Liverpool are back in for Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and reports suggest that Merseysiders are close to agreeing a £13m deal for the Schalke youngster. On the other hand, there are rumors that Liverpool may loan Slovakian Martin Skrtel to Napoli as well to make way for Papadopoulos.
The 21 year old has been playing for the German side for the past 3 seasons and has grown into one of the toughest young defenders to deal with. However, perhaps he himself is not really that tough as his injury record has been alarming.
There are certain facts you should know about LFC’s potential £13m Signing.
Papadopoulos spent most part of last season on the treatment table; He could only feature in 10 league games for Schalke and did little to help his side qualify for next year’s Champions League by finishing fourth. Even then, Liverpool are ready to splash such a heavy sum to lure the defender. Why is that so?
The season before last, Kyriakos was one of the best players for the German side and helped them finish third in Bundesliga, 9 points behind second place Bayern Munich
Last year, he could only feature in 4 Champions League fixtures but his outings were no less than impressive. In the opening fixture against his former club Olympiakos, Papadopoulos was quite superb, lock down game in the heart of the defense. Was often the last man back, and made more than one last-minute challenge to stop threat in its tracks. Had no problems dealing with the set pieces as well.
The Greek defender is renowned for his strength, marking and when fit, you hardly see him losing an aerial battle. In the second CL fixture against Montpellier, Papadopoulos dominated everything in the air and showed another mature display on the night.
No matter how brilliant when fit, the main concern for Liverpool is his injury record. He missed 21 games due to injury last season. His injury history (via transfermarkt) can be seen in the picture below and is quite worrying as well.
Skrtel was largely inconsistent last season but by no means is he a poor defender. As things stand, he is out of favor and even veteran Kolo Toure might be preferred before him if he stays.
Liverpool fans are excited by the potential signing of Kyriakos Papadpoulous and will hope that his best and fit days are ahead of him. The reds will surely have an asset if he stays well, else paying 13 million for an injury prone player will not make sense. He will only be a liability then. Can Zaf help, we shall see. Rodgers will have his fingers crossed.
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Facts You Should Know about LFC’s Potential £13m Signing
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this guy makes Aquallani seem a world class athlete – AVOID AT ALL COSTS
only missed a few weeks in 4 years before knee injury – BUY AT ALL COSTS
a walking sick note, wake up reds thats why shalke want him off the wage bill
Rodgers is screwed by Xmas,his Shambolic signings ( Allen Borini Toure Alberto Aspas ) are going to cost him his job by Xmas 😉 Hopefully they SACK that IDIOT ayre as well.These idiots can not be in charge of are club any longer,we are getting rid of the high earners ( Reina Skrtel & Suarez ) while idiot rodgers is buying B TEAM players on low wages ;-( It’s the reason Henry wanted him in the first place.Swansea & Southampton are buying better players than Liverpool football club,which is a disgrace ;-( OUTSIDE THE TOP 10 NEXT SEASON,and both idiots ayre & Rodgers have zero excuses,BUT TO BE F*CKING SACKED ;-(
agree with most of what you say but I think the new additions have to be given a chance to prove what they can do, as far as rogers goes im sure he would like better quality players but he is a yes man and fsg have the final say in transfer matters, totally agree with you regarding fsg cutting costs whenever they can and keeping the books nice and tidy, would also look good to any future buyer
What exactly is the “abductor” muscle?
You site the fact he’s had multiple injuries prior to the knee injury that’s kept him out since November but the previous 4 kept him out for a grand total of 38 days according to the dates you’ve given so hardly a sicknote of Aquilani proportions.
previous injuries are small
The current one is massive. Can mention many players who were far from their best after suffering from knee problems.
Torres and Ronaldinho to name a few. Quality player but you never know what happens when he returns.