Liverpool headlines on Thursday react to the defeat at Arsenal and potential transfers this summer, both in and out of the club.
Bayern midfielder “sure” he has next club sorted
The Reds have been linked with Bayern Munich’s world-class midfielder Thiago Alcantara, but it’s difficult to see a huge outlay being made on a 29-year-old with injury history and one year left on his contract, given the club’s recent dealings in the market.
And that goes double for a summer where everything regarding finances in football is uncertain at best.
Even so, Bild journalist Christian Falk appeared on the B/R Football Ranks podcast recently and said that Thiago is “very sure that he has a club and we know the club.”
The sticking point remains the fee, though, with Bayern keen to recoup funds while not running the risk of letting the playmaker leave for free in a year.
Falk says there have been “no negotiations yet” and it remains to be seen if the Reds even take their interest one step further with a bid.
Larouci and Shaqiri set for exits
In a surprise move, it appears Yasser Larouci is heading toward the Anfield exit door this summer, opting to depart the club despite starting to make his breakthrough in the cups this term.
With all the youth prospects getting their chance under Jurgen Klopp over the past couple of years it seems a strange decision by the winger-turned-left-back, but he follows the choice of Rafa Camacho last summer in wanting to depart.
Brentford and Leeds are among the clubs interested, but the Reds will look for a decent fee as well as the usual add-ons and buy-back options.
Higher up the food chain at Anfield, Xherdan Shaqiri made his return to action off the bench against Arsenal, but his stay will be over soon too, by all accounts.
Turkish news outlet Fotomac say the player and Fenerbahce are close to an agreement on salary terms—but one complete nonsense addition is the suggestion that Shaqiri will ask Liverpool to let him leave on a free transfer.
Absolutely no chance of that happening.
Down but not out
Bit annoying, losing to Arsenal. But it wasn’t as bad as the result suggests, according to the boss, and there’s still an awful lot to look forward to in the next week.
- The boss says we have “five million reasons” to produce a performance and beat Chelsea prior to the trophy lift
- Alisson has acknowledged mistakes were made, but says nothing will detract from the massive achievement that winning the title has been
- And the wider media in general felt the Reds lacked intensity and need a break now
Quickfire LFC news
- Andy Robbo’s face is “plastered all over the place” at Queen’s Park and served as inspiration for another young player to make his way from the lower leagues back into the SPL (Glasgow Times)
- Rhian Brewster hit his ninth goal on loan and said he hopes it shows he’s not at Swansea for purely selfish reasons (TIA)
Around the Prem
- Mikel Arteta says he doesn’t know if he’ll be handed funds to improve the Arsenal squad, which makes it seem even more remarkable they backed the inept Emery with nearly £150m last year (BBC Sport)
- Man City have now been quoted £65m for Koulibaly, who must be in terrible form as his fee is down about 30% in three weeks (Mirror)
- Everton, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich are expected to bid for Wilf Zaha and we suspect Carlo Ancelotti is about to discover just how far down the ladder of the European elite he has gone (Mail)
- And the sought-after Jude Bellingham is expected to move from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund for £22.5m after deciding Solskjaer might not be the best coach to help him improve. Outstanding (Bild)
Stupid conversation of the day
Carlo has had to have a chat with Jordan Pickford about how crap he has been. Reverse psychology, or hoping for magic? Either way, it’s unlikely to turn Pickford into an actually good ‘keeper.
“He’s not doing well. I spoke to him about this yesterday. There is absolutely no problem. For the quality that he has, and he agreed, he has to be better. He has to be focused on himself, on his performance, day by day to be better. I’m not so worried because he has quality, he has character, but I have to say to him, and I did say to him, that he has to improve.”
Tweet of the day
https://twitter.com/FootyThreads_/status/1283764391171817472
What we’re reading
A parting of the ways may lie ahead for Burnley and Sean Dyche. BBC Sport look at why, and what’s next.
And a comparison between Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester side collapsing and when his Liverpool side did the same in 2014. By John Percy in the Telegraph.
Worth watching tonight
Leicester v Sheffield United at 6pm, with all the European pressure that game brings for both. Real Madrid vs Villarreal at 8pm in LaLiga, with the title on the line and two attack-minded teams to enjoy.
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