Liverpool rumours 2

04 Oct 2024 17:12:27
Hello ed2. Do u know of any interest from lfc in mason melia? plays in league of ireland, only 16/ 17 and v highly rated. word is there string of top english clubbs after him, man city being strongly linked. I don't think he can sign til he 18 anyway.

{Ed002's Note - I am afraid I don’t know and don’t know who to am. He would nee to wait until he is 18.}

04 Oct 2024 18:56:40
Thanks for response 👍.

04 Oct 2024 19:03:35
Talks are arsenal and Brighton are the two with the most significant interest apparently. as a person who's a soft spot for St Pats I don't see him good enough for arsenal / liverpool.

05 Oct 2024 05:56:52
Have u watched much of him stenova? he supposedly v good prospect, possibly 1st league of ireland player to go for e1m.

07 Oct 2024 13:04:53
Most recently as Friday in a local Derby v Rovers. He's a prospect and a very good league of Ireland player. in relation to some of the players we have I think he's a fair way behind. Best of luck to him and I hope he proves me wrong as I'd prefer to be cheering on one of our own (irish) :)

03 Oct 2024 10:05:29
Question for Ed001 (and others), we've been linked today to Karim Adeyemi (via BBC Sport Gossip, but the source is show as the S*n hence I am not clicking any further! ) .

Not asking whether the link is real or not, but would you say he is a good candidate to take Salah's place in the squad in the future?

{Ed002's Note - Karim Adeyemi (LW/S) Versatile forward who took a long time to regain his form since moving to Dortmund and is now becoming much more consistant - indeed becoming prolific when playing on the LW now. Prior interest of Atalanta fhas gone. Offered to Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool through a third party last season, with Chelsea still sending scouts on a regular basis still. An option might be Juventus as they wish to add a LW and have also been sending scouts. Liverpool opted for Chiesa and Arsenal took Sterling on loan and have Martinelli already so they have no urgent need for a LW but do need to add cover on the right. Spurs have an option on Timo Werner but do need cover at LW. Chelsea have an obligation to buy Sancho if certain conditions are met but are looking at options to replace another player in the summer, hence the scouting continuing. Wildcard would be Bayern Munich as a replacement for Kingsley Coman. Borussia Dortmund will not look to sell.}

03 Oct 2024 11:39:45
Thanks Ed002. Could he be a RW solution if Slot wanted a like for like (albeit less developed) replacement for Salah? He is left footed but no idea if he has been deployed on the RW at all at Dortmund or Salzburg?

{Ed002's Note - Yes he has played some games on the right, but at RBS he was effective as a striker and at Dortmund as a LW - and Liverpool have just added Chiesa so another LW is certainly not needed. If Salah is to depart a like-for-like replacement still available and looked at before would be someone like Bakayoko.}

03 Oct 2024 12:03:39
Thanks Ed002, I'd forgotten about Bakayoko! Hopefully he can continue to kick on this season.

{Ed002's Note - Whilst most of the players looked at for the summer are no longer options, Bakayoko is one of those who remain. No doubt the club will look to other options aswell if needs be.}

03 Oct 2024 14:27:07
Doak is better than Bakayoko.

03 Oct 2024 15:45:20
We need a striker. Nunez hasn’t worked out unfortunately.

03 Oct 2024 17:55:37
We have plenty of goals in the team and Nunez has shown when he is relaxed he can score. Salah was deemed a failure at Chelsea and many people on this platform were quick to point that out at the time.

Nunez seems to need to feel loved to settle and get more game time to find his rhythm.

He also takes defenders away to create space for other players.
We as fans are too quick to throw players on the scrapheap and watch with envy when they go and play well elsewhere.

When Nunez does get a run and starts putting the ball away he will become unplayable. Until then we have a very capable team who are still winning matches.

03 Oct 2024 21:56:20
@Mbwell77, Salah wasn’t effective ar Chelsea but basically hit the ground running at Liverpool, coming off the back of a good spell at Roma, which presumably, bolstered his self belief.

Nunez has been at Liverpool since June 2022 and we are still saying he’ll come good ‘when he does this’, ‘when that happens’ etc. People say he should be given a run of games but never really say why. If he was consistently impressing in training or when he gets a start he would have had an extended run in the team by now. It looks like (admittedly after only 9 games this season) Nunez gets a run out if Jota is in need of a rest (much the same with Tsimi for Robbo) . I want everyone who plays for Liverpool to play their best and be brilliant for us but I get this gut feeling (might be what I eat) that there’s just something about Nunez that just isn’t quite right.

04 Oct 2024 07:28:33
Agree WDW he is not prolific enough and not the right fit for LFC.

{Ed001's Note - but he is wrong about Nunez only playing to rest Jota - Jota got dropped after poor performances for Nunez, and only got back in when Nunez was ill. It is Jota who is now playing the back up role. Now is the chance to find out how Nunez does with a run of games. So far the team has looked better, much better, with him there rather than Jota, but it is very early days.}

04 Oct 2024 10:39:02
Gravenberch this season has proven that if you put a square peg in a square hole then he fits.

WDW, I would completely agree with your view if we hadn't had a change in manager. We have to give Slot the opportunity to find out if Nunez works in the system he wants to play.

As Ed001 has said, the team has looked better with Nunez in it. We're all impatient, and hate phrases like "transition" and "rebuilding", as we want to win every comp every year. Fortunately, Slot has been left with a decent squad and he's getting us playing a (similar but slightly different) tune. I don't think Slot will persevere with an off key player once he's had the chance to see him.

Summary - the clock has reset with all players at the start of the season due to the new manager.

04 Oct 2024 13:13:22
Darwin scored 18 times for Liverpool last season. I don't understand the negative opinions about him . Pretty respectable stats if you ask me.

04 Oct 2024 20:37:49
Sorry, @IDOG, I’m not saying Nunez is bad, what I’m saying is that parts of his game aren’t good enough and we can’t rely on someone who isn’t consistently playing at the level we need if we want to be serious about winning PLs and CLs.

04 Oct 2024 20:33:20
Mistake on my part Ed01 - I thought Jota had picked up a knock and was slack in checking what I thought was true was actually true. That said, I still think Slot sees Jota as the preferable of his two (main) options for the spot and I definitely think that after over 2 years at the club if Nunez was going to be a regular starter then he would be a no brainer to start regularly.

{Ed001's Note - the only reason Jota was starting is because Nunez had been away with his country and got back later. Slot never got the chance to try Nunez in pre-season to assess him, but was quick to put him in the moment Jota's level dropped. That suggests he prefers Nunez.}

05 Oct 2024 00:57:46
Nunez is a player I have championed from the start. Anyone who watched him at Benfica will know he definitely can finish and when on form he is unplayable.

Granted we haven’t seen enough of his best form but he came into a team that had played a false 9 for 7 years and didn’t know how to use him. We had Salah and Diaz cutting in and invading his space because that’s what they’ve always done with Bobby dropping deep to leave the space for them.

That and his sending off against Palace gave him a bit of a confidence crisis which it took him a while to recover from.

Now there is so much pressure on the guy because every time he is offside or misses a chance the world seems to want to jump on him. It became Haaland vs Nunez from the start and the media have picked Haaland who seems to be beyond criticism whereas Nunez is forensically criticised for everything he does. By his own fans a lot of the time.

If we allow him to play his game and just stop tearing the kid down he could be a very special player.

If he leaves I think we will end up regretting it as he bangs in the goals for someone else.

05 Oct 2024 04:13:13
I rate Nunez highly, the lad just needs a bit of luck. Sometimes he is frustrating but nobody can fault his effort and I think our attack looks so much more dangerous when he's playing. I do think he lacks concentration at times though but there's a player in there trying to get out and I hope that player comes out this season.

05 Oct 2024 09:19:45
He needs to be putting a lot of work in to timing his runs. With VAR you have to be perfect otherwise you’ll be offside.

05 Oct 2024 09:04:26
I’m not as convinced as you are Ed01, but, as I say I think that there is a question mark about both of them as a regular starter, for different reasons, if we could find one I would invest and keep one of our current two as a back-up with Jota being the likely candidate for me.

{Ed001's Note - where did I say I was convinced?}

05 Oct 2024 11:22:47
Fair point Ed01, perhaps I should have said that I’m more less convinced than you, if that makes sense. interesting that Jota is back in for today’s match and good to see Cody and Curtis getting a start. I sent a post into the banter page over night which didn’t seem to make it onto the board for a bit of fun about who would start for us and what the score would be and I had Nunez in the starting line up.

{Ed001's Note - it might have been placed on a different page. Probably match posts page.}

05 Oct 2024 12:12:47
No worries, thanks.

06 Oct 2024 12:47:36
Well he played Jota again yesterday, so who knows.

06 Oct 2024 21:41:51
ed2 - excuse my ignorant but what does "offered by a third party" mean and what are their function?

{Ed002's Note - Third parties are registered agents or lawyers if in Germany or Switzerland. They are allowed to negotiate transfers and employed by those players who represent themselves or have family represent them.}

02 Oct 2024 08:52:30
Eds do you know of any strikers we have a genuine interest in? Not completely convinced in the ones we have at the club right now in terms of injuries/ inconsistencies.

{Ed002's Note - No, and it is not the priority.}

02 Oct 2024 11:30:34
We have every rival looking enviously on our front 6 and the firepower we have and we're here asking for more. It's so weird.

As Macca highlighted in the presser yesterday, we now have a coach who is working on patterns of play. Let the man work and see how this benefits the forwards even more.

02 Oct 2024 13:21:51
Cheers ed, not sure how it’s a weird question as we don’t have 6 strikers and I wasn’t asking asking after left or right wingers, just specifically strikers.

02 Oct 2024 15:28:16
It’s not weird Murfo, it’s a valid question and I agree that Nunez will continue to frustrate the fan base with his inconsistency and Salah I believe will move to the KSA next summer.
Immediately you think there are definitely 2 places to fill imminently and I would be surprised if the club was not looking at the likes of Sesko, or Simons and a Salah replacement, I believe Ed002 said the club are actively seeking a Salah replacement. I still think there are 4-5 signings to come in the next two windows.

{Ed002's Note - Neither Sesko or Simons have been considered as options.}

02 Oct 2024 19:24:20
The glaring hole is DM/ CM. We're well covered everywhere else.

It will be interesting to see if Nyoni and Morton get game time but I'm still expecting a new arrival in January.

02 Oct 2024 23:29:58
I'd like us to sign Jhon Duran if it doesn't work out with Nunez this season. I agree we need another Dm option but I don't have a suggestion for that role unless Zubimendi has a change of heart. I read somewhere that Bajcetic had been fined and dropped for Salzburgs champions league game for missing training sessions. If true then he's looking less and less likely to be what we hoped he would.

03 Oct 2024 01:22:11
We’ve conceded 3 goals in 9 games, that’s 1 goal in every 4 and a half hours again not PL and CL opposition. With Slot setting the team up slightly different to Klopp we seem to want more ‘complete’ midfielders, so I’m not sure about the out and out DCM requirement. On the rare occasions we might need one we have Endo as our primary ‘go to’ nan with Baj, presumably, coming back next season. I don’t see the sense in spending £50m+ on someone who might play less than a third of our games. I’d say we want a complete CM rather than a DCM.

02 Oct 2024 21:29:28
Eds, rather than asking about updates on progress in contract negotiations of VVD/ TAA/ MS, have you any insight into the level of apprehension inside the club that they will not re-sign? Is there a level of acceptance that they will not, and the club have plans in place for that eventuality?

{Ed002's Note - The club have players they are considering if any were to run their contracts down and leave and will continue to look at others.}

03 Oct 2024 09:41:12
Red-Will-is-1, I read that he was fined for coming late to training due to him misplacing his boots, not that he missed training totally. It's also unclear if him dropping to the bench for their CL game is tactical or due to discipline issues. He still played about 15mins in the second-half of the game though so I'm guessing that it was more tactical. Nonetheless, this issue of punctuality has been an issue, even when he was with us, so it may be a cause of concern.

03 Oct 2024 10:48:06
I just don't see Nunez coming good. For all of his moments of brilliance, there are far more breakdowns of play or misses.
You can't teach intelligence and patience.
The writing is on the wall for Nunez IMO.

03 Oct 2024 15:46:40
Duran would be a very good signing I remember being linked to him loads when he was still playing in the usa. Mbeumo I think is the most Liverpool style forward I’ve seen in a long time I’d pay big money for him.

03 Oct 2024 20:15:28
Hello Vango, nicely stated as ye can lead a horse to water but ye can't make it drink it sadly. One solution could be what Sir Bob said to Rush when he first started in the first team and could not score for love nor money in his first six games, like a fish out of water!

Sir Bob could see that Rushie would lay it off inside the penalty box, so he took Rushie aside and said to him "if ye inside the penalty box, and you don't know what to do with the ball, just stick it in the back of the net, and we will discuss ye options after the game" in other words shoot on sight and don't think about it, just do it naturally, and the rest was history!

I read all soccer autobiographies and got all the above from going to the Library, this was in Sir Bobs and Rushies.

Do you know how Rushie played the offside rule? it was very, very simple he said in his book "if I could see the defenders number on his shirt, and he could not see my number nine shirt, I knew I was in business! as simply the centre half would be in front of him i. e. crosses etc, when I could not see the defenders number on his shirt, but he could see mine I was probably offside! I get castigated for relaying autobiographies, but the football knowledge and football acumen is so, so true and always will be in any era.

05 Oct 2024 09:23:24
You can teach players to time their runs, it just needs repetition to reinforce the message.

30 Sep 2024 23:43:35
Gluey Ed's just wondering had you any idea on the contract renewals for the 3 guys who are up next year, all 3 have made positive comments about staying but is that nothing more than negotiating on their end.

{Ed002's Note - I am not aware of any change to what I have previously said.}

01 Oct 2024 11:03:16
An Ex Villa player claims that it is known that salah is going to SA at the end of the season.

{Ed014's Note - have they even got a league in South Africa?

01 Oct 2024 11:18:50
I hope we stick with them.

01 Oct 2024 12:12:59
Wasnt it south america ed14?

{Ed014's Note - good point mate! 😂

01 Oct 2024 12:37:47
SA= Saint Albans for a day out at the Cathederal.

{Ed014's Note - 😂😂 what have I started! 🤦‍♂️

01 Oct 2024 13:37:26
Yes we do have a league in South Africa.

{Ed014's Note - I know mate I was joking 😉

01 Oct 2024 22:04:49
I'm sure the San Antonio Spurs would love Mo, but not sure he will want to play Basketball.

02 Oct 2024 02:20:31
Banter on the banter site - made my day that has 😁👍.

02 Oct 2024 17:39:32
I didn’t know Salah was Mexican.

29 Sep 2024 07:38:49
Goodmorning Eds and reds. Any truth in the rumours that we and Man City are interested in Torino's Samuelle Ricci for dm? Also Ed002 if you know, are we actively seeking for a dm or is Slot happy for Gravenberch to be a permanent solution to the problem? Thanx in advance.

{Ed002's Note - Samuele Ricci (DM/CM) Milan and Napoli are interested in the Torino DM player. Has been watched by scouts from Spurs and Fulham (who saw him as a potential Palhinho replacement). Considered as one of the options to join Manchester City following the injury to Rodri - but not first choice. Recently two Liverpool scouts took a look at him. A wildcard might be Inter Milan.

Liverpool need to add a DM player.}

29 Sep 2024 18:41:08
I agree Ed, we need cover and someone to play along side Grav.

28 Sep 2024 21:01:27
Samuele Ricci looks like a top midfielder. Has Liverpool ever shown any interest?

There's some chatter he could be a Rodri replacement but maybe they will go for Frankie de Jong.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool scouts went to Turin to watch Samuele Ricci in a game on the 15th against Lecce. He is one option for Manchester City.}

27 Sep 2024 22:24:22
Hi Ed,

Do you know if liverpool are looking at left backs to eventually succeed Robbo? Any names that you know of we may be interested in? I know Alphonso Davies is out of contract in summer, would his wage demands be too high?

Cheers!

{Ed002's Note - Antonee Robinson (LB) Fulham are still open to selling but have priced him as €45M which Marseille saw as far too high in the summer. Newcastle interest went with the signing of Hall. Manchester United and Liverpool have sent scouts and he is seen as an option for both.
Milos Kerkez (LWB) Only joined in the summer of 2023 after picking Bournemouth over Lazio for game time. Down the list for Chelsea who have a much preferred target. Manchester United have been sending scouts. Potential Robertson replacement for Liverpool.

Alphonso Davies is not an option for Liverpool.}

28 Sep 2024 10:55:12
I'm a big fan of Robinson. I've heard people say with the ball he's not good but when I've watched Fulham he seems involved in most of their good attacks. Probably has less chance to show his offensive side playing for a club like Fulham compared to Liverpool. I didn't think we would be after that style of left fullback since Slot joined though as he's very similar to Robbo and I thought we'd be going for a more centre back kind of left back. I'd be made up if he joined though, I think he's very underrated. Has a good engine, his running with the ball is like a younger Robbo and he has a great delivery. Kind of side foots his crosses similar to Trent.

28 Sep 2024 20:48:13
Thanks Ed.

I hope we can find alternatives to kerkez and robinson. Personally I haven't saw either as good enough.

29 Sep 2024 14:07:12
Robinson just turned 27 in Aug as well.

29 Sep 2024 12:51:14
No interest in Ait Nouri from Liverpool Ed?

{Ed002's Note - Not right now.}

30 Sep 2024 22:48:16
Don't rate either Ait-Nouri, Kerkez nor Robinson. Bang average defensibly, IMO.