I think if OX got sold,then any money from that sale will go towards a back up 4th place CB,either now or in january maybe,with the likes of Phillips,Grujic,Wilson,Karius,Larouci,Shaqiri and loans paying the costs of Diogo and Thiago,although i’d be happy to go into the season with what we have atm.
Another CB would be nice but using Fabinho as an emergency back up wouldn’t be too bad,he’d have TAA on one side and the luxury of VVD next to him,with Thiago or Henderson sat infront of him giving the defense a fair bit of protection and not leaving him majorly vunerable.
For Ox, unfortunately I think unless we receive an offer in excess of 30mil, there is no point in selling him now. And at this point, not sure many will take that punt on him but if like Wolves take him for 30mil, that plus Howver pretty much will pay for Jota which to me is good business. But anything less than 30mil, we would do well with a player for this season who is always motivated to play hard for us.
No idea whether to put any store in this but apparently a lot of talk in Turkey and few mentions in Germany. As we know it’s always our side that is last to know.
Edit; Real nice, positive, write up and with Wagner involved (who understands what Klopp wants from his CBs) I think I could believe in it.
Did not follow Kabak at Schalke but saw all of his games in Stuttgart in his first year in Germany and the boy is class. Very mature. Very talented. Calm. Scored some goals.
But tbh at the moment I am not convinced that we will sign a CB.
The combination of VvD + Gomez + Matip (+Fabinho) is perfect for Koumetio (and SvdB).
I think if a talented young up and coming CB such as Kabak or similar comes in then there is truth to either Wijnaldum or Ox leaving this window. Also that Matip will probably only have another couple of years here. 3 max and even then 1 or 2 would be as 4th choice. I think season 1 would be eyed at getting the younger guy settled, adapted and developed. Then season 2 (if it hasn’t happened towards the end of season 1) looking for him to get chances to take over from Matip as 3rd choice. By season 3 him and Gomez should be in proper competition over who partners VvD who Should, by then, be getting rested a lot more whilst the two younger guys build a partnership. Around then Billy the Kid should be around 19 (season 2) or 20 (season 3) and be ready to step up from 5th to 4th choice. Seasons 4 and 5 VvD turning 33/34 Should be getting rested and rotated more and more whilst the two younger guys hitting their peak play more and more till Virgil isn’t really first choice anymore. Virgil may then want one last hurrah in Italy or France or something but hopefully he can stay being the experienced leader for the 3 younger guys with Billy eventually pushing past him in the pecking order too. If all goes to plan and we buy the right CB now we may not need to buy another one for 5 years minimum. Maybe 10.
I would be astonished if we get him too. I mean, before this weekend I was thinking to myself, Thiago is taking awfully long I doubt anything will happen en 24 hours later, not all in the same time but you guys know what I mean, we got a young talented goalkeeper, a backup fullback, one of the best midfielders in the world and a bloke who can all positions upfront.
Fabinho can play CD if necessary so I’m perfectly fine to go into all competitions without bringing in another player but Kabak would be the icing on the cake.
If we sell Ox, especially to Wolves, does that money go into the repayments for Jota?
Honestly at this point if we buy a CB i dont think it would be a high price signing. Maybe around 8 mil or 10 mil in total value. Of course i dont know if they will be able to get a deal structured similar to how the Jota and Thiago deal was structured for a player of that level, but logic dictates that if we are getting a 4th choice option they would already come in knowing Matip, Gomez and VVD will receive a lion shares of the game time. Meaning they would be dependant on injuries or suspensions or cup games. The Colley or Mandi links seem more geared towards it.
Kabak feels like a big cash in for Schalke who at this stage if they are going to lose a player they will want some big financial consideration for him.
I’m happy as it is with Fab covering CB and even if Ox went I think we could be fine as is. But if we bring a CB in and Fab is no longer covering there then we start having a bit too much in CM so think Wijnaldum or Ox would definitely have to be moving on. I will probably be wrong and underestimating how much rotation is needed due to packed schedule. But I think if we sign Kabak or another young CB it’s because we think they are good and worth bringing in not just because we have a spot open.
Agreed. I would think it obvious by now that we don’t make signings just for the sake of it. We will only bring in a new player if Klopp, Edwards et al believe that that player is the right player for us.
I believe we will get a new CB because it almost doesn’t make sense not to strengthen a bit more when we have done so much already. With that, every position would have quality cover.
On sales though, if we hold onto players without an intention to play them then there is a real destruction of value.
Thus, the likes of Wilson, Origi, Shaqiri, Grujic, Philips, Karius and Ox should all be put on sale or loaned out. They aren’t even second choice right now
I can’t remember whether I heard or read it but we were interested a year or so ago and I wonder if the club would have another look. West Ham need money and I think he’s got good attributes that the club could work with. If the price was right. Kind of CB signing I could get behind.
I haven’t heard anything recently though…just speculating.
