I don't know what the above posters 'think' they do know or don't know. But here are some simple facts.
- Lallana is contracted another 4 years at Saints;
- Saints value Lallana at in excess of 30m pounds (not surprising considering Mata went for 37m and is the same age);
- 25% of any transfer fee recouped on the sale of Lallana goes to Bournemouth;
- as a result of the foregoing, Saints will only sell for between 30-35 in order to cushion the 25% sell-on fee.
The fact of the matter, as things currently stand, is that Liverpool simply cannot afford to pay the fee Saints are asking. This is particularly the case considering that attacking midfield isn't strictly a priority for Liverpool (whereas defence, and general squad strengthening to prep for UCL is). If Real Madrid came in with a mega offer for Suarez, which they accepted, then this could obviously change.
Regardless of whether Lallana hands in a transfer request or not, Saints will only sell if we recoup a sufficient fee. Liebherr hasn't got to where she has by making bad business decisions. If that means Lallana ends up staying against his wishes, I am sure he is mature enough to deal with it. I'd like to think that a point of difference between Saints and other clubs is that at Saints contracts actually mean more than the paper they're written on.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not saying Lallana (or Shaw for that matter) won't go, BUT if they do it will be done in a way that is in the best interests of the club. It is most certainly not a fait accompli as some on this website would have you believe.
Finally, I'm not going to claim to be 'ITK' as all of my information is second or third-hand (and nobody believes you anyway), but I know three people at the Club, all of whom work in different areas and have direct contact with the players and the Board. That is where my info comes from.
