Liverpool

‘I was just told…’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have made ‘calls’ and secured a very big player to players’ agents

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12 months ago

January 17, 2024

‘I was just told…’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have made ‘calls’ and secured a very big player to players’ agents

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool have made contact with the agents of some centre-back targets, asking to be kept ‘informed’ of their situations.

The Italian stated earlier this week that the Reds are ‘looking at some opportunities’ for that part of Jurgen Klopp’s squad in the January transfer window, but talked down the probability of deals being concluded this month.

The reporter provided an update on the affairs of the Anfield giants in his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside on Wednesday morning.

Romano wrote: “As mentioned yesterday, Liverpool are exploring the market for potential new signings at centre-back, though it’s not something urgent or guaranteed to happen this January, as we know Liverpool generally prefer to do their business in the summer.

“I don’t have any concrete name yet at this stage, but I was just told that Liverpool have made some calls to some centre-backs’ agents to be informed on situations – it hasn’t become a concrete negotiation as of now. It’s not easy to find top players in the January window, that’s the problem.”

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As updates go, this is admittedly a tentative one – you’d expect all clubs to be putting some feelers out during the January transfer window at the very least.

Liverpool have tended to be sensible with their market dealings under FSG’s stewardship, which has often been to the annoyance of many supporters but may ultimately be the best approach, in the wake of the Premier League’s recent clampdown on (most) clubs who breach their Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

It’s common knowledge that the Reds don’t sign players merely for the sake of it, but rather when the perfect candidate presents itself and the opportunity is there to acquire them for a reasonable sum.

There’s just over a fortnight left in the January transfer window, so the clock is definitely ticking for LFC if they’re to strengthen Klopp’s squad this month, but hope springs eternal until that 11pm deadline on 1st February is reached.

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Liverpool have £171m transfer bonus not even Manchester United can match
Liverpool have been among the top earners regards Academy sales in the Premier League over the last decade

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ByIan DoyleChief Liverpool FC Writer
05:00, 17 JAN 2024
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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones of Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones of Liverpool (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

And then there were two. The departure of Paul Glatzel to League Two side Swindon Town may not have been the most eye-catching January transfer for Liverpool, but it did mark the further severing of ties with the Reds’ last successful FA Youth Cup side.

Glatzel had scored the winning penalty in May 2019 as Manchester City were beaten on spot-kicks after a dramatic 1-1 draw. Now, less than five years later, only Vitezslav Jaros and Rhys Williams remain, both currently out on loan with only the latter having broken into the first team at Liverpool, although his last appearance was way back in May 2021.

The remainder of the players involved have had wildly contrasting fortunes since, ranging from Neco Williams and Yasser Larouci now featuring in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United respectively to Fidel O’Rourke and Bobby Duncan, scorer of Liverpool’s equaliser against City, being without a club.

Liverpool made around £20million from sales of that Youth Cup-winning team, the vast majority comprised of the £17m Forest paid for Williams 18 months ago. And the difficulties of gaining sizeable fees for often largely unproven talent – no matter what the obvious potential – can be evidenced by scrutiny of the beaten City squad that evening.

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The Etihad side have accrued just over £52m from sales from their squad, with almost the entire total consisting of Cole Palmer (£40m) and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu (£12m). Jeremie Frimpong, now much sought-after at Bayer Leverkusen, left for Celtic for less than £400,000, while Felix Nchema (now at Borussia Dortmund) and Eric Garcia (on loan at Spanish league leaders Girona from Barcelona) departed for nothing. City, though, have placed buy options on Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m) and Tommy Doyle (£4.3m) should their respective loan moves at Southampton and Wolves become permanent.

The advantages City’s huge financial clout can offer go some way to explaining why their Academy has been one of the most profitable in world football over the last decade, despite not having the same pressure to sell as almost any other club.

And the boffins at the CIES Football Observatory have calculated Liverpool have generated the fifth-highest revenue from their Academy among English clubs over the same period, a total of £171m that sees them scrape into the overall top 20.

Leading the way by some distance are Benfica on £443m, with Ajax next on £323m and Lyon third with £318m. Intriguingly, Real Madrid are next on £313m, with Chelsea the highest-placed Premier League team in fifth on £298m, a whopping 88% of which was brought in during the last five years when first FFP regulations and later the scattergun lavish spending of owner Todd Boehly have forced them to shift a considerable number of players.

The sales of the other two English teams above Liverpool in the rankings, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, have been bumped up considerably in recent years by the £100m departures of Harry Kane and Jack Grealish respectively.

Liverpool’s sales have by contrast been consistent, their last five years totalling 46% of the overall 10-year total. And, compared to Tottenham and Villa, they have been in a better position to keep hold of the best of their homegrown talent. Were, for example, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and breakthrough stars Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley moved on, their Academy revenue would rocket exponentially. The £23.5m deal struck with Sheffield United for Rhian Brewster remains the most profitable sale of an Academy player in recent times.

Loan spells away from Liverpool can often be a shop window to assess the true value of younger players. However, as has been witnessed with a succession of such agreements being terminated early this month, it is not an exact science. Sometimes values can diminish rather than increase.

Furthermore, football is cyclical and there can be periods when young talent doesn’t emerge in certain regions or at particular clubs. For example, City’s power has hampered neighbours United, so often the standard bearer for homegrown talent. United’s Academy sales over the last decade register an income of £150m, seventh in the English rankings.

And a more local example would be how Everton were once regarded the better choice for youngsters to be given first-team opportunities, only for the balance to tilt towards Liverpool given Jurgen Klopp’s willingness to utilise the Academy, which has been further increased with the first team moving to the same site in recent years.

Of course, part of the money generated by sales of young talent helps maintain and improve the Liverpool Academy itself, for whom strict budgets are set. Preparing players for the first team, though, remains the priority – even if ensuring a steady revenue stream can benefit both present and future generations.

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‘I was just told…’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have made ‘calls’ and secured a very big player to players’ agents

Liverpool

‘I was just told…’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have made ‘calls’ and secured a very big player to players’ agents

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‘I was just told…’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have made ‘calls’ and secured a very big player to players’ agents

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