With Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp working hard to strengthen his Reds squad for another assault at the Premier League title in 2021/22, fans will be hoping that the German favourite can pull another rabbit from the hat that is the summer transfer window.
With the clock ticking down to the close of the summer window, transfer activity is sure to heat up as the Reds look to close the gap on 2020/21 EPL champions Manchester City. Supporters will have everything crossed that the Reds’ recruitment department can unearth more gems like Andy Robertson, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk. Equally, they’ll be praying to avoid more expensive transfer flops that the Anfield faithful have been forced to endure all too often in the Premier League era.
With that in mind, we look back at five of the costliest transfer mistakes made by Liverpool in recent years.
Alberto Aquilani
Alberto Aquilani was a costly transfer mistake, which hit the Reds to the tune of £20m. The disappointing departure of Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid left a gaping hole to be filled in the Liverpool midfield. Boss Rafa Benitez believed Italian AS Roma midfielder Aquilani to be the long-term answer. He wasn’t. Benitez had coveted Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry for some time, but for one reason or another, the move never came to fruition.
Aquilani was hamstrung by injuries during his four-year stint at Anfield. He made only 18 EPL appearances in four seasons before being jettisoned to Serie A outfit Fiorentina.
Mario Balotelli
There was huge excitement when Italian striker Mario Balotelli was captured from AC Milan in a £20m deal. The enigmatic forward was recruited as the replacement of the Reds’ Uruguayan sensation Luis Suarez, who secured his dream switch to Barcelona.
Unfortunately for Reds boss Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool supporters, Balotelli was a shadow of Suarez. His off-field antics became the stuff of legend, making him one of the most eccentric stars in the modern-day sport. Balotelli, who was aged 24 at the time of his Liverpool move, managed just four goals in 28 appearances. Rodgers promptly loaned Balotelli back to AC Milan for the 2015/16 season, with Reds skipper Steven Gerrard highly critical of Balotelli’s work ethic, insisting he “didn’t work hard enough on a daily basis”. Ouch. Balotelli never fulfilled the potential he showed when playing for Manchester City particularly in City’s historic 6-1 win over bitter rivals United.
Christian Benteke
Christian Benteke was an untouchable powerhouse centre forward during his time at Aston Villa. Benteke bagged 49 goals in 101 appearances for the West Midlands outfit. Liverpool successfully lured Benteke to Anfield in a £32.5m deal. There was a feeling that Benteke could be the spearhead for Liverpool’s EPL resurgence, having finished in a disappointing sixth place in the previous season.
Unfortunately for Liverpool and Benteke, he failed to live up to the weight of expectation having become the club’s second most expensive transfer. He notched just 10 goals in 42 appearances. The Reds were happy to take a £5m loss on Benteke just 12 months later when selling him on to Crystal Palace.
Andy Carroll
The final day of the January 2011 transfer window was one of the highest profile in recent memory. Aged just 22, Andy Carroll was starting to make his mark at his boyhood club Newcastle United, notching 31 goals in 80 appearances. The Gateshead-born target man was being likened to Alan Shearer, which unsurprisingly led to clubs with deeper pockets than the Magpies coveting his services.
Liverpool came calling on 31st January 2011, snaring Carroll from Newcastle in a £35m deal. Unfortunately for Carroll, he played like a rabbit in headlights. Not only was his game unsuited to replace the departed Fernando Torres, Carroll admitted himself at a later date that he wasn’t mentally ready to leave Newcastle and play for a club with bigger expectations. Carroll came at a cost of almost £6m per goal in his Anfield career. Nice.
Lazar Markovic
Serbian winger Lazar Markovic was hot property in the 2013/14 season. After departing Partizan Belgrade for Portuguese giants Benfica, Markovic played a key role in Benfica’s domestic treble-winning campaign. It earned him a move to Liverpool in the summer of 2014 at a cost of £20m. In a five-year stint, Markovic would make only 19 appearances, with the club opting to send him on a string of season-long loan moves to the likes of Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht.
He was eventually released on a free transfer and snapped up by Fulham, where he would only play a single game. Unsurprisingly, Markovic sought solace back in his homeland with Partizan, where he’s remained since September 2019.
