NEWS JUST CONFIRMED: BREACHING! A STUNNING CHANGE IN THE EVENTS SURPRISES EVERYONE!NEWS FROM LIVERPOOL
Since Kylian Mbappe has made his decision regarding his future, there is confusion in the many reports.
Confusion reigns in the varied reporting as Kylian Mbappe has made his decision over his future.
At least one source claims that Kylian Mbappe has reached an agreement to join with Real Madrid. Reports regarding the forward’s future are still inconsistent, though.
The French superstar’s future has been the topic of great debate for some time, with the 25-year-old now into the final six months of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and able to discuss terms freely with foreign suitors.
The battle to win over Mbappe had appeared to be a shootout between long-term admirers Real Madrid and his current club PSG, who have been keen to agree a renewal, despite a very public falling out over the summer which resulted in the forward being sent to train with a group of players termed the ‘undesirables’.
Liverpool, on the other hand, is the third team that is frequently brought up when discussing Mbappe’s future; reports of mutual admiration between the club and player are common.
But the largest soap opera in sport is about to stop, according to Foot Mercato, since the World Cup winner of 2018 “reached an agreement with Real Madrid a few days ago.”
The Times article, meanwhile, asserts that Mbappe is still considering his options and is “unimpressed” with Real Madrid’s attempts to put him under pressure with impending deadlines for a pre-contract agreement. This puts the French news into stark contrast.
According to Duncan Castles, the former Monaco player “wants to explore other options — including a free agency switch to the Premier League.”
In the meantime, a third report from Marca claims that Madrid is not in a rush to sign the player who came in third in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings, but Carlo Ancelotti’s team isn’t really that desperate either.
Asked recently about his own future, Mbappe told reporters: “No. I’m very, very motivated for this year. It is very important. As I said, we have got titles to go after and we have already taken one. After that, I haven’t made up my mind yet. I have not made a choice.”
WHERE DO LIVERPOOL STAND?
Liverpool have long been the Premier League club most regularly touted as being in the race for Mbappe. However, unlikely that seems.
Last week, reporter Julien Laurens claimed that the Reds are a club that Mbappe ‘really, really’ likes, while the player himself once outed his mother as a Liverpool fan.
Anfield Watch understands that Liverpool would only entertain a move for Mbappe in the event that Mohamed Salah were to leave Liverpool this summer.
However, with the Egyptian in sparkling form in 2023/24 and open to agreeing a contract extension, the chances of a deal for Mbappe appear remote given the massive financial outlay involved in even a ‘free’ transfer.
The France captain reportedly earns over £1m a week under the terms of his PSG contract. By contrast Salah – Liverpool’s highest-earner of all time –
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Liverpool are in a very good position because there is a case to be made for a lot of the club’s players that they are the best in the Premier League.
From Mohamed Salah to Virgil van Dijk – in almost every position Jurgen Klopp has at least one world-class player. However, one player who is often not recognised in the same regard but deserves to is Alisson Becker.
Goalkeepers are often underappreciated in football, and you don’t quite realise just how good they are until they are gone.
In the general discourse, Alisson’s name is rarely mentioned among the best players in the Premier League. However, one BBC journalist seems to think that is unfair.
Alisson Becker praise on the BBC
Speaking on BBC 5 Live, Rory Smith discussed just how highly he regards Alisson Becker, describing him as someone who could be the best player in the league.
“I think you can make a case that Alisson is the best player in the Premier League in his position, that he might well be the best player in the Premier League. You would never say that because he’s a goalkeeper, he’s not Kevin de Bruyne or Erling Haaland, but Alisson is so exceptional as a goalkeeper that it’s worth considering,” Smith said.
However, he also added that he thinks the Liverpool goalkeeper will never win accolades like the Footballer of the Year award.
“He has been the standout performer in the Premier League. He will never it it [Footballer of the Year] because he’s a goalkeeper. But that’s slightly unfair. I think he’s the standout player in the Premier League thus far. I think he’s been flawless.”
We definitely agree with Smith, Alisson is overlooked far too often as a contender for these awards even though he deserves it. Signed for £67m as per Sky Sports – every bit of that money has been a bargain.
When Liverpool decided not to sign Jude Bellingham last summer a mire of negativity and controversy transpired. But in hindsight, it’s a move that made sense.
Bellingham is a sensational player. However, he alone would not have been enough to fix the major surgery Jurgen Klopp needed to make to his midfield at the time.
Liverpool simply needed at least three or four midfielders at the time – which is exactly the number of midfielders Klopp ended-up signing. Sometimes, quantity is better, especially when you can maintain the same quality as well.
Liverpool have ‘five’ players similar to Bellingham
As the season has gone on, Liverpool’s decision not to pursue Bellingham has started to make more sense.
Alexis Mac Allister signed for £35m as per The Guardian, Dominik Szoboszlai signed for £60m as per Goal, and Ryan Gravenberch signed for £35m as per Sky Sports have all settled in brilliantly. Their combined total of £130m was just a little over that of Bellingham’s potential final fee to Real Madrid with add-ons which was £114m according to TNT.
To get three players of such quality almost for the price of one was a fantastic piece of business and absolutely made sense for Liverpool.
Now, as senior journalist James Martin, has pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) sport analytics website FBref may have further highlighted why Liverpool were right to pull out of that deal for Bellingham.
If you take a browse through FBref’s website, there is a section which lists the most similar players on every single players’ profile. For Jude Bellingham, the top four most similar players in terms of profile according to FBref are: Ryan Gravenberch, Harvey Elliott, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Meanwhile, Curtis Jones also ranks in the top 10 in eighth place.
With the oldest player on that list being Mac Allister who is only being 25-years-old, it suggests Liverpool are well stocked for the future. And have moved way past any pursuit for Bellingham.
Liverpool will face Fulham tomorrow and ahead of the game as usual in the League Cup, Pep Lijnders has attended a pre-match conference.
The Liverpool assistant boss has provided some important updates ahead of the game against Fulham meanwhile the club’s official website has confirmed the Reds will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold for the considerable future.
However, there are positives news to gleam from Lijnders‘ press conference with a key returnee who could be back quicker than expected.
Kostas Tsimikas update from Lijnders
According to Lijnders, Kostas Tsimikas could be back quicker than expected. Meanwhile, the Liverpool boss also issued an update on the Reds’ other star players who are also out injured or ill at the moment.
“Virgil is back,” Lijnders said as per the club’s official YouTube channel. “He did some runs yesterday on the pitch, looked good again. So he will be back in the squad. He recovered well. So it really helped him not to travel to London.
“Dom is progressing well on the pitch. He’s running, so let’s see. Not available for tomorrow.And then we have Robbo. He’s almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon.
“And if he does that scan and we see everything [so] that we can really progress him, he will go to Dubai for a week to do proper volume sessions, proper sessions, so that will be good for him. Then we see the three-month mark scan and then we can see how quick he can go into contact again.
“Same for Kostas. Kostas is progressing really well, really quick. So hopefully both of them – Robbo and Kostas – will be back at the end of this month to train with the team.”
Having Kostas Tsimikas is going to be a huge boost for Liverpool. Especially with Alexander-Arnold now expected to be out – meaning Joe Gomez will be able to slot from left-back to right-back.
However, there were most negatives news to come as well. The Reds will have to wait longer for the return of Bajcetic and Thiago.
“They will not be ready for the end of this month. It will probably be going into the next month to train with us,” said Lijnders. “But both (with) no complications, progressing.”
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Liverpool are going to have to make do without Trent Alexander-Arnold for tomorrow’s game against Fulham.
Trent has been in tremendous form of late, with praise raining down on him from all corners. Typically, the 25-year-old is now injured, though.
After a top performance on Sunday against Arsenal, The Times report that Alexander-Arnold has sustained a knee problem.
Although there’s no time-frame given, it’s claimed that the full-back will certainly miss tomorrow’s match with Fulham.
As a result, Jurgen Klopp is going to have to change things. With that in mind, The Times claim that the Liverpool boss is ‘likely’ to start Conor Bradley at right-back instead.
Bradley ready for Reds chance
This is a huge blow for Liverpool. The last thing they need right now is another injury, and to a key player as well.
But one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. And this is a huge one for Bradley.
In all fairness, there is a chance that the 20-year-old was going to start this one anyway. Bradley was described as being ‘superb‘ by Alan Shearer having come off the bench for a cameo against Arsenal on Sunday.
And with that performance fresh in his memory, the Northern Irishman will be raring to go again.
Alexander-Arnold is so massively important to Liverpool, but you have to give youngsters a chance when there’s scope to do so. Tomorrow’s game always represented that for Bradley.
Nevertheless, it now takes on extra meaning. Liverpool don’t play again for 11 days following Wednesday’s semi-final first-leg. But by the sounds of things, that trip to take on Bournemouth will come too soon for Alexander-Arnold.
Consequently, Bradley should be in-line for a first ever Premier League start on the South Coast. What a huge moment that will be.
From what we’ve seen of Conor so far, Liverpool fans have every reason to be confident that he can step in. Trent is the type of player who can’t really be replaced. But the Norther Ireland international looks capable of doing himself justice nonetheless.
Go out and smash it Conor, now is your chance.
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