Player Suggestions

Borna Sosa at Ajax - they’re a basket case just now. Croatian left back, experienced in the Bundesliga, 6’2 powerful player. Only 25, played 7 games for Ajax this year not really working out.


They paid €8m in the summer for him. Would be worth it I think.

 

Be a * of an upgrade on Taylor but they'd want a fair whack for him

 

He hasn’t played all that much in the league for them, and they’re a basket case just now. £10m odd, should see it happen, and we have that money. It’s the exact type I think we need.

And no more * about, we need quality in.


Saying that, Tom Rothe is another. A LB that can play CB, he’s 6’4 and 19 years old. Powerful, quick, good on the ball:

 

Probably been mentioned on here (I’ll be surprised if he hasn’t) but Aaron Cochrane at Hearts is a very good player IMO.

I can’t see us going for him as we need an obvious starter in that role but if the situation was different, I think he could really step up his level playing for us.

 

Tom Rothe is very highly rated at Dortmund. Obviously on loan the now but he’s been very very good in the 2. Bundesliga so I suspect they’ll want him back come the summer.

 

Got a very similar type in Bensebaini that they brought in this summer though, who’s doing well. Might be able to tempt a sell, with add on fees

 

Would they want a fair whack for him, though? They spent £8m on him and he's barely played for them. Would probably just want to recoup as much as they could for him and I doubt it would be the £8m they initially paid for him.

Another left back I wouldn't mind us taking a look at is Owen Wijndal. Was class for AZ before he moved to Ajax and didn't have the best of seasons last year. Out on loan this year in Belgium, with Antwerp. Still only 24 but he's definitely someone we should be keeping an eye on.

 

Hes contracted to 2028 and a Croatiian international iv never really known Ajax to sell players on the cheap. Wijndal is a great shout

 

I mentioned Wijndal in the summer when it was clear Ajax were trying to get other players in for left back. He's been performing very well for Antwerp, as well. Plays all of their games, pretty much.

 

Ben Brereton-Diaz just signed with Sheffield United on loan from Villareal, he would have been an excellent signing.

 

Sign Mbappe on pre contract

 

Excellent player

 

Another excellent goal scorer just signed on a loan deal. Georges Mikhautadze rejoined Metz from Ajax on a loan deal with an option to buy for £10m.

 

Would be ‘set boaby tae stauner’ time, that one.

I would also take the man he replaced, Wijndal, who is at Antwerp on loan atm and apparently doing decently. Younger and might be cheaper. But I’d love Sosa.

 

A couple of players playing in French and German second tiers that catch the eye

Fabian Reese, 26 year old winger who plays for Hertha Berlin, he largely plays of the left but can play on the right too. He is super, quick is good in 1v1 dribbles, can shoot of either foot and is around 6’1. He is very effective as he is happy going to the byline and getting crosses in or driving into the box to get a shot off. He has a very solid set of stats around his whole game including aerial duel success and his defensive stats are decent too. He has 4 goals and 4 assists in 15 starts. Hertha did only sign him in the summer though but got him on a free.



Also gets a double and assist in the cup game be Hamburg here .

Florent Musilja, 25 year old playing with Paderborn, he has 9 goals and 6 assists 19 games playing as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Out of contract in the summer and also a full Kosovo international
Putting in impressive displays against Switzerland and Israel recently. Got a good shot on him very creative and a sound dribbler.

Hamid Abdelli, 24 year old Algerian international and Angers SCO midfielder. He is over 6 foot tall and vivid on and off the ball playing either left of a diamond or as an attacking midfielder.

He is excellent at interceptions and winning the ball back in the final third as well as being pretty creative and carries a goal threat. In our team he would be a good option as our left 8 of our midfield 3.

Their keep Fofana is someone we should go for too.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3kmOW7QZZCA&pp=ygUNSGltYWQgQWJk
ZWxsaQ%3D%3D

Jocelyn Janneh, 21 year old Sierre Leone and SC Bastia defensive midfielder. He is a monster in defensive actions, not much going forward and mainly recycles the ball quickly but has shown to have a good defence splitting pass in him he just doesn’t use it often. He is around 6ft, very quick over the ground and very impressive in duels. Reminds me of a slighter but quicker Wanyama when we first signed him from Belgium, where he looks technically sound but could develop into a very impressive defensive midfielder.

Second half of video is more his defensive work.

Paul Joly of Auxerre is a 23 year old full back who is very comfortable of either foot a pretty good physical build and is fairly well rounded in being defensively solid but also carries an attacking threat and has 3 assists in 14 starts this year.

He predominantly plays right back but also has played off the left due to being comfortable on either foot.

One from the Polish league who would be a good value option is Erik Exposito, 27 year old Striker playing with league leaders Slask Wrocław. He is tall at 6’3 does well in aerial duels, has decent pace and has 14 goals and 3 assists in 19. His stats are padded a bit by penalties as he has 5 goals from them but given how poor we are at them he looks a good penalty taker. This has been his best season but he has been consistent in his previous 2 or three averaging a goal or an assist every other game showing he can also link play as well as score goals. His team only finished 14 in the last two seasons so decent numbers for someone from a poor side. His contract is up in 6 months so maybe a deal could be done this month for a lot less than what Hearts and Aberdeen would want for Shankland or Miovski.



Again from Poland Left back Bartlomiej Wdowik, of Jagiellonia has 9 goals and 2 assists in 19. Around 6 foot tall and has good pace. His goal scoring is from set plays predominantly, he takes a cracking free kick and is also hitting penalties (3 goals here). Recently been capped by Poland too. His overall chance creation, passing, dribbling and amount he gets on the ball look good. His defensive numbers are fine too particularly aerial duels.

Apparently Dinamo Zagreb have offered €800k for him and where that has been rejected, talk is he could be sold for around €1.6m- €2m. At that price he would definitely be worth a look, the last full back we got from that league worked out well.

 

Given how deep Kyogo plays this season, we actually need to think hard about whom do we want in as the third striker. If we are buying one, then let's take Bruno Petković of Dinamo. He prefers playing this deep lying forward role, and is a physical beast with exceptional technique.

Downsides? Can't play more than 55 minutes because of bad stamina. But hey, he suits what Rodgers wants, so...

 

No, he doesn’t. Again, the Leone propaganda machine kicks into gear.

Rodgers likes a ‘complete forward’ type of striker; everywhere he’s been, that’s what he aims for. At Liverpool, he characterised it not as a ‘false 9’ (which is what you describe above in the Petkovic example), but rather a ‘9 and a half’, when asked about Sturridge and Suarez and their roles.

He wants someone to, yes, be willing and able to drop deep, or to drift wide but also to make those off-the-shoulder runs in behind as well. Football is not a static thing, and nor are players. Some don’t have the game intelligence to incorporate different types of instruction, but overall, this is what Rodgers desires most in a striker: the football intelligence and decision-making to know when to do one or the other, or another thing altogether.

Had that big time in Moussa and in Eddy; in Vardy, etc. Was part of why he wasn’t a massive Griffiths fan, I’d say.

Petkovic doesn’t sound like he has the physical engine to pull off that sort of all-rounded forward game. In the little I’ve seen of him, he doesn’t want to break forward behind the defence at all - and, despite your efforts to misrepresent Rodgers’s philosophy, that ability to run in behind is just as crucial to how he wants us to play as the dropping deep/running into channels and wide areas is.

 

If Rodgers wanted runs in behind, he wouldn't be tampering with Kyogo's role. And there's also the problem that a "complete" forward is an EPL thing because they pay silly money which will never be a thing in Scotland. You're absolutely correct in describing Petković, but honestly, that is the best player for what Rodgers is having Kyogo (try to ) do.