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21st Jun 2017

Liverpool fans definitely don’t agree with Didi Hamann’s transfer suggestion

"He's a winner and he's class"

Robert Redmond

Liverpool need a new central defender and Didi Hamann has a solution.

The club had looked set to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £60m. The only problem was someone had seemingly forgot to tell Southampton.

They got wind of the reported agreement between Liverpool and the Dutch defender, who has five years remaining on his contract, and raised the issue with the Premier League.

But, before things could develop any further, Liverpool performed an embarrassing U-turn and the deal was called off.

Liverpool could return for Van Dijk, but if they don’t Hamann has a short-term solution.

  • He’s a free agent, so there’d be no transfer fee.
  • He has won three Spanish titles, three Champions Leagues and Euro 2016.
  • He’s played over 300 games for Real Madrid.
  • And he’s actually a very good player.

However, he’s also Pepe.

The Portuguese defender is a free agent after leaving Madrid, and Hamann says he would sign him up if he was in Jurgen Klopp’s shoes.

Hamann was on punditry duty for Irish television, covering Portugal’s Confederations Cup 1-0 win over Russia, when he made the suggestion.

The former Liverpool midfielder has a point. Pepe is a very good defender. He was named man of the match in the Euro 2016 final and was a regular for Madrid over the past decade.

He may be 34, but considering there’s a lack of top level defenders available, Pepe could be worth a punt for a team in Premier League.

But because of his infamous on-pitch antics, Pepe isn’t the most popular figure amongst football fans, and Hamann’s suggestion didn’t go down well with Liverpool fans on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/jagusak/status/877548263427256322

https://twitter.com/oliver_golden1/status/877564781447827456

https://twitter.com/mickbailey64/status/877556089151246336

https://twitter.com/luke_edwards88/status/877553747974656000

https://twitter.com/brianlfc0210/status/877566714850021378

Some thought Hamann was referring to Pepe Reina, the former Liverpool goalkeeper. Unlike the Portuguese defender, Reina is popular with Liverpool fans.

https://twitter.com/james_byrne1979/status/877555177531879425

https://twitter.com/dsclfc/status/877547329376616448

However, there were a few people who actually agreed with Hamann.

https://twitter.com/McHammer888/status/877551770251276289

https://twitter.com/HaukurGudnason/status/877552555055656961