COMMENT: Liverpool made a signing last week. No, really, they did...
Loris Karius is the lad's name. 22. A goalkeeper from Mainz, apparently...
Okay, it's a bit sarky. But just what is going on at Anfield? We were told the presence of Jurgen Klopp would be a game-changer in the transfer market. That players would be queuing at Shankly Gates for the chance to work with the German.
But Karius? Joel Matip? This is the stuff of Brendan Rodgers. Or should that be FSG and Moneyball? Good players. Decent potential, sure. But not the signings to transform Liverpool from a Europa League place getter to a Premier League title winner.
Karius has arrived to compete withSimon Mignolet, not to replace him. They'll miss Matip at Schalke, particularly the fans. But again, Klopp is gambling on potential. He's not brought in a sure fire winner.
The LFC Boot Room are just about unanimous. From Souey to Carra, they're united. Liverpool need an experienced, commanding goalkeeper to replace Mignolet. And the same qualities are needed at centre-half. This was to be the summer, with Klopp pulling the levers, that Liverpool finally started acting like a top four club. But we're still waiting...
The Ilkay Gundogan situation is baffling. The lad has talked up his relationship with Klopp. Opened the door to working with his old Borussia Dortmund boss again. Yet, when it came to the crunch this month, he and his Dad were snapped meeting Pep Guardiola. It was Guardiola - not Klopp - who was spotted chatting with Gundogan about a move to England. But not to Liverpool, instead to Manchester City. And even with his knee injury, those in Germany are adamant an announcement confirming the deal is just hours away.
A fortnight ago, Mario Gotze looked nailed on. He would be a Liverpool player before June. But now, even with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge doing all he can to boot him out of Bayern, Gotze and Liverpool are in limbo.
Joachim Low, the Germany coach, has said as much. Even if Rummenigge offered to drive Gotze to Liverpool himself (and he'd so if given the chance), Low has put his foot down. Nothing will happen until after the Euros.
For all the confusion, if they can get him over the line, Gotze can be that transformative signing Liverpool crave. And they can do it on the cheap.
The latest from Munich is Bayern are now seeking less than €20 million to move him on. Gotze has stated he wants to stay and fight for his place - comments which have won praise from the likes of Lothar Matthaus and Oliver Bierhoff. Liverpool won't be getting puppy with its tail between its legs. They'll be welcoming a frustrated World Cup winner with something to prove. His public show of commitment may not have swayed Rummenigge and the Bayern board, but it is spark which Klopp can tap into next season.
He's not that goalkeeper Liverpool need. Nor that centre-half. But Gotze will lift the quality of Liverpool's play. Some will argue its overkill with Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho available, but Klopp knows Gotze inside-out and won't hesitate throwing him further forward as an out-and-out striker. That's where Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, saw Gotze's future when considering the German 18 months ago. He can play deeper, or work around a centre-forward. And no matter the system, seeing Firmino, Coutinho and Gotze on the teamsheet will rattle any opposition manager.
But the deal still needs to be done. LFC, or FSG if you like, have so far under Klopp taken a lad on a Bosman and another for less than five million quid. It's not exactly the £200 million transfer budgets being bandied about for Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Instead, it appears FSG are clearing the decks. Jerome Sinclair has fled to Watford. Joao Teixeira will ink a deal with Fiorentina. Jordon Ibe is being touted around the Premier League. And they allowed Frank McParland to ferry young Jordan Rossiter away to Rangers. Just what on earth is going on? They're even penny pinching now regarding Sergi Canos and his new contract.
This is a massive summer at Anfield. The first extended transfer window of the Klopp era. But at the moment, he's playing at the fringes. Treading water. And in the Premier League, doing that, you're sinking.
Klopp needs to buy from the top shelf. He needs the readymade. Otherwise, Liverpool will be lost in the stampede as the traditional giants rush to right the wrongs of last season.
INJURY TIME
£10,000-a-week for Sergi Canos? You're kiddin' aren't ya? And no, we're not talking about Sergi's minders.
What are FSG playing at? Yes, there is an argument - and good one at that - about the 'too much too soon' syndrome. But this doesn't apply to Canos.
The lad is now 19 years of age. He's just completed a full season on-loan in the Championship with Brentford, where he's been outstanding at times. £10,000-a-week for a Championship player with Premier League potential is barely average. What is so outlandish about his demands?
Contrary to some reports, Liverpool have not offered Canos £10,000-a-week - that's what he is seeking. If a decent player was running around in the Championship on that wedge, you'd shrug your shoulders and say 'fair enough'.
Just what are FSG playing at?!
