With Liverpool having no games for a couple of weeks and by all accounts not signing anyone this January, it seemed like a good time to decompress from football, as some of the players will no doubt be doing.
But to borrow a phrase I like to use, football never stops, never rests, never sleeps. (Neither do men covered in purple rubber gloves.)
Inevitably, then came the news about Luis Diaz, one of the most thrilling and Liverpool-like attacking talents in world football, due to be snapped up in the summer, if possible, but with Spurs speeding up the market (as they did with Adama Traoré), now on his way early. Before long, talk of Fulham’s fabulous young Fabio Carvalho followed. As I write this, no deal has been concluded, with talks ongoing.
(Albeit a deal seems to make most sense if Carvalho, who can leave Fulham for free in the summer – plus a compensation fee due to his age – is bought and loaned back to help them with their promotion push. Then all parties get something from the arrangement.)
On Diaz, TTT tactics writer Mizgan Masani wrote a scouting analysis last month, and Daniel Rhodes has followed it today with his own customary ‘welcome to Liverpool’ report. Mizgan has also followed it up with a look at Fabio Carvalho, a young player who looks absolutely sensational to me.
I thought I’d add a fair few thoughts of my own, as Liverpool ramp up the rebuild that will involve talent from the Academy, super-skilled teenage recruits, and mid-20s superstars in the making. Then, which of the 30-year-old strikers will be part of the transition, or will they all be gone within a couple of years? (And would that be wise?) Is this the time to see if Salah accepts a wage increase more in-line with the Reds’ wage structure; or to sell this summer; or to enjoy the last 18 months of his time at the club?
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