would help as he is more combative and athletic.
Whether he fits the bill in the way we want to play when in possession is something I wouldnāt know as I havenāt seen him enough.
Liverpool need reinforcements in midfield. Tchouameni would be perfect to finally upgrade the DM spot.
They must reinforce if they want Slot to have a serious chance to win the title.
We need to capitalize on momentum in the January window to buy the 1 or 2 players to help get us over the top. Such a chance doesnāt arise often, seize it!
Given the stop-start nature of his Liverpool career so far, I wouldnāt be surprised if there really was interest in him from other clubs (not necessarily those two mentioned by Sky Sports).
He canāt catch a break as a Liverpool player, just when he starts hitting form. Tactical aspect wasnāt in his favour when Klopp was the manager but I expected that would change under Slot but it hasnāt happened yet, mainly because of his latest injury.
That said, I hope he can finally show what heās capable of but I wonder what he has to do to start (or get subbed on) when Jones is having the two worst games of his season, all while Szoboszlai is unavailable through illness. Maybe that suggests that Slot hasnāt been impressed with him post-injury (which would be a shame as he looked pretty good in the pre-season).
With a bit more than 2 years left on his deal, I wonder if heāll be a Liverpool player in 3 or 4 years. Iām not convinced he will be. Jones was in a similar situation a few years ago, when he bought himself a new Liverpool future with his form in the spring of 2023. Whether there will be a new contract for Elliott and he evolves and plays more, a new contract and a loan at some point or a sale with or after a new contract, weāll see. Fact is, heās got some competition ahead of him (especially if Salah stays). I see progress physically, heās really hit the gym and all that, but itās up for debate how good it is for him.
I donāt know about tactically or not, but the evidence suggests that he still played plenty of games under JĆ¼rgen, and got loads of minutes. He featured in most games, whether as a starter or a sub.
I like Harvey as a player as he gives his all for the shirt and has the abilities to unlock a defence.
My thoughts is that Arne may like players with a better physical aspect of the game as he always talks about winning duels etc.
Harvey lacks that physicality and also lacks pace, Macca and Endo both lack pace but win lots of duels.
It isnāt the lack of effort and he has improved in his duels and I still hope he gets a chance, although the injury didnāt help as he would have to start from scratch fitness wise.
Youād argue that under Klopp the physical aspect wouldāve been a bit more important and that under Slot, it would be a bit more technical.
We could see that with Slotās quotes on Jonesā ability in pre-season, for example. Saying how he doesnāt mind if Jones takes time on the ball, itās what heās good at.
Elliott may not have pace, but he does have energy and is willing to work hard. It may be that itās actually his creativity and productivity that is in question.
Heās been around the first team for ages so itās easy to forget but he still is only 21 years old. What I would say is that Iām not even sure we know his best position yet but I think heāll become more of a central player, possibly even more of a withdrawn central player.
I do think we write some of these players off a bit early. Mac Allister, for example, was playing for Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors on loan from Brighton when he was 21 and mostly being used as a winger or a CF. I even remember him breaking through at Brighton and he was used in very advanced positions, often just behind a CF, or even at CF by himself, and I found him entirely underwhelming. Not until he moved back to a more withdrawn midfield role did we see the best of him.
Could go through the list but very few are playing at the top level regularly at his age. It doesnāt guarantee that Elliott will become a top player or anything but I think weāve seen enough over the last few years to suggest he has it in his locker.
This one will be more up to Harvey and what he wants next from his career and Iām sure the club will help him with whatever he decides. The club are very good dealing with players, we donāt stand in anyoneās way if they express their wish to leaveā¦.we donāt tell anyone theyāre not wanted and actively look to push them out at the first sign of adversity, weāre very patient with players and itās no different with Harvey.
I agree with all of the above, butā¦ weāve not quite seen how it is with Hughes, and Slot. I half wonder if it might get a little bit more brutal for some?
Hypothetically, if Kvaratskhelia was to move to Liverpool, would Diaz be considered as the new centre forward and Nunez sold? On the basis of what weāve seen so far this season, I wouldnāt have many issues with that.
