The winter window is notoriously difficult to nail down, especially when you’re on as tight a budget as Liverpool seemed to be.
Regardless, the Reds were quick, pulling the rug out from under four top contenders Manchester United before the window began to open for the signing of Cody Gakpo in a £35m move; an indication of the intent of what many expected would be a relatively productive month of business.
It’s worth noting, as many fans already knew, that a midfield signing would never solve the current crisis, BUT (and it’s a BIG but), it would have been foolish to suggest that the right signing wouldn’t have had a transformative effect in the context. of the current campaign.
Forget the notion of plugging holes (an even bigger hurdle we’ve now left ourselves in the summer). This was our moment to inject some adrenaline into the middle of the park and make another clear statement to our struggling elders.
READ MORE: ‘When you look at him’ – Robbie Fowler has noticed something ‘remarkable’ in Cody Gakpo
READ MORE: Real Madrid expressed major concern over ‘muscle injuries’ as key star ‘will miss two months’ ahead of UCL clash with Liverpool
Stefan Bajcetic and Naby Keita have been a breath of fresh air on their own, but it’s absolutely mind-boggling how current ownership hasn’t seen fit to back Jurgen Klopp on the market when he’s now faced with the prospect of burning an 18-y/o. Or break out a fellow balsa wood midfield.
The last point also speaks for Thiago Alcantara given his own provable track record when it comes to injury proneness.
We can fully appreciate that top targets of the caliber of Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo won’t be available until summer (plus they’d be very expensive right in the middle of the season). That is a reasonable point.
But the idea that there was NO ONE available to act as a more reliable alternative than Jordan Henderson and Fabinho for our now-accepted midfield three seems ludicrous when the likes of Jorginho (Arsenal), Marcel Sabitzer (Manchester United) and Joao Gomes (Wolves) they were all available. Not a single deal exceeded £15 million in terms of initial cost.
While the first two would hardly be considered long-term solutions, a deal until 2024 or a loan until the end of the season would have been ideal just to help Liverpool get over the line and hopefully back into the League places. of Champions.
Take Arsenal’s move for Jorginho as an example: a £12m outlay, plus salary, pales in comparison to the financial benefits to be had from securing a place in the top four.
Put another way: how valuable will that figure look if Liverpool don’t play in the Champions League in 2023/24?
There are arguments against signing any of the three from age to suitability to the system; Presumably, Liverpool wouldn’t want to stand in the way of Bajcetic by signing a Joao Gomes guy when only three years separate the pair, perhaps.
Ultimately, however, the extent of the risk taken with these types of deals is minimal compared to the long-term damage that the absence of the best European football could cause.
With that in mind, one can justify the level of anger felt in some quarters when comparisons were inevitably made to Chelsea’s trigger-happy transfer policy under new co-owner Todd Boehly.
Why comparisons with Chelsea don’t help
There is a clear affinity between fans and transfers, to the point that you would find few Premier League supporters completely opposed to the prospect of a non-stop spending spree like the one the Blues have embarked on in the last two transfer windows.
Sky Sports reported that, with the addition of former Benfica star Enzo Fernandez, the Stamford Bridge-based team has now passed the £600m mark following a May 2022 takeover.
To put that in context, Liverpool have spent over £400m in total, according to GiveMeSport, since the 2018/19 season.
It hurts to see such a large amount of cash flowing out of Chelsea, who also find themselves stuck in the middle of the table, when we are now looking to compete for the last two top four spots against an in-form Newcastle, Manchester United and now a reinforced side with even more quality additions.
It feels unfair; a view with which UEFA evidently agrees judging by the speed with which the organization has reacted to prevent further exploitation of the Financial Fair Play (GOAL) loopholes.
However, before this piece descends into the realm of a self-pity fest, it’s worth underscoring the reality that a multitude of new signings doesn’t necessarily equate to an immediate response to the near-term goal of breaking into the top four. places.
As irritated as football fans will be about Arsene Wenger seeing the Frenchman toe the party line at FIFA when it comes to schedule congestion, his philosophy on the risks associated with completing more than three signings in a window still has weight.
“You need competition, and competition exists if the numbers aren’t too short or too big. When the number is too large, there is no more competition and it goes against the interests of the team”, the former Arsenal boss spoke in 2015 (quoted by Planet Football).
“If a player is number 26 on the team, they need three players to die before they have a real chance to play. That has an impact when he comes every morning. He is down and he takes something away from the team.
“When the number is too short, he thinks: ‘No matter how it is, I play.’ And that’s not good either.”
It’s a mantra that was largely embraced by Sir Alex Ferguson during Manchester United’s glory years and, more recently, by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
While we’re quick to point out the flaws in Chelsea’s approach, it’s of course worth noting that at the other end of the scale is a lack of transfers, given the current context in terms of a lack of reliable midfielders available. at Anfield, it can be just as damaging.
Liverpool have historically shown the value of waiting for the right man: it’s a model that has seen Klopp’s men claim a first league title in 30 years and a first Champions League since 2005 among a host of trophies.
But at this point, we are simply not buying from a position of strength. Leaving Wenger’s maxim: we have not been able to take advantage of the opportunity that is presented.
This will not be further demonstrated by the fact that the potential signing of Jude Bellingham is no longer seen as an ideal addition to take us to the next level, but rather an absolute MINIMUM requirement to fuel much-needed midfield regeneration. Department.
It’s a task now made even more difficult by the lack of surgery performed in January and we’ll have to cross our fingers that the solutions available within the team are enough to drag us across the line at the end of May.
40% of Liverpool’s summer loans failed: what happened to the club’s loan system?
