SO far this summer, despite four early signings, Liverpool have spent a net of just £3 million.
After bringing in Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure for a combined fee of just over £23 million, Liverpool have balanced their books with the sales of Andy Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey for just north of £20 million.
It is indisputable that Liverpool’s team needs strengthening excessively with the club stumbling to a 7th place finish in last year’s Premier League.
With the owners not fascinated by the idea of extravagant spending, there may yet be further outgoings from the playing staff.
So, what players are in the firing line? Who has not quite cut the mustard and could be sacrificed for a reasonable fee?
For me, Martin Skrtel provides the club with the best chance of generating cash for potential purchases. The Slovakian is coming off the back of a frustrating campaign and, with talk of a centre-back riding high on the list of likely recruits, Skrtel’s value, upwards of £15 million, could be exploited for the financial gain of Liverpool.
As well as Skrtel, his fellow central defender Sebastian Coates looks destined for the Anfield exit doors with a £5 million price-tag being placed on his head. Follow those two sales with income for the signatures of Oussama Assaidi and Jay Spearing and the Anfield coffers could be boosted by the tune of £25 million.
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Although slightly ambitious, if anything between £20-£25 million is generated from the sale of that particular quartet, Brendan Rodgers could well have the best part of £50 million left to spend if the rumours of a pre-sales £25 million budget is anywhere near the truth. That is before the sale of Luis Suarez comes into the equation.
The most favourable outcome of the summer would be for the Uruguayan to stay at Anfield, however, if he gets his wish and leaves for the £50 million it would take to force Liverpool’s hand, then we could be talking about a transfer budget circa £100 million – a staggering amount of money.
What is achieved with that money is a completely different kettle of fish. Nevertheless, that is the next chapter in a summer of transition for Brendan Rodgers and for Liverpool as they look to negotiate a top four finish for the first time in five years.
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have liverpool officially announced the loan of pepe reina?
theres that word again “fact” when factually nobody really knows if he will go or stay.
Pls br don’t sell suares.but only asaadi,spearing,nd buy a gud centre back.
For God’s sake have some self respect, Suarez has let everybody at Liverpool FC down in the past 3 months. He has bitten another player, told the whole world he wants to leave and is now even considering going to another EPL team. When did Liverpool become so low that we will allow players to abuse our good name? Suarez is history and Liverpool fans will do well to remember the club is bigger than anyone
Liverpool have let Suarez down by hiring a sh it manager and spending no money. Suarez has been brilliant for us
Suarez is one of the few players who can hold his head high with 34 goals, its the rest who let us down and we finished 7th, rodgers obviously at fault for not being able to coach or motivate the lads.
Tommi and brigader – bang on !!! Suarez stay and bodgers out !!!!!
Everyone appreciates that it takes time to turn things around but it also takes money in the Premier league! Sorting out wage structures is long overdue but we have to pay top money to compete for Europe. If we’re not going to do that then FSG and BR need to stop insulting our intelligence and say what the actual plans are and not pay lip service talking about top 4
We HAVE paid top money…but unwisely…it is better to make a sound investment…FSG have learnt that lesson the hard way…. also you seem to think that if we just throw more money at the situation then players will sign… we aren’t in the CL so top players will be wary, we have the evidence of this in the team at present with LS itching to move away and Mkhitaryan is further proof. FSG and BR are not insulting anyone and have said clearly that it will take a few years to turn things around….yeah they will say they are aiming for top four but it is actually fans who are the problem here…if BR doesn’t say that he is attacked for lack of ambition. There are already shoots of recovery, let’s not trample on them immediately.
Hear hear!!
There are NO shoots of recovery …in fact things are getting worse
If all you say is true I don’t think fsg will splash out 100m on players. You really are in cloud cuckoo land if you believe that
They’re not going splash out 100m mate, no chance
i asked a question earlier with regards to pepe reina which no one answered or better put answered directly. assuming the answer is NO, then i cant help asking: how come some fans (greg&co) are sure of this napoli thing/theory they ve put up? if you can answer these question? if you can answer these questions it wld make it lot easier for us to get some things/facts straight.
Hi Chuk’….do you mean is it official yet? Not that I am aware of. As to my, I can’t speak for others, Napoli theory it is just that, a theory…. as I made clear it is my reading of the situation…if you are looking to other fans to give you “facts” you are on to something of a loser I’m afraid, We are all ignorant of them as we are not part of the process….we can though try and make a reasoned deduction from the various events and statements over the previous months. That’s all my comments were.
hi greg…… i dont rely on other fans to give me facts, rather i make my research nd analyze it with what they ve said. not all fans are ignorant of facts, e.g. (me)
Hi Chuk’ …. sorry I thought you’d asked for an answer to give you “facts”….at least that’s how I read your post, I was just pointing out that isn’t possible as we are all doing what you say you do, a bit of research and analysis. I did say “we” are all ignorant of facts, I wasn’t suggesting just you, and unless someone has an inside track to BR or FSG or Ayre then it seems a fair comment. I suspect not but if you do can you get BR to tell us who was in the damn envelope please? 🙂
Update…Having listened to BR’s interviews today re. Pepe it appears the Napoli theory was pretty much spot on Chuk.
Honestly this isn’t liverpool of d last two or three years bt d liverpool dats hungry of success again# lan ayre and BR r doing all they could do to kip luiz but he want a move simply cos we r nt playing in d CL bt I’m I wanna ask if he wasn’t aware of dis since last 2 years? BR is trying to build a very formidable team around so I don’t pray he goes !
has anyone seen rafa is doing at napoli? hmmmmmmm
sometimes, the most important questions are the ones left unanswered nd for whatever reason(s) this scenario keeps repeating itself we might never know. continueing with the reina issue, assuming you think its true because a few sites have talked about it, wld it bemuse you if i say you think so because rodgers is capable of a thing like that after watching him do what some “highly deluded” fans wld call amazing transfer business?
the truth is in-as-much-as we all love this club, we wld always “support” and want the best for it even if its in the wrong hands. it doesnt stop us from seeing the truth no matter how far apart its been kept from us. i qouted suport cos many have misinterpreted it for being a yes man to whatever that goes on in the club whether as a fan or cos of the material gains that might come with it. support is when you try to steer the crew of your sheep awake or alert them to the dangers of taking a course they ve not taken before cos it looks smooth at the surface. its obvious most fans dont honestly think rodgers can do better than last season. but are willing to give him till march, which i hope he proves me wrong by being a better nd changed person.
Sorry but you are now making sweeping statements….. “most fans” don’t honestly think Rodgers can do better than last season….how do you know that?! Some do…some don’t…. the end of the season will prove who is right.
My own view is we will advance this season, how far we shall see but even if it takes two seasons to get back in to the top four and another two to win the Prem’ them I’m happy with that especially if we also see the stadium rebuilt or well under way and club financially sound.
We are going backwards under Bodgers . Only a total fool can’t see tgat
so as br has confirmed they are not looking for any more transfers until the suarez situation has been resolved, does that mean if he stays that’s us done for this year with a huge net spend of 3m quid and on top of that loaning pepe out saving around 5-6m great, fsg are doing a fantastic job aren’t they, but no doubt some fans will still think the sun shines out of there arses.
Given their pursuit of Mkhitaryan while LS is still here and that BR has said they are looking at making a couple of first team signings, after the previous signings to strengthen the squad, the answer would appear a definite no to us being done for the year even if he stays. I enjoy wearing sunglasses.
Spot on Steve. The yanks are downgrading our club to save money
BR has announced on The Liverpool Echo website it was HIS decision to sell Reina so yes it is happening and the move was BR’s own decision.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/pepe-reina-napoli-loan-deal-5166530
Rodgers is a complete li ar . A disgrace to LFC
LFC didn’t put the right bid in for Mitkyren and they didnt speak to him directly so they obviously weren’t serious, it was just to show us fans they’re pursuing high value players. It’s very obvious FSG don’t have or don’t want to put any serious money in to the transfer budget. In my opinion this isn’t anything to do with the 100m they spent 2 seasons ago either because again most of that came from sales for Torres, Babbel and a load of fringe players for a few million here and there.
http://forums.liverpoolfc.com/threads/342148-SummerTwitter-Se7en-FOOTBALL-NEWS-TWEETS-ONLY-Do-Not-Post-Fake-Tweets?p=9242716#post9242716
Coates,Downing,Spearing are surplus to the team..They ought to be sold this window and if LFC dont reach top 4 by the end of season…sorry to say but BR have to include his name to the for sale lists.
doesn’t some of your statements sound like fantasy to you than reality? win the league under rodgers? or prepare for relegation. as for my earlier statement, about what fans expect from rodgers. its as clear as crystal and can be deduced by any sound thinking person that nobody is expecting anything from rodgers. which is an obvious sign of how great he is.
Often, especially when it involves my night with Emily Ratajkowski and Amber Heard, but I think you may have misinterpreted my point, which was not that we will definitely win the Prem under BR but that if it takes time to do so and it means the club is put back on a sound footing then I have the patience to wait for that. Again you make sweeping statements… if “nobody” is expecting anything from Rodgers why are several people in this very thread saying give him a chance? Indeed if your statement if correct how can you even be having this conversation….eeek, it’s not Fight Club is it?!
what are you expecting from rodgers? most of those saying he should be given a chance are not really liverpool fans, and some say so because they enjoy seeing him whine or make silly excuses out of everything.
How on earth do you back up that comment that “most” of them “are not really Liverpool fans”?! What evidence do you have of that? You espouse opinions but present them as facts. If you are just going to carry on making wild sweeping statements then there’s little point carrying on with this conversation.
Before I leave it there though I’ll answer your question…. I’m “expecting” BR to assist in rebuilding a strong foundation to the club. I’m “expecting” top four within the next two seasons, not this season, and I’m hoping for the Prem within four. If it takes three and five and the club is back to being well run and rock solid I’ll still happily take it.
Hell, I’d even take say three and seven if it also means the ground is refurbished and crucially the regeneration of the wider community goes ahead as being Anfield born and bred I find it disgraceful what’s been allowed to happen there and want the club to be back at the heart of the community not the blight I feel it currently is.
As a kid I met Shankly as we played footie on a bit of waste ground on Priory Rd, he was visiting his dentist, I think he’d be disgusted at the current state of affairs in Anfield. I also think he’d understand the scale of the task BR is facing re. the team and approve of what he’s trying to achieve….(though given his opinions on owners and boards he might well have had a different approach)…. but that’s all an entirely different topic and of course it’s all only my opinion.
Dream on you clown
Open your eyes
WE WILL NEVER EVER GET TOP 4 UNDER RODGERS….
Never !!!!
FSG need to come out and make their intentions clear. If they’re not willing to put big money on the table then rather than making BR look stupid they should speak about the transfer policy. They’re net spend since they took over is no more than 35-40 mil…and a 30% cheaper wage bill (which needed to be done with fringe players on big money)
Liverpool fans need to RISE UP and not tolerate this garbage.
At the rate we are going getting cheap players wont help us much.good players with experience will give e club an instant impact.