It would require a radical change of policy by the club going back decades - well before FSG - for us to pay the wages required to secure one of those. It risks upsetting the balance of the squad, starts off a domino effect and I don't see it happening, regardless of who we sell.
We've spent big in the past and paid big wages when warranted. And we know FSG love young players with star potential. Also - I'm not sure what the policy is anymore. We've spent big on ready made players such as VVD, Alison and Fabinho. We spent considerable amount on Ox, who is injury prone. We spent good money on a 29 year old, world class footballer in Thiago. With that said, we won't spend big at all unless we sell a big name.
I'm thinking of wages rather than fees. I don't have a reliable source of wage levels for our players, but I doubt any of them are near the demands of any of those you mentioned. The knock-on effect has to be taken into account, higher demands from the others and the possibility of unrest if the disparity is too high, and the same demands being made from all future potential signings. Once you go down this road there's no turning back. I think FSG will baulk at this scenario. Although we paid big money before, none of them had the global appeal of Mbappe etc. Alisson was probably the highest ranking of them, but keepers go under the radar a bit. In all honesty, can you see us paying what's necessary?
They've certainly improved since arriving but it's debatable whether VVD and Alisson were already established stars when we signed them. Thiago is the only definite established "superstar" I can think of that he's signed. This is a Liverpool thing though. When was the last time we ever signed a "superstar"...? Suarez & Torres were similar to VVD & Alisson. Do were have to go as far back as the re-signing of Ian Rush?
For Mbappe - it's a long shot but yes I do. But we do have to free up wages. Why would we do it? The guy is a global superstar already so the commercial money will eventually pay for himself. Not to mention the fact he's already world class and will have another decade at the top level. We would sell someone like Salah to partially fund this. Mbappe is also a Nike athlete so we could do a deal with Nike where wages can be split (similar to what Adidas did with Pogba). It is a long shot but even from a footballing perspective - we would be selling one of the world's best attackers in the world (in either Mane or Salah) so we need to replace adequately. Jota is proving to be a great signing already however he has come in as a back up with little pressure (although the pressure is increasing with each game without a goal!). And he was in addition to what we already have. An attacker would have to come in and replace, from the off.
Allison, VVD and even Fabinho were performing at top class levels before they arrived at LFC however they didn't have the superstar tag / appeal until we won the CL and PL. But there was already a strong case that they were the best (or at least amongst the best) in their respective positions - and that was reflected in the price tags (although Fabinho is a bargain). Do we buy established, big name players? Probably not - Thiago is the last one. But do we spend big on good quality players when required? Absolutely.
That's not the point. Other players would look at what he's getting paid and ask for more. We have a structure for a reason
Fair point. The only solution then is to buy another youngster who is not established, and hope he hits the ground running. And to replace Salah's goals, assists and chances created - which are all at elite level. We're PL champions. When everyone is fully fit, we're arguably the best team in the world. We brought in Thiago which is a big, power move. Let's act like the big club that we are
Or anticipate inflation over the next few years and sign someone on slightly higher wages knowing others we catch up when it comes to renewals anyway
Just a note. Cl is a high level but its roma. Alisson was go get this guy now while roma need to sell. Same for fabinho. He was left at Monaco by the big clubs and we bought him up. Vvd with respect was at Southampton so no not at a high level. Their talent was obvious just as was mane, salah etc etc.
Exactly. They were good strong players with the potential to go further, but not the global stars that Mbappe and Haarland are. I'd still say Alisson was the biggest name (before Thiago) just by dint of being Brazil's no.1 Even so, I'm on record at the time as saying I thought Ederson was better.
Yes. Mbappe is at a state run scum business not a football club but it means they will never ever sell unless they cant avoid it. Haaland is at a club that has resources but not a top top club. He has scope to move based on his contract as well. Sancho will move from dortmund. So will haaland, its only a matter of how much chelsea pay as the 3rd rate oil scum business they are
Lovren was that bad. Our defence became rock solid once we added quality players like VVD, Gomez and Matip. It's no coincidence. I do agree though that we should have replaced him in the summer.
He was only that bad if you have only two settings - great and ****. In the real world there are many shades in between.
I am not saying that Lovren is the best defender in the world, but under our present situation he is going to be a better option with his experience.