Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Molby Questions £15m Liverpool Signing

Liverpool legend Jan Molby believes something obviously went wrong in the development of Liverpool's new £15m signing Mamadou Sakho.

Writing in the Liverpool Echo, Molby notes that Sakho was made Paris St Germain captain aged just 17, but his career since then has stalled and possibly even regressed.

The France international first lost the captaincy and then his place in the team following the Qatari takeover of the Parisian club, with Thiago Silva and Alex preferred.

Liverpool snapped him up for £15m on transfer deadline day, but Molby believes he's not the big-money signing Anfield fans had hoped for.

"Something obviously went wrong when you look at where he was at the age of 17 [when he was made Paris St Germain captain]," said Molby.

"But he is still only 23 and if he can recapture that early form he will flourish. He is big, strong, quick - all the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League."

And he questioned the wisdom of spending so much money on an area of the squad Liverpool look relatively strong in.

The Reds have kept clean sheets in their first three Premier League matches - against Stoke, Manchester United and Aston Villa - but still spent close to £20m on Tiago Ilori and Sakho.

"When you kick off the season with three successive clean sheets, it's a little bit surprising to see two centre-backs added to the squad on transfer deadline day.

"Sakho might have cost £15m but he isn't the marquee signing we've chased all summer.

"With all due respect, there weren't any queues outside the club shop on Tuesday morning to buy shirts with his name on the back.

"A marquee signing is someone who gets you out of your seat like Mesut Ozil, Willian or Henrikh Mkhitaryan."

That is a reference to the transfer business of Arsenal and Chelsea - the Gunners snapped up Mesut Ozil for a club record £42.5m fee on deadline day while Jose Mourinho signed Willian from Anzhi.

Borussia Dortmund signed Mkhitaryan - a one-time Liverpool target - from Shakhtar Donetsk in July.

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