10 months ago
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Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Please hiring a scout or two, Stevie.
In his daily briefing column for CaughtOffside, Ben Jacobs reports that Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard is interested in Liverpool FC’s Joe Gomez and Joël Matip. Since you’re going to be laughing for a while, let’s read what Jacobs wrote:
“Ettifaq are exploring a range of ambitious options both in January and this summer to bolster Gerrard’s squad. Two Al-Ettifaq targets for this window are Fenerbahce’s Ryan Kent and Al-Hilal’s Abdulellah Al-Malki. Steven Gerrard was part of a three-hour recruitment meeting on Monday where Liverpool’s Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, and Villa’s Bertrand Traore, were also discussed for summer 2024.”
I have no doubt Ettifaq’s interest is genuine, but this coming out in light of Jordan Henderson’s apparent desire to cut short his “grow the game” mission is incredibly funny. There will definitely be some who will take the money and go, but Gomez and Matip will surely look at how Henderson, Firmino and Fabinho have all looked pretty miserable and think twice about it.
That’s not even considering how Gomez has taken over James Milner’s spot as the ultimate utility man this year. Centre-back, right-back, left-back, he’s played them all and excelled. Matip was also having one of his better seasons before his ACL injury. He’s out of contract this summer, so while he’s likely to leave Liverpool, but I think he will bet that he has a lot left at the top levels of the game in Europe.
Lastly, Steven Gerrard. There’s a lot to make fun of regarding his managerial ability, but this Erik ten Hag-like recruitment strategy of only buying players you know has to take the cake. Please stop embarrassing yourself, Stevie. Signing Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembélé, and Demarai Gray to win one out of your last 12 games and then crying out for more transfer help will only heap more pressure on you to deliver, which you can’t. Just like... go take a League One job or something and crunch some film instead of hanging out with Irish mobsters in your free time. Thanks.
