Liverpool FC Forum

Doeboy » Sat Aug 31, 2024 10:48 am wrote:One thing I find puzzling is surely there must have been a no 6 out there that would have been an improvement on Endo.

Missing out on a player like we did with Zubimendi can happen but has to be some sort of contingency in place surely. Saw we were linked with Varela at Porto at the last knockings but nothing came of it.

Amazing the number of players we've missed out for that position for a couple of years now. Club must do better in having g a contingency plan as seem to be going I'm every season with a weakness which undermines us challenging for the big prizes.

Wolves have stepped in with a great last minute signing of Brazilian midfielder Andre from Fluminense. Skilled and comfortable in a number of positions CM/DM and even CB he would have been an excellent addition to the squad. Think we were interested in him earlier this year (?) but any interest just died on the vine. At just 23 and for a fee of around £21 million Wolves imo have made one of the best signings of this window, why the f*ck didn't we reignite out interest in the player is beyond me.

woof woof ! » Sun Sep 01, 2024 7:54 am wrote:

Doeboy » Sat Aug 31, 2024 10:48 am wrote:One thing I find puzzling is surely there must have been a no 6 out there that would have been an improvement on Endo.

Missing out on a player like we did with Zubimendi can happen but has to be some sort of contingency in place surely. Saw we were linked with Varela at Porto at the last knockings but nothing came of it.

Amazing the number of players we've missed out for that position for a couple of years now. Club must do better in having g a contingency plan as seem to be going I'm every season with a weakness which undermines us challenging for the big prizes.

Wolves have stepped in with a great last minute signing of Brazilian midfielder Andre from Fluminense. Skilled and comfortable in a number of positions CM/DM and even CB he would have been an excellent addition to the squad. Think we were interested in him earlier this year (?) but any interest just died on the vine. At just 23 and for a fee of around £21 million Wolves imo have made one of the best signings of this window, why the f*ck didn't we reignite out interest in the player is beyond me.

Strange one that as he fit the profile and we were so close to buying him. There must have been something they saw that they didn’t like.

Another signing allegedly. Rio Ngumoha.
From the Chavs underage team.

That Forrest CB Murrilo seems a good option young and clearly Forrest best player, last season without him they would've gone down, according to Forrest fans.

Liverpool to reward Jarell Quansah and Ibrahima Konate with new deals – here is why
Academy product’s new terms recognise his more senior status while Frenchman has become first-choice centre-back again

Chris Bascombe 06 October 2024 10:30pm BST

Liverpool are to reward defenders Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah with new long-term contracts, with talks with the duo progressing.

England Under-21 international Quansah is closest to penning terms, with the club in advanced negotiations to recognise his promotion to a senior member of Liverpool’s squad over the past 12 months. Quansah can expect a significant pay rise given his last deal was signed when he was still a youth player.

Preliminary talks are also underway with French international Konate, who has re-established himself alongside Virgil van Dijk in the first-choice defensive pairing, starting this season in his best form. At 25, Konate’s deal would commit his peak years to Anfield.

Liverpool have conceded just two Premier League goals across their first seven matches, and only four goals in 10 in all competitions. The resolve of the back four has been a key feature of the excellent start under new manager Arne Slot.

Quansah’s new deal could be finalised during the upcoming international break. The academy product made his Liverpool debut last season, ending the campaign as a Carabao Cup winner and hailed as one of several emerging young England defenders, called up to Gareth Southgate’s preliminary squad before Euro 2024.

The Warrington-born 21-year-old started the season under Slot and his since fallen below Konate in the pecking order, but his deal is a reflection of how highly he is rated by the club who resisted numerous overtures for him over the summer, most notably when Newcastle United asked for him to be included in a possible player-plus cash deal for Anthony Gordon. Liverpool’s resistance underlined that they see Quansah as a long-term solution at centre-half.

The approach to Konate’s representatives – those talks will continue over the coming weeks – underlines his recent return to the level at which he began his Anfield career.
Liverpool signed Konate from RB Leipzig in 2021 for a fee of £36 million and his excellence during his debut year saw him pass Joel Matip as the preferred partner alongside Van Dijk.

Last season was trickier because of a combination of injuries and loss of form during the climax to the campaign, but – statistically, at least – he and Van Dijk have been the outstanding centre-back partnership of the new campaign.

Liverpool making progress with talks on Quansah and Konate’s future will inevitably renew focus on how far they are getting with Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have been a priority since Slot and new director of football Richard Hughes took over.

Like Mohamed Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold are out of contract at the end of this season but reaching an agreement which suits all parties has so far proven difficult.