They are owned by Fosun International and as far as I’ve seen most Chinese investments in football are being pulled out. I’m sure they want a fair decent return on the £45mil they paid…
@redfanman - Yes players being for sale is normal and to fund the new managers spending. They are pretty much tight with Mendes and I think he pulls a lot of the strings there…
I highly doubt there’s any significant interest in him from Liverpool’s side. His agent does what the agents of most young Serbian players do after they’ve had their breakthrough season: he hawks him around to see who can bid highest. Their clubs usually don’t mind, especially in crisis times, Fiorentina do that with their young players (they’ve already done it with a lot of Partizan’s academy products like Jovetić, Nastasić, Savić, Ljajić). It’s only natural that they will do it with Vlahović at some point.
That said, I have a soft spot for Partizan youth products, so I hope Vlahović does well in his career. He didn’t particularly stand out before this season but Fiorentina stuck with him and are now reaping the rewards. He’s more of a poacher than a target man, nowhere as hard working as Firmino but a tad quicker and a much better finisher. Better at playing with his back to goal, better at picking his runs into channels but not the player who will drop deep and link his teammates.
This is why I doubt that Liverpool would be interested in him. Not just stylistically, he’s also far from a finished product, he’s only had one great season and he’d command a big fee - not a smart combo, especially under current financial circumstances. He should look at Luka Jović and think twice before making a big money move. If I was him, I’d stick with Fiorentina for another year, try to establish myself as a good Serie A centre forward and then see whether a top four club would want me as their first choice striker afterwards.
And that’s another good point, if you buy Mbappe he is the star both on and off the pitch. That could be a bit of a kick in the teeth for some of the current squad.
I’ve said the same about PSG and Salah. The only way it works financially is if Mo goes to PSG and Mbappe comes here and I don’t see that happening. To be honest, I’ve spent god knows how long watching our best players get cherry-picked by richer teams. Owen, Mascherano, Torres, Alonso, Suarez, Sterling, Coutinho to name but a few. Now we have a genuine world class superstar at the peak of his powers, im not that inclined to push him out the door in favour of the next shiny thing no matter how good we think he’ll be.
Whilst I love Salah, Mbappe is the one player in world football I’d replace him with. He is the only one I think would add a little more to the team.
Skillful player with back to goal can link up well finishes well and poses a real aerial threat for our fullbacks to find at set pieces.
Would be something a bit different to come on late in games or to start against lower tier teams who use physicality to beat up on our forwards.
Obviously a super experienced player too who would cost us a decent wage but no transfer fee.
I think our excellent crop of 4 forwards are all very similar players. Elliott comes into the squad and is in a similar mould to what we have so something that gives us a tactical alternative could be useful. Kind of the finished article of what we wanted Origi to be.
I would agree with you if the transfer market had an ounce of reality attached to it but if Leeds dont have to sell then they can name their price and when you see some of the fees being paid for players I can see Leeds demanding outrageous money and more or less pricing him out of a move altogether.
I would bite their hands off for a 40 mil deal just feel like they would be throwing out 80 mil and we just wouldnt pay that
Just speaking hypothetically but I don’t see why it hss to be Salah that would need to make way for Mbappe.
Mane isn’t on much less than Salah and if Elliott is replacing Shaqiri that probably frees up the difference.
In terms of fees in the current financial climate I don’t think we would get what Salah is worth and not much difference between what we could get between Salah and Mane.
But most importantly tactically Mbappe on the left and Salah on the right makes more sense than Mbappe or Mane on the right. Mbappe already doesn’t want to play centrally. It could even evolve more from 433 with a false 9 to an out an out 442 diamond with an attacking midfielder.
I don’t see two star players in a side as a problem. Kenny/Rush, Owen/Gerrard, Gerrard/Torres, Suarez/Sturridge even Salah/Mane and that’s just here. Klopp has had Reus/Lewandowski and Reus/Aubamayang.
A question that we’ll never have to ask
I don’t think any of those pairings come close to Salah and Mbappe. Not in terms of stature, exposure and certainly not salary. And we didn’t sign any of them as a ready-made superstar and nor did Klopp at Dortmund. Some of them became superstars during their time here or under Klopp with most then going on to be even bigger stars elsewhere.
It’s of course possible but two of the biggest and highest paid players being here at the same time means at least one, if not both made their name here rather than elsewhere.
It’s all a moot point of course but those comparisons are way off what we’re talking about here.
Only Rush/Kenny was a partnership at a side as massive as we can be if we can recover from this season and get back to where we have been over the last couple of years or even progress further. You think we can be one of the world best sides (think the way Barca dominated a couple of years back) without having top stars?
And Salah basically made his name here so confused on that point.
Zaha wants to leave but nobody fucking wants him, it feels like he’s been leaving for the last 50 years.
Leeds are in negotiations for the transfer of Harry Wilson. [@Mercado_Ingles]
Is that a legit/reliable source? Otherwise you will be hurting your dear friend.
Straight swap for Raphina please Leeds.
Let’s throw in Origi while we are at it 
I simply think the vast majority of our stars are either homegrown like Owen and Gerrard or they arrive as good players and are made into stars here. A £20m deal for Thiago aside that’s pretty much how we operate. And on that basis I can’t see Mbappe arriving here any time soon.
Fucks knows if he’s reliable. Had some news article attracted to the tweet. At least I posted it in the unreliable area of the site 
Had a look at that one on the Twittter account (Liverpool Transfer Room). Couple of Twitterers asked if it was a reliable source and the reply was “The source tends to take news from elsewhere and report it as their own”. Pretty much par for the course in these ITK’s Twitter accounts I think!
Fits in nicely with the Raphina the other way rumours though, so lets hold onto it it at least for something to talk about while there is no decent football on 
Hold on there. Origi is the hors d’oeuvre in our offering to PSG for a certain M. Mbappe.
I think this time he will leave, and he’ll end up taking over residence of Don Carlo’s Crosby abode.