Re: Jose Enrique - 'Done Deal' says Thommo
[quote author=studsup link=topic=44896.msg1315584#msg1315584 date=1302791428]
[quote author=Cerberus link=topic=44896.msg1315482#msg1315482 date=1302778524]
bensmith_Times Ben Smith
From everything I hear, #LFC have, for the first time in a long time, a very clear transfer strategy for the summer[/quote]
Not sure if this has been posted. First read this in TLW.
http://www.lfcismyreligion.com/comolli-on-lfc-transfer-strategy/
Liverpool’s director of football has spoken on the clubs transfer policy and
the importance not to buy players that will block the progress of the most talented youngsters.
On Monday night we saw the debut of young fullback Jon Flanagan and Comolli was keen to stress that we mustn’t hinder young players progress and have the right blend of youth and experience.
Comolli said
“If there is a very good 18 or 19 year old full back we need to make sure that in two or three years they are in the first team and not sign another player in front of him from outside. That’s the strong message I give to the staff at the Academy and also to the scouts, I say don’t push players in a position where we already have a talented player. If we did then we may as well shut down the Academy.â€
“We want the Academy to produce players because the more Academy players you have in the first team the stronger the sense of identity is and the stronger their love for the shirt and the club will be,†Comolli explained. “It would also mean that we are producing players who play the kind of football that we want. These are key things for us.
“But in terms of recruitment for the first team, there are positions where you have to get experience. There are other positions where you can use a young player and we would rather invest a lot of money in a young player than on a 29-year-old. That’s our philosophy but we’re not the only ones – Spurs do the same, Arsenal do the same. It is how we see it for the future but it’s all about balance because we don’t want 21 to be the average age of our first team. We need Stevie (Gerrard), we need Carra and we need Dirk Kuyt but we are also very happy to get Andy Carroll who is 22 and Luis Suarez who is 24.â€
[/quote]
It's a logical approach.
Flanagan is IMO still too young to be considered a back up to our starting right back Johnson.
I don't think we're ready to sell Johnson in order to replace him with Kelly and have Flanagan as his understudy.
Robinson, Flanagan, Coady, Wisdom, Sterling, Suso, Morgan and Ngoo are all between between 17-18 years old. They still need about 2 years before they can be considered in the first team squad IMO.
