Liverpool take £35m Caicedo shortcut to leave Manchester United even deeper in the transfer mud

Moises Caicedo is pretty good but Liverpool have found ‘the next’ version of the Manchester United target, who just so happens to be older and much cheaper.

Enzo the earth
‘Arsenal were convinced they had a free run at Rice, despite having initial bids turned down, but City’s decision to move for him could see them lose out on their top transfer target.

‘City already hold the British transfer record, following their £100m outlay on Jack Grealish from Aston Villa two years ago – and are ready to equal it again in their pursuit of Rice’ – David McDonnell, Daily Mirror.

Fair play to Chelsea for cooking the books so successfully that Enzo Fernandez no longer exists.

Moises basket
Mediawatch is delighted to report the discovery of a transfer window holy grail with this one:

Liverpool have two big advantages in transfer race to sign next Moises Caicedo

That’s right. The Liverpool Echo have finally done it. We have a ‘next’ version of a player who is older than the current iteration. What a day. What a moment.

But how does Manu Kone qualify as the ‘next Moises Caicedo’, despite being six months older with 71 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues, to Caicedo’s 45 games for Brighton?

The defensive-minded midfielder is also capable of playing slightly more advanced roles and can count Brighton & Hove Albion’s in-demand star Moises Caicedo as part of his ‘similar players’ list on the website of scouting tool FBref.

He absolutely can, to be fair. Eight players down, mind, below fellow next Moises Caicedos in Johann Lepenant, Hugo Magnetti, Samuel Moutoussamy, Rominigue Kouame, Hicham Boudaoui, Mohamed Camara and Jean-Victor Makengo.

Legends, each of them.

And what of those ‘two big advantages’ Liverpool have when it comes to pursuing Kone?

Well first, sporting director Jorg Schmadkte has a ‘sprawling network of contacts and expertise where the Bundesliga is concerned’. Which no other club has. And if they do, Liverpool’s sprawling network of contacts and expertise where the Bundesliga is concerned obviously means more. Because it can find hidden gems that Borussia Monchengladbach want £35m for.

As for the second ‘big advantage’…

Kone will already be familiar with at least one potential new team-mate at Liverpool having played for Paris FC at the same time as Ibrahima Konate in the early 2010s and while both players were teenagers during their time together in the French capital, it’s not inconceivable that the centre-back is consulted before a move goes any further.

It is not made clear whether Kone and Konate actually played together regularly at Paris FC – and for good reason. They were indeed there ‘at the same time’, both being on the club’s books in their youth system between Kone’s arrival in 2012 and Konate’s departure in 2014. But considering the latter, two years older than the former, was 14 when he left for Sochaux, it seems unlikely they a) were teammates for a considerable period of time, if at all, and b) crossed paths often enough for it to be worth ‘consulting’ Konate about what someone was like as a literal child a decade ago.

But sod all that, because Liverpool practically have ‘the next Moises Caicedo’ wrapped up. Please stop asking why they’re not signing the current, younger and far more expensive one.

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘ready to pay’ €130m to complete huge double deal as Klopp attempts to ‘break marriage’

June: Part Two
While Liverpool are making such considerable waves in the transfer market, Manchester United are being left embarrassingly far behind. It’s June 23 and they’ve not f**king signed anyone. Don’t they know the season starts in 52 days?!

After the Old Trafford transfer panic took hold of David McDonnell and the Daily Mirror, Samuel Lukchurst of the Manchester Evening News is getting twitchy.

June is on the horizon and the warmer the weather the more irritable the Manchester United supporter.

There is still no decision on the ownership, the Mason Greenwood process is nearing the five-month mark and this could be the second successive June they have not signed a player.

Hahaha. Is that a thing? Imagine how embarrassing it must be to potentially not sign anyone for two successive Junes. Fold the club now.

It is aggravated by the activity of United’s rivals. Liverpool have bought a World Cup winner in Alexis Mac Allister for a borderline frugal fee, Manchester City have replaced their Treble-winning leader before he has left with Mateo Kovacic and Declan Rice seems destined to take Lines Central and Piccadilly to Arsenal.

This again. Liverpool have indeed bought Alexis Mac Allister but that alone isn’t going to bridge an eight-point gap to Manchester United. Manchester City have not yet completed the signing of Mateo Kovacic but when they do he will, as you say, be replacing a Treble-winning captain. So that’s hardly an overall gain. And if Declan Rice ‘seems destined’ to join Arsenal then why are Manchester City bothering to hijack that move?

Luckhurst ends his doom-mongering article to write about that most disastrous of Manchester United summer transfer windows in 2013, when Marouane Fellaini arrived for more than a release clause which expired a month earlier and the club ‘did sign someone in June’.

And Guillermo Varela was such a resounding success that it boggles the mind Manchester United are flirting with the idea of going two successive Junes without signing someone.

Rom com
Sticking with Luckhurst, who could not resist a little dig at a former Old Trafford striker:

Some at United may need to jog their memory. It was six years ago that United agreed a £90m fee for Romelu Lukaku, who had a year remaining on his Everton contract. United did blindside Chelsea to turn Lukaku’s head but there was an acceptance that an early 20s striker with big-five league clout would command a club record fee.

That was back when United’s summer budget was capped at £150m and a month before the watershed transfers of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to Paris Saint-Germain. Lukaku did not score or stick around long enough for his £15m add-ons to be triggered.

Someone should probably tell Paul Hirst of The Times, who wrote in May 2019: ‘It is understood that United have since paid Everton another £15 million in add-ons as part of the deal.’

Tub of Laird
‘Three Manchester United youngsters can earn first-team squad places on pre-season tour’ – Manchester Evening News.

‘Four Manchester United youngsters who will be aiming to impress Erik ten Hag in pre-season’ – Manchester Evening News.

Three hours and 56 minutes between the two stories being published. And it’s bad news for Ethan Laird, who might be aiming to impress Erik ten Hag in pre-season but he apparently cannot earn first-team squad places on pre-season tour.

Fend for yourself
‘ANOTHER Sky Sports presenter reveals he is leaving the broadcaster amid widespread job cuts – a week after they axed half their football reporting team and Martin Tyler’s exit’ – MailOnline.

Complete with a split picture of Martin Tyler and Geoff Shreeves, the story is obviously about John Fendley, as revealed as late as the sixth paragraph.