I suspect its more that we were biding our time for this moment to maximise any potential leverage for Isak.
Honestly, I hate RM and never watch them unless they are playing us.
What’s the verdict? Would Rodrygo be an upgrade on Diaz?
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I’m not saying that Gakpo is better than Rodrygo, but it would seem harsh on Gakpo if Diaz were to leave and he was not thought of as being the obvious replacement.
Not only on the left, but with Jota sadly gone and Nunez probably leaving, again Gakpo is overlooked for a CF spot. If all these deals actually come off, I could see someone making a bid for Gakpo. Maybe even Bayern Munich even if they had already bought Diaz.
It seems like a lot is going to happen before the players head off for HK and Japan.
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Rodrygo is an elite talent. He’s got loads of pace and dribbling ability, and he can be a menace when pressing. He’s quite gifted technically as well. Bellingham described him as the most talented and gifted player in the club.
But RM supporters would describe him as inconsistent, disappearing at times and sometimes carrying himself poorly. The challenge for him is that he was often playing with Mbappé and Vicinius and shifted to the RW, which is not his preferred position. He’s probably more of a LW or CF.
I do think he would be an upgrade on Diaz, even without considering that he’s four years younger than Lucho.
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I think over a long season you need multiple options up front. Those are the positions where substitutions are most often made. Gakpo got plenty of playing time with Diaz in the squad and I’m sure he will next season.
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No. I genuinely dont get the grief Diaz gets here. If he leaves people will appreciate him when he’s gone.
Rodrygo is still young and arguably has a higher ceiling and a move away from Real could be the spark he needs to achieve that potential, but he is currently not the player Diaz is and it would be a big gamble to assume he could be.
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One or two LFC related posts on the BBC gossip page today, although nothing new except for the Mail covering all the bases.
Liverpool are expected to rival Newcastle United for Eintracht Frankfurt’s French striker Hugo Ekitike, 23, after being told Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, is not for sale in this window. (Sky Sports), external
The Magpies feel the leaking of Liverpool’s £120m interest into the public domain is designed to unsettle Isak. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
As well as Ekitike, Liverpool have also made enquiries about four other attackers in case they are unable to secure a deal for Isak - Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, 29, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, 26, Yoane Wissa of Brentford, 28, and Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, 24. (Mail+ - subscription required), external
Napoli have informed Liverpool a deal for Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez, 26, can be considered off. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 28, has made it clear he wants to leave the Reds after the club rejected a £58.6m bid from Bayern Munich. (Athletic - subscription required)
There’s also this about Konate.
Liverpool and France centre-back Ibrahima Konate, 26, has rejected a lucrative approach from the Saudi Pro League. (Mirror), external
The Reds have put a £43.5m price tag on Konate for any clubs interested this summer. (AS - in Spanish)
Jota’s passing leaves the contract frustrated. LFC can elect to pay whatever they want and they’ve chosen to pay what would have been due had it run its full term. No FIFA rule to prevent this.
As far as his book value goes, it would not have been zero as he still had 2 years left, but it would have been diluted by the extension.
Say you sign a 5 year contract and the transfer fee was 50 million. After 3 years your book value is now 20 million (50/5 × 2yrs remaining).
If you then extend by a further 2 years, that book value is then amortised from that point as 20/4 (his contract then having 4 further years to run).
So 5 years after his initial signing his book value would then be 10 million (rather than the zero it would have been without an extension).
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Yeah what what does Fabrizo Romano, Internal say?
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Doubt AS would know anything internally about us. Like expecting the Sun to know that.
A plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ?
Here we go Rodrygo soon then.
We terminated the contract. That leaves us looking to pay the full 2 years for Jota. I’m pretty sure it’s going to impact us on the FFP. Clubs aren’t liable to pay out the remainder of the contract when it comes to the death of a player but we’ve chosen to go ahead and pay the contract out in full by terminating the contract.
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Very interesting developments. Looks like we are going to end up with Isak, or Ekitike, after jumping into the fray after Newcastle made their move on Ekitike.
I would be delighted with either.
Then let’s see what happens with Diaz and his replacement if he goes; then also at centre back.
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I don’t know how if that is how it works in football but technically, once the contract of Jota is terminated, the wages are off the books. However, what we choose to pay to Jota’s family can be itemized differently in the accounting books? And especially in FFP, it allows for certain spending that is supposedly good for the long term health of the game, that is called virtuous spending, so I wonder whether that amount can be placed inside that item and thus not accounting for in FFP. Genuine question.
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Yeah if the contract is terminated and then FSG pay the family in a wage then it’s not football finance is it. It’s like paying a none football employee.
Same goes for the educational trust fund that they’ve said they are setting up for the kids. I don’t think the PL will be particularly bothered around that kind of accounting as the club are seeing no beneficial outcomes from it.
For me, it’s always been the unfavourable comparison with Mane. He’s a really good player but never hit Mane’s heights (or the heights of his pre-injury performances). With Kerkez and possibly Szoboszlai covering the left flank, the possible new winger probably wouldn’t have to run himself into the ground as hard as Diaz - instead, he would have to be more of a goalscorer and creator, to put it rather simplistically.
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I think a lot of that would be offset by the insurance arrangements Liverpool would have had against the player.
And if the PL were to get involved in that the optics would be appalling.
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Book valuation and transfer fee have nothing to do with the question though. The question was in regards to the remainder of his contract.
And according to FIFA regulations, the contract is terminated as if it had expired naturally.