It’s a very busy day on the Liverpool FC interwebs as the Reds travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers to complete the third round of FA Cup competition. As it’s also the January transfer window, we have plenty of off-the-pitch topics to discuss as well.
So let’s take a spin through the latest news and notes items making the rounds on the internet this Monday.
Liverpool FC at Wolverhampton Wanderers FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Kick-off: 7:45 pm (BST), Monday January 7, Molineux
Liverpool starting XI prediction: go to this link
Injury report for both teams: go to this link
Series History: Wolverhampton wins- 50, draws- 17, Liverpool FC wins- 35
The “Turkish Messi,” Trabzonspor teenager Abdulkadir Omur, has been linked in transfer rumors to Anfield and he is indeed all about it. He spoke openly about how much he would love to make the switch to the Merseyside club.
Liverpool are a great club, one of the greatest in the world. These offers are something Trabzonspor need to discuss,” Omur said.
“If the club give the go-ahead, talks can be held. The club’s interests take precedence. I’ll do whatever is in the club’s best interests.”
If Liverpool did acquire the Turkish Messi, it would complement the “Alpine Messi” they already have in Xherdan Shaqiri. Omur, 19, knows it’s not his call whether or not he gets his dream move- it’s up to the club.
“If the club say leave, I’ll leave. If they say stay, I’ll stay. We are having a great season. We are in the title race and on course to make the Turkish Cup final,” Omur added.
According to ESPN, “reports in Turkish media claimed the Premier League leaders tabled a £27 million bid for the Trabzonspor winger.”
Shifting from a potential transfer window addition someday to one that was made last summer (with the deal struck the previous summer), why is midfielder Naby Keita not getting into the team these days? He did make a few starts earlier in the season, but didn’t have a single first team appearance over the course of the festive period fixture congestion, when the opportunity for minutes were readily available.
“It was not an injury, no, it’s just how it is sometimes. I spoke to Naby,” Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is quoted by The Guardian.
“Everything is fine. I am completely happy with Naby, but could he be a bit more confident in the games? Yes. Is he exactly the player in his best time at Leipzig? No, he is still adapting, that’s how it is. Everyone saw at the beginning of the season how brilliant he played. Tottenham (in September) was a fantastic game from him.”
“We made a change around the PSG game, I don’t know when exactly, and the boys have to deal with it.”
“A little injury here, a little injury there, and it was kind of a little setback but he is a fantastic player and I am really happy to have him here. It is so good and I am looking forward to our common future.
“You see it every day, wow, there is so much to come and there is so much influence he can have on each game. … There was no reason, just other boys were in a good shape as well, a bit was positioning, the system, all that stuff, and that’s how football decisions are. There is really no doubt about the boy, he is an outstanding player.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.