Should Liverpool cash-in on Suarez like Spurs did on Bale?

Selling Luis Suarez could do wonders for Liverpool

So far in this summer’s transfer window, Tottenham’s spending has surpassed the £85 million mark, and is only going to increase with the impending arrival of Christian Eriksen from Ajax, for a mere £10 million.

Exciting players have arrived in the form of Brazil international Paulinho, as well as 15-goal man Erik Lamela from Roma for £30 million. These ambitious moves have been funded by the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a mooted £85 million.

The point being, without this large sum of money received from the sale of Bale, most of the transfers would almost definitely not have occurred, even with money made from the sales of Huddlestone, Jake Livermore, and Clint Dempsey, to name a few. Hence, should Liverpool cash in on Suarez and thus, use the money to rebuild a competitive squad a la Spurs?

With Liverpool having moved early in the market to secure the signings of Mignolet, Toure, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, it was all looking rather rosy and fans expected more arrivals to follow suit. However, things stood still and even a loan deal for Aly Cissokho tied up recently, did little to dampen things.

The ‘marquee’ signing Liverpool fans have so desperately craved has failed to arrive thus far, with the likes of Diego Costa, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Willian rejecting chances to join the Reds, and either staying at their current clubs, or favouring moves to Champions League sides, something which Liverpool cannot currently offer.

Moves for the likes of Tiago Ilori, Mamadou Sakho, and Yarmolenko, appear ‘close’, but how many times have we heard that word before this summer. Even with these signings, I still would have Spurs as favourites for the 4th spot, as they have just bought brilliantly, quite frankly.

Paulinho, adds the energy to the midfield, Soldado, even though appearing limited in skill, is guaranteed to score 20+ goals. Then there is Erik Lamela, another who could go on to score plenty of goals once given time to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League, and truly could emulate Bale and become a star.

Another example, albeit from another league, is Napoli. By selling Edinson Cavani to PSG for £55 million, it has allowed the Naples outfit to be ambitious and bring in the likes of Raul Albiol, Jose Callejon, and even seemingly overpay for Gonzalo Higuain, which surely would not have happened without the sale of Cavani to PSG.

Thus, in essence selling Edinson Cavani has made Napoli into genuine title contenders, for a title which they have not won since 1989. As mentioned, all these moves for both clubs were funded by the departures of Bale and Cavani for large fees.

The one who got away – Willian

So, I pose the question; why don’t Liverpool sell Luis Suarez? Certainly the figures banded about such as £40 million would be a poor sale, considering Spurs will receive over double that amount for Bale. Hence, a fee of around £60 million would be a good deal, for a player who despite being magnificent at times, almost unavoidably comes with his endless issues.

Various bans have arrived resulting from ridiculous on-field behaviour, the most recent, a 10-match-ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic, has left the Uruguayan watching on from the stands as Liverpool have gone unbeaten since his absence, with a run stretching on from the end of last season (played seven matches, winning six and drawing once, scoring 16 goals in the process).

My point being, I honestly think Liverpool can cope without him, yes he is a world-class player, and yes he is a nuisance for the opposition, but with the lack of funds seemingly available to utilise and thus make the Reds genuine contenders, a sale of this magnitude would surely allow the whole squad to be improved, ensuring a top four place is more achievable, because let’s be honest, it will take almost a miracle for Liverpool to finish in the top four this season.

Hence, Suarez will surely, and most definitely want to leave again at the end of the season, by kicking up another fuss, and this time will probably get his wish. Anyway, who’s to say by remaining at Anfield for now, his mind will be 100% focused this season with what has gone on all summer, and being made to stay against his wishes? Who’s to say he will score a similar amount of goals this season, which would surely only decrease his value if sold next season?

Therefore, if moved on now, Liverpool may look back and think the sale of Suarez may have been the best thing that could have happened, if it makes the Reds challengers again. It’s all ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ however, but the Anfield faithful have had to deal with these failings for too long now, and change is surely needed to get Liverpool back to where they belong, which is top of the tree.

Plus, many star strikers have left Anfield in the past, such as Fernando Torres, Michael Owen, and Robbie Fowler, but it has always allowed another striker to step up and flourish. This striker could be someone who is already at the club, in the form of Daniel Sturridge.

The Englishman has been unstoppable recently, playing out of his skin, flourishing up front in the absence of Luis Suarez, by largely feeding off service from the Brazilian maestro Philippe Coutinho, who alongside the likes of Iago Aspas has ensured chance creation has remained aplenty.

If Sturridge can keep himself fit, he honestly can be one of the best strikers in the English League, with his pace, power and elegance, and an increased level of maturity not witnessed from him before, all the tools are in the locker for a top player to develop.

Whilst it appears Liverpool will still strengthen this window, I just get a strong feeling that it still will not be enough, and not all areas of the squad that needed strengthening will have been strengthened. I expect a centre-back or two to arrive as well as winger.

However, positions in the side that I believe have been desperately overlooked are at right-back and defensive midfield, and the simple answer is that there aren’t enough funds available to strengthen squad fully, and thus the owners are not willing to take too many risks on particularly large transfer fees, especially when players such as Papadopoulos are involved, who they would most likely suggest presents a risk having only returned recently from a serious injury.

How Liverpool could have done with a defensive midfielder such as Etienne Capoue to challenge Lucas, who hasn’t been the same since injury, and at just £9 million, the Frenchman looks an absolute bargain. Fair enough, FSG are having to pay for poor spending in past regimes, but there is a case there of being a little too over-prudent, and a little more ambition is needed to back a manager who looked visibly disappointed having missed out on Willian, a player who Rodgers admitted would have been “perfect”.

Thus, the sale of a player in Suarez, who continuously disrespected the club by admitting to wanting to leave, after being supported to the hilt could surely only help Liverpool going forward, and even without European football at present, with extra cash hypothetically arriving from his sale, more quality players would surely arrive, because if the likes of Tottenham and even Monaco can sign players without Champions League football, why can’t Liverpool?