goodrobotusses

So Slot's first impressions at LFC now seem to rest on whether Gravenberch can make a quantum leap in performance while essentially learning a new position. No pressure then.

Still hope this goes through, but equally hope we have a contingency plan for him deciding to stay. Won't blame him if that's his final choice, we did the same twice with Gerrard, but we can't play a whole season with one player the coach doesn't rate (Endo) and another who is completely untested in the role in real football matches (Gravenberch).

Supported them as a kid and they've been linked with him on and off since he broke through, but he'd be mad to go there.

Not inviting you to my Billy the Kid shrine any time soon, lad.

Rabiot and Chiesa. Never goes away.

Athletic piece on what it's like to play for Slot under the spoiler. Some interesting detail about how Slot developed individuals at Feyenoord but usual caveats about length etc. Can still see us bringing in Geertruida if we do end up selling Gomez.

I suspect if Bajcetic does go it'll be on loan to get him games and rhythm. If Zubimendi comes in, we'll have a lot of senior options for midfield, meaning it'll be tough for Bajcetic to play enough games to get back up to speed in senior football.

It certainly looks very "first XI-y" to me.

This is why I'd prefer we loan rather than sell, if possible. They need to develop somewhere if they won't get enough games with us, but it's not like their salaries are a big drain on resources. Like you say, I don't know if anyone had Bradley or Quansah down as certain future first-team squad members before last season, but we've potentially saved millions on incomings by how they've both stepped up. If we do sell, though, I'd hope we put in sell-ons and buy-backs. At least make the most of moving on young talent we don't have room to develop or whose ceilings are seen as too low.

I always assumed Clark had a bit about him based on how highly he was spoken of, but he never impressed me all that much in his few first-team appearances (don't know how he was in the U23s). I always thought McConnell and especially Bajcetic had played better than him in their appearances. That said, Clark was highly regarded – and clearly still is by Lijnders – so I just assumed we'd start to see more of his talent the more game time he got. Whether he is suited to the midfield roles in Slot's system might be another factor if we are indeed selling him. Seemed more a No8 in a classic 4-3-3 than anything we've seen under Slot so far.

Morton is also a good shout.

That would be my preference. If it were Bajcetic, I'd hope it would only be a loan.

Thin gossip day so far, so… No idea who the Spanish lad supposedly suggesting this is, so could be a case of "El Spoofo". On the subject of spoofen, here's a lad with "der Spoofer" vibes, but works for Sky Sports Germany, so y'know. Really? Hadn't heard anything about this.

Looking at the stats now, his appearance record isn't great but not outright terrible (at least 30 appearances in all comps 2017-2023). He seems mostly to pick up a lot of small muscular injuries: https://www.transfermarkt.com/kingsley-coman/verletzungen/spieler/243714 Managed 21, 24 and 17 Bundesliga appearances in the last three seasons (34-game season).

This seems like a good bit of future-proofing to me, a bit like Chelsea managed with Courtois and Cech – if that's how it works out. The player gets PL-hardened on another club's watch, retains his value and lies in wait for the day Alisson goes. If the deal does happen, it'll be interesting to see if it's down to Ali wanting to move on for whatever reason (Klopp going, new challenge, more money elsewhere) or if the stats nerds think we can get similar value for less money (Ali is currently the club's third-highest earner) and with fewer injuries. I always assumed we'd have the best of him until at least his mid-30s. He's 32 in October and his contract runs until 2027.

Said similar once to a Bayern fan and she was adamant he's a really good player, just injured all the time.

Never fit.

Can't decide which I dislike more: bad PhotoShops of players' heads onto linked teams' kits or AI-generated versions of the same thing.

Think Klopp talked him up on the basis he was a teenager with an adult body, but nah, didn't look much of a player at any stage.

Do you wanna just jump on that pyre with them witches, lad?

Well, I already live in Berlin so I'd be looking for a next move.

I'm honestly really curious to see how Brighton get on this season. The coach did a really good job at St. Pauli and they've signed a couple of interesting players. If Mitoma stays fit and Ferguson regains his form, we could see them bounce back up the table.

I always thought if I were a professional footballer and couldn't play for Liverpool, I'd just engineer my career so I lived and worked in the nicest and most interesting places possible. Sure you'd still earn enough to live off even if you were playing in the J-League.

I think Maresca could be a bit of a disaster for Chelsea. Nothing to back that, just a hunch. And the more Chelsea continue to look like a hire-and-fire basket case, the harder it becomes for them to hire serious coaches.

It means "teeth" in Serbo-Croatian. Slightly worrying combination.