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PEPE

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I think we need an AM. We have suffered from lack of creativity for much of the season; some of it was mitigated by the switch to 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Shaqiri, but a quality AM that can also defend will make our main system stronger. .......

Ox is the one player currently on our books perfectly encapsulating what we need from the AM role, but we should have more than one to go through the season, especially given his injury history. A good thing about a quality AM is that they can seamlessly step into covering for the front 3 roles; Ox has played on both wings for Klopp and I think someone like Havertz and Van De Beek could cover for Bobby too. Quality and versatility over quantity.

I have been going on about this for ages now, we need an AM with the creative talent, but I also think the market does not have many of what we are looking for as much of the creative type sare left/right winger types that come inside. Anyway, that aside - we lost Coutinho and along with it the midfield creativity was replaced by a more solid midfield less prone to leak goals. I have not got a clue who we should get, but creative talent which does not give defensive cover is essential for a title challenge, unless we decide to copy Man City and try and play their game style, which ain't gonna happen.
 
Klopp willing to sanction Salah’s Liverpool departure in order to land £70m transfer target

LIVERPOOL FC
Posted by
James Westwood
2 hours ago
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Klopp-Salah-320x200.jpg


Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has his sights set on Lille winger Nicolas Pepe and is open to selling Mohamed Salah in order to secure his services.
The Ivorian ace attracted a number of potential suitors from across Europe with his performances in Ligue 1 last season, helping Lille finish second in the final standings with a contribution of 22 goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances.
According to the Daily Star, Liverpool have been in contact with the 24-year-old’s agent to discuss a possible £70 million deal, as Jurgen Klopp lines up his first signing of the summer.
Le 10 Sport reports that the German boss is even willing to sanction Salah’s Anfield departure in order to land Pepe, who has emerged as a primary target for the Reds.

Nicolas Pepe shone for Lille last season
Klopp’s relationship with Salah has reportedly deteriorated in recent months – as per Le 10 Sport– and Real Madrid were linked with a swoop for the Egyptian’s services back in April.
The Independent has stated that the Santiago Bernabeu outfit are interested in signing Salah, amid rising tension between the mercurial attacker and his manager at Liverpool.
Pepe certainly has the quality to fit in at Anfield, but it is doubtful that supporters will happy with the idea of allowing a talismanic asset to leave after two hugely successful seasons.
Salah has finished as the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner two years in a row and he played a key role in helping the Reds lift the Champions League trophy at the start of June – even scoring in the final against Tottenham.

Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring vs Tottenham in the Champions League final
The 26-year-old is a vital member of Klopp’s starting XI and even if the two men have had some sort of disagreement, it is difficult to see Salah being ushered out the exit door.
Liverpool would be better off trying to negotiate a more reasonable price for Pepe, who has yet to prove himself at the highest level and even if they fail to negotiate a deal, there are still plenty of alternatives to consider while the market is open.
 
Selling arguably the best player in the league for a fella who has netted against teams made up of tradesmen, imagine writing that expecting anyone to believe a word.
 
Well if we sign him ... he will be known as The Aurora
I like names that sound cool. PEPE just sounds shit.
 
Oi Reddy, that's Pearce's job to shoot down exciting links! His corpse is barely cold, you heartless wench.

They are both part of the same patented leak-proof apparatus. I don't know what they did to the poor sod who broke Van Dijk "tapping up" story, but it must have been something spectacularly horrible, because there hasn't been a peep since.
 
He has not been linked with us lately, but I think if we're indeed in the market for a "4th front 3 player," I would strongly consider Barcelona's Malcolm. As a player he is of a similar profile to Pepe – a left-footed RW who can play all across the front 3 and and is an intelligent passer and creator in addition to his pace and dribbling abilities. Malcolm is almost 2 years younger than Pepe, so for a fairer comparison I'm listing their respective attacking outputs grouped by age. Only domestic league and major European competitions (CL and EL) are included in these stats:

Pepe (age 23*) 37 starts, 1 sub appearance; 13 non-penalty goals and 11 assists for Lille.

Pepe (age 22): 31 starts, 5 sub appearances; 12 non-penalty goals and 5 assists for Lille.

Pepe (age 21): 11 starts, 22 sub appearances; 3 goals and 1 assist for Lille.
Malcolm (age 21*): 6 starts, 12 sub appearances; 2 goals and 2 assists for Barcelona.

Pepe (age 20): 20 starts, 9 sub appearances; 7 goals and 2 assists for Orleans (French League 2)
Malcolm (age 20): 32 starts and 3 sub appearances; 10 non-penalty goals and 7 assists for Bordeaux

Pepe (age 19): very limited appearances in French League 2
Malcolm (age 19): 33 starts and 4 sub appearances; 7 non-penalty goals and 5 assists for Bordeaux
_________
*Current season


Once you compare them like that, it becomes clear that Malcolm would be a far better investment. He has developed far faster than Pepe; by age 19 he was already starting consistently for Bordeaux while Pepe was still playing in League 2 at 20. Malcolm has roughly the same number of games at the top level as Pepe despite 2 full seasons handicap; he also has some experience playing in the Champions League and while the move to Barca clearly came too early in his career, that difficult experience will help him adjust to another top club. Most importantly, he would cost probably half as much as Pepe coming off a stop-start season at Barca, while Pepe's career-high 22 league goals (rather inflated by 9 of them being penalties) are pushing his club's and agent's appetites into the stratosphere.

So with all this in mind, I'm not surprised that LFC has announced that contrary to the "reports", they were never interested in Pepe and Bayern Munich have publicly distanced themselves as well. I think with one of Neymar or Griezmann going to Barca and lack of buyers for Coutinho, Malcolm will surely be the one to be pushed out of the door – and that can be Barca's loss and somebody else's gain. I was checking him out a year ago and liked a lot about his game; the reason Barca chose him in the first place is because he's much more than just a pace merchant – and at 22 still has plenty of room for development.

 
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He has not been linked with us lately, but I think if we're indeed in the market for a "4th front 3 player," I would strongly consider Barcelona's Malcolm. As a player he is of a similar profile to Pepe – a left-footed RW who can play all across the front 3 and and is an intelligent passer and creator in addition to his pace and dribbling abilities. Malcolm is 2 years younger than Pepe, so for a fairer comparison I'm listing their respective attacking outputs grouped by age. Only domestic league and major European competitions (CL and EL) are included in these stats:

Pepe (age 23*) 37 starts, 1 sub appearance; 13 non-penalty goals and 11 assists for Lille.

Pepe (age 22): 31 starts, 5 sub appearances; 12 non-penalty goals and 5 assists for Lille.

Pepe (age 21): 11 starts, 22 sub appearances; 3 goals and 1 assist for Lille.
Malcolm (age 21*): 6 starts, 12 sub appearances; 2 goals and 2 assists for Barcelona.

Pepe (age 20): 20 starts, 9 sub appearances; 7 goals and 2 assists for Orleans (French League 2)
Malcolm (age 20): 32 starts and 3 sub appearances; 10 non-penalty goals and 7 assists for Bordeaux

Pepe (age 19): very limited appearances in French League 2
Malcolm (age 19): 33 starts and 4 sub appearances; 7 non-penalty goals and 5 assists for Bordeaux
_________
*Current season


Once you compare them like that, it becomes clear that Malcolm would be a far better investment. He has developed far faster than Pepe; by age 19 he was already starting consistently for Bordeaux while Pepe was still playing in League 2 at 20. Malcolm has roughly the same number of games at the top level as Pepe despite 2 full seasons handicap; he also has some experience playing in the Champions League and while the move to Barca clearly came too early in his career, that difficult experience will help him adjust to another top club. Most importantly, he would cost probably half as much as Pepe coming off a stop-start season at Barca, while Pepe's career-high 22 league goals (rather inflated by 9 of them being penalties) are pushing his club's and agent's appetites into the stratosphere.

So with all this in mind, I'm not surprised that LFC has announced that contrary to the "reports", they were never interested in Pepe and Bayern Munich have publicly distanced themselves as well. I think with one of Neymar or Griezmann going to Barca and lack of buyers for Coutinho, Malcolm will surely be the one to be pushed out of the door – and that can be Barca's loss and somebody else's gain. I was checking him out a year ago and liked a lot about his game; the reason Barca chose him in the first place is because he's much more than just a pace merchant – and at 22 still has plenty of room for development.

Yup, I mentioned Malcolm a couple times this last season as a good squad option.

He still looks quite raw at times but ticks a lot of boxes.

Barca was always going to be a terrible terrible move for him. He should've moved to Roma and continued his development. The question is whether he recognizes that mistake now and how that will influence his next decision.

Barca need to sell now so surely can't command much of a premium (depending on the level of interest).

He'll get a lot more game time here but if I was him I'd be looking for a starting spot somewhere to restart.
 
Reporting our interest will drive up the price for other players we are linked with so its a smart strategy by the club to deny everything.

The complicity of (the local press / reddy) is what is surprising
 
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