Signing Erling Haaland will cost interested clubs a monumental package fee and should rule Liverpool out of the race to sign him in the summer when his release clause is likely to be triggered.
The Norwegian is the dream signing for many supporters as he essentially guarantees over 40 goals per season but is more than just a poacher and would be a menace in Liverpool’s counter-pressing system.
This season, he’s already got 23 goals and 6 assists and needs just three assists to reach Mohamed Salah’s club tally for the season and, bear in mind, he’s had some injury issues this season, missing 56 games due to three separate problems.
Speaking on the Transfer Show on Sky Sports, Dharmesh Sheth has revealed that it will cost a quarter of a billion pounds to sign Haaland once every cost is factored in.
The forward has a release clause in his contract widely reported to be in the region of £64 million but Sheth reports that paying Dortmund to release Haaland will be the least of any interested club’s worries.
He said: “£64 million is only going to be a small figure in this deal.
“We are talking about agent fees and astronomical wages for Erling Haaland.
“I have seen estimates that this deal could be worth around £250 million, so that’s how much you would have to outlay to buy Erling Haaland.”
Haha. Sorry, what? I understand that modern football has gone in an absurd direction but if any Liverpool fans think the Norwegian is heading to Anfield after reading that, they need to give their heads a wobble.
Diogo Jota is doing a fantastic job up top for the Reds this season and is showing the form he was last term before he got injured.
In all competitions, the Portugal international has 14 goals and 2 assists but contributes in a much greater way.
He’s not just a poacher even though he has shown an astonishing predatory instinct that has given Jurgen Klopp’s an edge in games. Having a striker like the 25-year-old means teams are never safe as one chance can result in a goal for Jota.
Beyond that, however, he is also a key cog in the Liverpool pressing machine which is more of a counter-pressing system these days but what I wouldn’t give to see him in Roberto Firmino’s role in 2017/18 when Klopp’s geggenpressing was at its most aggressive.
The point is that Liverpool don’t need a new striker. What they need is a winger that can be both cover and competition for Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah while able to make an immediate impact.
Luis Diaz is the perfect fit in that sense and at 25, he’s peaking just in time to join Klopp at Anfield. Something he is ready to make happen by rejecting Tottenham in order to get the chance to move to Merseyside.
