Again, as per my post in the Suarez thread, are people looking too much into this? With the botched communication between the club and the fans, it's easy to dismiss his trip home as fabricated, a way to court the big boys, but if it was genuine, it stands to reason he'd be a bit behind. Don't expect him to start against Boro, but if he could play some part, that would be nice, and ideally he'd be starting soon
For a transfer of his potential size (£40m+ and possibly increasing as we see what fees Championship players can fetch in this window and as clubs perhaps start to panic), you'd expect to see some concrete rumours of bids and negotiations, right? These would usually drag on for a while, especially with how keen Gino usually is to squeeze every penny out of a buying club. Tittle-tattle about Liverpool aside, there hasn't really been that much about Sarr, which I'm taking as a good sign. If he stays, it'll be a huge boost as I think he'd probably be the best player in the league. If we lose him and manage to bring in 2/3 quality additions I still think we have the squad and Head Coach to finish top 6. Can't really blame the player or the club if he does leave, he really doesn't belong at this level.
Anyway, of all our 'big name' players, I've come to terms with the fact they're leaving, and in truth, much of the time, it's not the end of the world. Doucs leaving means Quina gets more gametime, ditto Deulofeu and Joao Pedro. Hughes and Capoue would hit harder, but ultimately I think they are just about replaceable, especially at this level. We have a wealth of strikers now, which means that if Gray or Suarez did leave, we may be a little short for certain gameplans, but ultimately we'd get by, but losing Sarr? The kid has no business being in the Championship, he's almost a cheat code, whatever the alternatives are, they're a pale imitation. We've also only had a tantalising peek at what he can do, at least with the others, we've had a proper full season at least of them firing on all cylinders, Sarr had a very stop start season, be absolutely devastated if it's the last we see of him
I think his departure depends on Mane going to Barcelona. He is a ready made replacement for Mane whose value will definitely increase in a Liverpool potentially title winning side.
I doubt Mane would be interested. Barca isn't the lure it used to be. Sarr would be bought as a backup that is better than Shaqiri if it happens.
Sold at half time vs Luton. To C Palace for £20m. We go from 2-0 at HT to lose 2-3. New 4 year deal for Deeney announced post-match. It's written in the stars.
I just don't think he's a £40m player yet and clubs know that. So much potential, seems like a great kid but ultimately end product is what really drives the price up and his isn't quite there. Given we'd want to make a profit on him and not just break even, I don't see anyone meeting the asking price. Of course, if his agent gets involved and he decides he wants to leave when a low ball Liverpool bid comes in, that might be a very different matter.
I'm expecting them to adding some of their players into the equation. I'd happily take Brewster, Wilson and Phillips plus cash to soften the blow if Sarr really is going. Will never happen mind you.
He said: "He's back and he's here and I hope in the next few days he will start to work with the team. He will not be available for Middlesbrough,"
https://twitter.com/AdamLeventhal/status/1303642881337556992 Leventhal confirming the obvious that £40m price is the minimum we would consider for Sarr.
Leventhal saying there’s hope that £40m proves ‘prohibitive’. But the way he’s framed the tweet makes it unclear whether that’s his thoughts or he’s actually got that from the club. I suspect the former because I doubt the club would say such a thing. And I’m still hopeful we would want more than £40m.
After selling Doucoure for only £20m, I do not see the club holding firm on Sarr. They will sell for a break-even figure I suspect.
If Sarr says ‘I want to go and I only want to go to Liverpool’ then perhaps we have an issue. As for Doucoure, his insistence on Everton was an issue and given the way they’ve been doing business this window, I’m not convinced they’d have waited and paid more. I tend to agree we have sold him a little cheaply but the players stance clearly didn’t help. A lot of deals so far in this window seem to have add-ons included so you’d hope that’s just a way of spreading the wider cost and the add-ons are largely achievable. If we are claiming we spent £18m on Gray which included add-on’s, then we can say we are getting £25m for Doucoure IMO. Which is £5m shy I think of his true value - but we have been dictated by not only the situation of the club but the will of the player on this deal. As I say, we can only hope Sarr doesn’t take the same approach if Liverpool come calling.
I wouldn’t pay more than £25m for Doucs, I probably wouldn’t even pay that. Capoue and Hughes were better last season.
Sarr's value will likely increase where as Doucoure's would probably decline. On that basis I think he will stay as I don't believe anybody will pay what we are asking for
£40m has to be the starting price/upfront price! Anything north of £50m with a good sell-on-fee then we should be considering very seriously!
Given that Leventhal isn't as close to the club as he lets on, I'd imagine it's the former. I doubt he'd know anything substantial until everyone knows it
Yep. I really don’t think the valuation we have of players passes the lips of anyone beyond the top few bods at the club. I doubt such info ever makes it as far as Leventhal.
Absolutely agree has to be said if Doucs was worth more than £25m we probably wouldn’t have gone down last year (he would have put away a few of the goals he missed) , his performances on the whole were sub par last year (based on previous year) and he would need a very good season to get back to his value of 2 years ago (was it £40m Everton wanted to pay ?)
Impossible to compare Doucs and Sarr. Whatever his perceived value, we got a very good player for a number of seasons and sold him for a healthy profit. He’s also older and is highly likely to only go downhill from here. Even if we didn’t get his absolute maximum value it’s still excellent business when all is said and done. The deal for Docuore doesn’t equate to selling Sarr on the cheap or break even, they’re completely different circumstances. He’s an opportunity for them to make more money on the future, they won’t sell him for break even, so they’ll want £40m for him to make it worth considering. In the current climate it’s hard to see anyone stumping up that sort of cash. He's their biggest ever investment in a player and who knows if or when they’ll get the opportunity to invest the same sort of money, or indeed maybe make £20-£30m profit like they could if they hold onto him. It’s a gamble but one I think they’ll take if the alternative is selling their biggest ever investment at anything less than some sort of profit.
