Tweet
New Liverpool boss Graeme Edwards continued his - some would say over the top - activity in the transfer market during the pre season bonanza period with the arrival of several more new faces including left back Andy Robertson from Chelsea. The 30 year old Scottish international will arrive at Anfield as part of a 2 for 2 deal with the Merseysiders also receiving 20m as part of the agreement.
The arrival of Robertson ensures that the Reds will go into the new season with a completely revamped back line along with Hummels, Mbabu and Akanji who have arrived from Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid and Glasgow Celtic respectively. All 4 players fit the profile of defender preferred by Edwards with good tackling ability combined with excellent passing attributes.
Edwards had this to say about the arrival of his fellow Scot to the club along with the club's new look defence in general
"Yes very happy to be able to confirm that we reached agreement with Chelsea to bring Andy to the club. We had strong but amicable negotiations with their new boss Steve Talbot and are pleased that the clubs were able to find a common ground so that the deal could take place. Whilst we were disappointed at having to sacrifice the younger van Hecke as part of the deal we just couldn't resist the temptation to bring Andy in and he really is the final piece of what will be our new look defensive set up next season"
"Whilst the age of the players we have brought in are a little bit older than I would ideally have liked we've had to try and work within a budget so it isn't always easy to bring in younger players of the standard we want. We've had to spend money on increasing the stadium capacity as this had been previously neglected. The £18m we have ploughed into that will bring the capacity of Anfield up to 60,000 which will more adequately meet the demand of our loyal and passionate support. Ideally we would have liked to have spent less on the stadium and used the funds on new signings or on the academy but it is what it is. We can't do everything immediately, there is so much to do to get this club where we want it to be so some things will have to take priority over others"
"Our new look defence - and you can also add Savic into the mix as he will slot in there at times too when we play a back 5 - is one that I'm really pleased with. All of the lads play their positions the way I like my defenders to play. The majority of the players that were at the club previously just wouldn't have been up to playing the way I want us to and therefore moving them on was absolutely the right thing to do"
With the departure of van Hecke, Liverpool have now moved on every outfield first team calibre player from the previous regime. So is the Scot finished on the transfer front?
"No I expect to keep wheeling and dealing whilst the bonanza remains open. We've also managed to build a decent auction kitty but if the right player becomes available for cash I wouldn't hesitate to spend part or all of the money we have and bypass the auction. We'll just have to keep an eye on things over the next couple of days but I'm certainly not ruling anything out"
The arrival of Robertson ensures that the Reds will go into the new season with a completely revamped back line along with Hummels, Mbabu and Akanji who have arrived from Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid and Glasgow Celtic respectively. All 4 players fit the profile of defender preferred by Edwards with good tackling ability combined with excellent passing attributes.
Edwards had this to say about the arrival of his fellow Scot to the club along with the club's new look defence in general
"Yes very happy to be able to confirm that we reached agreement with Chelsea to bring Andy to the club. We had strong but amicable negotiations with their new boss Steve Talbot and are pleased that the clubs were able to find a common ground so that the deal could take place. Whilst we were disappointed at having to sacrifice the younger van Hecke as part of the deal we just couldn't resist the temptation to bring Andy in and he really is the final piece of what will be our new look defensive set up next season"
"Whilst the age of the players we have brought in are a little bit older than I would ideally have liked we've had to try and work within a budget so it isn't always easy to bring in younger players of the standard we want. We've had to spend money on increasing the stadium capacity as this had been previously neglected. The £18m we have ploughed into that will bring the capacity of Anfield up to 60,000 which will more adequately meet the demand of our loyal and passionate support. Ideally we would have liked to have spent less on the stadium and used the funds on new signings or on the academy but it is what it is. We can't do everything immediately, there is so much to do to get this club where we want it to be so some things will have to take priority over others"
"Our new look defence - and you can also add Savic into the mix as he will slot in there at times too when we play a back 5 - is one that I'm really pleased with. All of the lads play their positions the way I like my defenders to play. The majority of the players that were at the club previously just wouldn't have been up to playing the way I want us to and therefore moving them on was absolutely the right thing to do"
With the departure of van Hecke, Liverpool have now moved on every outfield first team calibre player from the previous regime. So is the Scot finished on the transfer front?
"No I expect to keep wheeling and dealing whilst the bonanza remains open. We've also managed to build a decent auction kitty but if the right player becomes available for cash I wouldn't hesitate to spend part or all of the money we have and bypass the auction. We'll just have to keep an eye on things over the next couple of days but I'm certainly not ruling anything out"