FSG: If Not Sneijder Then Who?
THE January transfer window remains open for less than two weeks and, as such, the mid-season dash to splash the cash on squad reinforcements is reaching fever pitch.
Plenty of deals have already taken place, with Premier League clubs having splashed out over £47m on acquiring new talent since the beginning of the month, and that figure is bound to multiply before the window shuts.
Liverpool Football Club were the first to dip into the market in 2013, the club securing the services of England international striker Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea for a fee believed to be around £12m. Sturridge has settled well in his short time in the North West, scoring on both his full debut for the club and on his Premier League bow against Manchester United, so that piece of business looks like money well spent.
Further additions to Rodgers’s small squad are necessary however, particularly in the light of the departures of Joe Cole and Nuri Sahin to West Ham and Borussia Dortmund respectively. One player who is being linked increasingly strongly with a move to the Reds is Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder. Sneijder is certain to leave the Milanese giants during the window, with the fee set to be around £6m, and Brendan Rodgers is reportedly very keen to bring the Champions League winner to Anfield. But, does Sneijder represent value for money or is he another expensive flop waiting to happen?
Wesley Sneijder has been one of the best number 10’s in World football for over half a decade now. A first choice with the Dutch National side since 2005, Sneijder was an integral part of the Holland side which narrowly missed out on World Cup glory in 2010.
Leaving Ajax for a fee of €27m in August 2007, Sneijder signed Spanish giants Real Madrid. Originally assigned the number 23 shirt, Sneijder proved to be an instant hit at the Bernabeu as he registered nine times in his maiden La Liga season, helping Real to retain their title. After the departure of Robinho early the following season , Sneijder was handed the coveted number 10 shirt at Real, however he was sold at the end of that campaign following the election of Fiorentino Perez for his second term as Club President.
Sneijder arrived in Milan in August 2009 after Inter’s bid of €15m was accepted by Los Blancos (the size of the fee representing the desire for a total re-think at the Bernabeu) and, although he didn’t realise it, was about to embark on the most successful season of his career to date. Sneijder’s performances helped Internazionale to an historic treble; the Italian club won not only the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia but also lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time in 45 years. His performances drew personal accolades too, as Sneijder was named the best club midfielder in the competition by UEFA. The Italian media warmed to the Dutchman quickly and labelled him the “sniper”, a reference to his pinpoint passing and ability to score from outrageous distances.
At the end of the club season, Sneijder went to South Africa with the Netherlands where he continued his magnificent form into the tournament. As Holland progressed through the competition to the final, Sneijder was named as Man of the Match in no fewer than four of their matches and hit the back of the net on five occasions.
Following the tournament, Sneijder returned to Italy where he helped Inter to win the Italian Super Coppa, contributed to their run to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and was nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Since signing a new five year deal with Inter at the end of 2010 however, Sneijder’s star has faded alongside that of the club with which he’s been playing his trade. Inter have had a torrid time since Mourinho left them to go to Real Madrid, hiring and firing a host of managers in quick succession and have, until this season at least, struggled to maintain any kind of form or consistency. During this time, a succession of niggling injuries and a fall out with Club President Moratti over wages have seen Sneijder fall out of favour and become a bit part player at the San Siro. Sneijder’s last outing for Inter was at Chievo on September 26th and in total he’s played five times in Serie A in 2012/13, scoring one goal and assisting with another.
Now with Sneijder reportedly unwilling to take a pay cut from his £200k a week salary, Internazionale are desperate to sell the Dutchman. Galatasary have had an offer of £6.3m (made public) accepted for the midfielder and have offered Sneijder a package believed to be worth £100k a week to come to Turkey. Sneijder is reluctant however, and in the last few days the Reds have ramped up their interest.
The Anfield club has been burnt in recent times by taking on a seasoned pro at high wages, only to find that his best years are behind him and he has little left to offer ( I don’t need to name names, it’s obvious who I’m talking about). However, if it was up to me, I’d definitely take a risk on Sneijder.
If the club made a move to secure Sneijder, it would send out a signal to the players, the fans and the rest of the Premier League that Liverpool mean business now, not in a few years. At 28 Sneijder should still have at least three top seasons left in him. Yes, he’s had some injury problems but, at 28, who hasn’t? There’s has been a suspicion in Italy that some “injury lay-offs” have been enforced by Moratti, due to the lengthy and bitter contract wrangling between the club and their once star player and Sneijder doesn’t appear to show any signs of being a busted flush in the same way as a certain former Red. His loss of form over the last season and a half can, at least in part, be attributed to lengthy spells on the side-lines for one reason or another.
Liverpool’s transfer policy of looking to sign young talent is a sensible one, however we have been told that it is flexible and, that whatever the age, exceptions will be made if a player can add quality to the squad and can be purchased for a reasonable fee. Sneijder is that player!
He brings a host of experience which could really help with the balance of the team, has accomplished almost everything in the game, brings a winning mentality and, even if his level has dropped slightly since 2010 (as yet unproven), he is still top class number 10; a position in which LFC are desperately short of options.
This is the perfect opportunity for FSG to demonstrate to fans that they’re prepared to spend the money to take Liverpool forward; Sneijder is a player who can come in and make a difference immediately, added to which he represents a way to add depth in a problem area for a decent price. His passing in the final third would be perfect for the style of football that Brendan Rodgers wants to play and his prowess from set-pieces would be a more than welcome addition to our arsenal. In short, Sneijder can do for Rodgers at Liverpool what Sigurdsson did for him at Swansea.
£6m is nothing for a player of Sneijder’s calibre and his age would not put me off. Plenty of Dutch aces have come to the Premier League latterly in their careers and have enjoyed success. Davids, Bergkamp, Van der Vaart, Zenden, to name but a few. The Premier League should give Sneijder a new lease of life, a new challenge, a new league to conquer and a chance to prove he can cut it in one of the toughest leagues in the world so, if LFC can come up with the right offer, I wouldn’t really worry about his attitude being right. He’s a winner and that’s a trait that’s hard to shake.
New reports in Italy claim that Liverpool are prepared to offer Sneijder a similar deal to that of Galatasaray (up to £100k a week). That seems fitting for a player of his stature and pedigree at this point in his career. It’s unlikely that, with lack of interest from Chelsea, City or United, any Premier League club will offer him more. My only concern is that if the Reds don’t act quickly to bring Sneijder in, we could be beaten to it by Tottenham who are still, by all accounts, keen to replace Van der Vaart and desperate to stunt our growth.
You can catch up with Neil on Twitter @Neil980 or on his blog http://itsallinthegameblog.wordpress.com/
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Newcastle News 24/7
January 20th, 2013
FSG lack ambition and football knowledge . Not Sneijder nor any top top player will be coming with them in charge .We will always be also-rans with the yank clowns in charge
January 20th, 2013
Preach lad
January 20th, 2013
Liverpool will not get sneijder they need to sell some one first like coates . to go with there sell before buy policy. FSG are liars simple they have the money BS
January 20th, 2013
Everyone old enough in working places will know this little trick by FSG. Usually in companies, the bosses want to hire the young fresh employees using various reasons. But their REAL intention is to cut costs. The young ones ARE CHEAP.
Can you see it in FSG tactic ???? If FSG really serious about supporting LFC, we already have signed D. Villa, Llorente, and Sneijder.
Not Sturridge, T. Ince, or numerous under 10millions startlets !!!
Now LFC has 2 problems:
1) a very rich but stingy owner in FSG
2) young manager in BR that trying to use LFC as his experiment. Please, LFC is too big to use as ‘guinea pig’.
And yes, Tim Williams, please tell me how to speed up the sacking of BR and changing the LFC owner ????
I’m not trolling but these are my 2013 wishes !!!
January 20th, 2013
Totally agree with all
January 20th, 2013
Are u for real? Nope, it sounds like u have come on here straight from playing Champ Manager! Why would we have already signed those stars? Who says they would want to sign for us with no Champ League to offer?
And doesnt everyone think it’s a little strange that no other big clubs, who are currently in better positions than us, seem to be in for Sneijder, considering his class, and apparent low transfer fee?
January 20th, 2013
ACTIONS LOUDER THAN WORDS
FSG consistently claiming and promising LFC always capable to compete with everyone in transfer market = NOT TRUE UNTIL NOW
LFC stadium = NO ACTION UNTIL NOW
BR still there despite HORRIBLE LEAGUE standing, CUP K.O., and poor performance against our arch rivals = FSG is OK with LFC being a mediocre club provided it does not cost FSG more money
Then what happens to BR tikki takka ???? LFC is so poor until we have to use half-bake personnel from reserve that not EPL-ready.
Any genuine LFC fans will now in a very depressing period. Don’t you feel sad when Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea are MILES ahead of us ??? And you, Tim Williams, N. Petterson, Barua and co. please stop pretending yourself as a LFC fan.
LFC is moving BACKWARD with FSG and BR.
January 20th, 2013
I like your style Red and am in full agreement
Too many ‘fans’ are happy to sit back swallow whatever bull FSG spew at us , and wait patiently for years while their cheap inexperienced manager takes us nowhere
January 20th, 2013
This season IS the most depressing in living memory , i can handle a bad season , no big deal , but i cant see anything changing in the next few years
January 20th, 2013
if we get sneijder or not , im not going to measure fsg on this , i believe the club is going forward , not at the pace i want it to though , see im a typical scouse , i want tomorrow now , cos its hurting my pride to see no league title in over 2 decades , we sing ynwa , in this song it say = with hope in your heart , so today ive got hope that our club are moving forward
January 20th, 2013
I like your attitude. Not like a lot of other spoilt brat, Champ Manager playing, modern Internet ‘fans’ around here…
January 20th, 2013
We really need him indeed…YNWA
January 20th, 2013
Sign him now i love to see him with Gerrard and Lucas in the middle i we be happy to see him take no 10 shirt dn:t wast time he is a leader with General there i love that sign him once if u can remember no able play since that is good take that no 10 shirt get the guy for us
January 20th, 2013
Even Gerrard stated today “Liverpool are 2 or 3 big names short of being a top side ”
Gerrard knows it , FSG know it , everyone knows it , but FSG will NOT go and get them
For nearly 10 years now . Liverpool have been consistently let down by clueless yanks
January 20th, 2013
10 years and counting . When will the american nightmare end ?
January 20th, 2013
Stevie G. is right about needing 2-3 top class players to push for the title and top 4,but will fsg pay for them, NOT A CAT IN HELL’S chance they r H&g with a bigger pocket and tighter pants. We arent anywhere near were we should be and we aint goin to be until these clowns realise that LFC is the most historic club in the uk. We are suffering at the hands of these tightwads and things wont change until someone makes them understand what being in charge of a club like LFC means to the fans that support the club. DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WOULD FSG AND RETURN THIS CLUB TO THE TOP OR PACK YOUR BAGS AND CLEAR OFF. YNWA JFT96
January 20th, 2013
i agree , surely the rest of the fans must wake up and realise these yanks arent any different to the last lot ?
January 20th, 2013
spot on Rob
January 20th, 2013
If there was a time to prove that LFC’s transfer policy is not ” Set in stone” Ayre…. and that “I have the full backing of the owners” Brendan… Oh and ” We have enough funds to compete with the best” Werner… I guess time will tell
January 20th, 2013
what belanha from morocco