The summer transfer window has two key purposes ahead of the new season- firstly, to achieve adequate squad depth by bringing in players to ensure there are options for each position in the side, and secondly, to upgrade the starting XI. For Liverpool, last summer was a disorganised scattering of signings, the majority of which turned out to be failures. We simply could not afford a similar scenario this time round. Firstly, let’s take a look at our business so far. The fees shown are what we have actually paid this transfer window, not including instalments and various add ons which will be gradually paid over time.
IN
Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim)- £21 million up front, Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)- £16 million up front, Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton)- £12.5 million, Joe Gomez (Charlton Athletic)- £3.5 million, Danny Ings (Burnley)- tribunal fee tbc ±£6 million, Allan Rodrigues de Souza (Internacional)- £500,000, James Milner (Manchester City)- free, Adam Bogdan (Bolton Wanderers)- free.
Total spend= £59.5 million*
*Firmino could cost up to £29 million, whilst Benteke will eventually cost £32.5 million to be paid in instalments over the duration of his contract.
OUT Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)- £44 million*, Iago Aspas (Sevilla)- £5 million, Rickie Lambert (West Brom)- £3 million, Sebastian Coates (Sunderland)- £2 million, Jones (no club)- released, Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy)- released, Glen Johnson (Stoke City)- released, Javier Manquillo (Atletico Madrid)- loan cancelled, Andre Wisdom (Norwich City)- loan.
*Liverpool had to pay a 20% sell on fee to QPR for Raheem Sterling, so they received £35.2 million this transfer window with a further £5 million to be paid by City in instalments.
Total sales= £45.2 million
NET SPEND= £14.3 million
For the quantity of players we’ve brought in this summer, with big money signings such as Firmino and Benteke, a net spend of just over £14 million at the time of writing (4th August) is really quite modest. Even if you include the full £32.5 million for Benteke, that still takes our net spend to just over £30 million. On a business level, it’s shrewd work by FSG. But has the squad been strengthened enough to mount a serious challenge for top 4? Adam Bogdan is the lowest profile of the new signings, brought in on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers to replace Brad Jones as the number 2 keeper. The 27 year-old Hungary international won’t excite Liverpool fans, but he fills a hole in the squad without any financial outlay, and based on his performance at Anfield last season in the FA Cup, he looks a solid enough backup. Danny Ings has been signed as another squad player and is an upgrade on the likes of Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert from last season. The Englishman is quick, hard-working and has an eye for goal, netting 11 times for the relegated Burnley side last season. For a small tribunal fee of around £6 million and at just 23 years old, he is another piece of sensible although perhaps slightly underwhelming business. Another Englishman, 18 year-old Joe Gomez, signed for £3.5 million from Charlton Athletic, was expected to be sent out on loan to continue his development, but following a string of highly impressive performances on the pre-season tour, mainly at left back, Rodgers has confirmed that the youngster will remain as part of the first team squad this season and will strongly challenge Alberto Moreno for a starting spot. In terms of filling out areas of the squad in need of bolstering, the signings of Ings, Gomez and Bogdan for less than £10 million total outlay is decent business.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
James Milner was also signed for free following the expiry of his contract at Manchester City, but this is a player who will immediately slot into the starting XI to fill the hole left by Steven Gerrard. Milner has been guaranteed a starting berth in central midfield and represents a superb coup, as Liverpool had to fight off a number of other top clubs to lure Milner to Anfield from the 2-time Premier League champions. A model professional with vast experience who offers energy and technical skill, Milner is a definite upgrade for our midfield and will look to form a strong partnership with his compatriot Jordan Henderson. The right back position was a real problem area for us last season. After a promising start to his loan spell, Javi Manquillo was replaced by Glen Johnson whose form had rapidly declined to the point where he became a liability. Rodgers then played a system without full backs, before reverting to 4-3-3 at the end of the season where Emre Can proved to be a misjudged experiment at right back. Therefore, the £12.5 million arrival of Nathaniel Clyne is a breath of fresh air and exactly what we need. The 24 year old was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season, and offers a balanced approach at right back with his well timed forward runs, crossing ability, solid tackling, athleticism and tendency to pop up with a few goals as well. At a relatively modest price and with Premier League experience, Clyne is an excellent acquisition and will make a genuine, positive difference in both halves of the pitch.
Finally, we move on to the 2 highest profile arrivals of the summer. Roberto Firmino seemed to be the fastest transfer in recent history for Liverpool, with ‘reported interest’ leading to the official signing of the player within 3 days. The former Hoffenheim player racked up 32 goals and 27 assists over the past 2 seasons in Germany and has already scored 4 times in 10 appearances for Brazil. With the ability to operate behind the striker, on the left or as a false nine, Firmino will add some much needed firepower to our attack this season and there is the potential for a flourishing partnership with Coutinho. Firmino’s work rate and physicality mean he should be well suited to the English game. Although it may take him a month or two to settle, at 23 years-old the signing of Firmino is a strong statement of intent from FSG, dispelling the myth that they won’t pay up to secure our top transfer targets. Given the severe lack of goals last season (only 52 in the league, compared to 101 in 2013/14), a reliable, top class striker this summer was essential. Rodgers pin pointed Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke as his prime target and after much deliberation over his buy-out clause, the Belgian arrived following the sale of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City which seemed to have prompted Liverpool to activate the £32.5 million clause to secure Benteke’s signature. Many fans are uncertain about the signing of Benteke, with the fear that for such a high fee, and for a player who supposedly ‘does not fit our style’, it’s too high a risk. I disagree, as we lacked identity last season and Benteke has been brought in with a plan in mind, so it’s unfair to say he ‘doesn’t fit our style’. Yes, he’s strong in the air, but he also has decent pace and technical ability. 49 goals in 101 appearances for Aston Villa is a terrific record, and with better quality service at Liverpool, he should be able to find the net on a regular basis. Whether he is a success or not remains to be seen, but at least Rodgers has secured his main target and we can avoid a panic-buy situation which resulted in the signing of Balotelli last season. His stunning 20 yard volley in his debut performance at the weekend vs Swindon was exactly the right first impression to make, even if it’s only pre-season.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Now it’s down to Rodgers to make sure it works. Overall, I would say the signings of Clyne, Milner, Firmino and Benteke are all improvements for the starting XI, whilst Bogdan, Ings and Gomez fill out the squad nicely. So in that sense, this transfer window has achieved both aims- squad depth and first team quality. The key question now is whether it’s good enough to achieve top 4 and a trophy, which are the priorities for this season. It’s worth remembering that we’ve lost a major talent in Raheem Sterling- regardless of the price, he will be a miss. Manchester United have also spent big once again on some high caliber players, whilst Arsenal, Chelsea and to a lesser degree Manchester City all look very strong heading into the new season. Our rivals will be tough to surpass.
Looking at our squad, the lack of attacking firepower from last season is unlikely to be as much of an issue. With Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana, Ibe and Markovic as creative and wide options, there is genuine depth and quality, whilst Benteke, Sturridge (if he’s ever fit), Origi and Ings looks to be a well equipped strike force. In midfield, Henderson and Milner are the bedrock and engine room of the side, whilst we can look forward to the emergence of Emre Can in a more advanced role, with Joe Allen providing capable back up when needed. The full back positions look well stocked with Clyne and Moreno as first choices, although the Spaniard has a point to prove. Joe Gomez has made an excellent start to his Liverpool career but following the loan move of Wisdom to Norwich and Manquillo returning to Atletico Madrid, with Flanagan injured and Enrique up for sale, only having an 18 year-old as backup represents a significant risk. Perhaps this could open up space for Tiago Ilori or potentially Joe Maguire from the academy, but a more established full back option would be very much welcome. Mignolet and Bogdan aren’t top class, but the goal keeper positions are good enough for now following the Belgian’s strong second half of last season.
Personally, I still think there are two main weak areas of the squad. Although Martin Skrtel is seen by many as a rock at the back, and there’s no denying that he is Rodgers’ first choice centre back, I have never been fully convinced by him. On his day, Skrtel is a fantastic defender, but he always has an error in him and his inconsistency is a cause for concern. Dejan Lovren is quite simply a £20 million mistake. I want him to succeed, but I don’t think he has the quality to come good at Liverpool. Our defence is always shaky when he plays. Tiago Ilori still seems a forgotten man and is likely to be sent out on loan once more, whilst Kolo Toure is experienced but well past his best as a defender. There are still doubts over Mamadou Sakho, but not for me. The Frenchman is our best defender and a superb passer of the ball. Even though his style looks somewhat awkward, he is strong, reads the game well and has the makings of a top class centre back. The other weak area for me is defensive midfield. Lucas Leiva has been a loyal servant to the club, and as a squad player he does a useful job, but for a long time now we have suffered from a lack of a top class defensive midfielder to shield the back four and once again we haven’t made an attempt to address this issue. Emre Can could potentially grow into this role, but it would require tactical discipline which I’m not sure he has just yet. Jordan Rossiter could push for a chance in this position but his game time is likely to be limited to sporadic league cup appearances.
At this stage, it’s far too early to definitively say whether our transfer window has been a success or not. Last season most of us were delighted with our summer business and that hardly turned out how we imagined. We can only wait and see how things pan out over the duration of the season before making an informed judgement. There is still work to be done in order to shift the likes of Borini, Balotelli and Enrique who clearly have no place in the squad, but Balotelli’s wages will make him difficult to sell despite not being a part of Rodgers’ plans. On the face of it I’m very pleased with the additions of Clyne, Milner and Firmino in particular, whilst I’m cautiously optimistic that Benteke can be a major success up front. At the same time I have concerns about the failure to sign a top class defensive midfielder and the lack of quality in the centre back positions, and with a net spend of around £14 million there will be questions asked if we fail to reach top 4 and win a trophy as to why we didn’t strengthen these areas. The reality is, we will need to concede significantly fewer goals if we are to achieve our aims this season. At the other end of the pitch I have confidence that we will become an attacking force once again. Rodgers has been given another chance as FSG gave him the financial backing and he got his top transfer targets. Now it’s time for both the manager and the players to deliver.
Red Regista
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