Ok, I’ve got it ‘we’ buy unknown rubbish and turn it into shiny global things (except for Thiago who was a shiny global thing and ‘we’ will turn him into a genie). 
I don’t understand where you’re coming from. Alisson had literally only one season as a starting goalkeeper in Europe when we bought him. Promising maybe, but I certainly don’t remember anyone knowing anything about him apart from those who hang on to every morsel of transfer rumours. I would say at the time, players like ter Stegen, Oblak, Neuer, de Gea, Courtois were spoken as the best in the world. He definitely wasn’t in that list.
Also, while Virgil was certainly talented and again was spoken of as a great player, he was never considered among the best in the world until he came to us. He was barely spoken of until he went to Southampton, where he only completed 2 full seasons before coming to us.
They did cost us a pretty penny, but that wasn’t because it was fully established that they were world-class players. They were great players, with the potential to become world-class, although they didn’t have the platform with which they could show that. Contrast that with Mbappe and Haaland. The former has more than proven himself repeatedly over the last 4 seasons. The latter, although he has only had 1.5 seasons with Dortmund so far, has had the track record over that time to show it. The difference in experience between the two of them also shows itself in the difference in the expected prices for them.
Not sure what you’re on about, really. A more persuasive argument would be to point out that Mbappe’s situation bears more similarities with Thiago’s, in that he’s near the end of his contract, just like Thiago was, so the potential for the price to be palatable is there.
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Knowing him though, he probably just picked up another knock…
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So there’s a long list of players LFC would never sign because they are too good for us?
There’s a point beyond which players become so expensive and bring so much baggage as to no longer be a good investment. Think of Neymar, Pogba etc. In these cases the money could be better spent elsewhere. Our club has always operated this way and have generally avoided marquee signings. However, in certain circumstances, when a deal can be reached and the player is a good fit, we do act. Barnes, Torres and VVD being examples of success stories, Collymore, Carroll not so much.
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More because they are too expensive for us. If Mbappe suddenly reveals one day he’s a massive Liverpool fan and is willing to play for us for free, we’re not going to turn him down. It’s all about the costs.
I think one thing that’s often neglected when discussing transfer prices is also the fact that when we brought Alisson and Virgil in, it was in a new world of transfers. It wasn’t just because of the Neymar transfer as is commonly said, but also from the increases in revenue commercially in TV deals across football.
That extreme example aside, if we can get Mbappe in for around what Keïta and Alisson cost, with wages one tier down from Salah, I’m thinking we would definitely say yes. But at the £100m+ mark, it’s an impossibility.
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You do realise this wasn’t in the original proposition, nor was global stuff or world class, what ever that is?
It was a bit of fun which was taken to extremes by others, which made the whole thing rediculously, funny. 
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Collymore. The ultimate “should have been” player. Had absolutely everything. He was like an English Brazilian Ronaldo. Power, pace, left foot, right foot, he had it all. Had huge mental issues though but at the time they weren’t recognised or accepted as being a reason for effecting his game.
Today clubs would do more to help the player which obviously in turn would benefit the club.
To clarify I’m referring to his depression, not assaulting women.
I think he’s a pleb at core but there are elements that could have been worked on that would have enabled him to reach his potential and help the club win trophies.
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Never seen a player with as much natural ability as Stan Collymore. Was convinced he was the missing piece.
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I think it’s fair to say that for the most part, it is not what we have done, to date.
Even then, there are exceptions. If the premise is we don’t buy world class stars, we make them… then VVD and Alisson are two recent examples of buying the best in the world, or among the best.
My memory goes all the way back to Keegan leaving. We then invested a huge sum, £440k if memory serves me right, on Kenny.
What to say that sort of model won’t repeat, and we lose a big fish for a large sum, only to invest in another big fish?
Finally, what we have tended to do need not be an indicator of what we will do, as we move forward. I think we will predominantly grow stars from the academy, or sign them young and grow them, and the very best ones will find their way into the team. This will be supplemented by buying excellent players, sometimes at a pittance, but as it is getting harder and harder to do that, we will also splash the cash.
Our future methodology will be all of the above,
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LFC have never had a commercial juggernaut in place like they have now…!
If Mbappe is the one that fuels it up in the global garage…
Get him on a free and he will be on his way to Anfield soon enough…
Whether he can dislodge Harvey and get a game, is another thing :0)
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Should be pretty reliable and seems a decent deal. Not unexpected and the arrival of Elliot as ready for first team minutes surely spells then end of Shaquiri’s time at Liverpool
He leaves with a handful of great moments, a thought there could have, should have been more.
I will wish him every success at Lyon
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Shaq has way more talent than his career shows. He seems to work hard but not sure why it feels he has not fulfilled his potential.
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Who would have predicted that we’d ultimately take a loss on the Shaq sale after what we paid for him a few years ago?
Oh well. He had no future here, but he was a professional at every step of the way. Wish him nothing but the best.
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First of three hopefully before we see at least one more come in.
Played a key role in the Barca comeback and that double against United will be a big highlight of his time here. Reasonable fee for someone who hasn’t really hit the heights and we needed to move on.
Good luck Shaq.
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Next,
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Also reported in the Athletic (Pearce). He writes Liverpool will “weigh up their options” if Origi gets sold as well. Elliott is Shaqiri’s replacement in the squad, Kaide Gordon likely to get game time in the domestic cups.
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It would be nice to see Origi moved on now for the sake of everyone involved. I’d hate to see his value plummet further, his confidence likewise, and I’d hate to see Klopp trying to shoehorn him into the side in that state. Regardless of his possible departure, I don’t see anyone arriving, it’s too late in the window.
Since we’re talking about departures, I’m a bit surprised that there hasn’t been any concrete interest in Phillips. A few PL clubs look like they could use a centre back who would defend with his life, I thought that he would have been gone by now.
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