The injuries are too big a problem to keep Keita on.
Not only is he unreliable but at some point they could significantly affect his ability to play at the same level.
Chamberlain shouldn’t even be considered. He hasn’t had a good game in midfield for nearly 5 years and up front we have loads of options. I’d sooner see Doak and Gordon get a chance than see Chamberlain kept on as 6th choice at best.
The problem is with a squad this big already giving new contracts to players who do not contribute very much does create a blockage in terms of bringing in new players. If we are intending a bit of a midfield overhaul there is value in keeping a player like Keita who does what we’re supposed to do well because it makes the training go better and it’s easier for the new guys to pick up the expectations. But that means others have to make way. This is a bloated squad and the only way to make room for new faces is to make significant cuts. If you keep Naby you have to be ruthless elsewhere.
It’s also not FSGs methodology. They want the wage bill out on the pitch contributing. That’s true of all clubs, but the heavy incentivisation we use to manage the wage bill also speaks to this desire.
I love Naby. I think he’s a cracking player. But you are better off with a player half as good on a third of the wage available twice as often.
I think FSG would not want to invest further millions on a player when it’s very likely the majority of that wage would be spent rehabilitating him from injury.
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!(https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/svg/1f6a8.svg) ‘Yunus Musah is Jürgen Klopp’s latest request to reinforce the midfield’. [via@fichajesnet]
When I see tweets like this, not withstanding they are probably bollocks, it makes me think two things.
Firstly, I don’t think this is really how the clubs works regarding transfers.
Secondly, if the club has slipped into a methodology whereby Klopp is naming specific players he wants, something has gone wrong in the process.
The way I think our recruitment works best, and the model most clubs follow now, is that the manager identifies the need and the criteria the player needs to meet, and the scouts/data provide a list of players who fit the bill.
I’ve never been a fan of the autocratic manager model.
No & I don’t think Klopp would go naming specific players as if to say it’s my way or no way but I think he does have a big say in the player we end up pushing for from the list the staff mention, after all the player will be his to manage. Everyone in that boardroom would have to come to a unanimous agreement.
Who’s to say Musah isn’t 1 of those names on the list that fit the bill.
Musah is athletic and has an engine. He is also young and a little raw. I’m sure he is on the list. Where on that list, I have no idea.
We should change this thread name to the Unreliable Fitness Thread.
Probably next to the other names which fall in the lower range of £30-40m players…or otherwise known as the most affordable list.
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I think that is on the very high side of what they’d hold out for on Musa. For a variety of reasons, Valencia just havent been able to get big fees for their better players in recent seasons with far more established players than Musa barely even reaching the lower end of that.
The only 2 I can think of in recent years gone by are Guedes and Rodrigo, I think both went for somewhere between 30-35m.
Musah is younger, bit more hyped up and contracted for 3.5 years still. It’d be mad to think they’d accept anywhere less than that.
Yeah. Guedes slap in the middle of your range and Rodrigo at the lower end. Other comparable sales they’ve had in recent years are Feran Torres to City, Soler to PSG and maybe Kondogbia to Atletico and all of those were significantly cheaper still.
I can kind of undersand offering keita a new deal,not only to give him another chance to prove himself but i’d imagine it would probably be more about protecting the £50mill+ investment they’ve made in him,to be able to sell him at a later date if he still carries on like the previous 4/5 years he’s been here.
That is if he accepts an extended deal,from what I’ve read over the past few months,it sounds like he’s going to walk for free in the summer,if rumours are to be believed.
Ox on the other hand,i think his age,injury record and the players we have in similar positions (as harsh as this may sound) mean he should be released to free up wages for new midfielders. I’d put keita in the same bracket but his age and our need for CM’s and transfer money work in his favour.
Oh well. Seems that FSG just wants to have full control of the club, hoping someone with a lot of money to buy a small stake of the club at a huge price.
Does he really think there are rich people to be fleeced like that?
Fleeced how? If someone or a corporation is brought along as a minority share then whatever percentage they decide to invest in will be based on the valuation of the club surely?
I can’t imagine a new deal would be about protecting value in that way, it doesn’t sound like it would make financial sense as the fee he would command in that situation is unlikely to be enough.
I can’t really see another reason the club would want to keep him though (other than the fact our midfield is aging and injury prone and out of sorts atm),it would be a massive risk resigning him for a few more years,based soley on what he’s given the club on the pitch for the last 4 years.
I’m sure theres some element of making sure we don’t completely lose 52mill,for arguments sake,if he signed a 2 year deal at say 150k a week,thats 7mill+ a year,if they sell him for half the 52mill we payed for him next summer,we’d get atleast £18mill back to add to the transfer pot next summer,I’m not saying thats the sole reason for keeping him but i wouldn’t be surprised if its part of the reason,considering the fact we rely a fair bit on selling to buy during transfer windows.
The only explanation I can think if true (that doesnt involve klopp and co putting their full faith in him sustaining his fitness) is that Naby is not receiving offers that are anything like he wants. We then offer him something that is much reduced compared to his current deal, likely with big incentives for actually staying fit and playing that makes the cost of him staying and not playing much reduced.
I can’t imagine he’s receiving robust offers. He can’t stay fit!
