ESPN journalist Gab Marcotti is baffled by Liverpool’s refusal to sign Timo Werner and has claimed Jurgen Klopp’s explanation of the hit football finances will take is simply a case of him ‘towing the party line’.
Werner has plundered 25 Bundesliga goals this term and is rated as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe.
The Reds were strong favourites for the Rb Leipzig striker, but had no intention of paying his £53m release-clause and the manager has since explained that expensive deals are an impossibility in the current climate.
Marcotti though, doesn’t buy it…
“Liverpool recorded a profit of £29m ($36.7m) in 2018-19 and £101m ($128m) the year before. And while the 2019-20 numbers obviously aren’t in yet, they did make a £28m ($35.5m) profit over the two windows, while their imminent first title in 30 years guarantees they’ll earn more than every other Premier League side in TV income.” he said.
“You can’t help but feel that this was an order that came from the bean counters at Fenway Sports Group. But based on the numbers available, unless there’s something we don’t know, it doesn’t make much sense. And Liverpool’s loss here is very much Chelsea’s gain.”
We know for a fact there’ll be a plethora of fans, bored senseless without any football to watch since mid-March, who agree with him…
But for us, he’s ignoring some cold-hard facts. There are unlikely to be fans in stadiums in 2020. Broadcasters are still campaigning for a rebate to be paid to them. And Liverpool already have an extremely high wage bill to cover with significantly less income. When the team is already exceptional, which it undeniably is, we think it’s acceptable for FSG to consider this a dangerous window in which to invest, given football’s current climate…
Thankfully, football is back on June 17 in England and Liverpool’s first clash takes place on June 21, and you can make your football match predictions, here.
The Reds take on Everton at Goodison Park, knowing we need just six points to clinch the Premier League title, or three if Manchester City slip up at any point.
With nine games remaining, that makes title glory pretty much a certainty – and with the latest government news that some pubs will be open on June 22 – we might be able to celebrate it with a little more fervour than in our living rooms!
