Liverpool owners FSG often receive a mixed reception from fans but Reds assistant coach Pep Lijnders has praised them.
The positives and negatives of Fenway Sports Group could be debated until the cows come home, and now Lijnders has had his say on his most recent transfer transactions, speaking highly of his bosses.
Speaking to the press, including the Times, the Dutchman said: “There is no good manager without good ownership. The owners invested in the team we needed to invest in and that is already a very good sign.”
He went on to explain how the owners have contributed money when needed. “We knew we could invest and we knew that in the summer we would do it.
“Cody (Gakpo) was a summer signing that we brought forward to January (2023). We were able to do it early and it was great. “If you look at the number of players we have brought in, it is really fantastic.”
Lijnders reinforced his message during his pre-Fulham press conference, saying: “We spent a lot of money in the summer, we really invested in the team. “Ownership really brought in the right players.”
This is not an article to debate the good and bad nuances of FSG ownership, but it is worth laying out some of the facts to give context to Lijnders’ comments.
Last summer, the Reds signed Alexis Mac Allister for £35m, Dominik Szoboszlai for £60m, Ryan Gravenberch for £35m and Wataru Endo for £16m. In the previous window, Gakpo cost Liverpool £37m.
With Fabinho and Jordan Henderson earning fees following their departures, Liverpool ended the summer with a net spend of around £94m.
However, this does not take into account the significant decrease in the wage bill, due to the departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita.
Compared to the Reds’ net spending, which was the highest since 2018, Man City paid more for signings in the summer of 2023, as did rivals Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
In the midst of something of an injury crisis, compounded by the departure of Mo Salah and Endo to play for the national team, Liverpool are being forced to play with youngsters, which is not necessarily as disastrous as some believe.
Lijnders added: “Everyone is looking for new targets or young players have to step up, like Curtis (Jones), Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Ibou (Konate).
“When young players feel like they have to do more, they increasingly feel like it becomes their team.”
