The recently concluded summer transfer window was perhaps a hard one for Liverpool fans. The Merseyside outfit signed just one player – Ibrahima Konate – and watched on as their title rivals strengthened their squads.
Despite boasting an impressive squad, you can’t help but wonder if one or two more signings in the attacking department would have freshened things up.
Liverpool’s primary target was to nail down some of their key players to new deals, and they managed to achieve that well.
While signing new players is important to keep progressing, Liverpool have done well to retain the services of their key players. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, and Jordan Henderson have signed new long-term deals. Mohamed Salah could be the next in line to extend his stay at the club.
It must also be mentioned that Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, and Jordan Henderson are all fit again, and there is renewed hope that Naby Keita will stay injury-free.
Ins – Ibrahima Konate
Last season’s defensive crisis forced Liverpool into signing two defenders on the winter transfer deadline day as Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies joined the Reds.
Neither of the two is on the current roster. It was imperative for Liverpool to sign a good centre-back, and the Reds moved in early to sign Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.
Clearly, Liverpool learned their lesson from last summer, when they decided not to replace Dejan Lovren and the impact was felt just a few months later.
In Konate, they are getting a strong centre-back, who can pass the ball out from the back. Comparisons have been made to van Dijk already, and he could play an important role this season.
Outs – Harry Wilson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Marko Grujic, Xherdan Shaqiri, Gini Wijnaldum
Liverpool managed to offload several fringe players this summer, and that has sort of reduced their wage bill. Gini Wijnaldum was perhaps the biggest departure, and that too on a free transfer.
Ideally, Liverpool would have liked to have received a transfer fee for a player still very much in the prime years of his career. Jürgen Klopp remains adamant that the Reds have enough cover in the midfield department, but it remains to be seen if the Reds can compete for the title with players who are injure-prone.
A Liverpool source on transfers:
“We won’t buy just to satisfy people’s irrational lust for a transfer. Anyone we buy in midfield needs to be good enough to get in ahead of Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Keita, Ox, Milner, Curtis and now Harvey.” #awlive [liverpool echo]
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) August 31, 2021
There is renewed hope that the fans will get to Thiago Alcantara, who had an interrupted start to last season, will play at his best. The Spaniard is a different player compared to Wijnaldum, but is arguably the best passer in the league.
The club decided not to sign a replacement for Xherdan Shaqiri as Harvey Elliot and Kaide Gordon impressed in pre-season, Elliot has played in all three games so far, and even earned Klopp’s trust to start against Chelsea.
Liverpool Transfer window rating – 6.5/10
In an ideal world, another attaching player would have made sense. Liverpool looked laboured in the attacking third last season, and the second half display against Chelsea brought back memories of the same.
Having said that, the Reds still have enough quality to challenge for the title. Mohamed Salah is showing no signs of slowing down, and Diogo Jota is expected to improve upon last season’s performances. Not adding more nite to the attack is a gamble, though.
There is hope that Sadio Mane will recapture his old form, but even then, the Reds must prepare for a few games without the duo of Salah and Mane in January when the AFCON commences.
Plenty of Liverpool fans have voiced their opinion about FSG not splashing the cash to strengthen the squad, that needs a bit of freshness this season. However, keeping hold of several key players is something that needs to be appreciated.
Although Liverpool did not sign players like their rivals Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, they now have the majority of the team that led them to their first title in 30 years.
If the Liverpool playing XI keep fit, they will be a mean outfit this season.