da bet7k： Liverpool should consider themselves in a position of power should this Luis Suarez saga actually culminate in the player joining Real Madrid. It should all amount to Brendan Rodgers receiving a boost in his bid to transform the Liverpool squad from a just-above-the-mid-table team and into a genuine contender for the top four in the Premier League.
da bet sport： Real Madrid are as reckless as they come. They will be more than keen to offload players as a means to make room rather than to raise funds. Florentino Perez’s second tenure in charge as Real Madrid president began with the spending spree that brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, and Kaka for a combined £196 million. Moving out of the club were Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, combining for a fee of €40 million – Robben alone cost Madrid €35 million when they bought him from Chelsea. A year later, Rafael van der Vaart left for far less than his worth when Tottenham picked him up in 2010 for £8 million.
There’s real history of Madrid undervaluing both star names and positions in the team. Perez famously saw little in the way of Claude Makelele meriting a pay rise to bring him onto equal footing with the prominent attackers in the squad. He too left for a fee well below his value, £16 million, with Chelsea the beneficiaries this time.
But Liverpool are unlikely to find a replacement for Luis Suarez in the most literal sense in the Madrid squad. Gonzalo Higuian looks set for the Premier League but with Arsenal – that is unless Juventus find the means to take the Argentine to Serie A. While Benzema, for now at least, looks to be the constant at Madrid of the two strikers.
Rodgers, however, should take a lot from Spain’s success at the U21 European Championship. Benfica striker Rodrigo was the preferred forward as the competition got underway, yet it was Alvaro Morata, arriving from the bench in two of the three group games, who grabbed the attention and made the difference.
Morata scored the only goal in the opener against Russia after coming on in the 78th minute. He did the same in the following game against The Netherlands, arriving on the scene in the 73rd minute to once again grab the only goal.
Despite the fact that Rodrigo can be considered a regular in the Benfica first team and Morata hasn’t fully made the switch from Castilla to the senior squad at the Bernabeu, the Madrid striker is clearly the better of the two.
And it didn’t take too long for Coach Julen Lopetegui to accept that. Morata, having once again come on as a sub in the semifinal win over Norway and scoring a devilishly cheeky goal from an impossible angle, started in the final against Italy. Morata was able to drop in between the lines and take part in the build-up play. He slotted in effortlessly alongside Isco, Koke and Thiago, literally toying with their Italian counterparts to the point of embarrassment.
He showed his ingenuity to make space for himself on the left flank before sending in a cross for Thiago to head in as the opener. Later on, Morata’s pace was on display as he attempted to latch onto a defence-splitting through ball. The Spaniard finished the tournament as top scorer with four in five games, plus his solitary assist in the final.
There’s no mistake that this is a player set for the big time in Europe. He’s too good to waste away on the fringes of the Real Madrid team, even if it is a team consisting of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Benzema.
Rodgers has spoken about the desire to add more goals to the team, something Liverpool absolutely need if they’re to make up ground on those ahead of them in the league. Morata will play a big role in that if they can get him in as part of the potential deal with Suarez.
Like most of his compatriots who were regulars in the Spain squad, Morata was wonderful to watch: a 6’3 forward who proved that he is far from a traditional No 9. His technical qualities will fit right in alongside the new and most recent arrivals at Anfield. Florentino Perez has been criticised for his view of Real Madrid and in his running of the club. He sees value in proven stars and big names – both on the pitch and in the dugout. Liverpool really should go all out to test the president’s resolve on this matter. Above all, they need to take advantage of the fact that so few seem to be genuinely in for Morata – a near unforgiveable act considering how good he’s been this calendar year
A fee plus Morata would be the ideal package for Liverpool to receive if they’re to relinquish their hold on Suarez. Sami Khedira has also been touted for a move out of the Bernabeu – a huge surprise – and the German could also be of great benefit to the Liverpool squad. Khedira is the typical box-to-box midfielder, almost always latching on to the ball in the final third but also doing a lot to win back possession in his own half.
But the priority for Liverpool should be in the youth star who does fit the club’s profile and will fall comfortably into the wage budget. Morata, at 20, is already a player who is a capable of making a big impact in the first team of a big European club. Maybe not an immediate replacement for Suarez, but over the course of the next few seasons and with an unlimited road of potential, the Spaniard could round out to be a superstar at Anfield.
Who should Liverpool look to bring in as a potential swap with Real Madrid?
Join the debate below