Moussa Diaby?
Henderson is Fabinho competition and cover.
Gomez is Trent’s competition and cover
We do need another midfielder Tchouameni is the man 
He is at the moment but…
a) he’s not nearly as good there as Fab is
b) we quite often want both of them on the pitch together
c) he’s 32 in the summer and we need some younger athletic legs in there
Tchouameni is the perfect option given his defensive credentials but also his ability to play more like an 8 too as @The_Hermit mentioned.
We’ve also got Keita with just one year left on his contract in the summer so a big decision needs to be made there and that’s before we know what’s going on with Milner and Ox. Even if Milly sticks around another year, you’d imagine it’s on a reduced contract with a bit part role. Ox I reckon must be off.
So we’ve Elliott, Carvalho and Jones all under 21. We’ve Milner, Henderson, Thiago all over 30. And in between we’ve just Keita, Ox and Fabinho with no certainty that the first two will be here in a years time. Definitely scope for someone in that prime 22-25 age range that we like to shop in.
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Agree with all those points. Yes, Gomez is cover for Trent at the moment, but I’m not sure that is what Joe wants. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
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I like Diaby, but it feels like a player we won’t go for this summer. Three years left on his deal, maybe not quite had the type of season that makes one think he’s definitely ready to make the step up now.
However, for sure one to follow next season, with an eye on a move summer 2023. Another season like this in terms of numbers, maybe with a few more goals and some good CL games - with two years left on his contract.
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Rubbish this.
He’s still REALLY young and given a lot of his price now is based on what people expect him to be, I doubt he’ll get any more expensive with another good season under his belt. Hell, given his contract situation he might even be cheaper if we wait another 2 seasons. He’ll still only be 21 at that point, and so maybe it’s in everyone’s best interest for him to stay at dortmund for that period and continue to develop at a high level side and then move on when he’s going into the last year of his contract. At that point he’d still be younger than Tchoumeni is now.
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By the time he’s 21 only three or four clubs in the world will be able to afford him and we won’t be among them.
Not much we can do about it though.
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I know purchasing younger players is slightly different, but surely there is some mitigation against his price increasing that much by it being the beginning of the final year of his contract.
It’s a case where we tell Dortmund we want him, but agree to not move next summer so they can have one more year with him as long as we have some provisional agreement over the price in the following summer, which allows dortmund to not have to worry about the implications of him “running down his contract.”
[/football manager simulation]
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Yeah I agree with this. I also think Bellingham’s price right now is so high because he’s seen as something of a goal scoring, all action midfielder but I think that’s a bit of Bundesliga being “easy” and youthful exuberance. He will develop into a more controlling midfielder which generally is less sexy but possibly a better fit in our midfield.
Also, Dortmund have shown themselves to be happy to negotiate the sales of their players. It’s right in their business model to bring guys in at lower costs and sell them for more, but it’s also their business model to make sure the sale they make is the one the player wants. They actively sell themselves as the club that can bridge the gap between C-tier clubs and A-tier ones. If Bellingham tells Dortmund he only wants to move to Liverpool (not he saying he would or should, but if he did) then Dortmund would work with us to get that deal done at the right time.
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Sadio Mane is 30 and Robert Lewandowski will be 34 soon. Both have one year left on their contracts.
Lewandowski made it clear today that he wants to leave this summer already.
It’s been reported that Bayern are interested in Sadio.
Not going to happen but I wonder if anyone here would be interested in a straight swap (no money involved)?
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I wouldn’t do it, no. Lewa is awesome, but for us I don’t think it would move the needle that much. And I think it would impact Salah’s role and status as main goalscorer. Plus I think it would reduce our options, in terms of versatility in positions up front.
But I like the question, it’s a fun little dilemma to ponder.
Would you make the swap?
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Fuck no! Crazy to be shipping out such a great player for us to bring in someone 4 years older. Now someone 6.5 years younger that could be different: For eg - Kylian for Mo, yes.
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If Lewandowski was of the same age as Mane, then I would consider it, but he will be 35 in the next season, so don’t really see any value in it as it stands
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He’s also a completely different type of player, which would involve an overhaul of our style of play.
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Mane’s better than Lewandowski
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Cant see why anyone would think that is a move that makes sense or worth asking about…
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no.
i love Sadio, theres so many players to love in this Klopp team, but i think Sadio might just , maybe, kinda, could be, perhaps, the epitome of this era…supremely talented, yet gives every thing and beyond like a sunday league player who cant kick and is just getting a run based on effort… i just cant get onboard with anything related to Sadio not being at this club…
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You echo my sentiments perfectly - I’d just add that if there’s one player who can be said to have been the game-changer for Klopp’s era, it’s him. Without him, we wouldn’t have got into CL in 2017 and we wouldn’t have made signings like Salah, Van Dijk or Alisson.
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