Amorim record signing repeat inspires £30m Liverpool deal and Neymar to Aston Villa

Man Utd would like Viktor Gyokeres to link up with Ruben Amorim again but perhaps some other clubs should reunite coaches with their most expensive signings from previous clubs…

Arne Slot – David Hancko
“I was in contact with Slot but he immediately told me that it was not possible. Liverpool have a certain transfer philosophy. Age was one issue, the other was price. Both factors were negative for me,” said 27-year-old, £30m-rated defender Hancko in December.

Were Hancko so inclined, he might point out that while Federico Chiesa cost half as much, he was also born two months earlier and is really quite bad.

But transfer philosophy or not, speculation persists over a Feyenoord reunion at Anfield. Slot built his Eredivisie winners around the Slovakia international, whose professed adoration of his potential suitors began with the 2005 Champions League final and was only strengthened by the presence of Martin Skrtel.

Liverpool might consider loosening their specifications somewhat as Hancko starts to attract interest from further and wider, especially if Virgil van Dijk remains their only reliably fit centre-half and Andy Robertson selfishly continues to be in his 30s on the left.

READ: Eight Liverpool players Arne Slot should look to discard this summer

Nuno Espirito Santo – Fabinho
It seems a little less likely that Nottingham Forest would risk the alchemy and chemistry established in this remarkable squad by investing a ludicrous transfer fee and wage on a 31-year-old whose powers had tangibly waned towards the end of his last Premier League spell.

The only question Fabinho had 18 months ago was whether his dogs could be admitted into Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian won everything possible in five fruitful years at Liverpool but a midfield restructure meant his services were no longer required.

While Al-Ittihad are top of the table and on course to win a title Nuno delivered back in 2023, the only silverware Fabinho has picked up since his Middle East move was a Rolex gifted to him by a Saudi journalist after his debut. David Ornstein would never.

Enzo Maresca – Harry Winks
While it was far more offensive that they were listening to Kanye West, it did seem fairly inadvisable for a number of Leicester players to essentially celebrate the demise of Steve Cooper at a Christmas party in Copenhagen mere hours after the November defeat to Chelsea which sealed the manager’s fate.

The Leicester owner was furious and accosted a ‘silent’ squad who figured that dancing in the vicinity of a sign which read ‘ENZO I MISS U’ was an entirely foolproof idea with no potential repercussions in an age of smartphones and social media.

Winks and Conor Coady were front and centre as unadulterated Maresca disciples but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was picked as the back-scratching PSR summer sacrifice instead, much to their presumed dismay.

Tosin Adarabioyo, a 26-year-old free agent, remains the oldest player Chelsea have signed in the past two seasons, so 29-year-old Winks can busy himself watching 2023/24 season highlight compilations while trying to imagine Ruud van Nistelrooy with a bald cap.

Pep Guardiola – Zlatan Ibrahimovic
There are admittedly a few immediate glaring issues here: Ibrahimovic is a 43-year-old senior adviser for AC Milan after retiring from playing 18 months ago; he and Pep Guardiola did not share the best working relationship during their last association; and Erling Haaland would not be allowed to recommend anyone “stay humble” ever again with a straight face.

But the Swede will forever exist as proof that while the chequebook manager needs money to make his world go round, it is no guarantee of success. Sometimes it goes all Dmytro Chyhrynskyi.

Eddie Howe – Jefferson Lerma
Before Joelinton there was Jefferson. With 23 bookings in 65 appearances in his first two seasons at Bournemouth, the blueprint for a combative, physical Howe midfielder was established around Lerma. The only downside was one red card for the Colombian, which must have taken some doing since Bruno Guimaraes and friends have been allowed to chuck forearms and elbows around with impunity for years.

Lerma has found a happy home for himself at Crystal Palace but Newcastle are unlikely to be interested having finally sorted out their engine room.

Andoni Iraola – Raul de Tomas
Four goals in 19 games for Rayo Vallecano under Iraola puts De Tomas level with Luis Sinisterra, Enes Unal and Marcos Senesi for career goals under the Spanish manager. It was a humble return for a club-record signing the Bournemouth coach never wanted.

Rayo owner and president Raul Martin Presa pursued the deal after De Tomas scored 17 goals for Espanyol but Iraola rarely used him, preferring a more physical presence up front who could lead the press. It might not be a coincidence that he left for the Cherries within a season.

De Tomas is still only 30 but barely playing for Rayo, while Iraola continues to thrive whether he has a recognised striker or not.

Unai Emery – Neymar
If Marcus Rashford has already rendered a new Aston Villa teammate ‘deeply disappointed’ then it is perhaps not worth the hassle of bringing a knackered Neymar into an exciting attacking equation.

Emery will hardly be itching for a reunion either and it would be entirely inaccurate to characterise the world-record move PSG made for Neymar in 2017 as in any way his signing.

“A few months ago, a PSG player said to me, ‘Mister, this year you have changed,'” Emery said during his time at Arsenal. “It was obvious. I couldn’t be the same coach with and without Neymar. Coaching Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar is not easy. They are the best in the world so that is a lot to take in. You have to adapt yourself to them.”

It doesn’t feel like Ollie Watkins comes with the same inherent punishing dynamics and power struggle.

Marco Silva – Richarlison
In a 195-game career as a Premier League manager, Marco Silva’s most expensive signing remains his highest scorer.

Spurs and Silva might be a perfect fit, considering the sums both club and coach have been comfortable throwing around for Richarlison. The Brazilian cost Watford £11m and Everton about £40m a year later, with those deals pushed by the Portuguese boss each time.

It would not be entirely unusual if the hat-trick was completed at Fulham, considering Richarlison wants out of Tottenham and Silva’s makeshift centre-forward solution of Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz does not feel particularly sustainable.

Fabian Hurzeler – Erik Ahlstrand
Fair play to Hurzeler, who took Brighton’s £200m-plus seasonal splurge in stride despite having spent about £2m across his career prior to that move. That included a cool £500,000 chucked at Bolton for Oladapo Afolayan, as well as a similar sum on midfielder Ahlstrand, who remains on the St Pauli fringes.

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