Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

2015-05-11 05:42#212885 Pauker : Nice, Messi won a WC! Rulli will be a great addition, and don't let Flanno leave the club </3

Yes, finally! We'll see about that, haha

Just this weekend I was watching that keeper in the game against Barca and was thinking he looks a top quality young goalie...now you're looking to sign him in FM...uncanny

2015-05-11 22:23#212909 Titus07 : Just this weekend I was watching that keeper in the game against Barca and was thinking he looks a top quality young goalie...now you're looking to sign him in FM...uncanny

Nice! Yea he's definitely top quality if FM is anything to go by, currently one of the better goalkeepers around in Europe in my save now imo!

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Liverpool have announced their first signing of the summer as Real Sociedad goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli for a sum of £27 million, a fee that could potentially rise to £33 million depending on his performances for club and country.

Real Sociedad refused to let Rulli go cheaply, and rightfully so. The Argentina international, who is just 26 this year, is at the peak of his powers and displayed his magnificence to the world in the recent World Cup, conceding just 2 goals in 7 appearances as Argentina made a charge for the World Cup title.

Rulli leaves Real Sociedad with 144 La Liga appearances and has experience playing against top opposition, having contested himself against the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

His arrival on Merseyside will spark a debate about the future of Simon Mignolet, who has been the first-choice between the sticks at Liverpool since 2013.

The Belgian stopper has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and will not be short of suitors if he leaves to make way for the incoming Rulli. Italy is a likely destination with Milan and Roma keeping tabs on the situation.

Backup keeper Jason Steele might be the man leaving in place of Mignolet to increase competition within the team between two world-class goalies, but it isn't looking likely with the 28-year-old having just penned a new Liverpool contract.

Rulli aside, Liverpool have also signed Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos on loan from Arsenal.


Papadopoulos has not found success throughout his travels across Europe. Liverpool is the journeyman's fourth club within the last five years. The 26-year-old struggled in Germany while playing for Leverkusen and Schalke, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain and then Arsenal.

His debut season in England did not go nearly as well as he had hoped, as Papadopoulos made just 5 appearances in the Premier League, and is now deemed surplus to requirements after just a year with the Gunners.

Papadopoulos is expected to serve as backup to the preferred pairing of Eder Alvarez Balanta & Samuel Umtiti while at Liverpool, and the European Cup holders could exercise a clause to keep him permanently at the end of the season.


Reds manager Brendan Rodgers also addressed the media in unveiling the newest additions to his squad, who are hungry for title success after being beaten to the glory by Chelsea last season.

"Jeronimo and Kyriakos are great signings and will give us that extra edge we need," said Rodgers. "I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do. We will need quality players if we want to improve on our feats from last season and that is what we have gotten."

It remains to be seen if Liverpool will sanction more signings this summer. Understandably, Rulli's transfer fee has taken up a big chunk of the club's transfer budget.

However, departures are to be confirmed soon enough with Kwadwo Asamoah in advanced talks with a number of clubs, while Jon Flanagan is also on the brink of an exit after Liverpool accepted a £10 million offer tabled by Real Madrid.

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Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and full-back Jon Flanagan will be playing in the Serie A this season after concluding deals with Milan and Roma respectively.

Mignolet had a great season and helped Liverpool to a quintuple with his performances in goal, but has been forced out after the £27 million arrival of Jeronimo Rulli last week, while Flanagan has also been moved on after falling down the pecking order to third-choice right-back behind Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Joseph.

Milan have captured Mignolet for a fee of £20 million. The former giants have made a rapid fall to the pits of Serie A since their last title win in 2011, and were close to relegation last season, eventually finishing 16th.

The Rossoneri, under the new management of Rafa Benitez, are set to make key improvements to their squad this summer with Mignolet reportedly being the first of many new signings.

Mignolet, who also attracted interest from Roma, leaves Liverpool with 174 league games over a 5-year spell, as well as a massive trophy haul of 3 League Cups, 3 FA Cups, 2 Premier League titles, 2 Champions League titles, a Club World Cup, and a UEFA Super Cup.


Roma are also keen to strengthen their squad and will add Flanagan to their lineup for £10 million. The Giallorossi finished 2nd in the Serie A last season, losing out to champions Juventus by 3 points, and will look to mount an even more impressive title challenge this time around.

Despite losing out to Milan in the race for Mignolet, Roma will be pleased to have beaten Real Madrid to the signature of Flanagan. The La Liga side were the first to register their interest in the England international, but failed to agree terms with the player.

Flanagan, who came through Liverpool's youth ranks, finishes his time on Merseyside with 123 appearances in the Premier League.


The 25-year-old is also fully comfortable playing at left-back and will play an integral role along with fellow summer arrival Marcos Rojo in enhancing Roma's defensive capabilities.

"I have never known of being at a club other than Liverpool, added on to the fact that this is a foreign country and league, so this is a very new experience for me," said Flanagan on the official website of Roma.

"I have watched Roma a lot and I got a first-hand taste of playing against this team last season in the Champions League. I know it's a very good club and I'm excited to play here."

The two departures have been met with uncertainty from fans, but Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers appears to be undeterred.

The club could yet confirm the sale of another player. Kwadwo Asamoah is on the verge of agreeing a contract with fellow Premier League side Arsenal after a short one-year stint at Liverpool.

Best of luck to Migs and Flanno!!!

Migs <3, Flanno <3

2015-05-12 21:05#212960 Titus07 : Best of luck to Migs and Flanno!!!

Best of luck to them indeed!

2015-05-13 03:59#212979 Pauker : Migs <3, Flanno <3

Shouldn't it be </3 instead?

Fresh from holidaying and the World Cup, Liverpool's players returned for pre-season and looked lively with 18 goals scored in 5 games. The new signings were also gelled into the team and all is looking well for the new season.

Player of Pre-Season

Richairo Zivkovic has recovered from a disappointing Second Round exit in the World Cup with Holland, returning his prolific eye for goal to Liverpool and scoring 4 goals in 5 appearances. The lethal striker is a key component of the Brendan Rodgers project at Liverpool and if he continues the form that saw him hit home a record number of 40 goals last season, defenders are going to have a hard time coping with him.

Injury Report

Jordon Ibe - 6 weeks (strained knee ligaments)

Reds winger Jordon Ibe picked up an unfortunate injury against Wolfsburg and will be out for a month at least.

Manager's Thoughts

Great pre-season although I expected nothing less, we could have made it perfect too by winning against Dinamo at home. Then again, pre-season is all about fitness so I can't say I'm too unhappy about that one. We have the Community Shield against Chelsea coming up soon enough and a UEFA Super Cup match against Zenit as well, two interesting games that could really kick start our season. I'm looking forward to it, and our first Premier League game too, where we'll host Swansea at Anfield. Bring on the title challenge!

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It has been announced that Liverpool striker Richairo Zivkovic will be switching from his usual number nineteen jersey to the prestigious number nine.

The number nine has been made famous at Anfield by the likes of Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, and perhaps more recently, Fernando Torres.

And Zivkovic will be the next man to don the shirt, following on from Rickie Lambert, the latest wearer, although he will hope to be more successful than Lambert considering the former Southampton player only managed to score 1 goal in 5 league appearances before being moved on to Stoke City.

The Dutch international, who celebrates his 22nd birthday next month, has flourished at Liverpool since his arrival from Ajax in 2015, and topped the club's goalscoring charts with 40 goals in all competitions last season.


Zivkovic's opportunity to establish himself at Liverpool came last year after Daniel Sturridge picked up a nasty cruciate ligament injury, and has refused to give up his position in the first team since, relegating Sturridge to the bench.

He cost Liverpool about £14 million three years ago, but is now rated at about £40 million with clubs like Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund interested in his services.

However, Zivkovic is not keen on leaving Merseyside, and reiterated his desire to stay and help his side challenge for more trophies after they won the Champions League last season.

"This season was fantastic and I'm very happy that my goals fired Liverpool to five trophies. I hope to stay here for many more years to come because I love this club and I simply can't see myself playing for any other club at the moment."

He will be looking to continue his form when he makes his first appearance in his new jersey against Chelsea next week in the Community Shield spectacle.

#RZ9

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In a piece of news that will undoubtedly make Liverpool fans worry, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has involved himself in a heated argument with center-back Mamadou Sakho.

The defender has played for Liverpool since 2013, but is now almost certain to leave Anfield this summer. His relationship with Rodgers is said to be beyond repair - and Raheem Sterling & Philippe Coutinho, two other key players, might even follow suit, having been unhappy with the treatment of the former PSG man.

The conflict stemmed from the club's loss to last season's Europa League winners Zenit in the UEFA Super Cup, where Sakho received a red card, leading to Zenit dragging the match to extra time before finding a late winner.

Despite the Frenchman's importance in the squad, Rodgers is now ready to kick him out from the club. Serie A champions Juventus are leading the chase but Paris Saint-Germain also want their former captain to return.


However, Sterling and Coutinho, just two men in the Liverpool squad who have been vital to it's recent success, are also unsettled.

The attacking duo are reportedly extremely unhappy with Rodgers after his handling of Sakho's incident, and could look to force a move away if they so desired.

Sterling would not be short of suitors with both Barcelona and Real Madrid sharing a long-held interest in the talented winger. Neither would Coutinho, whose situation is being closely monitored by the likes of Bayern Munich and Dortmund.

The former has apparently already handed in a transfer request that was rejected, but the club have refused to speak in public regarding the piling up of it's internal issues.


If they do leave, it would be a massive blow to Liverpool's chances of claiming back the Premier League title from Chelsea.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has been vocal in his interest of Sterling, who has won more than 10 trophies since his arrival on Merseyside as a teenager from Queens Park Rangers.

"Raheem Sterling is a very complete player and is just the kind of footballer that we want playing for Barca," the 48-year-old said, speaking to El Mundo Deportivo.

"We have been interested in him for a very long time. Barca will always have a place in the team for a player such as himself.

"I have watched him play many times and he can be very successful here in Spain. I have said this many times but I will say it again, Raheem Sterling should be playing for Barca. We are a perfect fit for him and his style of play."

With the transfer window set to close in another half a month, decisions will have to be made, and it remains to be seen if Rodgers, who is known for taking a strong stance on no player being bigger than the team, is willing to take action to pacify his unsettled stars.

have you got any replacements in line, just in case Coutinho and Sterling decide to leave?

2015-05-16 14:45#213099 The Motivated One : have you got any replacements in line, just in case Coutinho and Sterling decide to leave?

Yup would of course prefer to keep them here though!

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As center-back Mamadou Sakho completes his £25 million move to Juventus, Liverpool have also confirmed their third signing of the summer in the form of Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld from Roma, for a fee in the region of £15 million.

Since signing on from Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, Sakho has been a dedicated servant to Liverpool, although he never quite managed to establish himself permanently as a first-choice player.

In 115 league appearances for the Reds over 5 years, Sakho won a variety of honors including 2 Premier League and 2 Champions League titles.

However, his time at the club came to an abrupt end after a well-publicized falling out with manager Brendan Rodgers last week, and he will now link up with fellow French compatriot Paul Pogba in Turin.


Liverpool are still remaining tight-lipped on the issue, but a spokesperson for the club admitted that Sakho had left the club on bad terms, stating, "It was unfortunate for Mamadou to leave under such circumstances, but Liverpool Football Club wishes him all the best for the future."

The club's latest addition, Alderweireld, is believed to be a direct replacement for Sakho, with the added bonus of being able to play at right-back, a position that has been needing cover since the departure of Jon Flanagan.

Alderweireld impressed in Serie A last season, helping his side Roma to a 2nd-placed finish, just three points behind champions Juve.

The 29-year-old leaves Roma with 73 league appearances made, and will be looking to provide competition for Eder Alvarez Balanta, Samuel Umtiti, and another summer arrival, Kyriakos Papadopoulos.


This will be the Belgium international's second stint in England, having played in the Premier League in 2014/15 for Southampton on a season-long loan from then club Atletico Madrid.

With the Saints, he was involved in every league game but one, yet failed to make much of an impression, eventually returning to Spain before his move to Roma in January 2016.


"I'm excited for this new opportunity in my career. Liverpool are a great club, they are the European champions and to play for a club like this is a privilege," said Alderweireld on the club's official website.

"I played here in the Premier League for Southampton before and I follow it closely. Liverpool are one of the greatest teams here and maybe even the best. We can prove that by winning the league this season and I hope I can help the club do that."