The American Gerrard- Transfer News and Rumors
“The name’s Gerrard, Jordan Gerrard,” also known as “The American Gerrard!” You know about the “Welsh Pirlo”, you’ve seen the “Egyptian Messi”, but you never knew about the American Gerrard! When the American Scouser needed a transfer expert I was there to smash it in from long range with an absolute belter. What a hit son, what a hit!
So a few weeks ago I know I mentioned that my dad is English so I was supporting England in the Euros but I wanted to let you all know I am also Italian. My mother is Italian with roots in Sicily. So when the European Final is England vs Italy, how do I decide who to root for?
Jordan Henderson, that is who I support. So none the less I was disappointed he was not able to win the Euros with England and I will not be out celebrating despite my Italian heritage. I am not going to bore you with my Southgate critiques or who should and should not be taking penalties.
Perhaps now that the Euros and Copa are over, Liverpool will finally sign a player. Fingers crossed.
Cuckoo for Doku?
One familiar name being linked with Liverpool again is 19 year old Belgian winger Jeremy Doku. Recent performances during the Euros has seemingly forced the young winger back in the spot light after providing one assist in two appearances for Belgium. Reports making the rounds claim Liverpool are still interested in Doku after attempting to enlist him as a kid. According to Rudy Galleti the reds have inquired about Doku’s availability.
Liverpool apparently attempted to sign Doku in 2018 but got rejected. They really tried to entice the teenager into a move to Anfield, even arranging personal meetings with club legends Jurgen Klopp, Steven Gerrard and Sadio Mane.
In the end the prospect of becoming Mane’s long term replacement and talks with fellow countryman Simon Mignolet were not enough to seal the deal. I would not take it too hard though as he rejected interest from Chelsea and Arsenal as well.
Doku was later asked about turning down Liverpool in an interview years later. He was quoted as saying:
“As soon as I’m asked if I regret it, I always say no, because if Liverpool came to me at 15, if they like me, they’ll come back later, that’s certain. It’s up to me to be play well.”
After deciding to stay with the club he had signed for at the age of ten back in 2012, Doku scored five goals and seven assists in 28 league appearances for Anderlecht. Doku then made his move to Rennes in Ligue 1 for $28 million. Doku currently plays for Rennes where he has scored two goals and three assists in 30 Ligue 1 appearances.
Honestly, I do not understand the hype surrounding this player. The best stats I could really find for him were some appearances for Anderlecht’s reserves where he scored four goals in 68 combined minutes as a substitute. Aside from that he has had like two good games in the Euros?
During the Euros he demonstrated a style of play that could be described as direct, skillful and fast. Which lead to comparisons with Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane.
He has some pace and he has shown flashes of potential at times but overall I do not see him as a solid fit to be long term replacement for Sadio Mane. This is mainly based on the fact that his first team stats do not suggest he seems to possess the technical ability in front of goal required to play in our system. In Liverpool’s current tactics wingers score goals.
Like the majority of football fans, I consider the Premier League to be a better quality league then Ligue 1. If Doku is only scoring two goals a season in Ligue 1 what would convince Jurgen Klopp he would be able to do better in a more challenging league like the Premier League?
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JGTLVOsbZY[/embedyt]Mikkel Mania
According to The Express, Liverpool along with a handful of other clubs, have shown interest in Danish wonderkid Mikkel Damsgaard.
In the heart breaking absence of Christian Eriksen, 21 year old Damsgaard has stepped up for his national team as one of the Euro’s breakthrough players. Of course now he is being tipped for a $60 million move.
The forward had two goals and one assist in five appearances as Denmark reached the semi finals of the Euros. His performances have attracted the interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Liverpool, AC Milan and Tottenham.
Klopp is hopefully keen to strengthen his attacking options after an underwhelming season from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The Danish playmaker is rumored to have made his shortlist of targets.
Damsgaard currently plays for Sampdoria in Serie A. Last season he scored two goals and provided four assists in 35 appearances. Prior to signing for Sampdoria for a fee around $7 million, Damsgaard played in the Denmark Superligaen where he scored eight goals and assisted four in 25 league appearances.
Personally, I think this transfer rumor is just part and parcel of the summer transfer window and the Euros taking place. You can expect any player who has a stand out performance to be linked with top sides looking for reinforcements. Liverpool are believed to be in the market for new players.
With Michael Edwards and Jurgen Klopp’s reputations for discovering hidden gems, Damsgaard may actually be not hidden enough at this point. He could turn out to be an expensive gamble for the Reds if Sampdoria decide to cash in while his value is high this summer.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSgNmnqIRw[/embedyt]It’s Saul Good
According to Spanish outlet La Razon, Liverpool have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid to sign Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez. Supposedly Atletico are open to parting with Saul for considerably less then his $200 million release clause. Somewhere closer to $50 million. They’ve even signed his replacement already, in Liverpool target Rodrigo De Paul.
Saul Niguez is reportedly pushing for an Atletico exit after hearing rumors of interest from Liverpool and is apparently seeking a new challenge after several years in the Spanish capital. The Elche native played 33 games in Atletico’s La Liga winning season, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Those unfamiliar with Saul might be asking themselves why he might make a good replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum. One of Wijnaldum’s most important contribution to a team is his perpetual availability. Wijnaldum rarely gets injured and can easily play an entire season. He is a player you can depend on.
Well according to Transfermarkt, Saul Niguez has only missed 17 games due to injury in the past eight years. That averages to him missing about 2.1 games per season. That is a very impressive stat from someone who starts regularly.
Saul is also described as a versatile player. Something I will remind you Jurgen Klopp loves almost every article. Center midfield is where Saul plays majority of the time and appears to be his preferred position on the field. But he can play in a number of places all along the midfield.
Saul has played deep as a holding or defensive midfielder, behind the strikers in a more attacking position as both wings, as a fullback. He has even filled in at center back before. Hopefully we will not have to play any midfielders as defenders this coming season but never hurts to have the option.
Unfortunately, Liverpool’s supposed pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez might not be as advanced as some have reported.
Fabrizio Romano recently reported on his Twitch channel there are no serious talks ongoing between the Reds and the La Liga champions at the moment.
However, should Liverpool decide to pursue a move for the Spaniard, they may face competition from title rivals Manchester City and Juventus in the race for his signature. Barcelona are also rumored to be interested with a story reporting a potential trade including Antoine Griezmann for Saul making the rounds.
Originally, I was not too thrilled with the reports linking us with Saul. After researching and getting to know the player a bit more I would definitely welcome him into our side. He actually seems more like a long term James Milner replacement if you think about his versatility. Of course James Milner might play until he is 40 and by then we might need a long term Saul replacement.
I like the possibility of us channeling this dual Xabi Alonso vibe with two Spanish midfielders bossing the center of the park. Right now, Romano is pouring cold water on any deals so I will not get too excited but I would not be disappointed if we signed him.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BEW_iC7fo[/embedyt]Back for a Second Bite?
Last summer when Barcelona shockingly released former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, there were reports linking him with a number of moves as a free agent. Including a move back to Anfield. Of course he signed for Atletico Madrid where he went on to be Barcelona’s worse nightmare. His goal scoring efforts helped propel Atletico to a first place finish in La Liga narrowly beating local rivals Real Madrid and leaving Barcelona in third.
Some might even say his departure inspired Messi’s attempted escape from Barcelona.
Towards the conclusion of the season there were talks about Suarez already leaving Madrid despite an amazing seaosn. Suarez originally signed a two year contract with Atletico but supposedly his contract has a clause allowing him to leave on a free transfer to any club as long as they do not play in Spain. This opened another door to reports of a return to Liverpool.
Suarez reaffirmed his commitment to Atletico in an interview shortly after the conclusion of the La Liga season. He also explained how despite interest from teams like Manchester United he could never go back to England unless he was playing for Liverpool.
So you would think this story is dead and buried. It would be hard to believe Liverpool would go after Luis Suarez at his age. Suarez and myself are 34 years old which many believe is well past many players prime years and possibly writers too.
It would be hard to believe he would accept a rotational role playing second choice to our current front three. He also did not exactly leave on the best terms and his goal against Liverpool in the Champions league did not go down well considering he celebrated. What possibly could inspire hope of the return of Liverpool’s Prodigal son?
This week Liverpool released their new Away kit to rave reviews. Many fans are enamored with this one and its retro roots. My co worker who is a Real Madrid fan is even considering getting one! While watching the kit release video some eagle eyed fans were able to spot something that has created some interesting questions.
In the background you can clearly see what looks like a promotional poster or cardboard ad featuring the back of Luis Suarez. Now you could not exactly tell what kit he was wearing or see his face to see if it was an older ad or something recent. The kit and overall picture was tinted a color so you could not see it 100%. However the color themes on the promotion as a whole, match this seasons kits.
The easy explanation and the opinion of most of my American Scouser colleagues is this is just some old promotion that somehow found it’s way in the background of the video. It might even be something related to the upcoming 130 year anniversary featuring players from the past.
Personally, I find it hard to believe they would accidentally leave this in the background. When you have a brand like Liverpool, everything is carefully planned and calculated. At least this is what we all want to believe right?
My dad is a bit of a Suarez fan so I mostly did this story for him. The romance behind a Suarez return was too good to resist writing about. But in football these days you really never know. Luis Suarez has said in the past he feels he has unfinished business with Liverpool. Norwich City could be shitting their pants any minute upon sudden news of El Pistolero’s return to England. I am not going to rule this out entirely but it does not look very likely. Sorry Dad!
I am Jordan Gerrard and as always I thank you for reading.