Liverpool are giving the wrong player a second chance this summer.
Charlie Adam may be public enemy at Tottenham Hotspur at present after his crunching tackle on Gareth Bale, but he is not too popular at Liverpool either.
The Scotsman had an underwhelming season last year, and it is not one Reds fans feel he can bounce back from.
It wasn’t just a case of struggling for form, fans believe the problem lies far deeper; Charlie Adam is simply not talented enough to warrant a place in Liverpool’s midfield.
The 26-year-old made 28 Premier League appearances for Kenny Dalglish’s side, scoring twice. Yet he has featured prominently in pre-season, not a good omen for the season ahead.
Yesterday the BBC reported that Liverpool had accepted a bid from Fiorentina for the services of Alberto Aquilani, a player who has barely had a chance at Anfield.
He was signed by Rafa Benitez at a time when he was particularly injury-prone, and the high price-tag and expectation saw him struggle in his first and only real season with the Reds.
He has since been loaned out twice to Serie A with Juventus then AC Milan, and while talk of a reconciliation at Anfield had been mooted- it appears the chance will shortly be gone.
It will be a great shame, and a bit of an embarrassment to all that after £20 million and three years, Aquilani has appeared just 18 times for the club, less than Charlie Adam.
If Liverpool were selling off one midfielder this summer, they would have been better off moving on Adam and giving Aquilani a second chance, with full benefit of a pre-season, to show what he can do.
The Italian may want to return home, but it seems there is a lack of desire on both parts, if Liverpool had made him feel wanted then perhaps his wishes would have changed.
It is a little bemusing considering Brendan Rodgers’ preference for short passing, quick midfielders who are adept at keeping possession. That describes Aquilani (pass completion rate last season of 87.5 per cent), while Adam is known for his hopeful long passes which often fail to find a target. His percentage from last season was inferior at 79.5 per cent.
The Italian can play further forward in a role behind the strikers, but it is a fair comparison with Adam as a central midfielder, as most of his performances for Milan, and five of his assists, came as an orthodox central player.
Now Rodgers may well be seeking to move Adam on, and it has been suggested, as part of a part-exchange deal with Fulham’s Clint Dempsey, and it is not inconceivable that he is being played in pre-season in part to put him in the shop-window.
If so, then his tackle on Bale will have done him no favours. It is interesting to contrast Rodgers’ decision over Aquilani with the man he beat to become Reds boss Roberto Martinez, who is given a second chance to Mauro Boselli at Wigan, the striker who has spent 18 out of the 24 months he has been as a Latics player out on loan.
Rodgers is looking at 31-year-old Joe Cole after his loan at Lille, and the Aquilani situation is not one he will have so readily dismissed as Dalglish did last summer. Indeed it is likely the Northern Irish boss will have given it some real thought.
In the end it may simply come down to finances. Aquilani is thought to be on £100,000 per week, and if Liverpool can get almost a third of the £20 million they signed him for back, it is a deal worth looking at. Adam’s wages and resale value simply won’t compare.
But from purely a footballing point of view, it’s just a shame that a player so talented looks like he won’t get a second opportunity to show his talent under a manager who really could get the best out of him, while Charlie Adam dawdles on.
image: © k1ngk0ng
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