Shakhtar have now gone totally bonkers stating that Teixeira will only go for £53m this month, nothing less. (Alegedly).

They always were the worst club to try and deal with, but no way will Klopp sanction that for him, some clubs just see tonnes of £££££'s when an EPL club come looking.

The team you end up with does not necessarily relate in any way to how much you spend, spend, spend. That has been proven many time before.

We have done our fair share of spending and ended up with the messy squad we have.
Man Utd have spent even more ( over £300m since Fergie left ) have ended up no better.
City must have spent about £100m on their defence alone and are still lost without Kompany.

Even in the era of bumper TV deals money is still finite and debt is still an enemy, That s why investing in the stadium is very important: it creates an increased ongoing cashflow. There is no glory in being ripped off in the transfer market, though it's inevitable alot more clubs will end up wasting money on overpriced players.

Teixeira is not Suarez: he is not world class. He is also not a teenage sensation like Sterling. He's not worth £38m ( at least not to us) and I don't understand your " if he's worth £31m then he has to be worth £38m" point at all. However the The Guardian are reporting that his actual release clause is £53m and Shaktar don't want to sell, and won't sell, for less than this.

So if he's worth £32m is he worth £53m?

I'm guessing that the media yet again are saying pounds when they mean euros, which means they want around £40m.

Agree with this post in total.

The EPL is now where teams from other countries will look for massive prices for their players, and this is thanks to the TV deals they all know we have in place. IF every team here stands firm on their valuations of players they are looking to buy this will die a death, but sadly, some here will just cough up the silly money because they can.

It could end up destroying both players and clubs - the price of players will be eyewateringly horrific, foreign clubs will be salivating at the thought of a PL club on the hunt, and (as in this case) double the asking price. It's not going to be fun, clubs here HAVE to stand firm, or they are going to be seen as soft touches.

The release clause is being quoted at €70m. That's according to Shaktar's general secretary:

Alarm bells sound when the club seems obsessed with getting one player for an astronomical fee that will be God's Gift - or not. Too often a mistake.
Or is it just stuff whipped up by journalists and on line?

Somehow Ian Ayre will be blamed again.

I think the whole saga shows just how hard it is to buy players in January. Shaktar are joint top of the league and Texiera is a huge reason for that. They don't want to lose a key player when they are fighting for a title and you can fully understand that.

So why allow negotiations to take place in the first instance?

Looks like we're being linked with Javier Hernandez. Not my first choice of ex-Man United players, could be decent I suppose, don't know if he'd be the answer given there's not a whole lot to his game. He's got speed, though, which could be handy. As a permanent solution though, given how full we are in the striking department, unless we let some go, when they come back from injury (minus Sturridge since he'll just get injured again) there'll be a problem.

I've seen £20m being suggested for him. Could do worse for that.

I s this one too young to put out for us? I watched this match, we have a couple of really good players in there - I think the other one was called Gomes, but heck - a big bruiser and very, very good too.

Because he has a release clause and I assume if someone gets near that then they would he prepared to sell as that's a huge amount of money.

Good point. If they knew they wanted minimum 53M why did Ayre bother flying over if they were adamant that figure had to be met, because we would never go near it if that was a take it or leave it offer.

I may well be doing him a disservice but wasn't he more of a fox in the box striker, scoring regularly from 5 yards? If so, and with our reluctance to get the ball into that area, I'm not convinced how good a fit it will be.
May be wrong on the fox in the box only reference to him though in fairness, just my assessment from the few games I saw of him.

His movement is light years ahead of Benteke's.


Could explain why he flew back so quickly

But we were never going to get near that release clause figure so Orch's point stands surely?

Yes, that's why I said there's not a whole lot to his game. He's quite a limited striker, good at what he does but don't know if it'd suit us.

I'm not convinced he'd be any better at fitting Klopp's pressing game than Benteke but his movement's better at least. Doesn't really contribute outside the box but that's not a bad thing as having someone who operates mainly in the box is something we lack.

As is getting the ball in there at times though (even when Big Ben is in there).

Looks a natural - maybe some games for the U21s rather than the U18s and if he does well a place on tie bench in an FA Cup game down the line. Takes me back to when Fowler and later Owen burst onto the scene - fearless, all smiles and an instinctive finisher. Let's hope he has the same impact in time - 17 in November.

Yes,Hull be good to get Coutinho back soon - and I really like Smith's delivery from the left but now Flanagan's back it's even less likely he'll get a start unless Flanagan continues to cover for Clyne.

Could the £53 mil figure be Euros?

Nope, 70m Euro's.

Listening to the edited highlights of Klopp's pre-match presser:

Hendo- out
Lovren- back in reay for start
Clyne- 50/50 and doubtful
Sturridge- not being considered for either Hammer or Leicester.
Coutinho- on the mend, getting closer, but still rehabilitating.

I got the impression it will be a changed team for the FA cup and keep his best team for the PL game following midweek. As we know, West Ham are a strong outfit, I don't know how much we can afford to change the team and still expect to beat them. And another draw, then replay, would really be the last thing we need next month.

He invited 'anyone' to pay that which to me suggests that's the only way Teixeira can force his way out of the contract.

I don't think they are saying they will only take £53 mil just if he is to go it will be on there terms and not what they would see as on the cheap.

I still think Costa going to Bayern for £24 mil is a major reason why they want £30 mil plus for Teixeira. Costa @ £24 mil looks like an absolute steal right now and Shakter probably feel they should of got more.

No hes not and we should walk away and LOL at them as we go. I just hoe it doesnt bite us in the bum

Ronaldinho's been praising Firmino recently.


Instead, the ex-Barcelona playmaker has lauded Roberto Firmino, claiming our no.11 is ‘in the same class as Ozil, Silva and Iniesta’!

Not sure if he's as good as Ozil, David Silva or Iniesta but nice to hear!

If you want to come to Liverpool Ronaldinho all you need to do is ask.