Liverpool Banter 2

21 Jun 2026 08:18:50
I can't remember who said we were being linked with Felix Nmecha but he looked very good for Germany last night. Really impressed with him.

21 Jun 2026 08:44:12
He has always looked good the times I have seen him.

He reminds me of Bellingham.

21 Jun 2026 09:09:33
Apparently Nmecha's agent is offering him to us and Man Utd. Why just us two? I don't know. That's the thread of a few links over the last couple of days.

21 Jun 2026 09:21:57
I'm not so sure about him being like Bellingham nigerred, I've never seen him do an Oxo advert.

21 Jun 2026 10:27:02
Really like him myself, again haven't seen loads of him for Dortmund but the 2 German World Cup games he looks like a world beater. Again Curacao is hard to judge but last night he was so powerful and pacey against a physical Ivory Coast midfield.

That being said, Kessie looked unreal too, and he's been in Saudi the past few years... Hard to judge fully based on internationals, unfortunately, but has the attributes for sure.

21 Jun 2026 01:49:08
It’s easy to forget Diomande is only 19.

Also, the article he posted in memory of his sister was heartbreaking. I want to support the guy wherever he goes, but this is some weight he is bearing… Many would break under it.

I haven’t seen much of him play, but I certainly won’t judge him based on the World Cup.

21 Jun 2026 08:00:42
It's that type of attitude that makes someone a superstar. As you say, pain like that can make or break someone. From his letter, he is going to use it as fuel and let nothing get in his way.

Whatever happens with him, it's going to be fascinating to see how he grows.

21 Jun 2026 00:14:23
Not going to lie, was much more impressed by Nmecha than Diomande. Means nothing as it’s just one game and they play different positions, but as far as auditions go. Not sure how genuine the interest is in Nmecha, but he was great.

Diomande showed flashes in the first half, but second half he looked like Salah on a bad day, running into players or passing straight to the opposition. I saw people saying his values going up with every touch, well the opposite should be true here.

21 Jun 2026 08:09:02
I thought Diomande's touch let him down the first 20 minutes after the hydration break. He was a real nuisance and created their goal. Second half, Ivory Coast struggled to impose themselves on the game, and so Diomande didn't really get into it.
The thing I liked most about Diomande is that he keeps trying, that is what you want from your widemen.

Mo would often have games where he was ineffective, but persistency then pop up with class when it mattered most.
First I have seen or heard of Nmecha. He looks great and like what our cm needs, however it is just one game.

20 Jun 2026 23:33:20
How fortunate are we to have Wirtz in our team. He just oozes class. His first touch, passing, positioning is just a joy to behold. He is the real deal and thank goodness he's a Liverpool player. Looking forward to seeing him working with and playing Iraola style fast positive football next season.

20 Jun 2026 23:50:58
His ability is second to none, but he went missing for a lot of that game, to be honest.

21 Jun 2026 00:31:12
He's a luxury player. Some of his game has to change to suit a more direct, fast paced style of play we prefer to adopt. He's a possession based player that likes more time on the ball and is lightweight, but he has bags of talent. I just think we are more of a Coutinho type of team when it comes to the 10 role than Wirtz. Wirtz is more of an Arsenal under Wenger type of 10.

The jury is still out for me when it comes to Wirtz and Isak. Nothing was shown last season that made me think they were worth the money we paid for them, but that's probably largely down to the manager. Obviously I'm being a harsh critic and will still back and support them, but it's the truth.

21 Jun 2026 00:54:18
They are both worth the money if we get the best out of them. Both have shown they are world class, but they need a team structure around them that allows them to play.

Nobody can do it on their own.

21 Jun 2026 01:59:10
Riosstepover, that's proving to be a very big 'if'. Your main point is still a massive cause for concern. They might need a team structured around them, and that's ok when you're a smaller club, but we're Liverpool. We don't buy individual talent and then build a team around them; we buy up and coming talent who fit our system.

Hughes and Edwards went massively against the grain last season, which has left us trying to shoehorn record signings into a dysfunctional system. It was a major mismatch. I do hope Iraola and a couple of wingers can rectify the issue, but I agree with Kman, the jury is very much out for both players still, at least when they wear red.

21 Jun 2026 02:12:07
Couldn't agree more. Wirtz is more than capable of adapting to a fast paced attacking game, his intelligence and ability is there, he just needs some league confidence and a coherent plan which was not forthcoming from Slot.
Having a manager who is more invested will make us unrecognisable next season from this last season's shower of s****. Exciting times ahead.

21 Jun 2026 03:12:31
That's true, Chewy. But to be fair to him, Slot's football and system didn't suit any of our players and made all of them look poorer than they actually are. Like you mentioned, the system itself was dysfunctional. I think we'd be seeing a very different team this season under Iraola.

21 Jun 2026 03:41:16
Dracred, I agree, it's unfortunate that there was such a lack of cohesion these last 12 months, but I do have high hopes going forward.

21 Jun 2026 04:37:10
A properly-managed Wirtz will be the best player in the Premier League, I have no doubt that. It is also up to him. He has to apply himself as he has done so far, but he is a genuinely exceptional player.

21 Jun 2026 06:24:22
I think the key aspect is every single player underperformed last season. The common denominator seems to be the coach and the way of playing over the fact they all lost their ability overnight.

Fully agree, the jury is still out on Isak and Wirtz in a red shirt, as well as every other signing we made.



Hopefully, we have the manager that can not only get the best out of these players but also make games enjoyable again.

21 Jun 2026 06:34:20
Florian Wirtz is an absolute joy to watch.
He's pure class. Thank goodness he's ours!

21 Jun 2026 07:20:41
To play Wirtz more centrally, it would have to be 4-2-3-1 with Isak up front.

Who would be the two deep-lying midfielders if we sign Wharton, if it’s him, and Grav Szob would be benched to accommodate Wirtz in the team at 10?

21 Jun 2026 08:54:47
Wirtz went missing last night? He was playing left side of a front 3. What are you expecting? He was involved in the game an awful lot. 9 ball recoveries, 103 passes, 2 chances created, and on the eye test alone, I didn’t see him go missing. He was always showing and trying to affect the game.

20 Jun 2026 23:32:54
Yan Diomande is an exciting young rascal of a player! No way Liverpool or anyone else should be paying £100m + for the lad at 19! That is not a criticism of the player because in 4 or 5 years he has the potential to be world class! He is not ready for a big move and the pressure of replacing Mo Salah!

The lad would be still learning on the job should LFC sign him!

The way LFC are run currently, Yan probably sees out a 6 year contract and PSG or Madrid get his peak years!?

20 Jun 2026 23:52:08
The lad isn't in it for money.

For anybody who hasn't read it, do a search on Google for 'Dear Roxane by Yan Diomande'. The lad should be welcomed with open arms.

21 Jun 2026 00:34:16
Nice kid and very talented footballer, but that doesn't mean LFC should be paying Leipzig £100m + to sign him! If LFC sign him I will back the lad!

Sign that young Swiss lad who scored a brace off the bench the other day, and one of the back up targets for a similar fee to what Yan is going to cost + Munoz, then LFC have depth and competition for places!

The big spend should be that Moroccan kid for midfield!?


Hey ho, what do I know, mate, it's only opinion, mate.

21 Jun 2026 00:41:23
I wasn't having a go, @HNID, more me talking about the character of the lad more than anything.

21 Jun 2026 00:45:12
Yes, let's sign someone on the back of a randomly good performance in a World Cup because that always well, doesn't it, HNID? Right?

21 Jun 2026 00:58:43
Look, Spuds have just had a bid of £80m rejected for Tonali. A bang average midfielder who's injured 50% of the time.

Forest have rejected a bid of £120m for Elliot Anderson.



Diomande is worth the money because £100m is nothing these days.

We just need to make sure we set these players up in a team they can actually play in. Not the shambles we had last season.

21 Jun 2026 02:07:24
The money is irrelevant, it's not ours! The club is financially run very well, all transfer fees are bonkers, so all we can do is hope those that are signed add something to the squad. The kid is only 19, but a man mountain, he can run, turn, fight, cross and harangue the opposition, and he will be ours. After the horrid season and a half of dross we've had to endure, there's no need to go looking for something to moan about, the powers that have instigated significant change and that will require investment, rest assured, they do know what they're doing, with amortisation over the length of the contract, it isn't really crazy costs in the grand scheme of the modern game.

We should all be over the moon with what is being built, the significant investment in academy assets is really securing our future, with a clear pathway to first team football back on the agenda, now Slot has gone, the kids will want to come. So very exciting for the short, medium and long term.

21 Jun 2026 04:21:00
Sorry £100m is nothing these days? If you have it to spare, I can find a good home for it. 🙂 😉

21 Jun 2026 06:18:48
There's some ridiculous things being claimed on here because people have a hard on for Diomande.

Can someone point me to the last time that 100mil transfer wasn't for someone considered to be one of the best in their position?


This lad has 1 year of proper footy under his belt, which he did well.

It's a huge gamble that people are prepared to take.

21 Jun 2026 06:40:28
From the few times I've seen Diomande play, I've been really impressed. If we can get him, he's gonna be immense for us.
Although to me, he seems to look more comfortable, and looks more effective playing on the left rather than right wing.

21 Jun 2026 07:18:22
130m Euros now, to lose him on a free to RM in 5 years' time, that's gonna hurt!!!!

21 Jun 2026 07:49:19
I think if the club can sign him, and sign the other players they want, then it's fine. If the budget is too badly affected by a huge outlay on Diomande, then maybe the club should tread carefully.

He looks an exciting player to me, very raw, be great to have him, but I would expect it to take time for him to settle into the pace of the league.

21 Jun 2026 09:07:32
Grealish 100 mill
Anderson if he goes 100 mill
Coutinho well over 100 mill
Jao Felix over 100 m
Caicedo over 100 m
Enzo over 100 m
Griezman over 100m
Lukaku 100 m I think
Couple maybe debatable, but honestly, a lot of the players who are over 100 m are or were not the best in the world in their position when moving.

21 Jun 2026 11:50:55
One thing to remember, the total transfer price isn't likely to be coming out of the finances all in one go, £100m over 5 years most likely, so the balance sheet only shows £20m in the fee, plus whatever associated agents' fees etc for the first year only. If, for example, Jones gets sold for £30m this summer, the whole amount gets added to the balance sheet as the sale of an asset, so we're essentially covered on the books by that.

It's why on the balance sheet, we made a profit on both Nunez and Diaz last summer, despite selling Nunez for less than his original purchase price, his amortised value was roughly £20m left to pay, we received £45m (on the sheet). This is why we can spend what we spend, if you break down last summer's spend into cost over time, the sheet will most likely show we were in the black.

20 Jun 2026 22:58:42
From what I've just seen, I wouldn't pay £10m for Diomande. He's just pace. Terrible touch and positional awareness.

21 Jun 2026 00:34:21
I would agree he wasn't impressive in that performance, I guess, like how he was lauded in his last game, he's criticised in this one. He's nowhere near a £100m player though.

21 Jun 2026 00:38:11
Is "From what you have seen" today's game?

I too think the price is getting too high, but he is more than just pace.

He can shoot and cross off both feet, and he is an excellent dribbler.



He did seem reluctant to go at Germany today at times, and I thought he stayed wide a bit too much. He has much to learn. But the raw skills are very exciting. Just that price. It seems too high.

21 Jun 2026 00:42:34
Give him 2 or 3 years and it's quite possible that it'll be seen as a bargain.

21 Jun 2026 06:33:36
I 100% agree on the 'he seemed reluctant to have a go at Germany today' part.

Club have been in for him for some time, though, so that might just be a one off and they seem to agree they believe he's not that far off what Leipzig want as they have bid it.

20 Jun 2026 22:33:57
BBC Football Gossip suggesting Chelsea are going to go for Wirtz. As if.

20 Jun 2026 23:00:08
He's had another good game tonight. I am excited to see him under Iraola. No chance we sell.

20 Jun 2026 23:03:06
£100m and Palmer.

20 Jun 2026 23:07:50
Totally agree MK, he is quality, I could see why they would want him, any top team would easily accommodate him, he is gonna be a top baller. ✊🏻

20 Jun 2026 23:28:57
Intel design, it feels like there's a social media agenda to mock Wirtz every game, but when you actually watch him he is class. He made an extremely selfless run to take two defenders away and create a chance for Amiri late on (reminiscent of the runs Firmino would make for Mane/Salah), he also played a perfect first time volleyed cross into Havertz who just took a donkey touch, his first time cushioned pass for Brown nearly ended up in a goal as well, earlier in the game his line breaking pass through both midfield and defence to Nmecha should've ended up with a goal but he took a heavy touch etc.

Wirtz himself was also unlucky with a stabbed finish that he just didn't catch right but his touch and composure to work the space was very good, just lacked that final execution.

That's just the end product moments to his game tonight as well. If you then include his overall play initiating attacks, turning first time passes around the corner, pressing hard etc. He was fantastic. I was also really impressed with the CM for Ivory Coast though. Inao, his name was. He was like a little Modric/Kante. Absolutely everywhere and damn near impossible to dispossess.

20 Jun 2026 23:56:06
Spot on @MK, the boy has an excellent football brain and a brilliant eye and touch for a pass. His best days for us are still ahead of him.

21 Jun 2026 01:47:35
100m and Palmer? I'd rather have just 100m, but he's NFS. Wirtz gets treated like Ozil on here and there are comparisons - but the kid has so much potential still. Would be insane to let him go.

{Ed001's Note - if he was like Ozil, you wouldn't be complaining as he would be smashing assist records and working hard, despite the bull in the media. Ozil was a fantastic player.}

21 Jun 2026 08:44:35
I still just think he doesn't finish well enough. Like I've seen him just smash a ball before, but so many times this season I just want him to f***ing ping it from edge of the box or first time as ball is played to him towards channel inside box.

And I know in some of these he was doing what he was told and to try walk it in.

And on some of those he probably did the right thing, and was the person he passed to, the messed it up.

But, yeah, I want a bit of F*** it, I'll do it myself from him this season and moving forward.

21 Jun 2026 09:04:38
I like Wirtz, but at the moment he's a very good player in certain games and when the style of football suits him, but not great. He's rarely had great games for us, maybe a couple in a season.

Next year is the acid test. For me the biggest issue is where to play him. In the prem he's ineffective off the left, so he needs to play more centrally.

If he goes central he's competing with Szob for a place, and at the moment Szob is producing better numbers which leaves Wirtz on the bench.

Unless Szob leaves, I think Wirtz may struggle to establish himself, and could be let go at the end of next season.

21 Jun 2026 12:47:17
Oh Ed I'm not complaining! It would be madness to get rid of Wirtz. I just see the same criticisms thrown at Wirtz that were thrown at him.

20 Jun 2026 22:22:58
Maybe he just had a bad game, but Schlotterback is neither half as good a passer as VVD, nor half as good a defender. People who have watched him more would be better placed to comment. But on today's game I would not want us to sign him.

20 Jun 2026 23:09:09
Youre seriously delusional if you think that we can buy a player who’s going to be what Van Dijk has been. Its not possible. Its like saying Diomande doesnt look as good as Salah, yeah no s*** Sherlock. When we replace Alisson, the replacement will not be as good. When you have players who are considered absolutely best in class, whoever you replace them with, when the time comes, is almost always a downgrade when taken without context, but when you remove a part and add a new part, you may get other unexpected benefits which make a difference to the team.

He only has to be a solid link in the chain. 17 solid links will get you a long way. The team makes the star, not the star the team.

20 Jun 2026 23:59:26
Virgil had a rubbish game, tbh, even though they won, typical, throwing his hands in the air and looking elsewhere when he got things wrong. Pi**es me right off that, just not captain behaviour.

21 Jun 2026 08:46:30
If you watched how many times VVD got done by simple channel balls today for a while, you may have a debate here. In fairness, the Dutch did seem all over the place, system-wise at the back for a while.



But yeah, we are not going to replace the peak VVD who is arguably the best CB to grace a football pitch. But the version of VVD now is becoming more and more replaceable (naturally).

21 Jun 2026 08:53:25
Maybe that's why he's a crap captain.

20 Jun 2026 21:57:38
Hi Eds, quick question, where do you think Iraola will play Wirtz?

Am watching Germany vs Ivory Coast and Wirtz started by hugging the left wing and is now in the centre and it feels like Nagelsman isn't sure where to play him.
Surely he is more affective in the middle?

Also, saw Diomande make three awful touches and then wow, skinned the defender and great cross in with left foot (and he's right-footed).

{Ed001's Note - I think he will play him across the 3, sometimes left, sometimes centre, sometimes right, depending on what he needs for that game. Iraola likes flexibility.}

20 Jun 2026 23:06:25
Germany, he's always as a left 10 and drifts outside or in the middle.

20 Jun 2026 23:10:31
Barakdee, Wirtz played on the 'left' the entire game. He floats though and ends up drifting central, deeper or even over to the right but you saw every time he eventually ended up back out on the left as his main position. It's the complete opposite to Nagelsman not knowing how to use him in fact; he knows the best way to use him is to just give him a free role. Wirtz is tactically intelligent enough to react to the game in front of him and move to the area where he can hurt the opposition. By starting him on the left though he can drift around creating overloads and leave space on that left side for Brown to burst forward and retain the width. Wirtz should've had 2 or 3 assists tonight, the clearest of which actually fell for Brown on the under lap. I hope we also just give Wirtz a free role under Iraola as Slot was far too obsessed with control that he wasted Wirtz in rigid tactics. However we make that work next year, well that's down to Iraola. Germany make it work by his starting position being from the left but Leverkusen also made it work behind a striker, off the right and even as a false 9 on occasions. As Ed says, Iraola will probably move him around and rotate the attack given we have so many options and are still looking to add more.

Iraola plays a 4-2-3-1 and in those 4 forward positions it looks like our intention is to have Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Diomande, Munoz, Rio, Ekitike, Barcola and maybe even Elliott. An absolutely obscene level of depth but a necessity if we want to play Iraola's high octane press and compete on 4 fronts. Wirtz is going to really benefit from having so many runners ahead of him next season.

21 Jun 2026 00:20:26
He'll float.

21 Jun 2026 03:52:33
Wirtz looked great for us when he started on the left and was given a free role to roam around. He popped up all around the pitch, linking play and playing passes in behind.