Frimpong just the start of Liverpool's big summer
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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. All right, Reds. Tony Evans here with Walk On, your Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. I'm here with James Pearce and Andy Jones. Defeat down on the south coast? Eh...

Who cares? We'll talk about the loss of Brighton, Liverpool getting close to signing Jeremy Frimpong and ask where else the Reds will be looking. But before we get into that, let's get your three words. Andy, you were there last night. The party continues. I like it, I like it. And James, what were you doing slacking off? Why weren't you there? You better give me a good reason or you're getting a hundred lines. And I'll make you stand in the corner.

Andy pulled rank, didn't he? Got me elbows out. Exactly. No, I watched from the sofa, which was a strange feeling, actually. But yeah, my three words are lift that trophy. Yes, that moment is coming. It's rushing towards us very quickly. Well, that's what James and Andy think. Here's a flavour of what you're saying. Elliot Richardson, party in Ibiza, no.

Natalie Williams, another cocktail, please. Yeah, I'll have one as well, Natalie. Gareth Allen, calm down, everyone. I think most of us are calm, aren't we? And Stephen Kellett, Arsenal close gap. I like it, Stephen. I like it. To join our community of listeners on Facebook, just search Walk On Podcast and join the group. Walk On!

Well, Andy, ahead twice, lost. Do we care? Should we care? I don't care. I mean, the grand scheme of things, no. I mean, it's never nice to lose. Obviously, you want to always win every game, but when the fact that, you know, you saw how much it meant to Brighton as they're sort of fighting for that eighth place, aren't they, and the potential of getting Europe and the fact that Liverpool's fight has been over for a few weeks and they're

They've made that very clear in terms of what they've been saying and where they've been going. They're essentially fulfilling fixtures until the end of the season. So, yeah, I mean, I can understand a little bit if you're a bit annoyed that Liverpool lost because who wants to watch Liverpool losing? But ultimately, you know, it is pre-season and how much do you take from results in pre-season? Not much. It's more about...

looking at things and sort of planning for next season which is essentially what what mowed Liverpool in at the moment along you know either side of getting drunk yeah James yeah I mean if it made any difference you know you understand why people get the ump but I mean why are they losing because they can exactly yeah I mean I must admit I did enjoy the the

juxtaposition between what I could see on my laptop and what I could see on my TV screen, because on my laptop, Twitter was refreshing with people telling me this was an utter disgrace. And imagine going all the way down to Brighton to have to watch that. And then the Sky cameras were showing the mother of all parties going on in the away end. And it was like, do you know what? I think they're having a nice time. I don't think you need to worry about them. They're not thinking that

you know, why would I go all the way down there for that? It's been a three-week-long party, hasn't it? That's certainly not going to end anytime soon with the trophy lift on Sunday and the parade on Monday. So, I mean, it's not rocket science, is it? I mean, just for a start, the line-up slot,

I mean, did we really need Virgil van Dijk to be taken out of that back line to go, oh, I tell you what, he might be quite influential in terms of stopping teams being able to really get at Liverpool. And it's like, he looks strangely vulnerable without him. I tell you what, Alexis McAllister, he could well be an important part of the midfield if they really take him out. You know, and then you've got the whole element of the lack of jeopardy, so little at stake, you know,

And let's not forget, it's not like Liverpool have been turning up and losing to the dog and duck since they won the league. They lost pretty narrowly down at Chelsea. They battered Arsenal for 45 minutes and then fell apart in the second half. And we know the circumstances surrounding that second half that didn't help matters.

And then last night at Brighton was just a really, really good game of football that probably could have gone either way. In the end, Brighton needed the points more than Liverpool. And in elite sport, that tends to play quite a big part in the outcome of matches. I'd like to see them play the Duggan's hook, actually.

I think that'd be really good. I think that should be their big pre-season friendly. And you know what? I'm happy if they lose that one as well. Anyway, Topfitu has emailed us at walkonattheathletic.com saying, Hi, Tony and the gang.

Are we a gang? Yeah, actually, we're a street gang. We're dangerous. We are, we are, we are. Anyway, are we allowed to be annoyed at the level of performance since we won the league, Todd says. I'm not sure I expected from a team that's been on holiday all week, but was more than what I saw versus Brighton. All the talk, David, doesn't matter. But Liverpool does matter.

Quite a lot, as it goes. The players are still wearing a Liverpool shirt, so it's so frustrating to see them play so poorly, no matter what the circumstances. Todd, Todd, Todd, don't be so serious. We've won the league. Please, just, you know, embrace it. Embrace the joy, you know. I just say, I'll be celebrating as much as anyone on Sunday and Monday. We think supporters can quite rightly feel annoyed without being made to feel stupid. Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd, Todd,

We don't think you're stupid, Todd. We think Liverpool... You know what? What? I want to see Liverpool win every game they ever play. Well, with certain exceptions, of course. You know what I mean? You've got to be sensible about this. If it comes to... If they have to win to give Manchester United the title, for example, against Blackburn in 1995, then I'll have mixed feelings. But...

I've got no mixed feelings at this time, Andy. I have no mixed feelings. I don't care whether they win or lose because they've won the league. Yeah, exactly. I do get where he's coming from a little bit because...

There's been certain elements of the performance where you think that could have been better, but ultimately, Liverpool have still played well in large patches of these games. I thought they were the better side, probably until they go 1-0 up last night, for example, and then the really good sort of coming out at the start of the second half. And I think if Salah puts that away and it goes 3-1, I think we're probably looking at a very different half and the way it goes. But ultimately, as James mentioned, I spent most of the time watching the away end.

and just marvelling at the excitement, the energy, the joy, the different chants. The Chiesa song went on for about five minutes. He hadn't even touched the ball yet at that point at the start of the game.

And then at the end, I mean, the Brighton PA did a really good job at helping Liverpool's party because he put some great songs on and the Freedom Desire was just unbelievable to watch. To have been in there would have been, I can imagine, incredible. And I think you'll find it difficult to find any supporter who was in that away and yesterday he would have walked out the ground miserable that Liverpool had lost. So, yeah, I do think when you take a step back, I think there's elements of, you know, do you want to see more from certain players? Yeah, OK, of course, but...

as you say, ultimately, it does come back to the fact that... Slot mentioned it post-match. He talked about defensively just being at 2-3% off, which is a massive, massive difference in the Premier League. And Liverpool haven't got that 2-3% that they've had all season because they don't need to have it. Literally, they don't need to have it. This is sort of like a wind-down because ultimately...

If you wanted to be as fresh as possible next season, you don't want to be putting all your effort into these games because what's the point? What happens if someone puts on a full-on sprint yesterday and pulls a hamstring or something like that? And then suddenly that knocks on to their off-season and the start of pre-season and suddenly they're not coming back into the first day of pre-season fully fit. So there's that sort of stuff you've got to think about as well. You don't want players pushing themselves over the limits when they don't need to because it can have consequences. So...

Yeah, I can understand the point, but ultimately, yeah, as you say, it doesn't matter. Andy, how many games have you done this season compared to James? But you must have seen Keyes for more than he has.

I know, yeah, it's a privilege, really. He must only play when I'm there, you know what I mean? It's one of them occasions, wasn't it? It was a surprise to see him in the starting line-up. I was quite pleased to see him in the starting line-up because obviously he'd missed the squad against Arsenal and I thought, are we ever going to see him again? Other than lifting the cup on the final day and it's going to be maybe quite a quiet exit if he does go in the summer. I think his performance was...

was what you were expecting. Slot said he got more than what he expected, which is fair enough. But...

for a player with no rhythm and you know a lot of rust I think there was going to be a couple of moments where you go ooh like the one where he miscontrolled on the touchline where he just went under his foot and went out for a throw in and you were like yeah that wasn't great but there were some good things that I think we saw from him there was the his first action of the game I think summed his performance up because he lost a battle with Van Hecker toward like near Liverpool's box where he just got out muscled

But then Liverpool won it back and then he pinged a 50-yard ball onto Salah's toe, basically, and Liverpool were in. There was a few times where he linked quite well, but ultimately you could see that it was a player who hadn't played much football at all. Yeah, it's one of them. I was glad to see him get some minutes in the legs and it allowed the Chiesa song to...

to be sung very heartily from the away end as well for a lot of the game, which was, which was nice to hear as well. Yeah. I mean, it's a bit like Simon Hughes on the podcast, isn't it? A rare and underwhelming sight. Is he, is he still on holiday? He's always on holiday. Almost as much as you, James, almost as much as you. According to his Instagram, he was on safari yesterday. Oh,

Oh, can you imagine? Honestly, an absolute lawn to himself. James, Todd does make a good point. He says the likes of Elliot Simakas, Chiesa, aren't taking the chances for whatever reason. And players like Canardi and Gravenberg have become sloppy. I think we can forgive the sloppiness, but it is a fair point that...

There are opportunities here for players, albeit in a scenario where the teammates are kind of, at least on Brighton, almost literally on the beach. You know, it's...

And it's hard to take the opportunities when, you know, the rest of the team are a bit like, yeah, semi-detached, let's say. I think you're right, Tony. The caveat has to be that it's not the ideal scenario to come in. In an ideal world, you would want people like Kwanzaa and probably Simakas and someone like Chiesa, say, to come in and be like, you know, right, I'll show you that I've been, you know, really underplayed this season and I deserved a lot more chances than

But in this whole scenario where, as you said, around them, there's this just kind of, it's human nature to just step off it a little bit. It's not really set up for that to happen. So, yeah. And I also don't think, you know, Slott has worked with these players all year, hasn't he? Yeah, he's not going to learn anything now, is he? No, no. And I know Slott was asked ahead of the, you know, I was at the press conference on Friday and he was kind of, you know,

in these last two games, are you making decisions on players? And he was like, well, no, because I do that every day of the week. I've done that since last July. So it's not like you can't tell me that the last few games have had any impact in terms of, right,

we'll sell him this summer or right we'll keep him you know if you would be an ultra harsh you'd say maybe it's kind of underlying why slot hasn't rotated more at times but i think even that is is a little bit harsh just because of the scenario we find ourselves in at the minute with these

Dead games, as Andy said, it does. Since the Tottenham game, it has almost reminded me of watching, you know, preseason where when you see something good and when you see something bad, you almost feel like, yeah, it doesn't really matter. So it's difficult to really draw judgments from it because there is no jeopardy.

Yeah, yeah. And I'm old enough to remember 1983 where the last eight games were like this. So, you know, kind of who cares about it. Imagine social media back then. Oh, I'd tell you. Would that have been Bob Paisley the fraud? Yeah, yeah, exactly. It was the Echo's letters page was, whoa, it was humming. It was humming. Whoa.

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Last week, we spoke about the possible sign of Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremy Frimpong. Over the weekend, The Athletic have reported the moves got even closer. So join us now to give the lowdown on Frimpong. We have Seb Stafford-Bloss. Seb, wonderful to see you. How are you? I'm doing good, Tony. How are you doing? Ah, you know what? All the better for seeing you. But how excited should we be over this move? Really excited for a couple of reasons, like...

the player first. He's very exciting, a real live wire of a footballer. Very versatile during his time at Leverkusen. He's played as a right back, a right wing back, a right winger. He's had the occasional outing as a kind of, not really a number 10, but sort of in that role as an auxiliary attacker. Can do an awful lot of things really well. He's improved at both ends of the pitch. Done a lot of work on his defending. Done a lot of work on, not just his attacking, but his mentality around his attacking. So,

When he gets into the box, one of the problems he had as a younger player was he'd rush things. By his own description, he'd get a bit overexcited when he had a shooting chance or the opportunity to pull a ball back from the goal line. That stuff has really improved. And I think, you know, there's a player who's still got some growing to do and still got some potential to realise, but very, very talented boy. As a person, he's a delight. He's a really, really fun person to be around.

And I think some of that comes across on television and some of his interviews. What's the secret? Just have a smile, you know, just enjoy life, you know, because you only live once. So whilst we're on this earth, just have fun, love others, you know, and just give it positive energy. And then life's good. But at Leverkusen, he was as liked as anybody at the club, really, really popular part of the dressing room. He's one of those guys, I think, as a fan, right?

you want to have around your players, just for the mood. Like all of his playing attributes speak for themselves, clearly, but just as a kind of, you know, kind of a social mastic within the grub, I think he'd be a great asset. Excellent, excellent. Andy, Slott was asked about it after the game at Brighton and he has a big grin on his face.

You seem to be very, very pleased. And Liverpool getting the business started early? Yeah, no, it's really encouraging. I think it's the opportunity that winning the title early and sort of knowing exactly what you're looking for going into the summer presents. You're allowed to sort of start doing your business early and having conversations and getting things over the line because ultimately...

I think every manager wants all the transfer business done by the start of pre-season so that they've got the maximum amount of time to work with new players and work on tactics and shape and get them accustomed to the teammates and just sort of the way of playing. So I think it's ideal to be able to get deals over the line as quickly as possible. And I suppose in Frimpong's case,

situation it's the type of deal where you've got a release clause where you can do it easily because you know exactly what sort of needs to be paid and there's no sort of negotiations and haggling and other clubs trying to come in and bidding wars going on so you know it's an ideal situation to be able to sort of come in and get it done early and then you can you've got it in the bag and you're not sort of

wondering a month into pre-season if it's going to happen and then he comes in and you haven't got much time to work before the season kicks off.

Yes, Seb, what number do you think he'll wear? Because it seems to me, although it's only May, the summer of 66 seems as distant to me as England winning the World Cup. You know, but no, in all seriousness, what's interesting there is you spoke about him even being an auxiliary forward. One of the dynamics which will be fascinating is how the right side of the team is going to work. He's obviously going to get

forward much more probably than alexander arnold's and so his relationship with saller will be interesting do you think it signals saller moving in fields a little bit

Yeah, it's an interesting one because if you look at the players that Frimpong's played behind at Leverkusen, I don't think there's really a Salah-like equivalent. There's not someone who... There's no Salah-like equivalent! You know what? That is what I should have said. If I'd had enough coffee this morning and I'd very artfully sidestepped your hospital pass about Alexander-Arnold, so I did that well, but then I just walked into another one, right? Yeah.

There's going to be a bit of adjustment. I think the first thing to know here is while he does play all of those positions, he's very much coming to play fullback. And I think if you ask Jeremy, he would say he is a fullback who can play these other roles rather than kind of a utility player.

But I don't imagine that we've established can't compare Salah to anyone at Leverkusen. But positionally as well, in terms of their traits on the pitch, there's no one who does that out from in from a touchline thing in quite the same way. He had a really, really good relationship on the field with a whole batch of attacking midfielders, really, and forwards. Florian Witts, obviously, is chief among those.

Teller, Jonas Hoffman, but none of these guys would have combined with him in quite the same way. So yeah, there's going to have to be some reworking of the mechanics. I don't know how Salah will fit into that or what Jeremy will be asked to do to kind of fit around Mohamed Salah, of course.

So yeah, it'd be really, really interesting, but he's going to be a right back. There might be circumstances later in the season when you need a spare attacking midfielder or winger, then maybe he's going to pop up there. But primarily, he's coming to do that job specifically. Yeah, James, he also qualifies as a homegrown player. How attractive is that to Liverpool?

Very, yeah, because it is something they have to be wary of, especially with the fact that Alexander-Arnold is leaving. They're pretty close to the limit in terms of... Alexander-Arnold's leaving? I won't mention that. Boo!

That's also news to me. Like, I have not heard anything about that. We should probably get around to talking about it at some point. Does anybody have an opinion on that at all? So, yeah, of course, it's all part of the appeal. I think, you know, the more I've read about Frimpong and obviously listening to Seb, it makes so much sense, really, in terms of, you know, the release clause makes it,

a very acceptable fee for someone who is very much in that kind of age range that Liverpool like to buy players at you know ideally they look at that you know 24 to 20 range where you know you want a player to have had a decent amount of top level experience which Frimpong certainly has but you know you're buying them an age where you would back yourself to elevate them to the next level and that's why you know I see people say well he's you know defensively he's maybe not

exactly what you would want from a right back because of course he plays more offensively in that Leverkusen team but it's like I think Liverpool would back on a slot when you look at what he's done in terms of even with Trent this season forget everything else around it

you know, the defensive side of Trent's game has definitely come on this season with the one-to-one coaching and individual approach that Slott and Johnny Heitinger and Aaron Briggs and Sipka Hulshof have adopted. You know, when you look at players like Zabozlai and, you know, Diaz and Gagpo who had all probably had

at issues at the back end of the Klopp era you look at how slot has elevated them I think Liverpool would back slot to do the same with Frimpong I think he's also really durable I think that's another thing Liverpool look at was he played 95 games I think for Lovacus and over the past two seasons combined and he's got blistering pace hasn't he and I think it's no reflection on Conor Bradley but

because Conor Bradley again showed against Brighton that he is a very special talent and it was a real boost to see Liverpool get his future sorted out with the new four-year contract that was announced on Saturday. But

Of course, you know, Conor Bradley has had some fitness issues this season and you need strength and depth in that area. And then I suppose the other thing to throw into the mix is later on next season, you've got Afcon as well. So, you know, maybe there is going to be a time when Frimpong is needed to play a little bit further forward. I thought you were going to tell me Conor Bradley was going.

But we may well find that on occasions, you know, Prim Pong's playing ahead of Bradley. I don't mean ahead of him as a right back, but just ahead of him on the pitch, both of them on that right hand side. So, yeah, I think it's a really exciting move for Liverpool. And I think it shows they mean business as well, because, of course, last year, we were waiting until the back end of August, right?

for any kind of arrivals to come in. And the fact they've effectively got one over the line before they've even lifted the Premier League trophy, that bodes well for the summer ahead. Seb, were you surprised that, given this release closed, a little less than £30 million, did you think other...

clubs are coming from. Yeah, I thought they would do last year as well, Tony, because I think the problem he had was because Jaby Lonso's system has pigeonholed him as a wingback and

it's allowed this kind of narrative around him to be sustained. Can he defend well enough? Is he in the right positions? Is his one-on-one tackling good enough? And if you think about the teams in Europe, particularly the elite teams in Europe, and the lack of them that actually employ a wingback, I think the market was pretty difficult for him. I know that he was of interest to Real Madrid before they signed some other fullback. I don't know who, but yeah, that's not an issue for this podcast.

So yeah, it is a bit of a surprise. If you look at the situation he had at Leverkusen and you look at the quality of player that was surrounding him and the way in which those players accentuated the strengths in his game, that was a pretty difficult situation for him to leave, much as it was for Alonso last year. And as it's proven for Florian Wurz now, it's not something that you walk away from because it's allowed so many of these players to develop. So there has been interest in him.

Whether there's been interest that has been attractive to him up until now is a little bit of a different issue. And I think that's the difference now. I'm not sure he was ever going to say no to a club like Liverpool. Now, you mentioned Wurz there. Now, this podcast is the home of bad news Pierce, who breaks the hearts of Liverpool fans.

Transfer ultras during the summer. Now, are you going to be the German? What's bad news in German? I, well, no, I'm, you know, he's, he's about to land, you know, at John Lennon Airport. He'll be signing for the day. Like, I'll do anything for new friends, Tony. You know, like. And he saw him in the oldies this morning. Yeah. And, you know, like his brother, you know, told a taxi driver that once took, you know, you know, a fare from me like five years ago. Like,

I think the thing with him is that it is the dullest saga I've known since moving to Germany because it's been going on for a very, very long time. I think, if I were a betting man, I still think Florian Wirtz ends up at Bayern Munich. I think it's his preference to stay in Germany. I think also he's a very important member of Julian Nagelsmann's national team. He will go to his next World Cup in a year. I think the disruption that comes with moving country naturally

moving league adapting you know to not just sort of the playing challenges but also the off the field social issues like learning a new language Florence English is okay it's not the very very best you know he's a little bit of a shy guy but he's

I think he stays in Germany for a little bit longer. You know, Liverpool certainly are interested in him like a lot of other clubs, but I think it depends on where he wants to go. We're still, there's no, there are no certainties here. The German media come up with a new certainty every 24 hours somehow, but I don't think we're quite there yet. But I don't, I'd be surprised if he ended up at Liverpool, put it that way. So that's, that's, that's bad news. But in a kind of,

you know, the iron fist of bad news inside a velvet glove. I dressed it up quite nicely for you. So I just, looking at my Google Translate, Schlechter nach Richenseb.

Yeah, that would be bad news. It's a bit of a mouthful. It doesn't roll off the tongue. Schlecht is bad. But Schlecht is like if you had a bad meal or if you tasted like, you know, if you had a bit of off fruit, that would be Schlecht, right? Okay, okay. Or if, you know, like the Trent Alexander Arnold situation, that's a Schlecht. That's a Sir Schlecht. Well, I mean, you really are intruding in James Pearce territory here. Because, you know, he's the man who talks meals off.

I'll tell you what, I'm going to offset that with a Jeremy Fringpong story, which will kind of...

The

The coach drenched me. Edmund taps over, drenched me. And he's looking for me again. That's what I need. Okay, so you've not come for an interview, you've come to hide. Exactly. Okay. But I'll do it. I'll do the interview. But during it, Jeremy has his brothers around him. He's got two brothers and three sisters. They're all there. He's got some cousins who are there, some friends, and his mum. And there were some TV cameras there.

in the mix zone during their celebrations and there was a point at which he kind of grabbed his mum and pushed her in front of the camera and was like this is my mum I want the whole world to see that this is my mum he's a really decent guy Jerry and you know and like very very family based and family centric and um

Yeah, I think everybody will love him. It's very, very difficult not to like him. And I think that'll prove true in Liverpool, as true as it was in Leverkusen. Fantastic. Fantastic, Seb. Thank you. The always brilliant and informative Stebs.

The always brilliant... That's how you repay me. How dare you trip over my 400-syllable name. How dare you. The always informative and brilliant Seb Stafford Bloch. Oh, Jamie.

That looks amazing. You're welcome, mate. Well, James, let's stay on the theme of transfers. The weekend also saw Real Madrid confirm the signing of Dean Heysen. How much of a blow is that one? I mean, I suppose it's how you view it. I mean, it's a blow in terms of he's a really, really talented young defender who I think would have...

certainly fitted the bill in terms of his skill set, you know, potential long-term successor for Van Dijk on that side of defence, two-footed,

There was a lot to like about the possibility, but we've certainly never got carried away about the possibility of that ever happening. And no one I've spoken to at Liverpool was ever particularly confident on that front because there were so many clubs in for him. And Liverpool initially thought that Chelsea were the most likely to get him. But in the knowledge that Real Madrid were lurking, as they quite often do, and

and that if they made a move then they would probably blow everyone else out the water and that's effectively what happened in the end so um it's not one of those that it's like oh my god you know where do we turn to now all those months and months of work on it has come to nothing it's not that so yeah i think it'd be really interesting what happens in terms of the centre-back situation this summer because um

There's some big decisions to make, isn't there? You look at Canarte, he's had a decent season in general, but he obviously wants a really big contract to commit his future to Liverpool.

So you either make him that kind of offer, or if you're not prepared to commit that kind of money, if you think he's not worth that outlay, then what do you do? Do you either run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer, or do you try and sell and get what you can for him this time around? And then...

There's been a lot of noise around Kwanzaa, hasn't there? And, you know, I've got a lot of sympathy for Kwanzaa because I think he's a very talented young defender. And it's not easy when you go long periods without really playing and then you're thrown in like he has been at times this season. You know, Liverpool's approach with Kwanzaa has been they're not looking to sell him. You know, you said that a couple of months ago when there was talk of Newcastle coming back in for him. But of course, there would be a price there.

at which you'd have to listen. And then obviously the Joe Gomez situation where it's good to see him back in the matchday squad at Brighton, but not kicked a ball since February and what's going to happen with him. So that's why I think it's kind of linked to what happens at left-back as well, because we know that Liverpool really admire Kierkegaard at Bournemouth.

But the question is, are they willing to pay what Bournemouth want for him, which we understand to be about £45 million, which is probably, I think, three times what Richard Hughes paid for him not too long ago when he took him to Bournemouth. And that's where someone like Jarrell Hato at Ajax would be interesting because he can play left-back and he can also play centre-back. So, yeah, it's a shame on Housen, but yeah, not a surprise. Yeah, Andy, do you think...

Real Madrid have a spy in Anfield's recruitment bunker. And basically, they're just trying to rip off all our targets. They're just very active on Twitter. So whenever they see anyone linked to us, they just add them to the list. Well, I believe they are one of James' one million plus followers. LAUGHTER

Do they give him grief? Could he be the ball? Bad news, Piers. I think on Huysen, though, I think as soon as it sort of became quite clear that his ultimate goal was to become a Real Madrid player with him being a Spanish international and all that, I was pretty sort of set on the fact that I didn't really want Liverpool to sign him because I just thought, I think we know the direction of travel of this one, of where it'll end up at some point. So, yeah. Yeah.

I think anyone who's... I think we should try and get into contact if you can't sign for Real Madrid if you leave. Something like that. That would be handy. I don't think that would quite work legally, but it'd be nice to throw in there. You know, I would say, yeah, Real Madrid. I mean, frankly, do we care? Yeah, we do a bit, don't we? Anyway, James, what are the names...

should we be looking out for and who is it that you can get us excited about on this late May day? I mean, the only thing I'd add to what Seb said about Florian Wurz is I think Liverpool's expectation has been for quite a while that he would stay in Germany, whether that is have one more year at Leverkusen or go to Bayern, who have obviously got

you know, have had a long run in pursuit of him. But I think Liverpool's position on that is they just want to ensure that if Wurz is open to come into the Premier League, that they try and put themselves at the front of that queue if there's a deal to be done, which makes sense in terms of the outlay, because there's no doubt it would involve shattering their transfer record.

So, yeah, I think, you know, obviously with Frimpong having done his medical and just waiting at the minute as we record this for the announcement, you know, left back, centre half, you know, are the main ones. You know, obviously, Wurz is interesting in terms of, you know, he's an attacking midfielder, isn't he? He could potentially play as a false nine. Unsure whether Liverpool see that as a potential kind of right at the top end of the pitch or to play slightly deeper. It was, I think the thing with Liverpool's summer season

from the conversations I've had is there is a lot of moving parts. You know, everyone always wants certainty, don't you? But I think you only have to look through the squad and see there's quite a few players there who you think, yeah, I'm not 100% sure whether you'll still be a Liverpool player at the back end of August. You know, it was interesting listening to Harvey Elliott speak after the game at Brighton and it was like, you could tell there was clearly some frustration there at the lack of minutes.

And he's got a big decision to make, hasn't he, in terms of what does he do

in terms of does he stay put and give it another year? Or does he go and pursue a new challenge somewhere else where he's guaranteed a more regular start? I hope he stays. But I think, again, a lot will hinge on what kind of offers are forthcoming. You look at Kelleher, you look at the noise around Diaz, you think of Nunes, and we're expecting the Saudis to reignite their interest in him.

And hopefully they won't have watched his cameo down at Brighton. So there's a lot up in the air at the minute. But I think the fact that Liverpool have made such a positive start off the pitch in terms of getting Frimpong over the line just shows, you know, they...

There's no resting on laurels, is there? I think Van Dyck said it himself a few weeks ago, didn't he? He said, you know, I'm led to believe this is going to be a big summer. And I think that makes it exciting for everyone waiting and seeing how it all unfolds. Didn't you say something? Virgil, I'm sorry. It's not going to be good. No, no, I'm fully on board with the big summer. Yeah, we all are. We all are.

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Well, before we go, on Friday, the shortlist for the Premier League Player of the Season Awards was released with Liverpool players being three of the eight nominees. Only three? Only three, Andy? Well, I mean, who else? Who else is in there? I actually don't even know because I just looked at Liverpool players because it's pretty obvious I think who's going to win it.

and if it's not them it's going to be another Liverpool player who wins it yeah there could have been many more I think what's happened a little bit with Liverpool is a few of the performances of players have gone a little bit under the radar across sort of Premier League wide because ultimately people look at Mohamed Salah's goals and look at Virgil van Dijk at the back and go well there's your two reasons why Liverpool have won the league and it's

it's obviously bigger than that for example Alexis McAllister is well worthy of being part of that selection and he's not on the list no exactly I think he's been as good as Gravenberg obviously Gravenberg who is who is yeah Gravenberg I think was the eye catching midfielder early on but I think McAllister has been equally as good as him

if not better in the second half of the season I think there's a case for McAllister being Liverpool's best player in the second half of the season because I think he's been brilliant whenever he's not been on the pitch Liverpool haven't functioned in the same way so yeah there could be a lot more on there but you know

are we being greedy I'm not sure but I think it's pretty obvious we know where the awards going anyway and it will be Liverpool player who wins it and he's probably scored a lot of goals this season I think it's fair to say Yeah James you know Cravenbeck's also up for a young player of the season with slots in the running from manager the

The Man's Year of the Year. Clean sweep? I'd expect so, yeah. Arsenal would have swept a lot if it wasn't for injuries and if it wasn't for referees. Yeah, I mean, when you look at them, I think despite Salah's relatively barren end to the campaign, where I think it's pretty clear that the physical demands of the season have caught up with him a bit. You know, his numbers drop.

just blow everyone else away don't they I think you know the only the only player that even comes close to him in terms of contribution over the course of the season is Van Dijk himself and I think Van Dijk can probably carry himself unlucky because I think in most other seasons you know without Salah returning these kind of numbers he would have won player of the year awards but

Salah and I think yeah Gravenberg for me you know he's been an absolute revelation and I think there's such a recency bias in there in terms of because I think if Gravenberg had finished the season the way he started it then you know people be talking about him for the Ballon d'Or you know that was how good he was between August and probably

december january time so yeah and in terms of the the manager award i think yes there's been some other notable achievements you know you think of you know newcastle obviously winning the carabao cup more points over the past three years past three seasons you know they they should have a trophy there should be a trophy for that i mean i forgive me i was more thinking about crystal palace winning the fa cup um

Hang on, hang on. So real silverware matters. Well, do you know what? The thing is, they have been very unfortunate at Arsenal because if they'd only won a lot more football matches, they would have won. So, you know, let's not be too harsh. But yeah, I think despite, you know, Newcastle and Palace doing what they did,

can't get away from the fact that Arnaud Slot took on what everyone was saying was almost like an impossible act to try and follow and he nailed the Premier League three weeks before the end of the season and managed to get a holiday in before Liverpool have even lifted the trophy so for me that makes him the manager of the year. When the

there's like two games left and you can afford to go to Ibiza Andy it does say something doesn't it you know I mean it's I hope it doesn't work against them I hope they don't think oh he slacked off at the end of the season so we'll have to give it to someone else well you know yeah I think he has to win it because it means he can go back to Ibiza with the award and you know have another party and parade it

you know, he can do a parade around Ocean Beach or whatever with the award. Because I think Nuno, Nuno or Forrest is the only other candidate really because what he's done has been incredible and there's a part of me which, I know we don't really like Forrest, do we? But there's a part of me which would like to see them beat Chelsea on the final day which would, I think me and Chelsea wouldn't qualify for the Champions League which would be

equally as funny so I think Nuno is probably the only one of Fares because he has done an incredible job there and

the only team who beat the champions when we were actually trying because I still don't really count that Fulham game because Liverpool looked like they weren't really trying that day yeah yeah well you know and I'd like to make a case for Arteta because he's been he's been hamstrung by that pesky three points for a win and that's just wrong it's just wrong you should not

get extra credits just because you win football games. There's more to football than that. And I think it's important for us at Warhol to express our solidarity with all our friends in North London. So that's it for Warhol, your Liverpool podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Thanks to James, Andy and Seb, as well as you for listening. We'll be back later in the week. We'll catch you then.

The Athletic FC Podcast Network. I'm not saying I'm obsessed with basketball, but my neighbors definitely know when there's a new doc on Prime Video because I yell at the TV like I'm coaching the team. And with Amazon Prime, I can always count on fast, free delivery when ordering a mini hoop, ankle socks, and three different headbands because style matters even when you're missing layups.

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Did you know that foreign investors are quietly funding lawsuits in American courts through a practice called third-party litigation funding? Shadowy overseas funders are paying to sue American companies in our courts, and they don't pay a dime in U.S. taxes if there is an award or settlement. They profit tax-free from our legal system, while U.S. companies are tied up in court and American families pay the price to the tune of $5,000 a year.

But there is a solution. A new proposal before Congress would close this loophole and ensure these foreign investors pay taxes, just like the actual plaintiffs have to.

It's a common sense move that discourages frivolous and abusive lawsuits and redirects resources back into American jobs, innovation, and growth. Only President Trump and congressional Republicans can deliver this win for America and hold these foreign investors accountable. Contact your lawmakers today and demand they take a stand to end foreign-funded litigation abuse.