So ends one of the summer’s most surprising transfer sagas as Nuri Sahin completed a year long loan move to Liverpool at the expense of Arsenal, who almost everyone seemed to think had control of the deal.
Liverpool fans have every reason to be delighted. As their manager Brendan Rodgers suggests, Sahin is a “master technician, someone who will fit in smoothly to our playing model”. Indeed, Sahin is undoubtedly a fantastic player. His year-long struggle at Real Madrid has perhaps masked the fact that he was rated ahead of the likes of Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze in the Bundesliga’s all-conquering Borussia Dortmund team.
However, perhaps Rodgers and the Liverpool fans should hold fire on their excitement and adulation for their newest recruit. Indeed, despite Sahin’s obvious qualities, the player comes in off the back of a disappointing season in Spain, where he made only four appearances for Madrid due to a combination of injuries and selection issues. Additionally, Sahin’s relatively slight physique raises fears for the player’s ability to adapt to the rough and tumble of the Premier League in central midfield, particularly with Rodgers set to place him alongside the similarly slight Joe Allen. Could Liverpool’s midfield potentially become a touch lightweight?
More pertinently, the deal to bring in Sahin makes awful economic sense. Fans may cry “so what?”, but they must ask themselves exactly what happened for Arsenal, who by all accounts had the deal sewn up, to drop their interest in Sahin at the last minute?
The BBC reported that Sahin earns a staggering £115,000 a week at Real Madrid, the majority of which Liverpool have agreed to take on. That would immediately place him as one of the Reds’ highest earners. Additionally, Liverpool paid a loan fee of close to £5 million, a staggering amount considering that Sahin cost Real Madrid only £3.7 million more for a permanent transfer last summer.
Astonishingly, the loan lacks the option to make the deal permanent at the season’s end. While Madrid’s unwillingness to part with potentially a superb asset is understandable, Arsenal quite rightly, simply saw the deal for what it was: a potential short-term and definite long term no-win. Why invest such considerable resources on a player that after a season will simply be sent packing back to Madrid?
Sahin might help deliver success this season but what happens next year when the player who has become so crucial to the team’s success departs? Another transition season for Liverpool? Indeed, what if Sahin struggles to find his feet in the Premier League? What does that say about Brendan Rodgers then when close to £10 million would have gone to waste? For a single season loan, the cost of Sahin, a player who has struggled with injuries and is ultimately unproven in English football, is quite incredible.
Liverpool’s owners the Fenway Group have consistently spoken of the mess left by the previous regime under Tom Hicks and George Gillett, yet this deal appears to have all the brainless hallmarks of a decision taken by the disaster-prone former owners at Anfield.
Surely, the money would have better spent on a permanent transfer, one who would be fully committed to the club and one who Rodgers could build a team around long-term, such as Clint Dempsey for example? Dempsey may be older but at least in the American Rodgers would have a player who genuinely wants to be at Liverpool Football Club. Sahin, with his initial preference for Arsenal and unwillingness to discuss a future permanent deal, has never shown such signs.
For Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho, hats off to them for a quite remarkable piece of negotiation. The removal of Sahin and his cost from the squad has allowed them the space and funds to complete the transfer of Luka Modric. At the same time, Madrid are given the benefit of having Sahin play regular football in the Premier League and potentially regain his confidence as a top-level European player, ready to return to the Bernabeu and their plans next summer.
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I dont believe the numbers you are quoting – the clubs have issued nothing so how are you able to speak with such authority ? If you are correct then I apologise but lets see the proof please
well said
We didn’t pay a loan fee and his wages, it’s just his wages. The loan fee is made up by arsenal fans to make us look silly.
Maybe because attracting a Champions League quality player to help you get back into the CL is worth the resulting millions!!
The only reason he came to us is because he wants game time and if he can provide the top class form that made Real Madrid want him then that money spent will be completely worth it.
And he’s already said, “you never know in football”
We’ll make sure he wants to stay, don’t worry about that 😉
The loan fee was 5m, but this included his wages
hmm, I dont know where u get thoose numbers from.
What I’ve heard the deal was Liverpool pay R.Madrid 5 million as compensation. But Madrid will pay the players wage.
So its a bad move for us because he might play bad.. but a good move for Madrid because he will regain his form with playing time.. hang on, this sorry excuse for a journalist has contradicted himself. If ypu give a monkey a typewriter….
Typewriter? Where have you been hiding Adam?
I know where you have been. You were in your attic training your monkey to use a PC.
If Nuri Sahin get LFC into CL at th expense of Arsenal then the £10m will be worth it. If not then fair enough..it was a gamble worth taking IMO
Adam, could you please indicate your sources for the information regarding a loan fee of £5 million? I must admit I have not been able to find anything about such a fee, which would moreover be highly unorthodox in view of the fact that Liverpool are apparently only covering around 75% of his salary. I was also wondering about your source regarding the absence of a buy option for Liverpool – I have similarly been unable to find anything definitive on that account other than rumours that both of Liverpool and Arsenal (depending on who won the race for Sahin) would have had a €14 million to buy at the end of the season.
The £5M loan fee is inclusive of his wages, meaning the total cost to Liverpool for the one year loan of the player is £5M.
This sounds more reasonable – although still not quite in line with the rumour that Liverpool are paying 75% of his £6 million annual wages: Based on the widely quoted £115,000 per week, 75% would come to just under £4.5 million p.a., which admittedly might be rounded (incorrectly mind you since it is less than £4.5 million) to £5 million.
Liverpool have the option to purchased Sahin for £1m after the loan deal finished.Real Madrid will pay 100%of his salary plus pay Liverpool another £3m for taking him on-loan.all because the need a space for Modric..Arsenal are so rich they don’t need the compensation for taking Sahin,so the deal is off…
Above are my story
‘Surely, the money would have better spent on a permanent transfer, one who would be fully committed to the club and one who Rodgers could build a team around long-term, such as Clint Dempsey for example?’
Yeah, we can entirely build a team around Clint Dempsey who is 29 years old. That statement itself shows this article up…..If Sahin fits in at Liverpool, he has already said he would consider a permanent transfer- if he doesn’t, the club are not lumbered with a player earning £115k per week for the next 4 years together with a £10-12M transfer fee- that would amount to £36M.
I find it hard to see what Liverpool will gain from this unless he has an unbelievable season and helps pull them into the top 4. There is no doubt he’ll be back at Madrid next season unless he flops
I as a Liverpool fan, Adam, ask myself why on earth Henry and Warner – extremely successful business men – have allowed the deal to go through with the numbers you quote. Rodgers himself sent Sigurdsson packing when he raised his terms. So why would Henry and Rodgers make a deal which as you so expertly say “makes awful economic sense”. As Jonesey says, please give us the sources from where you acquired these truly “shocking” figures from. Perhaps you have a friend whose cousin’s friend’s cousin is best mates with Stevie G????
Also when you say what will happen at the end of the season when he gets his bags packed and heads back to Madrid. Well hopefully if he does do that but has played to his potential then maybe we can either buy him (if this is included in the loan deal) or have champions league to offer another quality player. Either way I think this is a GREAT loan deal and can only help LFC in the league this season. Come on how can it be a bad thing, from what i have read this guy is quality and we need him. WE NEED CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL. Then we will see some quality coming in next year. YNWA
I am far more bothered by the 5m annual wages we pay to Joe Cole, or the 4m we pay Stuart Downing.
If Sahin plays a similar season he did for Dortmund two years ago, he could potentially get us back into a CL place. That would be worth far more than what we are spending on him. Not only was he the best Dortmund player, but he was the best player in the German league by a wide margin, far ahead of the likes of Ribery, Robben, Schweinsteiger, etc..
Hi guys,
The original BBC story that broke the news on Sahin joining Liverpool said that there was no option on Liverpool to take Sahin permanently. If you guys haven’t found anything suggesting this then all I can say is that if the Arsenal deal broke down due to the issue of a permanent transfer and with Real Madrid very unwilling to let him go permanently,then it appears unlikely that Liverpool have agreed a permanent deal.
As for the 5 mill loan fee, the metro and other newspapers reported it as a 5 mil loan fee, with the wages going on top of this. yes, its only the metro but here is a link
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/909566-liverpool-guzump-arsenal-for-nuri-sahin-loan
Whether you believe it to be tenuous or not, is of course your opinion!
Thanks for raising awareness to these points though, am always happy to answer
Sahin is a good bit of business. Like others have suggested, your figures are fabricated!
If we keep Agger for another 5 years, for instance, it will cost us £100,000 a week in depreciation alone if we didn’t sell at £23m+ now and you have to pay his wages on top of that even when he’s banned, injured, feeling tired etc
There is a time to buy or loan and a time to sell.
Didn’t Mascherano arrive on loan?
and @kengkinny – i agree, there are other pressing financial issues at the club due to previous regimes’ mistakes (Cole, Downing). Just feel that in these early days as Rodgers tries to impose his style, there are more risk-free options than Sahin.
Right, if Sahin is successful and gets Liverpool into the champions league for example, then if he leaves we’ll still be able to attract similar quality players due to our new status.
That can only be a good thing. It’s win win for me
It’s been widely reported Arsenal were going to secure Sahin when Alex Song left but Arsene Wenger wanted to buy Sahin out right, for a price in the region of £14 million. Madrid didn’t want to sell and Sahin didn’t want to leave permanently.
It’s also widely reported in the media that there IS a purchase clause in the Sahin loan deal with LFC.
I find the article overall very negative. It’s all what-if’s the worst case scenario occurs. How about what-if Sahin is one of the players of the season, which is plausible and helps Liverpool reach the top 5.
What if!