8 months ago
125 Liverpool rarely make any mistakes in the transfer market – but Bruno Fernandes loves one player who the Reds let go for peanuts.
The Manchester United No.8 made the comments when speaking to A Bola.
So, what did Bruno Fernandes say? Let’s take a look…
Bruno Fernandes praises Sebastian Coates
Well – back in July 2015 – Liverpool sold Sebastian Coates to Sunderland in a deal worth just £2m.
Liverpool paid Nacional £7m to sign the Uruguayan back in 2011.
Things did not exactly work out for Coates at Anfield, as he made just 24 appearances for the Reds before being sold to Sunderland at a £5m loss.
Nevertheless, the South American rebuilt his career in Portugal after joining Sporting CP from Sunderland in 2016.
Coates is now captain of the Portuguese giants and has amassed 51 caps for Uruguay, with Fernandes picking him out when asked to name some of the best footballers in the Primeira Liga.
The Portugal international said: “Coates is always the pendulum of that defence due to his experience and his ability to be calm in difficult moments.”
Right player but wrong time for Liverpool
Liverpool were clearly right to sign Coates – as he is a very talented defender – but perhaps the Reds simply signed the South American too soon, and also at a difficult time in the club’s history.
The now 33-year-old moved to Anfield as Liverpool were still recovering from a woeful 2010/11 campaign which started with Roy Hodgson at the helm, a man who won just seven of his 20 Premier League games in charge.
There was little stability after that campaign, and perhaps Coates would have enjoyed more success at Liverpool had he been able to work with someone like Jurgen Klopp, who saved a number of careers on Merseyside – Dejan Lovren is an example of one player who looked doomed before the German arrived.
It was undoubtedly tough for Coates at Liverpool, but he deserves credit for developing into one of the best players in Portugal and becoming captain of Sporting CP.
The post 'Calm': Bruno Fernandes say he loves player Liverpool sold for just £2m appeared first on TBR Football.
