Liverpool clocked up another win on Wednesday evening; today we have the match reaction, another transfer rumour and a new Anfield statue.
Paisley honoured with statue outside Anfield
Legendary Liverpool figure Bob Paisley has been honoured with a statue at Anfield, located outside the club shop at the stadium.
Our former boss took charge of over 500 games for the Reds, as well as wearing the shirt himself more than 250 times as a player.
With three European Cups won in the dugout he remains one of the game’s most esteemed coaches in history, and the new statue is deserved recognition for his achievements.
The bronze sculpture shows Paisley carrying Emlyn Hughes off the pitch, an iconic image from Liverpool history.
It stands eight feet tall and was created by a local sculptor, Andy Edwards, after being commissioned by the club’s main sponsor Standard Chartered.
Fresh fuel for ongoing Kai Havertz rumour
Who wants a new Nike kit with ‘Havertz’ on the back, then?
Rumours have resurfaced several times this month linking the Reds with the German playmaker, and now a prominent German journalist has added more fuel to the fire.
Christian Falk, head of football at Bild, tweeted on Thursday that Kai’s club Bayer Leverkusen are “expecting a bid” from Liverpool in the summer.
Falk further says one German club, Bayern Munich, and an unnamed Spanish side are also in the running to snare the 20-year-old’s signature.
Most rumours over the last month have suggested his price tag could be anywhere from £60m to £100m.
West Ham win fallout
It’s now 24 games, 23 wins. Quite astonishing from Jurgen Klopp‘s men. Here’s all the best reaction to Wednesday night’s victory:
- The national media say the Reds are redefining football domination after yet another Premier League win
- Goalscorer Oxlade-Chamberlain explained how a tactical change was needed and had big praise for the defensive players in the side
- And the best stats to emerge from the game make for mightily impressive reading for Salah and Gomez in particular
When good transfers go bad
Did you know Liverpool once tried to exchange Darren Potter for Gareth Bale? What about if you had to decide between signing Dirk Kuyt and signing Dani Alves? And what would the response be if Alan Shearer said he wanted to join?
The Reds’ transfer strategy is a golden goose egg these days, but it wasn’t always this way—and it has been revealed just what happened when several high profile transfers failed to go through.
Players who almost signed for the Reds range from Willian, Simao, Florent Malouda and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Aaron Ramsey, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Aguero and John Terry.
Probably for the best we didn’t sign James McCarthy in the end, but Peter Schmeichel might have come in handy…
Quickfire LFC news
Speaking of transfers which go bad…today it has emerged that Bobby Duncan, six months after forcing his way out of Liverpool to Fiorentina, is set to join Sunderland on loan. That went well, then. Moving on…
- Adam Lewis may be handed the chance to ignite his Liverpool career in the FA Cup, after an untimely injury to Yasser Larouci (TIA)
- Liverpool’s set-piece prowess is explained, with delivery and movement key (Sky Sports)
- Andy Robertson‘s switch from Hull to Liverpool has been worked out as the best-value deal of players in the Premier League (ESPN)
- U23s centre-back Morgan Boyes has signed a new deal, just eight months after agreeing his first pro contract (LFC)
- And Harvey Elliott scored a frankly ridiculous overhead kick for the U23s just as Liverpool were facing West Ham on Wednesday (TIA)
Around the Prem
- Sheffield United hope to sign three players on deadline day, including Liverpool/Napoli/other big club not-really-a-target Sander Berge from Genk (BBC Sport)
- Chelsea want Napoli forward Dries Mertens for just £6m before the window shuts and we can’t find anything funny about that deal (Mail)
- Man United, they of the fabled new youth policy, have randomly made an enquiry for Ivan Rakitic, who turns 32 in about six weeks and who doesn’t want to leave Barcelona anyway (ESPN)
- And Southampton are hoping to get £5m for Cedric Soares, who is out of contract at the end of the season. Arsenal can’t do without him any longer and want him now, goddamit (Evening Standard)
Stupid transfer decisions of the day
Who is more absurd in this situation? The non-buyers, or the non-sellers?
Barcelona apparently put in a bid of €100 million, in real money, for Everton‘s Richarlison, who has fewer league goals this season than Chris Wood, Teemu Pukki and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
And the Blueshite turned it down! Do they know how many Oumar Niasses and Davy Klaassens they could buy with that amount?!
Tweet of the day
Happy birthday, Curtis!
What a year it was!!! Hopefully this one brings much more, happy birthday to me??? pic.twitter.com/nyJGvASyj6
— Curtis Jones (@curtisjr_10) January 30, 2020
What we’re reading
One-time Liverpool scout and now Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate has given an insightful interview, to the Telegraph, on dealing with retirement and working under Sir Bobby Robson.
And Marina Hyde goes in with a much-needed two-footed tackle, in the Guardian, on the minor issues being brought up surrounding the potential Newcastle United takeover by Saudi Arabian entities: TV piracy and Whatsapp scandals, rather than “beheadings and crucifixions.”
Worth watching tonight
You have a choice between Nice vs. Lyon (7:55pm) or Barcelona vs. Leganes (6pm). Both are cup matches, the former is slightly more recommended. Have a nice evening.
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