Poor midfield recruitment model

[Steveo]

You fellas make a good jest here - but he always seems fit for the AFCON doesn’t he.

Does make me wonder IF he is really injured half the time he is missing for us.

[jozza800]

You fellas make a good jest here - but he always seems fit for the AFCON doesn’t he.

Does make me wonder IF he is really injured half the time he is missing for us.

Do you genuinely believe that these lads would rather sit in the treatment room for weeks on end rather than play?

[Steveo]

No. I find it very hard to actually believe - hence the term 'wonder'.

Was only talking about one lad BTW - Keita. The fitness record and then seeming availability for the tournament. I would say it appears that he has priorities.

[Insidious]

You fellas make a good jest here - but he always seems fit for the AFCON doesn’t he.

Does make me wonder IF he is really injured half the time he is missing for us.

Naby's very prone to niggly muscle injuries (or being slow to recover from them) like Thiago or Sturbridge.

Klopp has been unhappy about the condition he has come back from international duty in before. Those sorts of injuries are more likely to happen (or worsened if already underlying) in the last 15-20 minutes of a match, or with regular play (2-3 games in 10 days) or both.

Think we generally take a risk-averse approach with him (only playing him when 100% fit) rather than maybe playing him in 60% condition and risking not having the option of him at all.

Needless to say, we feel the pressures of injury-prone midfielders more than most, as we have 3 of them (Ox, Keita, Thiago) and some of our other options are becoming slightly more prone than they were (Henderson) or older (Milner) - this was then compounded when Elliott gets a very unfortunate major injury, which overlaps with a period when another option (Jones) gets a freak eye injury.

Recruitment of a robust midfielder of the highest quality would certainly be our most ideal signing and hopefully next season we don't have the extra 10% in the rotten luck department of missing Jones and Elliott at the same time for a number of weeks.

[Taksin]

Klopp's comment's on transfers, last summer, from the Echo;



Explaining the club's approach to transfers at the end of a quiet summer window, Klopp told Sky Sports : "We have a different way of doing it at Liverpool.

"It didn't hinder us from winning some trophies. Other clubs I am not bothered about, they can do what they want. We do it that way and we were quite successful with it.

"You can always have more options, that's always the case. If you don't need all the options, then you don't have the best atmosphere in the squad. If you need them, then you would wish to have another three or four world-class players just waiting in the garage until you let them out.

"People say they're not getting younger, and that's true.

"But if you start saying that footballers are old when they are 28 or 29, they're not. That's actually the peak and the best age to perform."

In the current case of Luis Diaz, Liverpool have identified a player who they believe can truly add value to the team as well as offering long-term potential.

At 25-years-old, the Colombian still has plenty of time for development and arrives as the club in a similar position to that of Diogo Jota in 2020: hoping to progress to the next level having already shown great promise.

Making clear that the Reds will always make the most of opportunities in the market which make the squad 'stronger', that is exactly what would be achieved if a deal for Diaz is completed.

"I want to do the right stuff," said Klopp.

[Taksin]

"When we said we had to go for a new goalkeeper, we were not shy. We went for the best.

"When we said 'Ok, we need a centre-half', again, the club was not shy. We can spend what we earn.

"In that moment, Phil Coutinho left for Barcelona. The money was there, so we spent it. Nobody wants to keep money back. That's the situation, and I'm not angry about it or disappointed.

"In a transfer window, there are different options. But just making a squad bigger doesn't make too much sense. If you can make it stronger, that's good. But stronger means for a whole year, not for this game."

[Nineteenx]

"In a transfer window, there are different options. But just making a squad bigger doesn't make too much sense. If you can make it stronger, that's good. But stronger means for a whole year, not for this game."

There were mids available this window that would have made our midfield far stronger

[LEGS]

Yeah but not the ones that Klopp wanted we arent going to sign a player for the sake of it.

[Taksin]

There were mids available this window that would have made our midfield far stronger

But they are also managing a budget.

Id imagine they are trying organise the right moment for the right players. And that goes for selling too. There is probably a time for selling Keita that raises another ten million quid. It’s a fool that doesn’t take that seriously.

And Klopp likes his midfield more than LFC online anyway, which means he isn’t pushing for the same things as this forum.

[Insidious]

There is probably a time for selling Keita that raises another ten million quid. It’s a fool that doesn’t take that seriously.

I don't foresee Klopp or the analytics department giving up on Keita just yet.

The majority of his contribution, statistically speaking, has been great for the last year - just need to manage the fitness/injury side a bit better if it's possible in any way.

https://fbref.com/en/players/f25c8e3a/Naby-Keita

He's in the higher percentiles in almost all areas. He's a Data Analyst's dream and more of the recruitment/decisions in Football are influenced by that side of things than ever.

Whether or not we sort the fitness issues is the multi-million dollar question.