goodrobotusses

That most high performers ask for pay rises when they get new contracts. I mean, why have agents if they’re not gonna squeeze as much money out of clubs as possible?

Based on?

Aye, but that’s his salary and sponsorships etc combined. Do you think Salah would accept the same as what he’s currently on?

They pay him £350k a week.

So €288k a week basic rising to €384k based on good performances with a €20m sign-on. Good player, crazy times. Guessing if TAA signs a new deal he can expect similar, with the Madrid threat hanging over us as it was with Bayern and Davies.

Think it just boils down to the three players knowing they’re among the best in the world and should be paid according to the market for players of their status, knowing full well what oftentimes lesser players at other clubs earn. We stretched ourselves for Mo’s last contract but are reluctant to go (much) beyond that for two guys in their 30s and a right-back. I want them to stay but also understand the club’s predicament.

While I want our Salah, TAA and VvD to stay, I do worry that we’re at risk of the kind of wage inflation that killed Barcelona. The insane salaries of the stars had the knock-on effect of pulling up the salaries of “lesser lights” in the squad, and you end up with Jordi Alba signing a five-year deal worth €400k a week at 29. I don’t think we’re that mad, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a concern.

Seemed like agent talk from the off.

He has a languid confidence picking up the ball in deep positions that reminds me of Bobby.

Waitrose Stoke

Would be my assumption. Guess we need to keep him in one piece until any deal is done and the sticky tape starts to peel away.

I still can't believe he managed something worse than the top knot he came with, and then maintained it for a few years. I thought he was in his most consistent run of good form, but his performances have tailed off in the last couple of games, but then so have those of the entire team.

In fairness, not every deep-lying midfielder started out in that role, so stranger things have happened. Pirlo was an average No10 and Schweinsteiger came through as a fairly plodding wide midfielder.

I reckon that's his best chance long-term, but it would be a massive project and not one I'd imagine we'd want to commit to when we're competing for trophies and have better current options for the deeper spots in midfield. I would be happy for him to stay, but I feel like he'd only ever be a bit-part player for us and potentially stagnate here.

If anyone wants to believe/hope, he is 10 minutes of Kvara roasting lads:

Ornstein, unlike hucksters like Romano, is a proper journalist who has to get at least two sources before publishing a story, so there will be something in this. But there's a massive gap between "could make a move if the player wants to leave" and leaning against a wall at the AXA, so it's wait and see, I guess. I'd be delighted if we got him in, shifted Diaz central and found a happier hunting ground for Darwin (or Chiesa), although there's a part of me that thinks there will be some pain in the mail if this lad is coming, like i.e. the confirmation that Trent is leaving in summer or something. The deals aren't linked of course, but the club will want some good news to offset the bad. Maybe even Salah's deal doesn't happen in the end and the forward line gets really retooled in summer.

On Elliott, if we do let him go (although I don't think we'd let him go on the cheap), I'd be a little sad to see him go. Not because I think he's likely to become a permanent starter with time, I don't, but it really seems coming to Liverpool was his dream, so it would be a shame for him. I know there's no sentimentality in football etc, but y'know.

Kimmich is on €15m a year basic with €5m in bonuses. I assume he wouldn't be taking a pay cut on a Bosman, so quite an expensive rotation option.

They need the money to get Victor Moses in for Conte's system.

That's my worry too. Bradley looks a terrific prospect as a full-back, but without TAA in the side I worry about those games where one pass, cross or set-piece is what creates the opening/only goal. We looked generally quite tired last night, which didn't help, but we were quite lumpen in attack without Trent and this Spurs side aren't exactly low-block defensive geniuses. If Trent goes, and his long-term replacement is Bradley or another more conventional full-back, we need to get a more creative passer elsewhere in the team.

There were also suggestions at the Euros that he wasn't as comfortable in Germany's back four as he has been in a three at Leverkusen.

Think Tah will end up at Madrid.

I think the club is probably making this public thinking that he’s going and not wanting to be seen not to have made a good offer for him to stay. And it is a good offer, but I suspect his head has already been turned.

If Salah signs, Doak is hardly gonna get any game time next season, so I think if we can get a significant fee with a buyback clause, it might be best for all parties. If he kicks on, we’d have the chance to bring him back post-Salah, and if not, we’ll have sold well.

Do you think we should pay players as Madrid, Barcelona, City and PSG do/have done? This is the product of a quick google so might not be accurate: https://squaremile.com/sport/highest-paid-football-players/ Salah’s reported current £350k a week puts him on £18.2m a year. Ignoring Saudi, should we pay the likes Salah, VvD and TAA in the same bracket as Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski and Mbappe? Our lads are all, relative to position, as good if not better players, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say pay them what they’re worth in this market. Just wondering what it is we want/expect of the club. I worry about the future of the club financially, but then I worry about everything. I also don’t want to say goodbye to these players and suspect we can’t replace them to the same level.