Tiago Ilori shone for Portugal Under-21s last night versus their English counterparts, and Liverpool fans who saw his performance have been crying out for him to be given more game time…
Since his arrival in 2013, he hasn’t played a single minute of first-team football, and he’s now 22-years-old…
Today, the BBC’s Ian Dennis claimed that Sunderland are interested in signing our centre-back, but perhaps these examples we’re about to mention show why we should keep hold of Ilori.
1) Mikel San Jose
The 26-year-old Spaniard never actually played a first-team game for Liverpool, but was on our books between 2007 and 2010 after we snared him Athletic Bilbao as a youngster. At the time, he was stuck behind Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel to name but a few in our pecking order, and Rafa Benitez didn’t give him the chance his talent probably deserved. Back in Spain though, he’s developed, and his three caps for the national side prove his pedigree. In 215 matches for boyhood club Athletic, he’s notched an incredible 27 goals – outrageous statistics for a centre-half. He even scored in the Champions League last season away to Shakhtar.
2) Sebastian Coates
Like Ilori, Coates is still our player, but again like the prodigal centre-back, Sunderland want to take him off our hands (via Sunderland Echo). The Uruguayan has not lived up to expectations since his 2011 transfer, but it almost seems as though we’ve waited four years for him to come good, and now we’re going to get rid… Coates started to excel towards of his loan spell at Sunderland last term, helping keeping the Black Cats up, so it’s no surprise they want to make his transfer permanent. He was enormously highly rated when we signed him, having just starred at the Copa America as a 20-year-old. The talent and physicality is clear to see (he’s 6 ft. 5′, and technically capable), and centre-backs can get away with a lack of pace if they’re positionally superb. It looks like he’s going to Sunderland though. Let’s hope we don’t live to regret this one…
3) Gabriel Paletta
Paletta is 29-years-old and is really entering his peak defensive years, but few Liverpool fans will even remember him. We signed him in 2006 from Banfield in his home country of Argentina, but after one season and three Premier League appearances, we sent him packing to Boca Juniors, where he slowly rebuilt his reputation. A move to Italy followed in 2010, and it was during five spells with Parma that he developed a reputation as a no-nonsense warrior at the heart of defence. Such is the Italian habit, they made him an Italian national and called him up the full side – which in turn earned him a move to AC Milan in January 2015. Our former Champions League nemeses are not what they used to be, but they don’t sign rubbish either. The Paletta we’ve seen since his return to Europe would have bolstered our squad over the past six seasons, undeniably.