I imagine I’ll be in the minority, Newcastle fans aside, of wanting Ekitike out of the two. From the little I’ve seen he’s quick, good on the ball, creates & takes chances, admittedly I’d be much happier if the fee was around 50m but as I read today, Ekitike is a palindrome, that’s oddly pleasing & has got to count for something?
I understand fans a scared because of Núñez, but I’m excited by Ekitike.
Firstly, Núñez hasn’t been that bad. Yes he’s not been what we hoped for, but he’s scored goals, he’s made goals, and he’s contributed to a largely successful team. He’s not elite level, but it’s not likes he’s miles away from it. If he’s a transfer miss, he’s not a massive one.
Secondly, Isak does have injury issues. His availability record is a concern when you are talking about a near 26 year old and £120m plus. I can’t pretend I wouldn’t be excited if the reds signed him as he’s high class, but you can’t just ignore he gets a fair few muscle injuries.
Thirdly, Ekitike is good! He’s young! He’s hungry! His career trajectory is very similar to Isak. Join a big club as a teenager (Dortmund/PSG), don’t quite work out, join a middling club and attract the attention of bigger fish.
We are buying Ekitike at a similar time to when Newcastle bought Isak. Ekitike will cost a bit more, but not that much more with fee inflation since then.
In an ideal world he would have another good season in Germany before we pulled the trigger, but transfers don’t work like that. Sometimes you have to roll the dice.
We were looking to roll a 6 with Núñez but probably rolled a 4. We will try again with Ekitike and maybe this time we will have more luck.
I suspect you're right about rolling the dice. The tragic loss of Diogo means Liverpool may have to take something of a chance on a forward who is not their first choice this summer.
And I assume Ekitike would not be their first choice. But that doesn't make him bad by any means.
Also, I love the potential of Ekitike, and happy to trust the process, but somewhat gun-shy of another cow’s arse / banjo situation when we need secure finishing.
Newcastle selling Isak never made sense to me (from Newcastle's perspective, anyway, ha). He's an elite player playing in the difference-making part of the pitch & is under contract for 3 years. Ditto for Alvarez. There is a big drop-off in CF options after these 2, and you kinda get to Ekitike through process of elimination (he's the best profile fit of the remaining options). Given the size of the fee + our limited options at CF, it leaves me with an uneasy feeling.
This is why we should not sell Lucho ... at any price. First off, he's an elite LF, with only Kvara & Vini Jr as clearly better than him. He's also just a great all-around footballer which means he can cover CF (while Ekitike is adjusting) and RF (when Mo is at AFCON). Few footballers have this adaptability. Lastly, in a summer with too much change, Lucho provides valuable continuity for a club that wants to contend for the EPL and UCL titles this season.
It probably makes sense for Newcastle to sell from a PSR perspective, as he's probably at peak value. It's feasible Isak might ask to leave, meaning they may as well sell in that scenario too. But yeah, there's no football reason for them to get rid.
I assume any exit for Díaz will need a big bid but we shall see. I hope he stays.
Didn’t Newcastle buy Isak after a season where his actual goals underperformed against his underlying numbers? xG is an average so logic would suggest the Ekitike will move towards the average over time. Darwin seeming to be a genuinely bad finisher is the exception that proves the rule, not the rule.
Yes that's true re Isak. Darwin is basically at par across his career, he just happened to go +10 (or something like that from memory) across league and Europe in 2021/22.
Anyone think they might move Darwin to the left if / when Lucho leaves? Assume that they won’t get the price they want in Europe and he may not fancy Saudi…
I would assume if he stayed that he'd become second choice CF behind (presumably) Ekitike. I guess he would become an option for the left if Díaz left though.
I imagine I’ll be in the minority, Newcastle fans aside, of wanting Ekitike out of the two. From the little I’ve seen he’s quick, good on the ball, creates & takes chances, admittedly I’d be much happier if the fee was around 50m but as I read today, Ekitike is a palindrome, that’s oddly pleasing & has got to count for something?
A palindrome is worth a lot, how many footballers with palindromic names are there?!
Eze, disappointing palindrome one though, fantastic player mind
Good read Andrew.
I understand fans a scared because of Núñez, but I’m excited by Ekitike.
Firstly, Núñez hasn’t been that bad. Yes he’s not been what we hoped for, but he’s scored goals, he’s made goals, and he’s contributed to a largely successful team. He’s not elite level, but it’s not likes he’s miles away from it. If he’s a transfer miss, he’s not a massive one.
Secondly, Isak does have injury issues. His availability record is a concern when you are talking about a near 26 year old and £120m plus. I can’t pretend I wouldn’t be excited if the reds signed him as he’s high class, but you can’t just ignore he gets a fair few muscle injuries.
Thirdly, Ekitike is good! He’s young! He’s hungry! His career trajectory is very similar to Isak. Join a big club as a teenager (Dortmund/PSG), don’t quite work out, join a middling club and attract the attention of bigger fish.
We are buying Ekitike at a similar time to when Newcastle bought Isak. Ekitike will cost a bit more, but not that much more with fee inflation since then.
In an ideal world he would have another good season in Germany before we pulled the trigger, but transfers don’t work like that. Sometimes you have to roll the dice.
We were looking to roll a 6 with Núñez but probably rolled a 4. We will try again with Ekitike and maybe this time we will have more luck.
Cheers, mate.
I suspect you're right about rolling the dice. The tragic loss of Diogo means Liverpool may have to take something of a chance on a forward who is not their first choice this summer.
And I assume Ekitike would not be their first choice. But that doesn't make him bad by any means.
Also, I love the potential of Ekitike, and happy to trust the process, but somewhat gun-shy of another cow’s arse / banjo situation when we need secure finishing.
Newcastle selling Isak never made sense to me (from Newcastle's perspective, anyway, ha). He's an elite player playing in the difference-making part of the pitch & is under contract for 3 years. Ditto for Alvarez. There is a big drop-off in CF options after these 2, and you kinda get to Ekitike through process of elimination (he's the best profile fit of the remaining options). Given the size of the fee + our limited options at CF, it leaves me with an uneasy feeling.
This is why we should not sell Lucho ... at any price. First off, he's an elite LF, with only Kvara & Vini Jr as clearly better than him. He's also just a great all-around footballer which means he can cover CF (while Ekitike is adjusting) and RF (when Mo is at AFCON). Few footballers have this adaptability. Lastly, in a summer with too much change, Lucho provides valuable continuity for a club that wants to contend for the EPL and UCL titles this season.
It probably makes sense for Newcastle to sell from a PSR perspective, as he's probably at peak value. It's feasible Isak might ask to leave, meaning they may as well sell in that scenario too. But yeah, there's no football reason for them to get rid.
I assume any exit for Díaz will need a big bid but we shall see. I hope he stays.
Didn’t Newcastle buy Isak after a season where his actual goals underperformed against his underlying numbers? xG is an average so logic would suggest the Ekitike will move towards the average over time. Darwin seeming to be a genuinely bad finisher is the exception that proves the rule, not the rule.
Yes that's true re Isak. Darwin is basically at par across his career, he just happened to go +10 (or something like that from memory) across league and Europe in 2021/22.
We definitely bought Darwin off an unsustainably hot finishing streak, but he also had really good underlying numbers.
Anyone think they might move Darwin to the left if / when Lucho leaves? Assume that they won’t get the price they want in Europe and he may not fancy Saudi…
I would assume if he stayed that he'd become second choice CF behind (presumably) Ekitike. I guess he would become an option for the left if Díaz left though.