Liverpool
Liverpool could test Newcastle with’$110m dream transfer’in telling hint after top-four race
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Liverpool could test Newcastle with’$110m dream transfer’in telling hint after top-four race
With the need for midfield talent at Liverpool having been clear for a while, the list of names being linked with a move to Anfield who play that role continues to grow and grow.
Moving for Premier League stars would be beneficial in that Liverpool, in theory at least, would not need to wait for those players to adapt, with hitting the ground running next season a top priority. But, of course, that comes with a price premium, and can also make things difficult depending on to which club the player in question is contracted.
Spanish outlet AS reports that Liverpool — as well as Barcelona and PSG — is interested in signing Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães and is even prepared to make an offer worth $110m (£87m/€100m) for his services.
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PSG is said to be willing to pay up to $137m (£109m/€125m), while Barcelona is still in a difficult financial position and is seemingly trying to pull off an expensive re-capture of Lionel Messi — a move to the latter seems highly unrealistic.
It is not the first time that Guimarães has been linked with Liverpool, either. According to Sky Sports reporter Melissa Reddy, speaking to The Anfield Wrap at the end of last summer’s transfer window, the 25-year-old Brazilian is the ‘dream’ option for both Liverpool and Manchester City in the center of the pitch.
Brazilian outlet TNT has also reported along similar lines, suggesting that Guimarães was an option being considered by Liverpool, as well as Real Madrid and Chelsea, back in October.
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The numbers speak for themselves: Guimarães profiles statistically excellently, ranking among some interesting names. FBref has previously marked him as being closely aligned with Naby Keïta, but, of course, with a considerably better injury history. The site now has Mateo Kovačić down as a close stylistic match, among several others who would be perfect for Jürgen Klopp.
But signing him from a Newcastle side with Champions League ambitions, which has overperformed considerably this season under Eddie Howe, would be a tough ask.
From Newcastle’s perspective, there are upsides to a deal. For one thing, it would mean making a profit on a player that could be reinvested when it doesn’t have loads of room for a massive splurge thanks to FFP.
It would also help create a perception that Newcastle is not just spending its way to the top — it too, despite its riches, may have to lose talents to those higher up in the footballing pyramid. That might not matter too much right now, but Newcastle’s owners have too much money for it not to at some point.
Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimarães.
(Image: Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Despite all of that, Liverpool would almost certainly find it very difficult to entice Newcastle into selling to a rival, even at an inflated price.
The best time to get Guimarães was when he left Lyon for the Premier League around the time that Liverpool sealed a deal for Luis Díaz. Earlier that week, Newcastle had agreed a $50m (£40m/€46m) move.
After a season in which it has overachieved and looks set to qualify for the Champions League, though, it would be interesting to see exactly where Newcastle is within the food chain.
It might be that Liverpool has a very small chance of persuading a player like Guimarães to push for a transfer. It might be that it has zero chance. Exactly where the land lies will be telling as to exactly how quickly Newcastle will be challenging for league and European titles. Whether Liverpool thinks a move would even be one per cent possible could be an acid test of where Newcastle sits at present.
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‘Everyone has to change’ – Trent Alexander-Arnold makes admission over Liverpool position switch
For all the magic he possesses at his feet, it was with a forcible use of his hands that Trent Alexander-Arnold helped push-start both his and Liverpool’s season belatedly into life.
The altercation with Granit Xhaka during Arsenal’s trip to Anfield just over a month ago may not in itself have lit the touchpaper for a remarkable comeback for Jurgen Klopp’s side that ultimately earned a point against the then long-time Premier League leaders.
But it has assumed a certain symbolic importance as a turning point, with Liverpool having since embarked on a six-match winning run to give themselves an outside chance of Champions League qualification.
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Key to that has been the outstanding form of Alexander-Arnold, who has prospered in a new role that has seen him push into central midfield whenever Liverpool are in possession. From just three assists all season ahead of the Arsenal game, the 24-year-old now has nine.
True, it remains some way short of last season’s tally of 19. Alexander-Arnold, though, didn’t lose faith in his abilities despite being among many Liverpool players to have suffered a severe dip in form this campaign.
“I think it hasn’t gone as well for me as it had done in previous seasons and last season specifically, but I know there have been games when I have performed really well.,” he said. “It has been a season I can learn from to improve.
“I probably had the same approach personally as I do for the team’s performance this season. I look at it the same way – you don’t go from being a world-class team or world-class player last season to then losing that ability and that talent and not having that within you.
“So I know as a team, and personally, what I can achieve and the potential I’ve got. A bad season or a bad run of results or bad performances won’t change that belief I’ve got within.
“Potentially it is hopefully a season of learning and understanding and bonding, because I think the tough times are when you really come together, when you learn about each other and when you really fight for each other on and off the pitch. It draws you closer as a team. I’m trying to put a positive spin on it, but those things are true.”
Alexander-Arnold’s success in the new ‘inverted’ right-back role has prompted Liverpool boss Klopp to admit it could influence his summer recruitment drive. The player, though, believes the change is only proving profitable due to it being embraced by the squad as a whole.
“It’s a full team system, it’s not just my position,” he said. “Everyone within the system has to change and has to adapt to it. There are still things to learn, but we’re enjoying it. We’re creating chances, we’re dominating games and it’s going well.
“I think there is an element of confidence back and a belief. When you are getting bad results your confidence takes a dent and you then lack that belief that you’re a top team anymore. Once you get back to winning ways you start to believe, you start to feed it and then it just flows. I think we’re just at the beginning of that process again.”
Liverpool are at Leicester City on Monday still harbouring hopes of an unlikely Champions League qualification after recent wobbles from both Newcastle United and Manchester United directly above them in the table.
But, speaking to the official Liverpool matchday programme, Alexander-Arnold admitted: “Qualifying for the Champions League is not something we can control. We are trying our best but we need results to go our way as well around us.
“At times this season has been difficult, but Champions League qualification is something that we want and we are are really going to go for, but it also depends on the other team’s results. It’s not in our hands.”
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