Liverpool news today centres around one forward who has come in and one who might leave, plus all the reaction to a stunning performance and win over Arsenal.
Blades offer £17 million for Brewster
Rhian Brewster news has been contradictory and rotating all summer long and the latest update is no different.
While it appears the youngster will definitely have to leave Anfield to get game time this season, one way or another, we’ve swung from Crystal Palace “definitely” having made a bid – quickly rejected by the club themselves – to Sheffield United now being in the driving seat.
The Mirror and the Mail both report that the Blades have offered £17m for the striker and will agree to have a buyback clause in the deal, but it’s still less than the Reds wanted.
Liverpool wanted £20m, plus add-ons, and will not sanction a loan move they say, to ensure he is developed properly by the club.
Less than a week now before the transfer deadline.
Jota will learn from the very, very best
Jota came on for Sadio Mane with a little more than 10 minutes to play against Arsenal, with our No. 10 somewhat put-out by being subbed off – such is his constant desire to batter teams into submission.
But maybe the front line need that, need to be pushed even further than they already have so far, to maintain their frankly ridiculous levels.
Jurgen Klopp thinks Diogo Jota can provide that, and reckons there’s five times as much to come from the new boy than we’ve seen so far—most of which can be learned from watching Mane perform.
“He is on 20 per cent of information on what we do exactly; we had meetings to talk about it and that will all take time. He had 60 or 70 minutes to watch how Sadio is doing and then he came on the pitch and did incredibly well.”
Jota is nowhere near the ruthless, relentless level of Mane and Co. right now.
But remember Mane at Southampton – he was nothing like this then, either. There’s plenty to work with, and even more to learn from.
Match reaction
The Reds swept past the Gunners in style on Monday night; here’s all the best of the match reaction.
- The papers have basically crowned the Reds champions once again after successive dominant defeats of teams who were meant to be improving
- Robbo is jokingly hailed as the “fox in both boxes” by a team-mate, while Jota has said his new pitch pals are “exceptional” and have helped him settle fast
- And here are five key stats from the game, plus another regarding the entire starting lineup which shows just how ridiculously good this team is
Quickfire LFC news
- Andy Robbo was “desperate” to put his mistake right on the night (TIA)
- Gary Neville has changed his mind after three games and now says Liverpool, not City, will win the title (Sky)
- Emile Heskey says Jota can expect Mo Salah‘s habit of taking more shots than usual can continue, even at the new signing’s expense (Goal)
- And Robbie Fowler’s managerial career looks set to continue in the Indian Super League, as he’s in talks with East Bengal (ESPN)
Around the Prem
- Man United are “refusing to give up the chase” for Jadon Sancho, which to be honest feels a bit like Man United “refusing to give up the chase for the Premier League title”. Yes, it’s technically possible, but… (ESPN)
- Bayern Munich are ready to make a move for Norwich right-back Max Aarons, who only had his bags packed for Barcelona a week ago (Mail)
- Spurs are “considering another move” for Inter’s Milan Skriniar but “are unwilling to meet the asking price”, which sounds like an enormous waste of everybody’s time (Guardian)
- And Lazio are in talks for a loan-to-buy deal for Andreas Pereira, which is fine, until you get to the part about the permanent switch being for €27m (Telegraph)
Stupid apology of the day
Fulham are crap. On Monday evening, they were again crap. Even by the standards of the worst defences to have passed through the Premier League, this Fulham defence is immensely crap.
After another crap defeat, the owner apologised to fans for just how crap they were – and manager Scott Parker has immediately come out and said he doesn’t agree, he’s disappointed and, remarkably, that Fulham‘s 3-0 loss to Aston Villa was “a good performance.”
He’s been studying the Roy Hodgson book of fan management!
Tweet of the day
FORTRESS ANFIELD!
? Liverpool have dropped just 6?? points from the last 1??2??3?? available in the PL at Anfield (61 games unbeaten) ???#UCL pic.twitter.com/ndFvNLEqpk
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 29, 2020
What we’re reading
The other half of the city are doing well so far, so here’s a tactical analysis of a key player, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, on the Coaches’ Voice.
And a bit of an older one, but still relevant: Serge Gnabry’s own story, for the Players’ Tribune.
Worth watching tonight
Enjoy some La Liga! Real Sociedad v Valencia at 6 and Getafe v Betis at 8.30.
Fan Comments