The admirably strong stance on Philippe Coutinho by FSG should not distract from their lack of ability to close big transfer deals.
This was meant to be the summer of the £200 million war chest. Where we would break our transfer record ‘numerous’ times. The penny has dropped, we were told. FSG have learned their lessons. Klopp has full control of transfer dealings.
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I believed these promises. Despite years of experience to the contrary. There were some good reasons to be hopeful. Our fourth place finish meant a likely Champions League campaign. Jurgen Klopp with a full season showing what an exciting attacking side he is creating. These things are appealing to top players.
I also was positive with FSG and their approach. Selling Ibe, Stewart and Sterling for huge profits is good business. I follow the Red Sox closely and have seen how they can manage a sports team effectively. But football is not baseball and the MLB is not the Premier League.
Klopp has done his bit. He convinced both Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita to come to Liverpool. That is huge. Not many managers can convince a player to prefer us over Chelsea or City. Or indeed that coming to us now is better than waiting for Bayern Munich next year.
Coutinho distraction
FSG have been admirable in their stance over Philippe Coutinho. They have flat our refused to even talk to Barcelona. I praise them for this. If John Henry were more concerned with using the club to ‘buy a new yacht’, as many fans claim, then they surely would have accepted the offer. But they didn’t. Whatever they are, they are not money grabbers.
However it is a 1000 times easier to reject an offer than it is to conclude a deal. You or I or anyone can tell Barcelona to get stuffed. It takes knowledge, competency and wits to conclude big transfer deals. Qualities we are yet to see this summer.
Everton now have a bigger deal than we do on their books. Give it a week and West Ham will have one too. We should not let the Coutinho deal distract from the fact we are slipping behind in the market.
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As happy as I am that we are keeping Coutinho it will not hide the concerns we have about another summer of underwhelming transfers. If we don’t do something before this window closes then I will not afford the club any optimism when the promises come next May.