Adam Naylor: Free transfers up for grabs – KopTalk

KopTalk 8 Mar 2022 Adam Naylor
Now that we have the January transfer window behind us, all the transfer eyes will be looking towards the summer window.
Now most fans will be looking at the big signings we could get Jude Bellingham for example, but with the way player power has taken over in contract negotiations and the covid pandemic hampering club finances, there is some quality players out there we could go for. These will be all realistic targets that I think would be a good fit for Liverpool and that FSG could afford.
Now let’s just put it out there that the recent free signings we have got James Milner and Joel Matip have become arguably the best free transfers the club have ever signed. Especially Milner who is an ideal role model to keep at the club to set the example of what is expected for the younger players and who will be forgetting Joel Matip going on his adventures from deep any time soon, this guy has become a main stay after a rocky start to his career with us and injury problems.
Now I will be going through the team from back to front, I know we don’t need a keeper especially with Kelleher really stepping up as a back up and Adrian 3^rd choice.
But let’s have a look who we could snap up anyway.
David Ospina

Currently at Napoli, now I know he is on the older side however I always think it is best to have an older keeper as your 3^rd choice. This is so that Allison can still be No1, but it will be Kelleher who will get the most out of this having two seasoned keepers to learn from. Also, if the worst was to happen if Allsion and Kelleher both got injured do we really want to be relying on the U23s goalkeeper to get us through.
Ospina also has experience in the Premier league after his time at Arsenal where I am going to be honest, I don’t think he did that bad.
His stats this season are not too bad either with 23 appearances in Serie A conceding 17 goals and 11 clean sheets, which has helped Napoli challenge for the title this season.
James Tarkowski

Now I know this one won’t be a popular choice but hear me out. With the recent rumours surrounding Joe Gomez potentially leaving in the summer due to lack of game time. We would need another home-grown player to make the quota as we are already a little thin on the ground here.
It also would not be the first time Klopp has taken a player from a lower down the league side and turned them into a good player, I am looking at you Andy Robertson. Tarkowski is on the older side too, but defenders do continue to player at their peak for longer and with VVD next to him I just think this would be a great option for a back up baring in mind we would still have Konate and Matip ahead of him.
Corentin Tolisso

For the centre of the park, I could have gone for a couple here and I do have a honourable mention plus a controversial one.
But my main pick is the name above, currently playing for Bayern Munich. This guy would be an ideal replacement for Henderson especially to keep someone with the same qualities in the team as the captain when he may need resting. Known for his passing and pressing he would be the perfect fit for a Klopp side. Now I know he does have an injury record and we are currently still going through the annoyance of trying to keep fit another form Bayern player (Thiago) but this lad would be worth it for me. He has 4 Bundesliga championships; he has a Champion league medal and was part of France’s World Cup Winners team back in 2018. He will bring that winning mentality that we need to keep within the team.
The honourable mention I had was Franck Kessie I won’t go into this one too much as it looks like he is nailed on for Barcelona, but for me again he would have fit straight into the squad as either a Henderson or Fabinho replacement.
Now this one is the controversial one and goes against what I said about being realistic, but I wouldn’t mind Paul Pogba, before you run me out of town. Look he hasn’t had a proper manager at the scum the one good season he had was when Mourinho let him play with a bit more freedom. Now what could Klopp do with this lad, I think quite a lot if he had the right attitude and learned our way of play. Perhaps he is a little too old to learn this and I do think his ego would stop him from becoming an absolute world beater which he has shown glimpse of during his career. All you would have to do is look at his performances for France, this shows when his heart is in it, and he is motivated there is a great player inside there. With his agent and his attitude though this is for sure not happening.
Paulo Dybala

Well, the forward positions, I am looking at a more Firmino back up/ replacement. As I mentioned in my previous article. This front 3 will be broken up in the summer with all three contracts running out at the same time. It looks like all the focus is on Salah being signed up and with Diaz hitting the ground running Mane could be the first out of the door.
However, Firmino is the one position we could do with something new, and Paulo Dybala is someone I would look at getting. Not an out and out No.9 in the similar mould as Firmino, Dybala is more of as creator than a striker. However, when we have Salah, Mane, Jota and now Diaz out wide we need some one to press the defenders and help play that killer pass.
This season stats are looking on similar par to that of Firmino,27 games, 12 goals and 6 assist in all competitions this season mainly playing behind the main striker is perfect for Liverpool who need the striker to drop deeper to allow the space for the wide men to work their magic. Compared with Firmino stats of 24 games, 8 goals and 4 assists this season. We are looking at a very similar player, now does Dybala do the hard grafting that Firmino does that’s not likely I don’t think you would find another player in world football that can do what Bobby does.
But give Klopp as full preseason with Dybala and with Jota as the potential starter for the season, we could see another Robertson and Fabinho situation, where Dybala would have that time to learn the Klopp way just like other players before him.
YNWA
Adam

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