Full version of the LiverpoolWorld Q&A.
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00:00 I'm here with Will Rooney of Liverpool World to discuss everything Liverpool and Everton as of late.
00:07 Will, let's start with Liverpool and let's look ahead to the January window.
00:11 I know a lot of fans have sort of been expecting a lot and there's a few bits of the Liverpool side that you could say that there are lacking in areas.
00:20 How do you sort of see them approaching the January window this year? Next year, sorry.
00:26 Yeah, I think only Jürgen Klopp will strengthen the side if he feels there's a player who will bolster Liverpool's offence for now and for the future.
00:38 Liverpool, to be fair, they've spent money in the past two January windows.
00:43 In 2022, they went and got Luis Diaz for £37.5 million and then they went and got Kozy Gakpol earlier this year for the best part of £40 million.
00:55 So it's not that Liverpool are afraid to spend money in January.
00:59 If the right player comes up, if they think they can get him, if they think that maybe they've got him earmarked for the summer,
01:07 there might be a team that leapfrogs ahead of them, then they might move.
01:11 I think that was sort of similar to what happened with Diaz in Tottenham and Man United's possibly want to Kozy Gakpol as well.
01:19 So if there's a player that Liverpool fancy, you think, right, they've come in and made a real difference, we'll go and get them.
01:25 But Jürgen Klopp's already said after John Matapinge that Liverpool won't just go and spend money for the sake of it.
01:33 We know the owners fairly, I don't want to say frugal, I think that's the wrong word.
01:40 I think they're quite methodical in how they spend money and I think these deals are right for us,
01:46 so we'll go and get them and the manager wants them, so we trust the management team.
01:51 But yeah, Klopp as well is on the same game sheet as the owners really.
01:55 If they're poor work and strength, I think you're looking at maybe potentially holding the field,
02:02 I don't think that has been sourced quite yet.
02:05 I mean, Sarrow ends all in the draw against Man United, I thought he was better in the out-of-the-box in recent weeks,
02:09 to be honest with you, he was better on the ball quicker, he's been a little bit ponderous in the previous couple of games,
02:16 but he was better on it. But is he the solution or is he the long-term solution as well?
02:21 I don't know, Alex McAllister's obviously injured and is he a real number six that you want?
02:26 Does Jürgen Klopp potentially, he's been doing so, move Trent Alexander-Arnold in there permanently,
02:33 does he go and get a new right-back if he was going to bolster his options again?
02:37 And then in central defence, you know, say, Joe Mass about now for the remainder of the season.
02:44 So they've got four options of them in a fit, and potentially Naf Philips is returning from Celsic in January,
02:52 his loan runs out, OK, he hasn't exactly thrived up north of the border, but he is another option,
02:59 he could come in and strengthen numbers at least.
03:02 And then the future of Fabio Carvalho's up in the air as well, he's had a disappointing loan spell at RB Leipzig,
03:09 really struggled to get going there at the German side. He might come back, but I think if he wants to come back,
03:18 Liverpool would be looking to loan him out again to either another club in the Premier League or somewhere
03:23 where he pretty much be guaranteed more minutes where he can develop, because he is still only young,
03:28 he had that superb season in the Championship a couple of years ago.
03:32 But I don't think it's going to be a massive January for Liverpool, but I think we've seen the past couple of wins,
03:37 those that can't rule out a big name arriving.
03:40 And carry on with Liverpool and the title race at the moment, how do you sort of see it from a Liverpool perspective?
03:47 Has there been a few missed opportunities, would you say?
03:50 They must be fairly happy with where they are compared to last season especially.
03:55 I think you're spot on there, yes, Charles. Liverpool are ahead of where a lot of fans might have expected them to be.
04:03 I think we've said all along that the aim this season is to finish in the top four and get back to the Champions League.
04:09 As we speak now, Liverpool are one point behind Arsenal after drawing against Man United,
04:14 they were disappointed against Man United, truth be told, for all of the dominance.
04:18 They didn't create enough clear-cut opportunities, took the wrong decision-making at the time,
04:25 lacked composure in the final third.
04:27 And I think that was... it's about where Liverpool are, I have to be honest with you,
04:32 because for all of the wins that they've picked up, they haven't really put a team to the swords yet,
04:38 they haven't absolutely blitzed an opponent.
04:40 They beat Aston Villa early in the season, convincingly, and obviously that's turned out to be a great result.
04:46 Aston Villa have proven this campaign.
04:48 They've put a few goals past Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Anfield,
04:52 but there's yet to be a performance where you think Liverpool can really, really punish teams.
04:59 And that's despite having Mo Salah and Darwin Nunes and Luis Diaz,
05:04 I know how much was talked about the front line at the start of the season.
05:08 Everyone was saying that Liverpool are not going to struggle to score goals,
05:12 it's going to be maybe keeping them out, but they haven't been all that convincing in the attacking areas of late.
05:18 Again, against Man United, they would quell quite easily.
05:23 Struggled against Palace before, or Aaron Sheffield's United, weren't convincing.
05:27 Left it late against Fulham and needed four unbelievable goals for them, to be fair.
05:33 That might not ever happen again for Liverpool.
05:37 So, I think a lot of fans will be happy where they are now, especially how tight the division is this season.
05:44 If they just keep ticking along, I think Liverpool do drop out of the title race slowly but surely.
05:51 It will be a little bit disappointing, but top four is the main aim.
05:55 But where they are now, nearly halfway through the campaign,
06:00 maybe they do need to readjust their ambitions because we've seen that Arsenal,
06:05 they're not exactly bulletproof, are they?
06:08 Man City are having a real wobble, and maybe last season winning the Trebles,
06:14 catching up on them, and missing De Bruyne and Carlin's injury.
06:19 Maybe they are a little bit vulnerable this campaign, so it might be an opportunity that Liverpool can't afford to miss.
06:25 You mentioned Mohamed Salah, obviously incredible numbers already boasted for him this season.
06:33 We spoke a lot in the summer about the possible Saudi move and all that taking place.
06:39 Where do you see his long-term future at Liverpool going from this moment now?
06:44 Well, I certainly don't see him leave in January.
06:47 I know the Saudi officials have come out and said we won't be going for Mo Salah in January.
06:52 I think he spent a lot of money last summer and there won't be any real marquee signs maybe in the winter window.
07:00 Personally, I think that might be a little bit of a game-player there.
07:05 You could see him definitely coming and looking to raise a couple of clubs again.
07:09 Mo Salah, I'll be saying for the season, without a shadow of a doubt, he's got more brackets to break.
07:14 He'll want to add more winners' medals to his trophy cabinet.
07:19 It'll be interesting in the summer, I think he'll be 32 then.
07:23 He'll have a year left on his Liverpool contract.
07:26 What will Liverpool do from now on? For all the numbers they have been unbelievable this season.
07:31 I think you've got to judge Mo Salah on just being a goalscorer early and a playmaker rather than maybe somebody who is a real nuisance for 90 minutes.
07:43 He's maybe not as influential overall in games but he's obviously deadly in the final third.
07:52 I think numbers show that but Liverpool might get to the summer and think,
07:57 'Will we ever have a better time to make X amount of money on someone who's 32?'
08:03 Depending on what sort of bid might be lodged.
08:07 Liverpool might, from a business perspective, not be in a position to turn it down.
08:11 We all know that more clubs are spending money now.
08:17 Newcastle have got new money and Chelsea are splashing the cash and they're going to come up eventually.
08:23 Now we've got Aston Villa to add in.
08:26 The way Liverpool are, the owners aren't just going to give Jürgen Klopp a war chest.
08:31 They've got to do it pragmatically.
08:34 A way to do that and build some funds might be to sell an asset here, potentially.
08:40 Someone who might be just coming towards the end of the best years and it might be time to cash in.
08:47 It'll be an interesting one what happens with a year left on his contract.
08:50 Maybe Mo Salah might say, 'You know what?
08:53 Given what I've seen in Sardey so far and the meagre crowds they get,
08:59 it's not exactly a league that is taken off in this part of the world, is it really?'
09:05 I've watched that Sardey grow league games and I think players are playing.
09:10 Maybe he'll think twice about it.
09:12 I don't really want to go on and end my career there.
09:15 Certainly an interesting one but the future will be parked and it'll probably be discussed more when the end of the season comes.
09:23 We've discussed Mohamed Salah's long-term future but what about Jürgen Klopp?
09:28 Liverpool boss, contract ending in 2026, I believe.
09:33 What's the look into his long-term future at the club?
09:37 It's always in the back of your mind.
09:42 When you see a manager doing well, you think, 'Could they be the next Liverpool manager?'
09:46 Just because it's going to be so difficult to replace him whenever he does leave.
09:51 He signed a contract in 2022 to keep the club until 2026.
09:57 At that time he said he felt refreshed.
10:01 He was looking forward to the challenge ahead and he knew last season was going to be a struggle.
10:06 At the end of last season he was looking forward to a rebuild and he's branded Liverpool 2.0 now.
10:12 So it depends how long he wants this Liverpool 2.0 to go on.
10:16 I think Jürgen Klopp could stay at Liverpool for as long as he wants,
10:22 especially if he continues to deliver results.
10:27 It comes down to how long he mentally wants to stay in one job.
10:30 Does he maybe want to go and manage Germany in the future?
10:33 Does he want to have a new challenge in Spain?
10:36 Or does he want to buy Munich in the future?
10:42 It depends on what happens to Thomas Tutel or somewhere else, you never know.
10:47 It's always an interesting one because you have to say that the hierarchy is always keeping an eye out
10:55 on who might be the successors to Jürgen Klopp.
10:58 But again, it wouldn't be a surprise the way he is and the way he's acting.
11:03 No difference if tomorrow he felt like he was going to sign a new contract to keep the club even longer.
11:10 But that will be the challenge long term.
11:13 Alexis Roberto Deservi has been mentioned and Xabi Alonso doing well at Bayer Leverkusen.
11:19 Gaten Potter was one before he took the Chelsea job and then upseas.
11:23 He'd be well out of the fray now.
11:26 It'll just be interesting what happens with that.
11:28 Or maybe do you promote from within?
11:30 Do you give Pep Linds as a chance as the assistant manager?
11:33 He's been there with Klopp for how long?
11:35 Do we give him a chance? Do we promote him?
11:39 But for now, Jürgen Klopp's sole task is to make sure the pool is challenging for Silva-Herrigan.
11:47 Moving on to Everton, the January window approaching.
11:52 What do you think they need from this window and how important could it be for them going on to the rest of the season?
11:59 It's an interesting one for Everton, obviously, with the financial situation.
12:03 How much money is to spend?
12:05 A couple of takeover. Sean Dye said a few weeks ago that he doesn't think the situation is going to change an awful lot.
12:14 So that means that there might not be massive amounts to spend.
12:18 And he'll have to be clever and savvy in the transfer market.
12:21 Kevin Fellwell again, like he was in the summer.
12:24 I think Everton's squad is a little bit thin, especially when a couple of injuries do crop up.
12:29 You only have to look at the bare in the game when he has a few injuries and three young lads on the bench plus two goalkeepers.
12:39 Luckily enough, Everton were fine with that.
12:41 And then obviously, I'd like to call Ailunp Soth as well.
12:44 So with Patrice Agarnegay going to AFCON in January, it wouldn't surprise me if he did look at bringing a midfielder in.
12:52 I already think that a midfielder is light at the moment because he's played deeper in two of the past three games.
13:02 But I don't really underdice Coultham as a centre midfielder.
13:07 Coultham is more of a number 10, a second striker, because that's the role that he's played in and thrived in.
13:13 He's been absolutely excellent against Newcastle and against Burnley.
13:18 He had to play deeper and that goal threat wasn't quite there.
13:21 Obviously, through no fault of his own because he was playing a deeper role.
13:25 But when he's been so potent for Sean Dyche, you'll want to play him as an advanced midfielder, a stroke forward, which makes a lot of sense to me.
13:34 Obviously, Dele Alli has not played this season and the overhang in FIFA, he might have to play top.
13:41 And even if he does come back a bit, once he gets 20 games, that's £10 million.
13:45 Everton are in a position to play top on £10 million.
13:48 Andre Gomez hasn't played all season. He's nearing a comeback.
13:51 But is he a Sean Dyche midfielder? Is he someone who really wants to play in the front foot and just keep on going, show energy?
13:58 He's more of someone who likes to get on the ball, isn't he, and pick a pass, take his time and dictate, which isn't quite the way Sean Dyche plays.
14:06 So I think midfielder. And then I think a left back, if he could get a cover in for Vitaly Mikhalenko, he's been excellent.
14:16 But he's obviously missed the Burnley game.
14:19 And you know what, Everton are fairly well stocked because they've got Nathan Paterson, they've got James Coleman, who's come back from his injury now.
14:26 Ashley Cole as well, who can cover his base at high level.
14:29 They might want another specialist left footer, maybe someone who can play a little bit higher up the pitch as well, if he'll get someone in.
14:36 And it'd be interesting to see what happens to Arnav Danduma in January.
14:40 I asked Sean Dyche about his loan because it ends in January and he pretty much battered off.
14:46 He didn't really want to entertain the question.
14:48 But you know, Danduma, he's played about 20 minutes in the past seven games for Everton.
14:56 You know, a player who helped Villareal get to the Champions League semi-final a couple of years ago and he's not getting a sniff.
15:02 So I can't imagine he'll be on a low wage.
15:06 I think he'd be on a decent salary to have a look at that maybe and think, for what we're paying Danduma, we maybe could go and get two other players in potentially.
15:15 Someone who maybe fits Dyche's system a little bit more as well.
15:21 But he has got a little bit of quality that maybe Arlachan, you know, if he needs to bring someone on, could make a difference.
15:30 So there's maybe a little bit of a quandary there.
15:33 But again, it'll be down to finances and whatever we can do.
15:38 Obviously, almost a year of Sean Dyche now at the club.
15:45 He's been dealt quite a tough hand with the financial issues and leading to the points deduction, of course.
15:51 You know, they've really bounced back and he's almost made Everton this new sort of team again with, you know, really hard to score against.
16:00 And, you know, they've really sort of strengthened up from what I've seen of them as of late.
16:04 I'm sure you'd probably offer some insight into that.
16:07 But how much has he brought to the club as a whole, as well as the team in just almost a year?
16:14 Yeah, he's done an unbelievable job.
16:16 I think as a manager in 2023, it's either him or even I, Emery, to be honest with you, because, you know, the turnaround when he arrived at Everton were second bottom.
16:25 You know, they were up dead and buried, to be honest with you.
16:28 Well, not dead and buried, but he has a real uphill task and he achieved that unbelievably, unbelievably well.
16:35 But there's still some doubts around him in the summer and obviously that's the sticky start to the campaign.
16:39 He has Everton but Sean Dyche was always positive that they were playing well and they just weren't putting the goals in the back of the net.
16:46 And, you know, you look now for 10 pointers option and then Everton should attempt and leave, which, considering the start of the season was solely a boys relegation fight,
16:56 we get to the last three or four games we're safe and that's an achievement.
17:00 He just wants them to make steady progress.
17:03 It's just brought, it's just changed the mentality, I think, mainly.
17:06 You know, he's made players believe in themselves again.
17:10 He's made themselves believe in the quality.
17:13 It's just, it's just, I don't want to say it's simple because that would be, that would be an understatement.
17:22 But he's just gone about things where he's made the football a little bit more simple.
17:28 He hasn't overcomplicated things, as you say.
17:31 They're difficult to beat, difficult to break down, well set up, going forwards, break on the counter, a lot of emphasis on set pieces.
17:40 And yeah, I think behind the scenes, he just added a bit more stability as well to what Everton have needed.
17:45 You know, the amount of managerial changes has been difficult.
17:50 But yeah, he's just added a little bit of an old school factor maybe in as well.
17:55 Obviously, you know, the changes he's made in training, etc.
17:58 I don't think that's done Everton any harm whatsoever.
18:02 And yeah, he's done a magnificent job.
18:06 You know, we can only commend him for coming in and steadying the ship at a club that, you know, has had so much trepidation around it on and off the pitch.
18:17 And he's united the fan base as well, you know, the way that they are.
18:20 And obviously that's been massive because, you know, when he arrived, there was, you know, a fracture with the board and the fans.
18:29 But, you know, he's managed to repair that relationship.
18:35 And Everton fans are going into games now genuinely believing that they can win games.
18:41 Not just thinking, "Oh, we need a win to survive or to avoid the predicaments."
18:47 They genuinely believe that we can go to games.
18:50 Maybe he's getting to the point now where Everton fans can actually relax going into games because they're not going to be, you know,
18:55 that if they get beat, then the consequences could be substantial.
19:00 Finally on Everton, obviously the decision to open their new stadium for the start of the 2025/26 season.
19:08 I mean, we've spoke about the impact it has on the community and the club as a whole,
19:12 and they wanted to ensure they were a Premier League club for that opening as well.
19:17 What do you see coming from this? It must be, you know, a real positive that they are planning to open it.
19:23 Yeah, of course. Yeah, I think obviously the timeline's always been the stadium construction will be complete by late 2024.
19:31 So around a year's time. And then the question was, well, do Everton move into it midway through next season?
19:39 Or do they wait until the season after? And you can see both arguments.
19:43 You can see why Everton, some fans might have wanted to move as soon as possible.
19:49 Now, do you think the additional revenue that that stadium is going to bring into the club, it's going to be massive for Everton?
19:55 It'll be, you know, it'll be, you know, all the new, apart from that, you know,
20:03 they've got additional seating and then all the sorts of corporate revenue that will bring in will be significant.
20:13 But you can understand why it has been delayed.
20:16 It just means that when Everton do move, they can get it to a T. They're not in a rush to move it.
20:20 They can get the test events correct. If there's any teaming problems, they can get those done.
20:27 And as well, I think it gives businesses a bit more quality around Goodson Park and who are going to be opening around Bramley Ball as well.
20:36 Because if you're moving midway through a season, Everton might not have known the exact date, to be honest with you.
20:41 They might have thought, well, right, we can move in three weeks now. And you've got pubs and cafes and chippies around Goodson.
20:50 What's that mean for us now? We're going to lose out on X amount of on-batch day money.
20:57 So I think that helps for the local economy as well. You know, there's planning going forwards.
21:03 And maybe with the stadium opening at the start of the season, that summer as well beforehand,
21:09 you can have more events, concerts, etc., which will bring in additional revenue.
21:15 And that can help with any teaming problems as well, maybe for match days.
21:20 And you haven't got to worry about, right, we need to get the season finished, etc.
21:25 And we can move on to that potentially. I don't know.
21:28 But I mean, you see it going up at a rate of knots every week at the stadium.
21:35 When you go past it now, you can really see what it's going to be like on a match day.
21:41 Real excitement. And, you know, there'll be a lot. It'll be a poignant last season as well at Goodson.
21:47 Obviously, it'll be 134 years that Everton have been the grand old lady before they move.
21:53 Times have to change. But, you know, Everton fans can at least go to Goodson that final season.
21:58 Now we might only be here 19 times, 18 times. Start ticking them down.
22:03 But obviously, really, really make sure that they remember the experience and don't take it for granted.
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