Liverpool’s Summer Transfers

Since Champions League qualification was assured with a 3-0 win over Middlesbrough on the final day of last season, it is fair to say that Liverpool have had a rather mixed transfer window.

On the one hand, they signed Mohamed Salah, who registered an impressive 15 goals and 11 assists in the Serie A last term. The Egyptian should inject the Reds with pace, a commodity for which they were all too reliant on Sadio Mane last term.

When the ex-Southampton man started, they averaged 2.3 goals per game, a better record than any professional team in England. When he left for the AFCON, Liverpool ended up with too many players who drifted steadily into central areas and not enough who stretched play with raw speed to create space for those technicians. With European football on the horizon, it was important that Jurgen Klopp added a player who can fulfil a similar tactical role to Mane, so as not to burn him out or suffer in his absence.

Fans are pleased to see Salah announced, but they will also be eager for a centre-back and a left-back to join. The club had bizarrely apologized for the manner of their approach for Virgil Van Dijk and claimed to have retracted their interest, but reports linking the player with a move have since re-surface.

Van Dijk is reportedly very keen on a transfer to Anfield and may consider handing in a request to new Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino to get his way. The Dutchman may help Liverpool tighten up at set pieces, with struggles in defending them being one of the main reasons their title bid fell away during the winter months. They are around 12/1 with Betfair, a betting site that has one of the best valued odds available, to secure number one spot this time around, but doing so will surely require a new left-back to reduce the burden on auxiliary option James Milner.

Hull City’s Andrew Robertson is the latest to be linked and would be brought in for his lung-busting stamina and relative attainability, rather than as a key player. While Reds fans would not be as delighted with the Scotsman as they might with a proven left-back such as Alex Sandro, Benjamin Mendy or Ryan Bertrand, there is trust in Klopp.

They may be willing to accept one or two less exciting signings to fill a gap whilst also saving room in the kitty for higher-profile additions like Salah and midfielder Naby Keita. The all-action midfielder, who is adept at winning the ball as he is at driving forward, could be the subject of a £70 million bid from Liverpool to RB Leipzig, who are reluctant to sell.

The success of the transfer window therefore is yet to be decided. If Van Dijk and Keita join along with a lower-profile left-back, it will be deemed a positive window, but failure to tie those deals up mean the Reds could have a harder time competing on multiple fronts.

By Gabriel Sutton