As even a casual football fan will know, the world of sports is a bit of a murky place. It’s filled with half truths, half realised plans and half understood Chinese whispers – if even the faintest whiff of a transfer is heard, it’ll make the morning papers whether it’s true or not. It’s a world that can occasionally be frustrating for those who work inside it, but it’s what keeps English football so exhilarating and surprising for its fans. Recently, Liverpool superstar Luis Suarez has been thrown into the limelight, after reports appeared to suggest a high profile transfer to Manchester City.
According to the Sunday Times, the rival club has been trying to put together a deal tempting enough to lure Suarez away from his current home. If the reports are true, they should come as no big surprise – the two teams are currently fighting it out for the Premier League title and it would no doubt be a huge triumph for Manchester City to close a deal on one of the best players in the league and walk away with another trophy. It’s fair to say, however, that the deal offered would have to be a very good one indeed. If Liverpool director Ian Ayre has anything to do with it, there won’t be any such proposal in the first place.
Whilst Suarez has himself expressed a desire to leave Anfield at some point in the future, it seems like recent bans for racism and violent conduct on the pitch have hit their mark. Over the last six months, the Uruguayan has changed his tune somewhat – last month, he signed a new contract with Liverpool and insisted that he was happy to say for the foreseeable future, even if the team failed to make it to the top four. There was always going to be a lot of interest in this most interesting of players – Suarez has scored twenty nine goals this season, a feat that has brought him lots of attention from high profile clubs. Yet, Liverpool are on the up this season – is Suarez better off sticking with the club that made him?
I certainly think so, as a player with such a dubious behavioural record, surely it’s better for Suarez to stick with the club that has seen him through the bans and the bad times? Well, for now at least – it looks like talk of a transfer has been temporarily squashed. It won’t stop the bookmakers from speculating though – the odds of the Uruguayan leaving Liverpool have fallen dramatically over the last few weeks. If you’re feeling lucky, it could be a good idea to weigh into the argument and pick a side. At worst, you’ll lose a couple of quid – at best, you’ll win a couple of quid and the right to be smug down the pub.
It’s not as if Liverpool director Ian Ayres isn’t aware of the interest surrounding Suarez – he’s happy to admit that fending off potential suitors has always been difficult when it comes to this star player, say the experts at Goal.com. The question is – how does he propose to keep Suarez in the fold? Is he concerned about the notorious Suarez track record? In 2013, during a clash with Chelsea, Suarez bit the arm of defender Branislav Ivanovic. He was banned for ten matches, a hard punishment for a player as rambunctious as this one. It does seem like Suarez has finally learned his lesson and learned how to calm down a bit – it just remains to be seen whether or not he’ll stick with those who chose to stick with him.
There are certainly lots of good things about the Liverpool striker – he’s got a keen eye, bags of determination and the ability to score beautiful goals with the best of them. In fact, Mirror.co.uk journalist John Cross believes that Suarez has almost singlehandedly lifted Liverpool to the title challenge. It’s rare to see a football player who constantly puts in as much personal effort as Suarez always does – in spite of his past troubles, he remains a world class striker and he’s managed to claw back a good reputation for himself in the process. Whilst it’s clear to see that Suarez will continue to keep playing spectacular football no matter where he ends up, it would somehow be fitting to see him lead Liverpool to a title win this summer.
Rob James is a keen football fan without a club to call home. Watching people play the beautiful game is enough to draw him in. If you want to hear more you can find Rob on twitter where he likes to share his opinions.