Think Gakpo is going nowhere from his LW position under Slot.
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All I can seeā¦ Our forward line will be a nightmare scenario for the defenders playing for the oppositionā¦ I mean, who do you attempt to mark or close down at any one time :0)
Stylistically he has a lot of Bobby about him, which make it very compelling to think of him playing that role. Itās not really what heās done before though, which is why people are assuming this is with a view to being an attacking mid, but then Bobby hadnt done the Bobby role before either until we put him there.
Either way it is going to be interesting to see what changes Slot wants to make from last year.
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I think Szoboszlaiās played a similar role a couple of times for us this season, hasnāt he? Iād imagine itās more about there being an option in the arsenal for if we should want it.
The early (rumoured) activity feels to me like weāre just looking to bulk out key areas such that we have the players for Arne to be able to rotate more frequently, e.g. in this case Wirtz and Szoboszlai to rotate with each other, or in another case, DĆaz and Gakpo.
I wonder if the more substantial makeover might be with the forward line, as in terms of age profile, itās probably our worst area (once we fix our left-backs). I think the youngest we have is NĆŗƱez (26 going into the new season), then Gakpo next, a month younger. We then have Chiesa (27 turning 28 in October), DĆaz (28, turning 29 in January), and Jota (28, turning 29 in December), before Salah, of course.
In terms of cashing in on any of them, this might now be the time, and it wouldnāt be too hard to imagine (for me at least) that weāre listening to all offers, but selling the one whom it makes the most sense to, if we have replacements we have an eye on at the right price and profile. I donāt think any of them bar Salah are necessarily safe unless thereās no interest, but Iām not sure we have a deliberate target to sell any particular one of them either. It seems to be an area where weāre looking at all the possibilities.
Thereās also interesting questions regarding the kids, since if we may think Doak is ready-ish, then we may want to edge out one of the wingers instead of NĆŗƱez as is commonly suggested on here. Danns and Koumas are probably a little further back in the pipeline, not just age-wise but also because of their slower development relatively speaking. Gordonās at an unfortunate point where heās just lost so much time to injury, and hasnāt done well since. Between all of them, there isnāt really a convenient ābridgeā age-wise to our current 6, so it might be what weāre looking at doing here, if there exist opportunities.
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I dont think you spend 100 and something million quid on a player with a view to just giving you options. Especially not when you have a 70 odd million quid one already in that role. That is part of why it is so compelling to think of him being seen as a change to the way we set up our front line. But honestly who the fuck knows what Slot is thinking.
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Iād agree, but I canāt remember if it was JĆ¼rgen who said that the 10 was the most important position in his team, and that in many games, we lost out a lot when Szoboszlai wasnāt at 100%, you can see why we would want that.
That said though,
/end thread
I had the feeling Slot was using the post-Tottenham matches not just to give his key players a rest but also to try some new things. Szoboszlai at no. 8, though, is something I canāt get out of my head - and that was prior to the revelation of Wirtz negotiations.
Slotās remark about Szoboszlaiās lack of goal involvements in the first part of the season was telling - I guess he wanted him to be his De Bruyne of sorts. Eye test from when he played for Hungary and Red Bull clubs made me believe he would be an excellent attacking midfielder but the evidence from his two seasons at Liverpool suggests he might be better suited to a slightly more withdrawn role (which genuinely never occurred to me given how well Mac Allister, Gravenberch and Jones played).
Provided Wirtz signs, financial output suggests that he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet. I feel that leaves Szoboszlai as a high quality utility player, rather than one with a fixed role, given his energy and tactical adaptability. Slotās gonna make me look stupid when he decides not to buy a striker and use him and Wirtz as dual false nines to defend the title, isnāt he?
As for the kidsā¦ If Endo stays, that probably means BajÄetiÄ goes out on loan again. Danns surely goes out on loan if he resolves his back injury. Doakā¦ I feel he will be sold. Usually, when thereās that much talk regarding a playerās departure (from the well informed journalists, Iād add), it usually turns out to be the case. Maybe his injury history has something to do with that decisionā¦
In any case, I havenāt changed my belief that Liverpool will be selling a lot of players to buy big. I just wouldnāt want to see some experiment like selling Diaz and using Szoboszlai there.
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This is probably the truest point! Anyone who is definitive about their claims of how we want to play and stuff like that is probably going to be wrong. Thereās far too much uncertainty, and also such claims also ascribe far too much certainty about Arneās plans.
Iām guessing itās really just as simple as clubs meeting Liverpoolās valuation of the player. After all, Ā£30m (as was reported, I think) is a lot of money for a player whoās 20, and hasnāt shown that much capability in terms of end product yet. Weāve also shown with Clark that weāre not afraid to sell someone who looks like a promising youth player. Solanke another one whom many may not have expected us to sell, given that heād only been with us for a year.
But letās also not forget that itās probably confirmation bias. Gomez, Kelleher, Phillips, etc. have been reported about through the years, not to mention that Salahās been going to Real Madrid for virtually his entirely career here. Origi is another one who comes to mind.
If we want to be rigorous about it, we should catalogue all the claims made about various players over the years, and see how many of them even come close to reflecting reality.
No way weāre selling Szoboszlai, but itās not like he has to play all the time either.
Thereās a perfect spot for him at this club that isnāt āhe needs to be an automatic starter and play all minutesā and if it isnāt that itās suddenly āwe have to sell himā.
Let them fight for game time, itās exactly the type of battles and depth that a football club needs (not in all positions of course), if we want to win the biggest prizes every season.
Itās also pretty clear to me that if something unpleasant doesnāt happen, we are not bringing Wirtz to get another āoptionā. Whether thatās as a single #10, in the left half space, together with Szobo or at he expense of him, heās been brought in to be a key player between the lines.
Judging by Slotās quotes after Brighton when asked about a journalist on Szoboās performance in a more withdrawn role, I got the sense he tried to calm it down. Not sure if heās a fan of that idea. Canāt have too many āwildā players either, I know thatās what most fans would ideally want, but to play this kind of football we also need players who can play slow in a quality way. For example how Slot challenged Gravenberch to improve his passing.
It also depends very much on the structure and partnerships in midfield.
Itās easier said than done, oh he can run all day, just turn Szobo into our āValverdeā. I made a similar joke recently, but weāll see what else can Szobo do. Either up his numbers and creativity from the #10 spot or maybe evolve into slightly something different. Wirtz will most probably be part of the post-Salah era, if things go to plan.
Szoboās pressing is top, that doesnāt mean if Wirtzās is a bit lesser in that aspect, that we canāt make it work.
What is clear to me from what Slot is saying all season is that he wants more control and more domination, he wants us to play better more often and win more convincingly more often.
Chelsea will need more than one striker. Delap deal will be done relatively cheaply for his 30m pound release clause. This is a club that spent in excess of one billion pounds over the past 3 windows. So if thereās a transfer they want, financially, Chelsea can make the deal.
I believe Szoboszlai will stay as well. Heās a versatile midfielder who gives us more options in attack. I could easily see Wirtz and Szobo playing in the same lineup, with Szobo on the left flank and Wirtz more central. Or you can play Wirtz closer to the striker and Szobo and Gravenberch or Szobo and Mac behind him.
Might be worth a shout to see if we can get Goncalo Ramos from PSG.
He shouldnāt cost too much and probably might be a cheaper option for us as a CF.
Interesting. From what I read, Ward wanted Goncalo Ramos as his first choice but Klopp preferred Nunez so thatās who we bought. This is a chance at a redo and Ramos is only 23 so he still has room to grow further as a footballer and certainly wants a chance at more 1st team football then he currently gets at PSG.
Iād skip Ramos.
By the way, Nkunku was also considered at the time.
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55m might be too much for him.
I was more wondering if PSG wanted to cut their losses on him and probably do business at 40 to 45m
Would make a good replacement for Jota.
Not that Iām in favour of giving money to City.
But a deal for Jason mcatee might turn out pretty good.
Hardly any difference between the two. Iād rather go with Cherki considering the ridiculous fee wanted by Bayer.
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One thing we donāt typically do is spend for the sake of spending. I imagine in the eyes of the data guys thereās a big difference between Cherki and Wirtz. Thereās a reason everyone wanted Wirtzās first and then moved onto Cherki.
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Hypothetically, but if it boils down to a choice of Wirtz OR Cherki + Ekitike, for the same sort of money, what is more appealing?
Edit
I want the answer to be Wirtz + Nunez, with his head screwed on, listening, working hard, full of confidence, and smashing it for us! But in all likelihood that ship has sailed.
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