This was interesting from The Athletic re the profile of LB we might be looking at, Gutierrez looked decent when we played Girona though I wonder if their relationship with City would make that a hard deal to get done.
Girona and City are operationally firewalled and have no cooperation in how they are run. This is a requirement for Girona to have competed in the CL this season
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See we shouldn’t have worried at all since, of course, City has no record of trying to circumvent rules to advance their own interests 155 times.
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I like both of these, and Huijsen has a release clause too that comes into effect in the summer.
I see Kimmich still isnt nailed down anywhere. I like him.
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I’d be wary about buying wholesale from one club with a decent season under their belt.
I don’t expect we will anyhow. Though Huijsen may be worth it with the clause. They will play silly ball if we went after 2-3 and it seems rumours are pointing elsewhere anyhow.
It would reflect pretty well and badly at the same time on Hughes, though. 
Signing the same players he signed for his old club, while generating them a hefty profit…
Maybe he can sign their equivalents for Liverpool’s current level in the summer - though maybe both Huijsen and Kerkez are good enough for Liverpool now. Judging by Robertson’s decline, I’d say that Kerkez could walk into Slot’s first eleven without any issues.
Huijsen would be the third best centre back at the club at worst but that’s not a slight on him - Liverpool and Arsenal are probably the only PL sides whose first elevens he doesn’t walk into on current form and when everyone’s fit.
As for Gittens, I think @Sweeting replied to me the other day that he wouldn’t count as homegrown, so the club would probably have to look elsewhere (and there might be a reason why they looked to sign Gordon last summer washes hands).
A lot of players will be entering their last two years of their current deals, so the club might look to move on a few this very summer:
The Contract Three notwithstanding, I hope that Konate extends (he’s listed as having his contract expire next year but I think his contract runs until 2027), as well as Bradley, Jones and Elliott.
Gomez’ and Tsimikas’ situations depend on what happens with contracts and transfers of defensive players, I guess. I wouldn’t have many issues with Diaz, Jota and Endo leaving for different reasons, though. While I personally like them and their effort very much, Diaz is not quite the winger Mane was, Jota is too prone to injuries and Endo is short of quality Liverpool require. I don’t expect all of them to leave within one transfer window, of course, but I don’t think any of them will be Liverpool players come the summer of 2027.
I hope you’re not expecting Salah’s eventual replacement to be the same player he is.
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Obviously not - I spoke multiple times about how highly I regard Mane and how he was (and still is) the most important signing of Klopp’s era for me. A consistent goalscorer from flank who carried us to CL qualification in 2017 despite his late season injury, a true big game player who shone in a team that had the likes of Salah, Van Dijk and Alisson.
It’s not Diaz’ fault that he’s not Mane but after impressing me initially and getting injured at Arsenal, I never got the impression that he managed to find the next gear for Liverpool. He might be a victim of having to play with Nunez instead of prime Firmino, though, it will be interesting to see whether he’ll be offered a new contract in the summer.
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Depends what Mane you’re talking about. The one who played his last season on the wing was generally very poor and only picked up when they put him through the middle.
Then again players all have purple patches.
To be honest, I don’t recall him having a bad final season (I had to look it up, though). I wish all of our wingers posted the same number of goals and assists in their poor seasons like Mane did in his final season… That’s what having a good winger does to you after years of watching a series of incompetent or injury-prone ones.
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I see that Theo Hernandez’s (27) deal is up to 2026.
Very offensive full back (teams can sometimes balance it with a more defensive type of RB), great numbers, wonder if he’d also make our shortlist. Think we were looking at him when he was still at Real, after a loan somewhere.
Or we’d opt for someone younger and more room for improvement.
If we haven’t already got the cloning tanks set up I’ll be holding Hughes fully responsible.
Younger, but also presumably less history with serious injuries, and FAR less off field drama and fewer questions about professionalism.
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I’m talking about his last season as a winger. He played his last season mostly through the middle.
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I don’t watch Serie A but I did hear a journalist who covers Italy talking about how disappointing Hernandez has been this season
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He was hauled off at half time a couple of weeks ago along with Leao after having put in an effort that was roundly condemned as bordering on unprofessional.
None of us should be judged based on our worst day, but this is far from an isolated incident. For as good a player as he can be there is a pattern with him of being a billy big bollocks for whom the actual professional part of football can get in the way of the fun that comes with it.
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Perfect for Manchester 'nited though…