TG12 skrev: ↑onsdag, 07. maj, 2025 18:14
Det er ingenlunde en forkromet formel jeg har, men snarere at opråb om at være mere proaktive og konsekvente når det kommer til forlængelser. SÅ man ikke sidder i sidste sekund inden toget er kørt og forsøger at få en "gratis" spiller overbevidst om at blive. Men man langt tidligere har fået lukket en kontrakt, eller taget konsekvensen og få dem solgt hurtigest muligt, såvidt muligt.
Paul Joyce har nu sat ord på, at det er normal kutyme, at man kigger på kontrakterne, når spiller har to år tilbage:
Paul Joyce: ‘The safe option [for Alexander-Arnold] would have been to sign another deal at Liverpool (although an unmotivated player on a long deal would have become a problem), and there was a time when Alexander-Arnold did not envisage anything else.
‘The 2022-23 campaign had proved a difficult one for him although, by the end of it, he felt revitalised by the hybrid role Klopp had asked him to perform when shifting from right back into midfield and conducting the play.
‘All of Liverpool’s previous contract dealings with Alexander-Arnold indicated they would have come to the negotiating table that summer when he had two years left and the background noise about Real Madrid’s interest was already audible.
‘Perhaps they wanted to see whether his form could be maintained but, initially at least, there was not the same intent from the club.
‘A delay can also be explained by the fact it coincided with a period of unprecedented flux behind the scenes.
Kontekst:
Julian Ward stood down just a year after succeeding Michael Edwards as sporting director, the president of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Mike Gordon, had retreated into the background, and soon into the new campaign Klopp doubted whether he had the appetite to continue. Klopp privately informed Gordon in November 2023 he would be leaving at the end of that season, and appointing a new hierarchy became the priority.
‘Hughes inherited what one colleague described as a “s!@* sandwich”, but is understood to have handled the situation impressively. There has been no animosity at the prospect of a valuable asset leaving for nothing.
‘If the argument can be made that Liverpool were slow to talk terms then, equally, there has been a sense in recent months that whatever was presented would not have been enough to entice the player to stay.’
Så skal Joyce ord stå for troende, så er det også almindelig præcedens, at man begynder at kigge på kontraktforhold, når spillerne har to år tilbage. Som han dog også nævner og som vi har drøftet herinde, så har der været uro bag kulisserne og det kan selv sagt have spillet mere ind end vi går og tror.