Who would you buy?

I bloody hope so

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Hope all those claiming in the summer ‘we don’t need to buy any midfielders’ are feeling contrite. We need to make sure from now on we are continually turning over the squad each year - we should bring in 2/3 players immediately capable of taking starting roles each year, in addition to the young talents that we hope will reach that point after a couple of years.

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This time it was Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz. Two first teamers. With Carvalho and Ramsey as young players with potential.

The next year? Yes, two midfielders, maybe even a third on a Bosman if the reset in the engine room goes deep. Kone, Fernandez, Joao Gomes, Caceido, Bellingham. Plenty of good midfielders out there to improve us and give us much more athleticism too.

Following year maybe it’s someone to replace Mo? Or another central defender, like Konate, to replace one of our aging players there?

I’m on board with the suggestion. Two first teamers a year, with a smattering of top youngsters too.

It is doable. And it keeps things freshened up.

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Don’t forget both VVD and Matip are advancing in age. We’re going to need another CB soon. Unfortunately given Gomez’s durability he’ll have to be a TB/CB backup

Exactly. I’m surprised at how quickly you grasped that.

Do we trust FSG to back Klopp with the money to make the signings that we need though?

Their ‘frugal’ nature has led to a very slow start for us. We’re currently in 10th place and we’re going to miss out on CL places at this rate.

Will Jude Bellingham be willing to choose LFC over Real Madrid if they can offer CL play but we can’t? I’m not so sure of that.

I feel like we need help sooner, like in this year’s Winter Window. Bellingham would go a long way but we might have to pay extra premium to bring him in early.

We could do with at least 4 players in my book - CB, 2 midfielders and a forward.

Our centre back options don’t look so strong anymore - Matip and VVD are declining and Gomez is clearly not good enough to play centre back regularly but looks okay on the right. Happy with Konate.

We need two athletic midfielders to give us some energy.

Another forward to replace Firmino.

That’s pretty much the bare minimum I’d hope for. Signing Bellingham and making no other significant incomings would see us in at least another year of transition IMO.

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Before us signing Konate (and just while we were selling Lovren), I thought it was time for finally a proper RCB solution, either from whithin (someone improving/staying fit for longer periods or someone new). We needed better quality and a much more fit option to partner Virgil, who himself wasn’t/isn’t getting younger.

You always wondered if Matip could stay fit longer (proved here and there) or if Gomez could make next steps. But we simply can’t afford to wait too long. It affects other areas near them, too.

But RCB was always a tricky area with Trent close, Salah in front of him, etc. Lots and lots of covering for that side fell on Hendo in last years.

Konate is showing promise and quality in certain aspects of his game, but I’m not yet sold on the idea that he’s this next Vincent Kompany in the making. Good enough to remain here, not quite earned the constant playing next to Virgil in my opinion. But with the situations of Gomez and Matip, each in their own ways, it’s also a position worth following on the market in the next few windows.

As for midfield, I’m still going to wait a few more months as we get to spring to decide what I want us to sign. A dynamic midfielder is a must and that’s not today’s news. But I also think this Liverpool side came to a point in it’s evolution where something serious is also missing when Thiago isn’t there. So I’d say one midfielder for sure, maybe two and if it’s two, then I also want another technical/playmaking one (regardless of us having the likes of Jones, Elliott and Carvalho, that cannot block us signing another Thiago-type stylistically if we need one, they’re all different in their own way anyway).

Ox and Keita will leave, Phillips will hopefully finally be sold, then the other two questions over the current squad remain over Milner and Firmino. Do they get new deals or not.

On the premise that you can’t do it all at once, if limiting it to two signings to impact the first team squad each year:

  1. Two midfielders, ASAP, one in January if we can, and another in summer. Refresh the engine room. Top priority.

  2. Following year, Mo replacement. There can be an overlap while the newer one gets up to speed. Same year, Matip replacement, another like Konate would be great.

Going three years out introduces too many variables, as we don’t know who is available, and also we don’t know how the team is faring. But for the next two years, four windows, the four main signings should be as above. Plus a smattering of talented youngsters who have enough potential that they can either force their way into the first team, or be squad men, or be sold on for a profit if they do well but not quite well enough to break into our team.

It’s all doable. And to my mind it has looked like we have been doing something like this anyway, and refreshing and starting to reinvent the team, only it has got bogged down due to some missteps in midfield.

That’s the priority for correction.

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I think this space was targeted to be Gordon.

At first I thought you meant Anthony Gordon

See Mbappe rumours swirling apparently :grimacing:

Former France star Emmanuel Petit has criticised Kylian Mbappe, saying that the Paris Saint-Germain forward ‘annoys everyone’.

Mbappe - who reportedly wants to quit the Ligue 1 giants in January and with Liverpool his only option - was critical of coach Christophe Galtier’s tactics following PSG’s goalless draw against Reims last weekend.

The 23-year-old posted an Instagram story that included a picture of himself in action accompanied by ‘#pivotgang’ in a dig at the way in which Galtier had used him.

:joy: :joy:

Not sure what I find funniest, Petit saying he annoys everyone…DM reporting we’re his “only” option or #Pivotgang with just an insta post of him. :rofl: :rofl:

Mbappe Salah swap? Klopp will sort that attitude out.

I mean he could very well sort that attitude out…but I guarantee you he cant sort out those wages he’d be wanting.

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PSG insistent they won’t sell to Madrid which means they’ll probably sell him to Madrid.

Could gobble up much of that Bellingham budget though.

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Mbappe is a major bellend. No thanks.

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What was notable on Sunday was how often Jesus knocked Virgil as he was shielding the ball, or trying to play it, and how effective it was. You can argue that being as short as he is he had good leverage to knock Virgil off balance in a way that larger forwards who have lost physical battles with him have not been able to. But it was still noteworthy that he even thought there was the possibility of getting change out of it, and then how much success he had doing it.

And of course, not once did the ref do a thing.

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Depending on results this season, I doubt we will be able to attract either him or Bellingham.
As long as Liverpool looks like a team in grave decline, I don’t think emerging (Bellingham) and established (Mbappe) stars will want to sign for Liverpool unless we give them absurd money, which I am sure we won’t.
I don’t believe the article claiming that Mbappe may want to sign for us. Right now, signing for Liverpool seems unwise unless we manage to turn the season around.

As for Mbappe and assholery, I cannot comment. Read too little about that.

Yeah, I am a bit depressed when it comes to football right now.

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I think we’re all depressed an disheartend at the moment…do we not start loooking at lower league clubs…to find the new ‘Robbo’ and others…rather than big big names.

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