I see almost everyone here has no faith that we will sign a genuine world-class player to replace Suarez and many think we are not even trying. For years I have ignored any newspaper stories linking us with the superstar of the time (and for a good reason – none of those deals came even close to materializing). But now, I believe there is a genuine chance we will sign one player of the Falcao-Reus caliber.
First of all, we have the money. Rodgers was promised around £60M budged to strengthen before the CL, we sold Suarez for £75M and spent around £87M on transfers so far. So our total spending this summer has been only around £10-12M. Even if Moreno is signed for 14-16M, that still leaves us around 45M to buy a superstar attacking player. And we still didn't sell any players bar Suarez and Coady – the likes of Agger, Reina, Assaidi, Borini, Lucas, maybe Suso (alas) and Johnson (hopefully) can still raise more than £30M combined. That would be more than enough. I think FSG fully understands the value of replacing your "franchise player," as they say it here, and won't hesitate to go a bit over budged if that's what it takes to replace Suarez. The losses of not qualifying for next season's CL would be far greater.
The wages are usually the stumbling block with us and it still could well be – we simply cannot afford the same salaries as the oil-rich teams. However, there is no reason we can't pay someone roughly the same salary as Suarez. Maybe it will be enough, maybe it won't. But there is a chance.
I think the market for superstar players is (understandably) completely different from the regular market and operates under very different rules. Positions don't matter, if you have a chance to sign a superstar player you have to go for it and then let your manager figure out how to keep everyone happy (the good thing is, real superstar players are usually pretty damn good in any position and more often then not, they form a good understanding with other good players). Superstars in their prime don't usually move clubs unless there is some real, sustained desire by the player and his agent to move. The player essentially holds all the cards (unless he is 3rd party owned like Falcao, then it becomes more complicated) and can choose any club he wants. These transfers are rare, but when they happen, it's usually late in the window, sometimes on the last day. Clubs stick to their negotiating positions until almost right up to the deadline, because any budge or giveaway could cost tens of millions.
So here's my assessment where we are in regards to signing a Suarez replacement.
1. The club IS actively looking for such a player and is prepared to compete with other potential suitors on transfer fee and salary.
2. Nothing will happen until the last few days of the window. Some of the potential moves would be dependent on the "domino effect" (e.g. PSG signing Di Maria, hence Cavani wants to leave, or Real signing Falcao and selling Benzema). If, say, Di Maria move drags out until the last day (very possible), then it's going to be a mad rush by several clubs to sign Cavani within a few hours, same with Benzema or Isco. Everyone would like to have the new marquee signing from the beginning of the season and for the pre-season, but the market dictates otherwise. We will start the season with uncertainty over the strikeforce and will have to rely on players we already have.
3. Rodgers always seems to have a relatively large list of prime targets and back-ups for every position he is looking to fill (I noticed this from doing the "Summer" threads). Sometimes he has his heart set on a clear #1 target (as was this season with Lallana and Lovren); in this case the list of potential options is noticeably smaller. But normally it's a big list and I believe names such as Gaitan and Lavezzi are the back-ups on the list in case none of the prime targets can be obtained. Rodgers wants to get a feel for a price for his back-up options, so that if needed, he can go and sign them quickly when the deadline is looming.
4. The list of prime targets, as far as I can understand from what gets leaked into the press, is Reus, Cavani, Falcao, Benzema, Isco, Sanchez (gone), and maybe even Pogba and Vidal (like I said, positions don't matter). We will be in the competition if any of these players become available; whether we will win the contest nobody really knows.
5. Balotelli is some kind of smokescreen or an agent's concoction. Rodgers said he doesn't want him and I believe him.
6. Separately from looking for a Suarez replacement (which could be a striker, but not necessarily), we are looking for CF to replace Borini if he agrees to the sale. The budget will be probably somewhere around Borini's price. Bony is probably a bit too expensive, so that's why we're hesitant (don't want to spend the budget earmarked for the Suarez replacement)
7. If we can't get any of our superstar targets, I suspect we could still well go for Konoplyanka or Shaqiri. They would not really solve our immediate goal-scoring problem, but still could be quite useful in the long run.
What do you guys think?
First of all, we have the money. Rodgers was promised around £60M budged to strengthen before the CL, we sold Suarez for £75M and spent around £87M on transfers so far. So our total spending this summer has been only around £10-12M. Even if Moreno is signed for 14-16M, that still leaves us around 45M to buy a superstar attacking player. And we still didn't sell any players bar Suarez and Coady – the likes of Agger, Reina, Assaidi, Borini, Lucas, maybe Suso (alas) and Johnson (hopefully) can still raise more than £30M combined. That would be more than enough. I think FSG fully understands the value of replacing your "franchise player," as they say it here, and won't hesitate to go a bit over budged if that's what it takes to replace Suarez. The losses of not qualifying for next season's CL would be far greater.
The wages are usually the stumbling block with us and it still could well be – we simply cannot afford the same salaries as the oil-rich teams. However, there is no reason we can't pay someone roughly the same salary as Suarez. Maybe it will be enough, maybe it won't. But there is a chance.
I think the market for superstar players is (understandably) completely different from the regular market and operates under very different rules. Positions don't matter, if you have a chance to sign a superstar player you have to go for it and then let your manager figure out how to keep everyone happy (the good thing is, real superstar players are usually pretty damn good in any position and more often then not, they form a good understanding with other good players). Superstars in their prime don't usually move clubs unless there is some real, sustained desire by the player and his agent to move. The player essentially holds all the cards (unless he is 3rd party owned like Falcao, then it becomes more complicated) and can choose any club he wants. These transfers are rare, but when they happen, it's usually late in the window, sometimes on the last day. Clubs stick to their negotiating positions until almost right up to the deadline, because any budge or giveaway could cost tens of millions.
So here's my assessment where we are in regards to signing a Suarez replacement.
1. The club IS actively looking for such a player and is prepared to compete with other potential suitors on transfer fee and salary.
2. Nothing will happen until the last few days of the window. Some of the potential moves would be dependent on the "domino effect" (e.g. PSG signing Di Maria, hence Cavani wants to leave, or Real signing Falcao and selling Benzema). If, say, Di Maria move drags out until the last day (very possible), then it's going to be a mad rush by several clubs to sign Cavani within a few hours, same with Benzema or Isco. Everyone would like to have the new marquee signing from the beginning of the season and for the pre-season, but the market dictates otherwise. We will start the season with uncertainty over the strikeforce and will have to rely on players we already have.
3. Rodgers always seems to have a relatively large list of prime targets and back-ups for every position he is looking to fill (I noticed this from doing the "Summer" threads). Sometimes he has his heart set on a clear #1 target (as was this season with Lallana and Lovren); in this case the list of potential options is noticeably smaller. But normally it's a big list and I believe names such as Gaitan and Lavezzi are the back-ups on the list in case none of the prime targets can be obtained. Rodgers wants to get a feel for a price for his back-up options, so that if needed, he can go and sign them quickly when the deadline is looming.
4. The list of prime targets, as far as I can understand from what gets leaked into the press, is Reus, Cavani, Falcao, Benzema, Isco, Sanchez (gone), and maybe even Pogba and Vidal (like I said, positions don't matter). We will be in the competition if any of these players become available; whether we will win the contest nobody really knows.
5. Balotelli is some kind of smokescreen or an agent's concoction. Rodgers said he doesn't want him and I believe him.
6. Separately from looking for a Suarez replacement (which could be a striker, but not necessarily), we are looking for CF to replace Borini if he agrees to the sale. The budget will be probably somewhere around Borini's price. Bony is probably a bit too expensive, so that's why we're hesitant (don't want to spend the budget earmarked for the Suarez replacement)
7. If we can't get any of our superstar targets, I suspect we could still well go for Konoplyanka or Shaqiri. They would not really solve our immediate goal-scoring problem, but still could be quite useful in the long run.
What do you guys think?
