Liverpool, The Transfer Market & The Euros | The Anfield Wrap

Video podcast discussing the transfer marketing pertaining to Liverpool and their Premier League rivals, as well as the start of The Euros.

Neil Atkinson hosts Ian Ryan, Mo Stewart and Josh Williams…

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[Music] it is the anfield rap it’s Neil ainson joined by Mo Stewart uh by Josh Williams and by Ian Ryan to do a show that’s sort of in three parts they are interrelated uh we’re going to start off with a bit of a transfer transfer Round Up matters pertaining to Liverpool uh then we’re going to have a bit of a chat about the euros and how to live it and then from there we’re also then going to talk about what other clubs are up to and try to get a sense of what the market actually is it’s quite complicated and difficult stuff at the minute no one quite knows what what or what’s where and there’s lots of extraneous factors not least the distraction of the Euros but we will get stuck right in uh we’ll start off talking about forwards not least because uh Josh Williams on his substack which you can find called distance covered has been whittling them down uh in such a way which means he gets text messages from me which don’t bod well it’s worth saying um it’s it’s predominantly right hand side of forward stuff before I bring Josh in Ian um there’s been noises for both Liverpool and for a number of uh sides about players in this position at Le say release Club closes around Champions League clubs bakoko report of a release as well have been doing the rounds he’s been linked with a number of people Mina last week uh 10 minutes or so uh of of General chatted about him Somerville today getting thrown out there for Liverpool to me it sort of feels a little bit like Liverpool will put feelers out I wouldn’t necessarily go beyond that but at this point in time it does feel like it wouldn’t surprise me if he found out in a few months Liverpool practically had their list of lads for the right hand side and rang everyone’s agent and said what what yeah yeah I mean those Lads you’ve mentioned there you can believe that they’re all on a list I mean they’re all a similar age profile as well so they’re all around about 21 22 I think if you were asking me right now which one kind of takes my fancy it would be a leay mainly because I’ve seen him more than the other Lads I think the point around his injuries might be one of concern I think he plays in about 19 games last season but does get 10 goals and six assists so he can already kind of see and smell it that he’s he’s on this trajectory now where I think he’s about to go big if someone can keep him fit but even in those 19 games I think he plays just under 1300 minutes so they’re not full 90s so there definitely is an issue but because he is looking like he’s coming to the bo I do think some of the bigger teams now are going to be sniffing around him as I say he’s 22 years of age it looks like he’s got a lot he can play on that right hand side as you said but I think he’s a bit more flexible than just playing on the right hand side and if Liverpool are considering what the next step is for Muhammad Salah you know we can all sit here right now and say know should they keep him should he sell him maybe because of the age thing but if they are going to do something with him I shift them more Central into maybe a number 10 or a number nine position then I think someone like Alisa will get fans excited yeah I agree and I mean just from the point of view of putting The Feelers out essentially this there’s a new group that’s come in so as a new sporting director and the whole recruitment team is new so they’re sitting down and going okay lad what’s on not Todo list all right all these new contracts oh Muhammad Salah what are we going to do about that okay what do we do if he says no here’s the list of people so that’s probably where the feeders are coming out from so even just from a point of view of we have to explore every option even if they still want to say we still hoping to try and tie him down to a new contract the players you’re but you’re indicating there that there’s a universe where if he doesn’t get tied down to a new contract he gets sold yes I I know I know that you don’t agree with that and I know that no I’m just I’m saying there is that will Salah get to decide that and the club doesn’t yes this is the this is the well you want to S off don’t he want to S up in 2025 yeah well I mean I dare say he probably looked at the the trajectory of Jordan Henderson thinks I don’t actually want that so maybe maybe that’s the case um I think yeah obviously selling him is a difficult one because it requires someone who he would actually want to go to coming in with the bid that Liverpool would actually want to take and the chances of that at the moment are very slim but anyway I dig I think um Ian’s point about Alise say uh and his lack of 90s is kind of fascinating because I think it might be one of those where it chimes with what Liverpool want but it doesn’t necessarily chime with what the player wants I think he’s looking to go somewhere who’s going to be playing in Europe and he’s going to want to be the main guy but the reality is is that if we he can’t stay on the pitch that long enough we might be have to say well look you you’re not going to be able to play all the games you want but if you’re going to be playing alongside someone like who’s going to be playing sometimes outright sometimes in the middle then between the two of you you can maybe hold down that position that feels a little bit more likely from a Liverpool perspective you you run the list of wide forwards in general just right hand sided Ones Josh one of the things that did hit me when as you were whittling through was one of the things that you end up looking for as well is an availability question in terms of them s of getting on the pitch because to me the most obvious candidate if you’re going to look at AIS say you throw back the notion of Netto who to me I think would fit both the idea of what Liverpool look for in general but also the Way Slots plays uh because he is such a pure Winger um it’s worth pointing out in the way in which he goes about his business but this is the difficult thing plays in those positions they often do come with with some availability question marks and Liverpool have got to balance all of this out I mentioned Boko before as well you know there’s a lot for Liverpool to balance out I think in this conversation I don’t think it’s that straightforward and that’s even before you throw open the Sal questions which I think are complicated yeah well the the elici thing is interesting cuz all point so far are right in terms of unavailability thing and I I had the perception that he’s not typically available that much but if you look at the season before last he starts 37 out of 38 in the Premier League I I really did not pick up on that but he did you know so that’s That’s Heavy availability whereas I think in comparison to Neto he’s had one season I think in his career where he started 18 more than 18 games in a league season and and that was 2021 2020 to 2021 beyond that nothing you know it’s it’s 18 start Max um for a bit of perspective on that Brian and boo is has done that five years in a row until this Seas more than 18 starts no I think he’s done it this season oh he got back in in time okay yeah yeah um so he’s he’s got heavy availability Andy Gordon showed up as the play who played the most last season in my little analysis thing but um I have covered every forward Under the Sun I feel I’ve done my own work so ask me anyone made in I’ll answer but um I think Alis I don’t think it’ll be him I don’t think it’ll be Alis I think I think he’s a good player but just looking at him at his profile and his contract especially I just think it’s a big deal I think it’s a Chelsea deal or a city deal or a United deal cuz he’s already on 100 Grand a week more that was reported so yeah he’s on a lot of money already yeah so if you you get him in you you going on a fair bit higher than that you’re giving them the paid rise what I couldn’t believe when you pull it all through reading some of the stuff and it’s very much worth reading by the way is the amount of money niik Williams is on that was the one that absolutely got me niik Williams who’s got the release Clause at B bab so it’s a low release Clause but he’s on up puts of 160,000 a week already at at his age at this stage I think for me it’s the same reason though essentially because they’ve had to try and stop him leaving once and they’ve kept him and they’ve got him to sign a new deal in order to do that and part of that new deal was a lot of money the same thing that P did release last summer when Chelsea uh activated their release course and everyone was like ASA you don’t want to go there do you stay here he’s 21 now 21 and he’s on 200 Grand a week or something like that is what I found like also the other thing with Bill batt is that they can’t be as active in the market as everyone else so when they’ve got a really good player they do absolutely everything they can to keep hold of him it is true it is true it is fair I think to me the whole thing for me Josh and I’ll bring everyone in throws open just thr those open Sal questions we’re going to do a show in a minute and we’ve run the numbers on the way in which slot plays and what he asks of his right hand side of forward um or what he asked last season at finals he might not ask the same thing and that’s part of the the vagaries of this at the minute but effectively his his most intense pressure was his right hand sided forward um his player who carried the ball the most was his right hand sided forward none of that anymore one one aspect of it maybe did once although I would argue that man always had the owners on them to carry it more and get Liverpool up the pitch more than Salah none of that is most Salah uh at this point in time and that to me is why I think it keeps going back to a right hand side of forward because I think it’s a potential stting birth for the right signing yeah well I was quite surprised to be honest when I kind of n of the down so not that many options how many of them are left F to be fair there’s quite a few in there um but not none of them are quite well none of them at anywhere near Sal’s level H they might work a bit harder than Sams are putting the foot in a bit more but in terms of the output it’s it’s just not as good the best players in the process that I I found were like but were faved the left like an Anthony Gordon or a um we’d also Anthony Gordon Josh yeah yeah I’m sure Ed I buy him twice to make the points do you think that’s a go I hope it is do you think there’s anything in it though I think I I think I think what Liverpool I think the problem Liverpool have got now is I think that there’s until the certainty and this is goes for every club by the way so it’s not just Liverpool to the certainty on the outs and I think specifically on this one Diaz I don’t think Liverpool are going to be looking for more than one I think Liverpool the teams clear are prepared to buy one forward but unless someone’s going to move on I don’t think there’s room for a second one um and everyone’s got contract and everyone’s getting somewhere so I don’t I don’t quite see a world where Liverpool buy for the left unless the plan is to move Diaz to the right but he does like an inverted Winger and Diaz is Right footed unless that’s the plan I don’t think there’s a world where Liverpool are buying for the left which un unfortunately rules out one of the greatest living Liverpool Le Tony Gordon the only thing withy Gordon I think he can play different spots though he’s played this a he’s played this a temp for that he have he’s played as a cent of forward he’s played on the right he played he played for the under 21s when he won that tournament he played straight through the middle yeah really good tournament and also a different level and to step up when you come into the Premier League and stuff but he has to back your point off he can do that that multifaceted thing where he can play in different positions not just the left hand side yeah I think another one of the players in the protest was was um B with me on this karia you say he was another one who showed up very well but I think Gordon in comparison to him I think Gordon can play different spots I think if you sign cavaria I think you play him on the left and if you can’t play him on the left probably don’t buy him do you know what I mean so I think you maybe have to sell Diaz in that case um but I thought his recent agent comments were interesting have you seen them no Haven you seen them no no I’ve been on all M um you have to get CL backing on everything to be honest with you I I forgot we played in Red it was quite Reon I think it’s been in like the past 24 hours to be honest but it’s um his agent said something on the land of like when not in the Champions League he doesn’t want to miss out of year in the Champions League it’s not guaranteed that we’re going to stay he might want to move con’s got big plans what just just very vague but as in we’re interested in getting off here basically um but I do think he’s a player for the left we already have gakpo h j and Diaz who can play over there and maybe Nunes maybe Nunes yeah so it’s that one feels like AIT a bit of a long shot but it depends on outo and that but I think Liverpool in a healthy state in terms of looking at the market and and seeing other clubs struggling for PSR and things like that and and and having sat on Happy players you might want to leave and we can almost just wait and watch and pach someone if something comes up I think you need to move one on though I I I do I do think there should be I think going to BU two fors they need to move one on yeah I do think that there needs to be some chain I think it would be maybe it would feel like a little bit of a gamble if you just went with the the same Lads again for different reasons you know I think there’s there’s almost question marks over over all of them to some extent I think the Salah Thing Remains interesting because you don’t quite know where his level is and it’s all about because he’s getting a little bit older I think you know we we’d all sit here and say he’s been one of the best players that’s probably ever represented the club certainly tend to get goals his record is is Sensational but he is is he 32 now just just and I think listen he’s had he’s had Seasons before Sol he’s he’s tailed off towards the end and he’s come back brilliant The Following season so you got to be careful with some of this but I do think there was real signs where even if slot wasn’t coming in there was a real question mark do you need to move Muhammad Salah just because I’m not sure he can give you what he was once able to give you on that right hand side consistently over over 38 games so I’m not saying he can’t do it in certain moments in certain games but I don’t think you can nail him to that position all the time so it might be got loads of closing down to do the manager well that’s it because I think a lot of this will come back to I think a lot of Liverpool’s recruitment will come back to a number of things Salah will be one Trent will be another what are they going to do with him where is he going to play um you know playing Salah on that right hand side doesn’t really help Trent um and I think that’s something they’ve got to think about they’re going to play Trent full back then they’ve got to think about well who is going to be on the right hand side because Trent you know when he’s been at his best he has been helped out with with other footballers offering a bit of a structure and a bit of a protective blanket Henderson being being the main one so Liverpool have to make those decisions but I think know someone like a Diaz for instance you know is his output where you wanted to be you know is he going to get much better has the injury really hampered him to the point where you think now is it just is he the one where you maybe move on and gako can do a little bit more left hand side um you know jotte it’s more about injuries and just keeping him fit and stuff and and and maybe Nunes it’s more of a know is the is the quality there uh is he going to hit the kind of Heights that we we thought he might do again I think the manager will want to have a little look at that so I don’t see him moving on but I could certainly see leis Diaz Moving on I think it’s the fixtion is going to be out tomorrow Mo and I think they’re going to tell a story when people actually engage with this and I think that people are sort of struggling at a minute as well with the reality of what the champions league is going to be like because what you end up with is you have this season that almost comes in three parts forget August probably because I think they’re only going to put three games in I’ve done it uh but I could be wrong there’s only four midweek games that they’re doing across the across the thing you don’t want to get into this with me uh then I think ultimately then September until January the 4th will average I think a game approximately every four days unless Liverpool were to go out to the AFL cup the only way that will happen realistically is if they get a top 10 side away from home uh that’s the only way Liverpool are going to get knocked out to the AFL cup now as far as I’m concerned uh within reason so they’re going to average a game every 4 days then there’s still two more Champions League games that happen in January then there’s a chance that practically nothing happens in February like they might barely play a game from from the end of January until the start of March in a really weird way because when the fifth round of the coup will be they might get knocked out of that the fourth round of the cup they get knocked out in the third round which feels likelier than going out to the AFL cup I’ll finish me points in a minute then you get you hit March and unless they’re in the unless they’ve come 9th to 24th in the Swiss system they will as I say could be really really light then you hit March and then March until the end of the season including an international break you’re back to a game every 4 days so you’ve got this really weird thing where basically my argument here is they need six forwards I the way in which we clustered as five last year I actually think you throw Elliot in that Loop group as well and you end up with seven and then you got a couple of kids that’s how many I think you’re going to need and that’s not even before you get into whether or not Liverpool’s forwards are injury prone that’s what I think you’re going to need yeah absolutely and I think it’s interesting because like you say such a weird um configuration of the season and that’s even before you factor in who we’re playing at what point yeah because we we don’t know when the league fct is going to f we don’t know if we’re playing away at City first or away at City second away at United first or Arsenal and all of those things come into it and the Champions League you know you’re going to play Four good teams minimum minimum four good teams you’re going to get four two teams from pot one two teams from pot two that’s four difficult games that you guaranteed to have whereas in Times Gone by City’s group the best the nearest side to them is [ __ ] liic yes and we have to remember RB [ __ ] lipic is their actual formal name now by the way I mean are we [ __ ] lipick you needly knock out where but anyway I digress last season we really benefited from the fact that we had the Europa League so we were able to do a lot and bring a lot of players through and mix a match a little bit and still be able to keep everybody fresh and humming for the Premier League season this season obviously we’re not going to have that it’s going to be harder and then you think about how we ended last season and that is absolutely what we want to avoid we want to avoid the crunch part of the Season being our worst part energy wise and performance- wise absolutely now how do you do that is it all of the slot the changes the slot’s going to make to how we train how we set up from compared to Club we’re hearing a lot of noises about that’s one of the things he’s very good at keeping his players fit keeping his players available whether or not the changes he makes is enough I think and this is going to sound ridiculous because it’s something that we haven’t traditionally done I think this you right to say that we might need six forwards I think we might need to get one of them in January rather than getting them all in the summer I think we might need that extra boost at that point because if you say we’re going to have a very calm February you can bring someone in in January they have a few games to mix in with it then we have some time to train to learn to adapt in February and then go again I think we might need that extra little bit of emphasis at that point in the season that’s what they did with Diaz I quite like Diaz when I said before I think he could go it it’s mainly because I think I think chain in the squad is good I think you’ve got to keep you keep it fresh you’ve got to keep adding players and maybe you have got a little two one or two go I think you know the model that Liverpool have operated they have always wanted to bring money in then go and spend it so you’ve got to look at where are they going to generate the cash if they want to go and do that I I do think Diaz with the noises around him um maybe maybe he’d be the one because there is a lot of left hand side options but I also think you know tournament football presents a problem in terms of bringing bringing footballers in at least he’s been mentioned there at least at least he’s not g to the Euros surprisingly know he’s he’s born in England but he’s not don’t he’s represented England yet at at under 21 level has represented France but he’s likely to go to the Olympics which doesn’t start until kind of the end of July so even France off of Britain he’s going to go for France I think he’s in ter Onre provisional squad for the Olympics so this presents a problem for for clubs trying to get footballers in whilst they’re in major tournaments and you know you can have a conversation about whether you think football’s major tournaments of the Olympics or not but he’ll they’ll take that seriously and if he’s not been in the Euro Squad he there you can’t talk you can’t no one can make the argument he can’t go to the Olympics if you see what I mean no so him and Mata are both in that in that Squad um but but it’s but it but it feels mad that he’s not gone to to the Euros at least say because I think you know I think salate said up England have left it a little bit late I mean it’s not like he’s a surprised he was born in England you know we should we’ve known about for a while if you want to think about it in an England context and to I’m not too particularly bothered about Waring Ling get up to in the summer but it is odd that maybe he’s not um found himself in one of the International Teams but yeah that that whole thing that holds summer football there’s obviously a cup America as well that’s going to be difficult for for clubs to to navigate and negotiate around that because footballers will have the minds focus on those tournaments this is why and I maybe we’ll just do this as a as a full thing Josh but this is why I think trying to work the market out at the minute you’ve you know run the numbers that you’ve run and gone from there I think with the Autos with cop America the Olympics getting whacked in there as well the PSR questions are on some clubs in England in particular uh actual money being more of a factor than people ever give a credit for cash flow all of that sort of stuff that’s one of the reasons why Everton need to sell a player they should be PSR compliant according to Swiss ramble today but actual cash on hand for Everton is a massive massive problem at the minute and that’s why United are low balling them around but onwe they literally need cash they’ve got things to pay off uh people paying attention to that would be no bad thing but you can’t have everything in English football people cannot pay attention to detail it’s practically impossible all of this I think makes it really hard the minut to work out what value actually is so yo could be going for 50 million that sort of feels like value in aio’s got a clause he’s been linked with Liverpool consistently that’s at about 50 million as I said United low ball on branth weight everyone thought it was low balling this summer I’ve got no sense as to what promising Young Center ARS are going for I think Liverpool have got to try and plow their own foro but that’s also easier said than don’t because you said before about they might want to be able to pick one off here poach one there have the eye on the way in which the whole thing’s going yeah well that comes back to the waitand watch thing that I’ve just mentioned like it does feel like a lot of clubs are in a bit of a sticky situation you know this summer and and you know we we know Villa need to sell we know Chelsea need to sell Newcastle I think Villa might be all right after the Louise thing you know what about selling John Jan to Chelsea just talked that J yeah J might go to Chelsea but I don’t know if they need to do that Swiss ramble this morning was either way on that as well they may not need to do J but they might just want to he’s wanted to get off yeah yeah well I think there’s a there’s a lot of situations out there though that seem to be kind of in limbo a little bit and you know going back to what I said earlier Liverpool out of all these clubs seem to be in in a decent spot we have got five relatively Elite forwards there already uh we have got a deep Squad when everyone’s fit uh and we’ve got a new manager who wants to assist these players in train we’ve got a new sporting director who’s got a few contact issues ongoing so I I am not surprised and wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool really did wait and just kind of like spot an opportunity when they emerge you know typical John Henry to be honest like spotting these exploiting the market basically whenever whenever you can and I think this is going to be a mark for that if you’re sensible around it um on the DS thing as well by the way like I I have wondered you know like just how he would look on the right yeah you know like you was speaking about Trent before sh not helping Trent Diaz would help Trent a lot more and I think Diaz one of Diaz’s biggest issues for me I don’t know whoever said it to you recently on the podcast more but you can give Diaz the ball in in in his own defensive third right and he’ll have you in the Penalty Box 10 seconds later but then he stops he just stops make was it you yeah honestly he just he gets all that way transition and everyone’s catching him up and stuff everyone’s behind him and he just stops then he tries to dribble in the P four players and then tries to shoot and it gets blocked every time cuz he’s cutting inside onto his favorite foot and he’s he’s Galaxy braining it but I think if he was on the opposite side I think he’d do more of what he did when the famous spares goal got ruled out where he beats his man and immediately when he gets that separation just Wellies it towards the far stick or gets to the by line and cuts it back like a typical slot fing OD Winger um so I would be interesting to just play with that Dynamic if you’re going to get salad away from the sides now I’m playing as a nine or play him as a 10 or something test the on the right there’s loads of experiments like that for the for the summit like Beyond transfers even the trend thing as well there’s loads of internal solutions to play with as well and you could buy an Gordon exactly yeah the other thing about Diaz I think back to the fing away game and the first half an hour of that when he was the first time seen him on the right for ages he looked like he had real impetus it looked like the F Defenders didn’t really know how to deal with him and he had that move where he was coming from the right into the center and if you think back to his first season there was a goal away at Brighton well it wasn’t even the goal it was the one where the keeper absolutely takes him out no it was a goal chance goes he should be sent off but it stands goes in the back of the net and and that channel of coming from the right into the center moving late seemed to be something that was really really uh exciting and really profitable for him and we just kind of went away for it so I’m like you I would like to see how he would look out there and I don’t think it’s something that slot would completely dismiss out of hand if we were looking at the left-sided forwards in terms of the the market and all those other things and Liverpool kind of waiting around I think there is probably one exception with this whole lenara stuff whereby I feel like Liverpool’s opportunity is to go early rather than late because essentially he wants Real Madrid Real Madrid think that they’ve got him I mean he was their guest at the Champions League final which kind of means that they probably think that they’ve got him already but they are sitting on their hands because as much as they can afford it they don’t have to they they’re happy to wait and see what’s happening with Bayern Munich and Alonso Davis and with fur mendi and whether or not he’s going to sign new contracts and let all of their other chips fall before they go into him because they’re like well okay we don’t have to move from him because we know that he wants to come to us whereas Liverpool have got really good um relationship with his agency guut who the Nunes and quite a few others who we’ve signed in the past who are probably saying to Liverpool look if you go hard you can get him because Li absolutely want shot Li have absolutely said that we’re we’re going to we’re going to put this guy for sale I mean they stopped him going to the Olympics in the same way that they Palace didn’t with Leisa because they wanting to be available for transfer so Liverpool’s kind of move here is to try and do it now but if it’s can’t do it now then probably going to kind of back off a away he’s only got one year y as well on his contract left so I think that that probably skews the fee even though it’s a lot of money for an 18y old but I think given his potential you’d have seen that fee maybe even higher if he’d had the long run his contract he sound as last one in about 22 so it’s due to expire next season but he looks he looks an unbelievable talent I think he can play Both Sides as well so I agree with Mo if it feels like the direction of travel is very much Real Madrid and and we’ve all just got a cop for that but he is someone I think all things being equal Liverpool would love because he’s someone who you could bring in not necessarily as a project I think maybe he’s he’s already maybe P that stage to an extent but there will be a a period of time where he’d have to learn you know given his age new league all that um but from what I’ve seen and I’ve only seen little bits he looks like he’s he’s got potential to to kind of be whatever he wants to be honest that kid he’s one that’s interesting Josh and I think again though this is the same thing that you’re saying which is that Liverpool can pick as when they want to move I think this this is the interesting part I don’t think the Marcus is quite going to skew sort of in Liverpool’s general direction in terms of the very very highest level of football to the Real Madrid points as well that can be made but I do think there is a little bit of a a little bit of a moment where everyone’s just trying to work out where their own parameters are at the minute I think that that’s the case even at the very highest level clubs I think United are in a really funny uh position as ever uh manag to create for themselves Arsenal are interesting and I don’t think they can do much before the new Financial year so kicks in properly I think they need to get the other side of J June the 30th City are really weird they the hotel Hotel California the football clubs uh you can you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave unless they want you to uh it’s summer that seems I hate the [ __ ] Eagles I don’t know why I’ve done it uh it’s summer that seems oddly contingent on departures uh though for Manchester City in a bit of a weird way I think there is a little bit of leeway for Liverpool to be able to pick the moments they’ve just got to be smart with it and that’s been the point of the change of the structure yeah I think I feel like a lot of the markets going to depend on PSG as well just what you know obviously they just lost K and B they they’ve always got cash on the hip to use they historically have sent the markets into chaos you know so and they are after a replacement for for him and if it’s Diaz as their top Target that would make things very interesting for Liverpool if it’s kav area then you know that means for me probably that the is probably staying um so it a lot of it depends on what just as always with the market you know it’s it’s very it’s it’s alive in it it’s like feels more alive now than sorry no to be clear it feels less alive but with greater variance now than it had in the past I think in the past when it felt like you know if you go back two seasons say spend spend spend money was always going up the big clubs had the cash they would they’d lash it around other clubs had moved I think there’s now because of the the the the Premier League shifts I think there’s now much more it’s much more of a Lochness Monster if you see what I mean in terms of the flow you can’t quite work out where it is whereas in the past it felt more alive but now it feels more like a snakes and lads all the better everywhere it goes back to that that was it Mike Tyson I think who said it who said everyone’s got a plan so they get punched in the face yeah the market can punch you in the face out of nowhere you can have the a perfect little blueprints but this is exactly what I’m going to do and then we want you want your Center half and and you can’t you can’t stop him from going or or in this case sens half we want R did also one them and again they just get everyone you want don’t they so we have to then come up with a bit of a contingency plan so it’s usually just the case of whoever copes best with that um Ever Changing FL it’s like the flaws La it you know and just everything’s moving all the time and um but Liverpool historically when with this structure behind the scenes with the sport and director inl that have made really good decisions so it’s it’s going to be interesting to see how the market moves like because everyone seems to be really hesitant apart from Crystal Palace yeah but but on that though Mo to Liverpool moved Smart in the past that’s almost now if you I mean a lot of that is is preo um it does just feel like a different era it feels like one way you could draw your blueprint up and have a confidence in executing it that does just seem a little bit trickier uh at this point than it than certainly than it did do in 2019 I think so and there are so many different variables that are into the market now because obviously we don’t really know how much of a force Saudi are but they are still knocking around they are still able to put um unsettle players if not necessarily go in there and throw massive bids around because they might not necessarily be paying big transfer fees which will make the club’s eyes light up but they’ll still pay high wages the CL s can unsettled players and then suddenly you’ve got a situation where a player that you were banking on suddenly you can’t Bank on him anymore and suddenly you’ve got to try and um you got to try and replace them but in a market where everybody is sell first before you buy you kind of end up in a stalemate because someone’s got to buy someone’s got to make the first move and we in previous Summers where there’ll be the one big transfer which starts all the dominoes falling well the big transfer this summer was mbappe but P didn’t get any money out of mbapp so that means that there’s not more money for them to go around and I take Josh’s point is that they probably are going to go back into the market however they do technically have Bradley Bara and col moani to play up front and Oman demell and last season there were times when L Enrique was playing them three without and B and putting him on the bench say this is what we’re doing now this is the New Year this is the new PSG I mean it didn’t work very well so maybe they all have to sell one of those before they start looking but there’s no real okay well that’s definitely going to happen which is going to happen this and this and that there are lots of teams who can say well we might need someone we might not need someone like you say with Arsenal Arsenal F I’m fascinated to see what Arsenal end up doing because for my money they only really should be making a couple of small movies moves around the edges but after coming close twice and not getting it anywhere they’re going to have itchy trigger fingers and I wouldn’t be surprised if they swing big but they’ve also going to move someone on probably move at least a couple on and that this is the the funny part about all they saying which is I think I take the idea of there’s often one big move one thing one Domino and then a lot of Domino’s move I almost feel as though for a lot of the clubs at the minute they actually need that that process to work the opposite way they need to move on a lot of the a lot of the bigger clubs I think are in a situation where they feel like they need to move on a lot of the players who they’ normally sell lower down the food chain for instance Emil Smith r no disrespect to him looks a hell of a talented footballer but you feel as though Arsenal could do with in different ways creating the room for themselves to move but the problem is who buys M Smith row and this I I think that there is everyone’s got to be prepared I think for for some log Jam I think it’s I think it’s more there’ll be a couple of transfers that ease the flow of all of this more than the idea now because I think General points the big Domino will be mbappe possibly if he went for 250 million and it goes from there but that just hasn’t happened so you’re in this situation now where I think there’s loads of these log jams all the way through the normal food chain and there’s all these tournaments going on as you refer to yeah and sometimes you know sometimes clubs might have to be be brave with someone El and by that I mean you know they might have to sell someone to get things moving that they don’t really want to sell but it but it but it then creates a bit of a spark and I think you know there’s different reasons for doing that you know fuson was notoriously the master at doing that you know we would sell ads on a fairly regular basis Ed classes as big it is but he’d moved them on because he’d think well actually are they coming towards the end of their Prime they’ve still got stuff they can offer but I think I can upgrade and I think that’s always a that’s always a brave thing there CU I think sometimes as fans I’ve said this on of the shows we can get attached to footballers but I’m always with the mindset that if there is a better one out there you should be looking to do it and that that sometimes will upset people and there’s a risk and there’s a gamble to it and even Ferguson wouldn’t get all of them right you know he he’d sold players reg he’d sell players regularly that would go on and still have great careers post man united and people will often think about maybe Stam or or Hughes and Kelis and people like that but you can go back further you know Sten and Paul mcgr and people like that and there’s different reasons for selling those LS don’t get me wrong but they went on and had really really good careers post man united so sometimes you got to be brave you know Guardiola to an extent you could call it Brave or foolish but he he lets Palmer go and you know that doesn’t look like a particularly great move now in terms of he’s he’s ripped it off for Chelsea um but they might have thought well actually he’s not going to get that many games for us and we want to do something slightly different um and they’ve made the decision and you can have a conversation about whether it’s the right or wrong decision because he’s done really well since he’s left but sometimes it does take those bold and brave moves just to get things kind of moving along so that’s what I’m talking about Liverpool and their forwards you know he the one there that typically you wouldn’t want to see leave through the door but it might help them go and do something think a little bit special um and up the numbers and up the quality and as I say they might just catch one that’s that’s on the right that’s going to end up producing big numbers and when we talk about alisi and he’s not posting the the Salah numbers but I do think you can see signs in a Crystal Palace team with a lot more freedom he’s on this he’s on this path now where he’s delivering 10 goals and six assists in 19 games and they’re not 90s that’s really good numbers that feels to me like he’s about to go bang if you can keep him fit Netto might have been another one but I don’t think he’s quite there with the goals maybe more assists but an unbelievable footballer but these are some of the bold and brave decisions that Liverpool are got to make and you’ve have to say you know the track record in terms of bringing players in and getting them on that cusp has been pretty good I think it’s also you talk about risk and being brave there’s different ways of that so you might have to take a risk on a guy like you say like Netto where you’re thinking you’re hoping you can get as much value out of him for being on the pitch but sometimes you got to take a risk and say well someone like a Yan back yo or even a Somerville at lead like how good are AA divisi numbers or Championship numbers in terms of being able to translate to Premier League because Somerville was a fascinating one for me because he was rubbish when he was in the Premier League and that was only two years ago do you think he’s good enough M you think he’s he’s the right level I don’t know and this is the thing I’ve looked at him lots of times for leads this season and seen him be the best player on the pitch but then I’ve watched him in other games and notably some of the bigger games and he hasn’t the same and the players around him are all the same pretty much so it’s really just him who’s the difference and then you think about translating that to a higher threshold uh we’re not just playing Premier League we’re playing Champions League there you can have no games off when you’re playing for Liverpool when you’re playing for leads United in the championship there’s 46 games you think to yourself well I can probably have a couple of games off here we’re still going to be in the top three of The League you can’t have that at Liverpool and then uh with bakoko in the era dzy we really don’t watch it enough to know how good the quality of all their opponents are so you’re looking at someone’s numbers and you’re thinking okay well he’s able to be productive at this stage but how much can you rely on those being able to be translated into what we want them to be and when I mean I know we all kind of have fun and we CH about transfers and we all think well if I was did I’ll do this or do that I’m glad I’m not having to actually make these decisions I think uh yeah I think it’s F on M um looking at looking at the market the options that are available to Liverpool and that there’s just there’s so many out there that offer like different PS in comparison to R Bond so it’s it’s difficult sumerville I think one thing I tried to reinforce on my substar was this is this is Liverpool you know this is Liverpool me you talk you chat on high levels yeah like every single season Liverpool should be challenging for the Champions League and the Premier League underline that part that’s like essential so these players might be having good Seasons but are they good enough to come and play for Liverpool where if they are on the pitch from the off the level will not drop and I’ve looked at bakayoko he looks good his numbers in the VC are good I’ve looked at on YouTube as well watched fot of and stuff like that but I I don’t know if he’s ready yet for that again you chatting Liverpool underline it’s Liverpool M he’s 12 goals is most I think lead goal 12 goals nine assists yeah um good player tricky I don’t think he’s Premier League fast I think he’s you know tricky mobile and that but I don’t think he’s one of them running them behind um I don’t know this just you CH on a high level basically and I I like that that’s why I maybe are a bit more inclined to lean towards the lads who were doing it as Talisman for Premier League sides now like aneto and bro’s doing it for brenford you know um Gordon for for for Newcastle Alis say for Palace these are proven in England or have done at the highest Champions League level yeah yeah yeah which is you get to cavage K exactly yeah yeah but you you want players with shoulder and the load at a high level and um with the likes of Somerville and Boko I I just think it’s maybe a bit you just you don’t need to take that risk almost I think Abo’s a decent shout you know some people might kind of I don’t know turn their nose up a little bit cuz of where he’s playing but I I think he’s a I think he’s a fabulous footballer to be honest and I think Liverpool will be looking for flexibility and he offers flexibility massively in that he can go out wi but he can play centrally as well and and not sure we’d say he’ do an equally good job through the middle but I’ve seen enough of him to suggest he can operate through the center and cause teams massive massive problems so movements electric so I think someone like that and the figure being kind of muted doesn’t feel that massive I think someone like that is is probably is going to get a big move this summer and I think there’ll be plenty of top teams sniffing around because I think he’s one who could go big over the next couple of years I’m I’m all in on cudas yeah yeah back toback 18 goal Seasons um he’s got so you know I think I’m I’m I’m all in on cudas one thing I I I said to you though on the text yeah are you viewing him as a wide player though yeah prominantly but he can also do he could he can offer you a bit of flexibility as well if you wanted to cuz I if I think if so let’s just imagine if it’s Diaz out I think it’s I think it should be two in and I’d be absolutely fine you know with the idea to being the two in being one who’s flexible and one who predominantly plays right hand side and sort to see with Salah the young lad they were linked to in Denmark was interested in the idea that they could just do someone like that at a lower Fe but he’s then around the squad um but I’m yeah I I think I think hudas as I say it’s it’s two back-to-back Seasons with 18 goals Fab I think he’s just got that Stardust thing your to your point of underly Liverpool I that’s that’s one of the things where I are is where I end up I end cudas a little bit in there I like him breno a lot I think he could work I wouldn’t be a ver if liol end do both of them in a way and that if the flexibility point that both then off you but think West might be tricky to to get out going I was going to say how steep would you go like but I think that well I think you know what the fee is because I think it’s next season’s release Clause 85 then I think it’s 75 it’s 85 million EUR 75 million quid and I think I think that if you look theyve brought someone in so they’ve got B one who plays right right Wing that’s his best position B when he can play up front for you but he plays right wing and then the BR Aladdin from Brazil who’s 1819 who plays right hand side cut in on his left foot very similar to Bowen if I was West Ham I’d want a center forward and have the idea of our best side has got bow off one flank a Ladd in behind and someone off you know you think about the the way in which that squad’s going and then someone up top that’s what I think and it’s interesting they’ve bought someone who plays the position already it’s one of the few bits of business that’s been done and he’s really the main sailable asset this summer P’s no longer salable no exactly and L is going to want to have some money to go and do some moves and to kind of mold the squad as hec’s fit because they are very lopsided at the moment Witham so yeah I’m like you I think the other thing I like about cudas as well is that he is used to pressure like when he plays for Ghana he is the star boy like all the pressure is on him and he is used to delivering in that sense but yeah I think he could do very well for for Liverpool team uh all right I like though as well and I think there’s others and obviously there’s there there’s the main fell um you know that we can we can all dream dream up at some point what’s cost I think puts of 80 yeah I think that’s where it becomes a problem potentially I think it’s his wage though is not about 60 Grand a week so that that’s not you know that bad Liverpool could do that I I think they I think they want to 80 but I think Liverpool could do and also you’re buying them for 10 years I think if you get good I think you get them for 10 years uh the only question then is if he gets a bad injury but then that’s that’s with every football who are you shifting on then cuz he again left on S op I I was of the view Liverpool were going to shift as on and my worry now is that with Barcelona having their issues and etc etc there’s just no viable offer that ad as once and then I think he gets a little bit complicated I think that for instance if you could if you get into a situation where if Diaz doesn’t go and you’ve got a pick between say and Bueno cudas Gordon that’s not a bad thing and so the other points that are being made the idea of being able to move Diaz to the right then I think it appeals to me I think if Diaz stays I do feel as though something’s got to be different and I really like the idea of the gakpo getting quality time off the left and I think there’s more than enough games at the highest level for everyone to be a and so J and Nunes to play through the middle as a nine I’ve got in my head the idea to gakpo plus one off the left if it’s Diaz fine I think you need the to be if he’s going to keep playing the same way I think you need a lot of energy and intensity and kep ball carrying on the right and and I like the idea of Sal and Elliot playing as the 10 yeah I think watching GP for Holland again and it is only one game but it was just another reminder he looks very comfortable left hand side compared to sometimes for Liverpool Yeah well yeah absolutely but he doesn’t get a lot of time out there does he when he ends up kind of you know playing in in lots of different parts of the pitch because it normally is Diaz the and I just think yeah watching gakpo toil a little bit um at different times over the course of his Liverpool career but not withstanding when he came in he was really really good I do think evw going to get the best out of him it does feel like the left hand SS where you going to do it I know we’re going to come on to the comparison between Club football and International Football yeah but I think one’s really good and the other one’s sh the thing that I noticed the most about watching gako for for NE yesterday wasn’t so much the fact that he was effective on that left-hand channel is the fact that he was shooting a lot he had I think about yeah you messaged me about shots yeah I think he ended the game with six shots yeah and four of them in the first half yeah four and when you think about the fact that they were playing with Memphis depy who’s kind like a false nine and then Jey Simmons who’s more like a 10 playing out right out wide on the right he knew that he had the responsibility is being the main goalgetter and he took that responsibility I don’t know whether or not he feels like in the Liverpool team he still has to defer to some of the other forwards but I think if I’m onest slot I’m saying to him now you you you be you in an orange shirt for us and we’ll be fine well segue in uh the euros and how to live it uh Grace on football at Grace on football sub stack on on Twitter Grace Robertson’s written a really interesting newsletter today uh she’s doing one every single day all the way through the Euro so if you want to check that out it’s worth worth doing um its first line was International Football where V ve hostes Beth and Phil foden um this is it’s a great line and it’s on it Josh she goes on to say she quotes Michael Cox as well who wrote recently International Football may as well so she says International Football may as well be a different sport of Club football and Michael Cox says tactically club and International Football are almost two separate versions of the same game uh you can be charitable and say they’re simply different or you can be realistic and say that International Football is some way behind Grace doesn’t want to say that International football’s worse because she really does enjoy it and it comes through in the right that she really does enjoy it but she says it’s certainly Dumber uh it’s simpler and the Tactical nuances are lost there’s been so much Liverpool chat and wide Nationwide chat about Trent Alexander Arnold to the point that it makes me want to go throw myself in the Mery it adds absolutely nothing to anyone’s General wisdom and it’s loads and loads of ways in which different people at different levels of the game from your supporter all the way up to some of the greatest people ever to play the game can make themselves sound like and let’s be absolutely crystal clear in this absolute [ __ ] [ __ ] um but I want to talk about foden in that context because I think that that’s now interesting it’s fresh and it’s different and it doesn’t feel like you’re being protective so foden I think was one of the best three or four players in English football last season no [ __ ] about that’s how good he was he was the absolute business but he finds it hard and international level he’s never really been able to impose himself on the England team as a player of his talent would suggest and Grace argues in a piece that it’s because there’s so much more tactical sophistication around what guardiola’s got him doing and then it creates the platform to for them to be able to excel I think this is a really important point and I think it’s why getting hung up on how players play in the international game whether positively or negatively with reference to the highest level of Club football is almost just a waste of time yeah it it is a different sports I think that’s a great way of put it h it does feel like you’re watching kind of benees er play Prem League maybe um in terms of just a lack of compactness compared to what we used to seen in the Premier League it’s it’s a lot more individual obviously there’s fewer attacking patterns in terms of this is how we get into the final third I think it’s very reactive in terms of the score line in comparison to what we say at Club level I think at Club level teams have got philosophies this is how we play regardless of what the score line says International level anytime you take the lead you naturally are sitting on that lead and protect it it is not not how football to a certain extent so I get it but um it is it is completely different and for that reason certain players shine at International level who don’t shine Club level Pogba comes to mind as a player who dominated you know for France just dictated the play and all that and because he had more time and space he had goo can take that next to him on like a leash four almost going get me the ball back um I thought we might see elements of Trent doing that for England this this tournament which I was interested to see um but then you’ve got someone like foden who who quite clearly is benefiting in a tactical sense from what guardiola’s given him who you know what player doesn’t and he hasn’t got Guardiola International he’s got G Southgate who’s a bit more who’s a bit different and and he seems to get to points in certain games where he his his substitutes are pre-planned that I find that very frustrating he seems to have planned his Subs before the game win in reality you you surely make a sub to impact the course of the match yes so that I find that annoying but yeah it it is very very different though is long way of saying it it’s the algebra for me Ian is is what South Gate does or doesn’t get out of Phil phone in any way relevant to Pep Guardiola and I just think the answer to that is no and I think all the way through therefore and this is why I found it difficult when Liverpool people get involved in the discourse as well why should we think and why should we have thought for years what he does or doesn’t get out of especially Alexander Arnold both this this summer as well Gomez was relevant to klopp or should be relevant to slot because we’re not sitting here by the way analyzing what the Portugal coach is or isn’t going to get from Dogo jot it feels like it becomes swept up I think in that in that conversation around Alexander Arnold and to me I genuinely just don’t find it that relevant I genuinely don’t and I don’t mean that and it’s you know I’m up to an including the only way it’s relevant is if trp believes it if you see what I mean apart from that I don’t think there’s any other way in which it’s relevant and I’ll say again I just think that the the quality in terms of what it is that you’re dealing with what it is you’ve got around you what it is in terms of the coaching that’s not critic criticizing them as coaches they don’t get that much time I think all of it just makes it feel like as I say without without sort of talking the whole Enterprise down too much just makes it feel a little bit like it’s just not entirely the real thing no I agree and if you if you are being fair about it I do think that the coaching times a big thing it’s it’s it’s a massive thing in this and and it will apply to lot of the players and there will be reasons why you don’t get the best out of some of these footballers on the international stage but a lot of it will come down to kind of structure and coaching time and all that kind of stuff and the trend thing I mean I’m always intrigued by it because I think it is interesting to see in the middle of the part but you’re right I mean in terms of how you get pressed on the international stage it’s just not the same as what you’d get pressed in the Premier League or in the Champions League and it’s a level or two down if we’re being kind from the elite level which is Champions League football that is that is the best that you will see saved up uh on a regular basis it’s not it’s not International Football um I thought Trent did okay by the way um yesterday um for England he’s had a lot of stick um but I think he was always going to get a lot of stick because the narrative was very much set in advance of the game that if it didn’t go mention [ __ ] yeah so if it didn’t go particularly well um then it was going to be one person’s fault or he was certainly going to be in the frame and he was he was nowhere near um the kind of the worst performed on the pitch for England in in my opinion uh I think there was one of two things he could have done better but you know he is still laying in that role um and maybe allow it allows him to lay in it in a in a kind of way where he wouldn’t necessarily get those opportunities at Liverpool because it isn’t as frantic it isn’t as kind of on top he will get more time on the ball and you come back to the fact that he is probably England’s certain one of England’s most talented footballers with the ball at his feet I think that’s that can’t be denied he just is a sensational footballer I am someone who will sometimes criticizing for his defensive ability I I think it’s it’s it’s fine and fair to do that I think if you’re not doing that at times then you are being a little bit generous to him and I think when he’s been at right back there are moments I’m sure he will look back on and say I I could have done better I could have put myself back into a situation there where I’m helping the team out I I the argument say that I think he’s been defensively brilliant for 18 months I don’t think that for for a second the difference is D Neal is that when we look at him we don’t look at other players in the same way we almost forget about all the mistakes that trippy is making or ree James is making or even Kyle Walker is making at times and he’s had a really interesting end to the season K Walker where he has been aord for quite a few goals but it just gets skimmed over but that doesn’t happen to Trent and that’s where I’ve got loads of sympathy with him because I say he can he can be poor at times in defensive situations but he gets more scrutiny than I’ve ever seen any football get it’s unbelievable the scrutiny he gets it’s ridiculous and it’s unfair because we are talking about going the other way one of the most special footballers I think this country’s produced in a long time you know if you talk about his ability on the ball it’s probably only the bruer who you can compare to him in terms of passing ability he’s that good he’s that level and I think you know Neville has been someone who’s criticized Trent a lot of times but he did say on one of the shows yesterday I think England will look back and regret it if they do not find a way of getting the best out of this football and that is the job of the manager how do you get the best out of a generational talent and that’s something um that that the country has failed to do thus far um but there’s no doubt you know if england are going to be successful you want to see people like Trent Alexander Arnold in and around the team and as I said before doesn’t matter that much to me I’m kind of I’ve always been certainly kind of in the last probably 20 years very much Club over country I think there was a massive shift I think it’s easy to forget maybe in the in the kind of early 90s I think a lot of people would get behind the England thing Sly 96 it felt like as a country it was a bit different I don’t think it’s like that anymore I think we are very much cut a drift and I’m fine with it um but for him you want to see him do well because I think it means a lot to these Lads um but yeah to answer your question yeah it’s it’s a very very different kind of platform I think International Football to to kind of what we’re see in the Premier League so first of all Cole Walker’s got the best PR Company in the whole world I would like to buy them and just make them myself a better better human anyway you basically touched on two things I really wanted to dig into number one the coaching time this is the thing that we always forget about International Football they don’t have the time when you think about the friendlies that we all complain about because they’re frankly an obstruction to our main desire which is our club for the managers is even worse because they very very rarely get to have players in the same form and the same kind of energy levels as they were going to have them at the tournament and this is the thing watching that England game yesterday you wonder why they’re able they fell off a cliff after 40 minutes cuz they’re all knackered at the end of a very very very long season and we can talk about the fact that everyone’s got long Seasons we have it worse than everybody in England it’s it’s a lot more intense than everyone else has it so the manager never really gets players as he wants them to work with at any point right up until just before tournament this is why he’s been leaning on players who we’ve been telling him is rubbish for so long the Harry Maguire’s and this is why the defense has not um in G souk defense hasn’t changed his back five hasn’t changed from like three tournaments because he knows how they all work together and that kind of chemistry is really important to him and so you think about this is very fair yeah it is and I think when you’re thinking about International Football in general it’s being able to overcome that which is kind of one of the things I love about it and then you look at the teams who are successful it’s normally the teams who’ve got players who’ve or at least the spying so you mentioned France earlier Griezmann jeru mbappe uh K I believe has been picked again and that he’s playing in Saudi Arabia so these things all matter massively the second point you mentioned is about Trent Alexander Arnold and playing in Midfield for England and how the fact that he’s basically doing anest slot of favor Southgate here because he’s learning on his dime like and if you think about the way southgate’s done this he first did it I think it was in 2021 that he first played in Midfield I think it was against Andora and then against Malta so we started in games where England are going to dominate the ball going to win regardless so if he goes wrong then there’s no harm and then he’s kind of make him a little bit more a little bit more pressure a little bit more pressure and now we got serious pressure in terms of the tournament football this is great for Liverpool because we get to find out if he can really do it but I don’t think we do this is no but I do I because if you think about it I think we got to find out whether or not there’s vague possibilities but I don’t think I just don’t think it’s the same not now not in the group stage but I think when we getting into The Knockout phases it will be because all the things just talking about the fact that the lack of pressing all that kind of football when it gets to The Knockout stage when it gets to the tire football then yes I do think and if you look at the way he played in that game yesterday it wasn’t really him playing as a center midfielder it was basically him finding space like he does for Liverpool in that right Midfield Channel going drifting out there finding space and trying to dictate the play now what we’re going to see over the course of this tournament is when they play against better teams they’re going to try and counteract that and we get to see how he deals with that and that’s the information that we’re going to take just in terms of intensity you might say it’s not going to be the same as Champions League football but when you’re playing The Knockout game rounds of the Euros you’re playing qu finals semi-finals Euros all of the players in you’re playing against are champions league footballers there there’s an emot let go on Josh it’s difficult in it I think I think he was all right yesterday I must be honest I expected a bit better and I expected better for those reasons we’ve said about International Football where you’re kind of Under Pressure less you have more time on the ball to dictate and stuff like that um but again I don’t know how much you can take from me in terms of his Club level because I think you can take elements of it like say for example receiving the ball with your back to a man if you don’t do that particularly well inational level that’s going to be harder in the Premier League and in the Champions League and he was one or two moments where he he struggled with that I also think when it comes to his defensive game people criticizing what he offers on the defensive side I think it’s Justified but I also think he’s just generally a bit of a problem when it comes to his like he just has no chill sometimes me you just like we had the ball at one point we had the lead playing with the ball we had about I don’t know 10 10 15 passes or something like that TR gets the ball middle the park and he just he just tries to hit hary Kane with a long pass and Fen goes like what are you doing and there wasn’t elements of that though the flip side of that though is that there was a period for the first 20 minutes where England couldn’t get out they couldn’t have the ball and the only time they got out the pitch is when he played exactly one of those balls to Kieran trippier in the left wing and they were able to keep the ball in the final third of Serbia for about five minutes and that was the only time they did it in the whole game and it’s because of one of those passes so I think he is being told that that is what you have to do in his team and the other thing but that’s one of the reasons why I think I don’t think it I don’t think it’s transferable because I don’t know what you don’t know whether or not what he is or isn’t being told so certainly from from our point of view as a viewer SL analyzer for things like this you don’t know what is he’s being told so if he’s being told for instance you get the opportunity there you hit Kane foden could not like it because but foden might be thinking well if I was playing for Pep Guardiola that wouldn’t be going there that coming to me so you can’t but my point here is what my argument I’m not saying who’s right or wrong I’m saying you can’t know whereas you watch the way a side plays on a regular basis and you can say yeah that that was the plan yeah granted but I think there there are other things that part of the Midfield stuff that we can translate that he did well so for example he completed 100% of his tackles by the way in that game yesterday and he made two vital interceptions in the middle of the pitch one of which where he had to chase back a guy had beaten him chased it back he got the ball back and then transferred it forward we should have scored off one of them there was the one where they intercepted it and passed it on to Cole Walker where Co Walker yeah Co Walker messed up the shot that was from him making a defensive action in the center of the pitch and no one mentioned any of those things but when the ball bounced off his shins and went to mitovich and they need scored no one forgot that part and this goes back to the fact of people having their minds set before the game is kicked off about what they want to see so when something goes wrong they all jump on it but they miss all of the good factors from it I do think genuinely there are going to be parts of this him playing in Midfield against poor opposition against very good opposition later in the tournament where Anna slot’s going to be able to really sit down and say okay can I do this with this guy can he work it and then go back to what you said previously Neil about him and how he feels about it because if this has kind of made him feel like I can do this I can be a midfielder I want to be a midfielder but the manager doesn’t agree then it’s an issue I think but also but also what the manager might be looking for might be completely different in terms of how much work you’ve got to put in pressures so on that you’ve got to do Midfield that you don’t have to do with the back that that that’s where it’s I think that’s what it’s difficult I think there will be some elements so but it will come down to you know do South Gate pick Trent in the in the latter stages of the tournament in Midfield he might know um it depends how maybe the next few games go but if you were suddenly like if he’s in areas where he’s taking the ball in the half turn in the middle of the park and he’s getting pressurized by some of France’s top boys I think that that that is that is useful to see how does he hand it in those moments where he is on the half turn he’s not really used to doing that as much as a fullback and he’s then got to kind of deal with one or two kind of just coning on him that that that that that feels like it’s useful but in some of the group stages where he is getting loads and loads of room like I couldn’t believe a deep hary Kane was coming at times as well which wasn’t really helping Trent because he is looking for that that that long ball and Sal had referenced one of the reasons he wanted to been in there was because of his range of passing but you’ve got forward Lads dropping in so deep where Trent had no one to hit and at times he did hit s and I thought he he kind of showcased his ability in different moments but you know England not going to play anything like the pool play plus word yeah I was just I was just going to say I just I just think the you can touch on what Southgate might be telling him not to do or or to do or whatever but I do think his use of the ball generally is is always pretty much the same regardless of where he’s playing on the pitch who he’s playing for what color the sh is he still has that way about him where when you when you’re weighing up a pass and you’ve got the risk versus the reward he sees the reward constantly and the appreciation for the risk I don’t think is high enough and I think that some that that epitomizes why he’s such a dangerous player if you’re playing against them but it also captures why he can hit you going the other way it’s not so much the win of the tackles the the interceptions in that it’s also just he accelerates the game sometimes when no one else expects him to and you lose the ball you wide open and that I think that’s what’s dangerous about him that’s what you have to accommodate and sometimes if you can’t accommodate that It’s Tricky and when I was saying he was all right in his performance what I also wanted to add to that was just I don’t know how much England system was responsible for that though cuz I didn’t like what Southgate did if honest I think playing foden on the left and basically saying s go and do what you want lad I don’t think it really works that well and I’m playing Tri as a left back who’s right footed and offered no width either it was completely lopsided system where everyone’s clogged in the in the area that TR wants the ball so I don’t think that benefits him but yeah he’s he’s a bit of a conm now and he I think in in the nicest possible way he’s definitely a problem that you’ve got to get to the not a problem a puzzle maybe that You’ got to solve okay excellent stuff thank you very much to Josh to Mo and to I uh talk loads of stuff up all the way through that we’re going to have gutters all the way through the week talking about where the Market’s up to for Liverpool do subscribe to the Ani app download the app etc etc we put our tour day on uh for the uh preseason bits and pieces and Mo’s doing something on Monday in Philadelphia quick the LFC crossover Big Show talking about Liverpool FC and talking about Philly sports Monday 27th of July plowing on the stars come down be there be sare marvelous stuff see you later [Music]