:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/35785198/487210531.0.jpg)
Buried in the news that Liverpool are prepared to sell Fabio Borini to Sunderland for a handsome fee is another bit of transfer news. Following up on the earlier reports of Liverpool's interest in Loic Remy of Queens Park Rangers, the Liverpool Echo is now reporting that the Merseyside club is ready to trigger Remy's £8 million release clause to bring him to Anfield.
The Echo also indicate that Liverpool are already in talks with Remy's agent about a contract, so this is one that could move very quickly. The relationship between Remy and QPR soured very quickly after his first season at the club, leading him to spend this past season on loan at Newcastle, where he scored 14 goals in 26 matches. Remy also comes with a rather sordid off-the-field record, but we can leave that discussion for another time.
The Liverpool paper claims that the club sees Remy as a "better value" than Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony, who would sell for closer to £20 million, if at all. Remember, Huw Jenkins isn't exactly a fan of Liverpool, and he expressed anger at reports that Liverpool were targeting his striker shortly before rejecting what he claimed was an "unacceptable" bid for left back Ben Davies.
In a pure on-the-field sense, £8 million is a pretty good value for a player of Remy's talents. With Liverpool in need of quality depth at the position, the 27-year-old brings physical gifts and experience that mesh well with Brendan Rodgers' style, and is probably willing to be a one or two year stopgap measure, which is likely what the club are looking for right now. Remy also would likely be a better fill-in starter if Daniel Sturridge is out injured than Rickie Lambert, though that may be more matchup dependent than anything.
There is a question when it comes to getting him to agree to wages; the Mirror (I know, I know...) is claiming that he wants between £80,000 and £90,000 per week to sign, and Liverpool understandably don't want to pay that to someone who will mostly be a backup. He's not believed to be making much less than that now, so it's not an unreasonable claim for the paper to make.
This isn't a move that's likely to be terribly popular in the fanbase, but from a pure football perspective, it's not a bad one. The fee is low, the fit is good, and Remy certainly fills a need with a higher level of quality than the cost would indicate. There are, of course, other very-very-bad-he's-not-a-good-person issues to consider, but we'll touch on those another time as they're a very tricky issue to get a proper handle on.
