neither is good enough even as just stop gaps.
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Is he a secret red? 
https://x.com/SMXLFC/status/2089328210584449209
I donât really know why I posted that tbf, probably because the idea that we should sign him is constantly hovering in the air.
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Iâd be surprised if he wasnât a Blackburn Rovers fan given where he came from, but I guess stranger things have happened and the two cities arenât that far apart.
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Well I have the same thinking as you. Nyoni could improve a lot and Iâm sure the coaches know better than me. Perhaps he just needs more confidence to show his real potential or we are correct.
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Feels very dismissive to have Grav and Macca listed with the others. Grav was the YPotS and in the TotS, rightly so and we all lauded Slot for his role in solidifying Gravs position. Macca has been great for us mostly too. Looks very clearly in need of a rest and suffered from being overplayed by Slot as a fair few did last season.
Yes both had poor seasons last season, but so did everyone else apart from Dom. Both players have shown quality that shouldnt be dismissed. After all in the league winning season Szob was seen as the weakest of the three, and now hes seen as the only undroppable one. Strange the difference a year makes. Who knows what weâll think of them come next summer.
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For CB, I actually think we have played our cards well if Quansah remains at Leverkusen until the lower transfer clause is active at the start of next season. Our options then will be Jacquet and Leoni, plus one of the following:
- Virgil and Ajauro for ÂŁ55M, if both perform at a high level.
- Virgil and Quansah for ÂŁ50M, if Virgil continues his level and Quansah has developed well.
- Ajauro and Quansah for ÂŁ105M, if Virgil decides to leave or level drops.
Not to mention, we do have Ndukwe and others in the wings.
If not for the last minute Arsenal interest, things are not as bad as it seems.
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Sure, but itâs the Arsenal interest which is the key factor here and providing cause for concern.
Iâm also unimpressed by fairly reliable reports around that potential deal that we have no intention of activating our first-refusal clause should Leverkusen and Arsenal agree a fee, which rather suggests that, no matter how many of us fans would wish otherwise, the club doesnât currently have him on their radar.
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Surely they just need to be homegrown. Doesnât matter if theyâre British as thatâs irrelevant.
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People need to catch up to where I am regarding Virgil. Everyone seems to be falling for his lingering reputation from several seasons back. Heâs been way below that level for at least two years now; describing him still as the best in the league (or even one of them) is laughable.
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My opinion is he is past peak, and last season we didnât treat him right as he had to play every minute at his age. The team was set up with more holes than Swiss cheese and the defence was left exposed and he looked worse for it. They all did.
Fast forward to this season, my sober assessment of VVD is that he is a good player, past peak, but still a good player. Good in the air. Good at passing. Physically imposing. Experience for days. And on the downside, since his peak he has lost a step. In fact, looking at the 45 mins with Jacquet, one of them reminded me of VVD, and it wasnât Virg!
I donât see a future at Liverpool beyond this season for Van Dijk. But I think he can play his part in helping to bring some younger talent through, while also doing well enough for us to leave with his head held high. Hopefully with some silverware too.
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https://share.google/1wJsEEppUL9x7qo5c
Liverpool âclose to zero chanceâ of signing new midfielder â even if Jones leaves
So your saying thereâs a chance ⌠
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Keep Jones then. We seem averse to having a squad.
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Yup, they just need to be homegrown. No need to be british.
However, I think it is going to be really tough for the European teams to get any foreign talented players ( like those in the Americas or Asia or Africa) under 18. So the sweet spot is 18 years old where some of the 18 year olds are already first team players and their prices can be pretty madâŚ
This ruling essentially forces the European teams to develop their own young countrymen.
And our academy is good in producing players that can comfortably start for a team outside England but somehow wouldnât be considered for a top 6 team in England. That is where the shortfall comes in where we have to buck up our youth recruitment and improve the youth training so that the youth can be a viable squad option.
The only notable top 6 PL starting lineup player the academy has produced in the last decade is probably TAA and thatâs really itâŚ
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I guess thatâs where the multi club model comes in - you can sign promising young players to one of the teams in the group that can sign them and then move them to a European club if/when they are ready or sell them on
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I was thinking that would have been ideal for Ndukwe. We could have had him playing at a sister club in Europe enough that he qualified for a work permit come January.
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Do you know why we abandoned that model, despite having gone to the trouble of bringing Edwards back to oversee it?
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Love u but disagree.
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It isnât laughable, it is measureable. He still had the best duel success, dribbled past and aerial duel won percentages numbers in the league. All three actions that are important and can be measured meaningfully.
No defender maintains form for long when having to manage constant transitions. If you put any of Arsenalâs CBs in Liverpoolâs defense last season they would have been a disaster.
The trick is comparing him to whatâs available currently not what he was 5 years ago when he was barely human.
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