With speculation around the future of right-back Nathaniel Clyne almost at tipping point, it’s almost certain the Southampton defender will swap his red and white jersey for an all red one in the coming days.
Excitement and transfer signings are kind of a package deal, they go hand-in-hand, but this one has special reason for it. Here’s my five reasons why everyone should be over the moon if Rodgers manages to bag the player.
1) He’s our first legitimate right back since, well, Glen Johnson
This sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, but let’s face it, the Glen Johnson that played for us last season was not the man that signed for us back in 2009. He was a shadow of his former self.
With Glen now out of contract and headed out of Anfield, this is the perfect time to swoop for Clyne – a ready made replacement for the former England international.
How many different players have we played out of position over the last few seasons, purely to accommodate the hole at fullback? The answer to that is far, far too many. Emre Can, Markovic, Henderson, Sterling. They’ve all had to leave their comfort zones, at one point or another. But Clyne could change all of that.
2) The latest in a long line
Is there a better team in the Premier League in terms of English talent? We may not have the strongest overall squad in the competition, but our contingent of young homegrown talent is second-to-none, and Clyne would only add to that.
In my opinion, the Southampton man should be a regular England international right now, and he would be, if Roy Hodgson had an ounce of football logic – which we know only too well, he clearly hasn’t.
By the time the World Cup comes around in 2018, Liverpool will hold the keys to half the England starting XI at this rate, and Clyne will almost certainly be a factor (unless Roy insists on Phil Jones at right back because, I don’t know, reasons).
3) He’s an absolute steal
In today’s transfer market, you simply don’t get top talent unless you’re willing to break the bank. Well, I guess we’ve made an exception here.
If the rumoured potential fee of £12.5m is accurate, then we will have fleeced Southampton – which makes a change. Clyne is the best right back England has to offer right now, so to get him for that price, when the selling club knows we desperately need a RB, is fantastic business. Following on from the Firmino deal from last week, it really could look like Ian Ayre and co. have turned a corner.
For context, Tyrone Mings signed for Bournemouth this past week for £8m. Mings is another English player full of potential, but he is far behind Clyne in terms of progression, and is unproven in the extremely big pond that is the top flight. To get Clyne, a man with over 240 career appearances and five international caps, for just over £4m more is phenomenal.
This also means there’s probably a little more money left in the kitty too…
4) He can do this
A full back who can score worldies like this one. Anyone remember a bloke called Riise? He was alright.
5) He’s really quite good
Yep, I’ve spoken all about the ramifications of the deal and what it says about the club, but the main reason why you should be excited for the potential arrival of Nathaniel Clyne on Merseyside is dead simple. He’s a class footballer, and he put in the performances last season to prove it.
As I’ve said previously, Clyne is the best right back that this country has to offer, and he’s easily amongst the best overall in the Premier League. Southampton fans would be gutted to lose the 24-year old. If nothing else, that’s always a good sign.
