--- title: "Profit Players: Liverpool’s £15m sale of Jordon Ibe in 2016 looks better with each passing season" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-liverpools-15m-sale-of-jordon-ibe-in-2016-looks-better-with-each-passing-season/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2019-12-04T06:00:49Z" modified: "2019-12-04T06:00:49Z" --- # Profit Players: Liverpool’s £15m sale of Jordon Ibe in 2016 looks better with each passing season ![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Profit-Players-1.png) **This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.** A Christmas tradition has developed in the Premier League over the last few years, with this being the [fourth successive Decembe](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liverpool-fc/bilanzdetail/verein/31/wettbewerb_id/GB1/gegner_id/989/saison_id/2016/heim_gast/gast/datum_von/-/datum_bis/-/day/0/land_id/0)r in which Liverpool travel to Bournemouth. The Reds make the trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, [almost a year to the day since their previous visit](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liverpool-fc/bilanzdetail/verein/31/wettbewerb_id/GB1/gegner_id/989/saison_id/2016/heim_gast/gast/datum_von/-/datum_bis/-/day/0/land_id/0). On the bench that day for Bournemouth was Jordon Ibe, who was left with a watching brief as his former club cruised to a 4-0 victory. \[[via TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3050318)\] On the day that Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher made the last of his [737 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jamie-carragher/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/3597) for the Reds, Ibe was making his first-team debut in a 1-0 win over QPR as the 2012/13 Premier League season came to a finish. \[[via Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2326956/Liverpool-1-QPR-0--match-report.html)\] [Loan spells at Birmingham and Derby](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/transfers/spieler/195652) followed before the winger was [recalled by his parent club](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/178207-ibe-recalled-from-derby-loan-spell) in January 2015, shortly before he was the width of a post away from scoring a Merseyside derby winner at Goodison Park, as per [The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/everton-0-liverpool0-jordon-ibe-and-emre-can-were-brilliant-says-brendan-rodgers-10031420.html). He [signed a new five-year deal](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11603918/Liverpool-news-Jordon-Ibe-agrees-new-five-year-deal.html) with the Reds at the end of that season and appeared to have a promising future at Anfield, especially after scoring his [first goal for the club](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/34719366) in a 1-0 win away to Rubin Kazan in the Europa League in Jurgen Klopp’s first month as Liverpool manager. However, after making just [12 Premier League starts](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/105797/History/Jordon-Ibe) in the 2015/16 campaign, he was still finding it difficult to nail down a regular spot in the Reds’ first XI. He scored [four goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/195652) that season but was still considered disposable enough to be sold to Bournemouth for [£15m](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36800117) in July 2016, with the Cherries breaking their transfer record to sign him (as per [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36800117)). That seemed quite a good fee to attract for a winger who had scored just [four times in 58 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/195652) for Liverpool and, only a few months after his move to the south coast, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe told [The Mirror](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/jordon-ibe-can-anything-wants-9212513) that Ibe needed to perform with greater consistency. He was [again called out by his manager](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/08/bournemouth-eddie-howe-jordon-ibe-fa-cup-millwall-third-round) over his wayward form after the Cherries were dumped out of the FA Cup at home to Millwall as Howe named a much-changed team (as per [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/08/bournemouth-eddie-howe-jordon-ibe-fa-cup-millwall-third-round)) and Ibe [did not find the net or even set up a goal in 26 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/195652) in his first season for Bournemouth. The winger was more effective during 2017/18, with [two goals and eight assists in 38 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/195652), but that return was still a paltry one compared to the [44 goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mohamed-salah/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/148455) that fellow right winger Mohamed Salah registered at Liverpool that campaign, [his first at Anfield](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mohamed-salah/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/148455). Howe appears to be running out of patience with Ibe in recent months, judging by his sporadic involvement for the Cherries. He only made [nine Premier League starts](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/105797/History/Jordon-Ibe) last season and managed just [one goal and one assist in 24 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/195652) during 2018/19. The current campaign has been a disaster for the 23-year-old, with a mere 227 minutes of football and four appearances in all competitions. \[[via TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdaten/spieler/195652)\] He has set up [nine goals in 92 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordon-ibe/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/195652) for the Cherries since leaving Liverpool in 2016. In that time, the Reds’ full-back duo of [Trent Alexander-Arnold](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/trent-alexander-arnold/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/314353) and [Andrew Robertson](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/andrew-robertson/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/234803) have provided 49 assists between them for Liverpool. With the former [coming through the club’s Academy](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/trent-alexander-arnold/profil/spieler/314353) and the latter costing just £10m (as per [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40666486)), they have essentially made a 50% profit on selling a £15m winger with just nine assists in more than three years for two defenders who have set up a combined 49 goals (Alexander-Arnold [26](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/trent-alexander-arnold/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/314353), Robertson [23](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/andrew-robertson/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/234803)). In that context, securing £15m for a young, largely unproven attacking player in 2016 with comparatively meagre end product has been a masterstroke from Liverpool. ***Liverpool fans, do you think the club did well to recoup £15m for Ibe back in 2016? Comment below with your views!***