Rodrygo has the advantage because he won’t agitate for a move to Madrid or Barcelona.
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I don’t think they will you would have done it 2 weeks ago if you were selling him.
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Did we have a suitable bid for him two weeks ago?
I reckon we’ll do all we can to keep him this window now except giving him a new contract. Even if that includes a gentleman’s agreement to let him go next summer for a reasonable fee.
But if he downed tools or Bayern/Saudi offered us £80m+ for him next week and he pushed for us to accept then I reckon it changes the conversation from an outright “no, not for sale” to one of “do we think we can confidently replace what he offers with someone who’d cost us less than this?”.
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Next Guehi then Rodrigo maybe even Mateta? Hughes then can go on holiday unless he wants to do overtime by helping the LFC women’s technical director find some decent players .
Next we need to move some players on, to free up some spots in the squad. Assuming Darwin and Kostas go, I think we will have one more non-homegrown spot in the squad. We might end up needing that spot for a center back if we can’t agree a deal with Palace for Guehi this summer.
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If you go from not for sale at all to at the right price it becomes open on everyone. The club has said not for sale and i fully expect that.
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Our next target (Guehi) seems to be fitting a specific profile and role within the squad. CB + home grown. If Palace refuse to budge on their asking price and we walk away, do we go for another player with that exact profile and role? And if so, who?
Or do we split the 2 needs and look at the best CB we can get, then find some other area of the squad needing work to bring in someone home grown? And if so, what position would that be and who would be the player leaving?
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It seems to have gone very quiet on Guehi. I’d assumed that we had a news blackout on transfers after Jota’s death, but this seems to have slipped off the radar altogether.
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I agree about the news blackout regardig transfers after Jotas’ passing, but I wonder if it also has brought a slight change in our focus regarding what deals get done and in what order. Going for a forward at this point will probably bring the most even and respectful negotiations as I think no club would want to appear as if trying to make too big a financial profit off a deal to replace a player who has just passed away.
But if we were to push for a deal to get Guehi and then sell some players before going back to a deal to bring in a forward, clubs might not be as willing to negotiate on fair terms and with good faith?
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Assuming the Ekitike deal gets done, I’d be happy if the last bit of business this summer is a center back. Guehi or another. We should be able to fit a non homegrown player into the squad if Kostas and Darwin go.
I don’t think we need anyone else after that unless Diaz forces our hand or we are selling someone else like Chiesa but in both cases, we’d free up a spot for a non homegrown player.
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I’m actually taking it as encouraging. It’s not only his links to us that have gone completely silent, it’s his links to anyone else either - and this is a defender who is in demand.
I think the deal is done or largely done and will be announced in due course.
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Yes, we do prefer to do our business in camera. Any noise is almost certainly coming from agents or selling clubs. The lack of it is actually encouraging.
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This week we have had the noise around Ekitike/ Isak coming in and also Elliott and Morton going out, so it may just be a reflection that the recruitment team are having to focus on those areas first before any further progress on Guehi is made?
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Always maintained that if the club wanted Ekitike , they would get him.
We might have accelerated the chase seeing as Newcastle were after him.
Liverpool is a much bigger club than Newcastle.
I don’t see us having to speed up a pursuit of Ekitike because of Newcastle, we were always more likely to be the more appealing option than them, so I’m sure the player would have waited for another week or two - the most relevant factor in this is probably that of Isak’s availability.
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Yup, every player will have a price point where a sale becomes the better option for the club. Most of the time that’ll be more than anyone would be willing to pay and the player is happy where he is.
But if some offered £80m+ for Diaz and he agitated for the move the club would rightly consider it, irrespective of the “not for sale” stance they’ve taken so far.
For me, his possible move is more about how he reacts to the interest in him than anything. Doubt Bayern make that bid without knowing he’d be keen to join them. If he starts playing silly buggers to try and force a move I don’t see us wanting to keep that potential issue around if a suitable bid was on the table.
Hopefully he stays but we don’t want another 6 weeks of this.
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A lot of assumptions that Diaz is going to agitate for a move why is this when there is nothing to back this up. Him been keen and agitating for a move are vastly different scenarios. Players are keen on moves all the time which dont come off. As for what we dont need another 6 weeks of what saying hes not for sale.
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I think even more notable is that we haven’t seen anything to suggest he will down tools or become an unwelcome distraction within the squad if he fails to get a move this summer (assuming the links and stories of him wanting one is genuine). What he does in this part of the window and what he does when back in training/ match day can be treated separately.
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You think Bayern bid without some encouragement? You think Barca circling comes without encouragement?
Downing tools would be a last resort but there’s plenty to suggest he’s looking for a route out if we’re standing by our plan not to offer him a new contract.
And we can say he’s not for sale but it doesn’t really stop clubs trying or him agitating for a move up until the deadline.
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There’s plenty to suggest that he’s in the middle of negotiating the last big contract of his career and is trying to maximise his options.
Everything else is just speculation.
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