Liverpool Banter 4

15 Aug 2026 08:01:34
Ed001 if a lot of reports are true and we sign Mbaye and Barcola and let Gakpo go to spurs are you concerned about the experience we have in the wide forward positions.
I know Barcola is very experienced for his age but still a new league for him and Rio and Victor Munoz and Mbaye all very young and Rio is the only one with Premier League experience and I think he is way off being ready for first team football week in week out.

{Ed001's Note - I don't know enough about either player to have any kind of opinion on them in any way.}

15 Aug 2026 03:09:40
Question for ed001 - you think bezos/Amazon interest in LFC is to try and wrangle LFC streaming rights for Amazon?

{Ed001's Note - I have no idea. It doesn't seem like it would be worth it for Amazon though, in that case. The club has been at the forefront of moving to an independent streaming model, but the income is unlikely to be enough to make a difference to Amazon.}

15 Aug 2026 10:09:50
Ed1, it's been known that FSG have been looking for investment or some sort of exit strategy for a while now.

Do you have any idea why they chose to go with this investment by the people led by the Bhatia guy? Is it because the money was right for them, or is it more about the fact that Bhatia used to own a football club in the UK, so he has some idea of what it takes to own a football club?

{Ed001's Note - I would think that money was the main reason, though also they would have presented a plan to move the club forward to make them all even more money in the future.}

15 Aug 2026 10:49:02
What do you know about Bhatia Ed? I don't have any friends who is QPR fans. So, everything I know about the guy is from Google.

{Ed001's Note - absolutely nothing, sorry.}

15 Aug 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - AK7 has posted a new article entitled, The Nuclear Option: Cavenagh Walks In

15 Aug 2026 02:28:08
Victor, you’re a good man!!
I’d be happy with the winger options if we pull off the double. 😳
from PSG.
Sell Gakpo, as it looks like he is talking to Spurs, which is about his level, but that would definitely mean we need a striker.
I like the idea of Marmoush joining the club.

15 Aug 2026 07:55:45
From Vic’s update yesterday, Shug, I think buying 2 wingers (possibly Mbaye and Barcola) would result in the sale of Cody.

I guess AI has seen enough in preseason from Koumas that he can understudy Isak until 2027 when Ekitike is back? Munoz too, who comes across as a DJ20 sort of player?

I guess if you include Wirtz and Szob as forward options in the front 4, we’d have Rio, Wirtz, Dom, Barcola, Mbaye, Koumas, Isak for 4 positions, with Ekitike to return.

Could be enough, but depends on injuries, I guess.

15 Aug 2026 08:06:40
I think Gapko leaves and the two wingers come in. I think we are pretty much done in the transfer market.
Nyoni will fill the cap for Jones should he leave. If high bids come in for Mac, that may force our hand into a replacement, as I expect Elliot to leave as well.

15 Aug 2026 08:15:14
Would a) the club buy a player to fill the gap of an injury of 3 , 6 , 9 , (?) months, knowing the first choice is hopefully going to return (or they hope) as good as before?
B) Would a player come knowing he's the stop gap for a 3 , 6 , 9 , (?) month injury and he'll be benched on the player's return?
C) Fill the gap with an up and coming youth, or loan.


Surely any deal has to be sweetened, so much it makes it all unfeasible!

15 Aug 2026 08:41:02
This isn't a Jones defence as I think he's only a decent squad option, but over the last two seasons he's featured in 56% (25/26) & 50% (24/25) of Premier League minutes.

That's a hell of a lot for just a squad member. Bear in mind Endo's is 4.9% and 7.6% of minutes in that time, and any other player deemed as a squad player comes nowhere near either.



Personally, I think someone would need to be signed to replace Jones, and Nyoni takes Endo's plus others' game time.

With the way Iraola wants the midfield playing, I'd envisage Macca, Wirtz and Gravs' game time being managed more, with them having their minutes reduced with bench options; otherwise, they will end up run into the ground.

15 Aug 2026 09:48:55
That's a good point, JK23. I think AI will use Szob in the two, far more than Slot did, allowing for more rotation. I reckon he'll have the most minutes from himself, Grav and Macca in there, with Nyoni definitely getting more game time than Endo.

I would like to see someone else come in, just to offer more flexibility in terms of personnel but also tactically.

Do you target someone who immediately comes into our best 11 but costs a premium, which also has an eye on maybe Macca leaving over the few windows, or a solid versatile option who accepts rotation?

14 Aug 2026 22:44:05
Cheers for the update Vik. Don’t know much about Mbaye. Not sure I’d be letting Gakpo go for Gim tbf.

As all the newbies myself included ran Robbo, Carra, fields, bed away, I’ve not heard or read anything from the first 3 for ages.

14 Aug 2026 23:16:31
If we get Gim, we win the league. Unreal player.

15 Aug 2026 07:55:33
Gim-Li?

If so, he's got incredible strength and stamina. Not great in the air though and apparently has a drinking problem.

15 Aug 2026 08:01:08
No. Gim is his first name. Tbf is his surname.

15 Aug 2026 10:11:36
At least we're not signing Gimp, we don't want someone else like Macca who spends all his time on the ground

14 Aug 2026 20:23:21
Hi all, updated this again after looking at who Iraola is actually trusting in pre-season, because that matters just as much as transfer rumours.

Nyoni is the big one. He's had roughly 166 minutes, started twice and Iraola has publicly praised how comfortable he is receiving under pressure and how well he's adapting to the press. That makes me think if Jones leaves we don't need another attacking 8. Nyoni can take some of those minutes. What we would need is more specifically a proper 6/8 who can defend transitions.

Rio has also had around 166 minutes, Koumas about 225 and both have been used with senior players. That makes me less convinced Liverpool spend £100m+ on Barcola and then another £40-50m on a second winger unless Gakpo/Chiesa/Elliott also leave. Muñoz + Rio + Koumas already gives Iraola young wide depth.

So Barcola still around 50% for me. He's the elite-output signing, not just another squad winger. If PSG get towards £100-110m it makes sense.

Lamine Camara around 30% if Jones leaves. He makes more sense now than Bergvall because Nyoni already covers the progressive/attacking midfield role. Camara gives you the 6/8 profile, physicality and ball-winning we're actually missing.

El Mala around 15%, mainly if Barcola fails. Dortmund have already established the €50m+ price and walked away. Great profile, but with Rio developing I don't think Liverpool need both him and Barcola.

Fernández-Pardo around 10% for the same reason. Good value and covers three attacking positions, but becomes more logical as a Barcola alternative than an additional signing.

Defence is different. Ndukwe has had 300+ minutes and looked good enough to be useful, but he can't currently play competitively because of his work permit and is expected to go on loan. Chambers has had around 196 minutes at CB/LB and Iraola praised him, but I still wouldn't want to go through a full season relying on him as senior CB cover.

So I still think Liverpool need one CB/RB type. Not another £60m young CB because we already have Jacquet and Leoni developing. More likely an Araújo-type opportunity: experienced enough to play immediately, versatile and financially sensible.

That's why Héctor Fort around 10-15% makes some sense at €10-15m, although he's more full-back than CB. Quansah around 5-10% is worth watching only because Arsenal are now negotiating with Leverkusen and exposing his price, but paying the buy-back now would be very unlike Liverpool.

So for me the squad logic is now:

Elite winger needed.
Proper 6/8 if Jones goes.
One versatile senior defender.

I'd no longer prioritise another young attacking midfielder because Nyoni has probably earned that pathway, and I wouldn't buy two expensive young wingers unless we lose another attacker because Rio and Koumas are clearly being given a chance.

Cheers me Dears

14 Aug 2026 23:21:34
What rounding mechanism did you use with those percentages? I can't imagine the chances of Barcola and 50 percent even.

14 Aug 2026 23:32:58
I'm so confused with all these percentages. No idea what they mean.

15 Aug 2026 00:02:58
1 issue with your 2nd paragraph there on wingers, you cite the use of Rio and Koumas in pre-season as reasons to suspect we won't go for Barcola plus a RW. By that logic, in order for you to be convinced we are actually moving for Barcola, we'd have to what? Not field any whingers at all? Play 9 men? What are we doing here?

15 Aug 2026 01:06:18
No idea what you're talking about with the percentages, or, to be honest, at all.
Players playing so many minutes, and the manager praising them.
What would you expect a new manager to do, come in and lay into the kids, slagging them off?
If the full squad was back from day one, the minutes would be completely different.


Jones has played, Gakpo is only back and has played, Chiesa has played, Endo has played. Supposedly they are out the door, what does their game time mean?
Ndukwe played full games even though we knew he can't play for us...?

15 Aug 2026 03:06:36
Since FSG took over Liverpool we've used pre-season as the time to put young players in the shop window, so it's probably more likely Koumas and Nyoni will leave the club based on previous seasons.

15 Aug 2026 07:31:23
I can see Koumas leaving but I doubt Nyoni would.

15 Aug 2026 07:56:51
Meaningless calculations to justify a position.

Nonsense to me, moving on.

15 Aug 2026 08:14:39
What rot! Nyoni is not an attacking midfielder.

15 Aug 2026 18:29:16
Might have just sussed it. The OP has asked ChatGPT what the chances of signing each player are, and that's AI's predictions for the move. Then the old copy/paste and over here for a hero's welcome.

14 Aug 2026 21:24:17
FSG have always been open to the right investment opportunities and therefore I chose to believe that FSG did test the waters regarding an exit strategy after Chelsea's forced sale and INEOS investment in Man Utd. This investment may be a result of that "public flirtation" at that time?!

14 Aug 2026 23:29:46
If this is their exit strategy, they have made sure that we have the best and richest owners.

15 Aug 2026 00:27:37
Don't know about the best, defo the richest. I'm not convinced, it is an investment, so they will be looking for a return at some point. The fella who going to become vice chairman, previously of QPR, why didn't he invest in them and get Bezos onboard there?

15 Aug 2026 02:17:04
Scouse John L8 - The football landscape is significantly different to times when buying smaller clubs to try and build them was attractive, i.e. Man City even as recently as 2008.
1. The valuation gap between clubs like Liverpool and QPR is enormous, so only the very richest people can get involved with the biggest clubs now. A 200m profit from selling QPR holdings just isn't worth the time/work compared to potentially billions from Liverpool.


2. FFP rules mean developing a club from QPR's level into an investment that would interest someone like Bezos would require possibly decades of well-executed strategy followed by tangible success. Wealthy owners cannot simply buy success as they used to be able to - certainly not at the level City's owners did. Even clubs like Newcastle have found FFP to have utterly wrecked their plans of dominating (buying) football.

15 Aug 2026 06:40:31
I concur VV.

If I have read the tea leaves correctly, 1892 Holdings will be the new owners sooner than later. The good news is that it's a consortium and not a straight private equity setup, so there won't necessarily be a strict exit timeframe, which PE expects.

The Mittal and Facebook elements of the consortium are family offices, so they can plan as they wish.


The third, and dodgiest element, is K5, which is a PE fund with Bezos as its principal client and investor. They will need to exit within 7-10 years at a profit as per investor agreements.

If there's going to be any disruptive element, it'll come from Baum (K5) being on the board. Keep an eye and ear out on this name in future.

14 Aug 2026 19:27:46
A break from Barcola, but how long must we wait for City’s decision on the 115? It’s been an eternity already and still nothing.

14 Aug 2026 19:54:32
I think we need to rename 115 to CXV given how long this has been going on.

14 Aug 2026 19:58:57
Citeh's multitude of international lawyers 1, FA 0.

We are all going to get vetted old waiting for Citeh to get their suspended fine.

14 Aug 2026 20:01:47
Hughsie needs a break, he's had two 30 minute phone calls this week. Needs a kip, the poor lad.

14 Aug 2026 20:05:02
City's goal was always to drag it on as long as possible until a more pro-Qatari government was elected.

Have to remember this isn't just about cheating at football, they're also accused of corporate fraud, so cases with HMRC can drag for a long time and get delayed a lot, and while HMRC aren't involved now, in the event that they're found guilty it can be referred to HMRC to pursue for corporate fraud and tax evasion - so they need to be sure they've dotted all the t's and crossed the i's because the implications can be very serious.

14 Aug 2026 20:30:16
City will probably get sorted before the overpriced fella from PSG.

14 Aug 2026 20:49:37
As long as it takes for the league to think enough time has passed that nobody will really care about the corrupt slap on the wrist City will get.

14 Aug 2026 22:44:15
City haven't dragged out anything, the case was heard by a panel of barristers, independent of any party. Where the complete f*** up was, the panel weren't given a time frame for a decision, which is ludicrous. When the decision is made, and if it's guilty, then you'll see City's lawers drag it out. It'll be end of this decade before it's finished.

15 Aug 2026 03:08:34
City definitely have been dragging it out. One of the charges against them is failure to cooperate lol and it's likely that one will end up being found guilty.

14 Aug 2026 19:25:02
Hey Ed's and itks, sorry I have been scrolling down posts but could not find the answers. The site has been absolutely busy.

If we were to get barcola, are we still looking at right winger, or is Rio ngumoha considered a starter for this spot? I am hoping we get a right winger, preferably rayan or even mbaye. Is the right wing position dependent of finance of gakpo even thought he is predominantly left sided.

Thank you

{Ed001's Note - we will try to sign a right winger not sure who though

14 Aug 2026 22:51:18
Mbaye.

14 Aug 2026 23:49:38
And Mbaye not?

You hedging your bets there, 1jj?

15 Aug 2026 03:42:42
Now that we have a shed load of cash, can we buy the players back that we never replaced? I'd love to see Gini and Fabs back.

15 Aug 2026 07:57:54
Set your sights higher, WDW. I want Rushie, Barnes, Stevie and God.