After an unusually active transfer window for Liverpool, one intends to look back, evaluate and comment extensively on the success and failings – spoiler alert: there were very few of the latter – of Liverpool’s incomings this window. Plus, I’ll take a look at the January window and where we might want to strengthen with any money remaining from the summer’s transfer kitty/Suarez money, and where we might want to lose some unnecessary squad players
Firstly, what did we all want in terms of incomings this summer? A new goalkeeper, at least one new centre back, two new full backs, a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box midfielder, one or two attacking midfielders/wingers to get goals from midfield, a back-up striker and a Suarez-replacement.
What did we get?
Dejan Lovren, £16-20M, Southampton – Centre back, check. An experienced leader, with one year in the Premier League, the Croatian was clearly Brendan Rodgers’ main target in this department. In his first few games at the club, he’s shown exactly why. His dominance and front-foot defending at the back is exactly what Liverpool needed to settle a wobbly defence that saw us concede the highest amount of goals in the top ten last year.
Alberto Moreno, £12M, Sevilla – It took a while, but boy does it seem worth it now. So distraught was I when I believed we wouldn’t be signing the Spaniard, I led myself to believe that, sure, Ryan Bertrand would be a perfectly apt left back for us. However, the gulf in quality between the two couldn’t be bigger, it seems after Moreno’s first few games at the club. Despite wobbly, settling moments against Manchester City, his performance – topped off by a wonderful individual goal – proved why Rodgers was so desperate to get his man. Credit to Ian Ayre, too, who managed to get an expected £20M price tag down to the measly £12M we paid.
Javi Manquillo, Two Year Loan, Atletico Madrid – The young right back struggled for game time at the new La Liga Champions, but received high praise from the likes of Filipe Luis, which settled the nerves of doubtful fans. If any such fans still existed, his first few performances have surely eradicated any doubt. Ridiculous maturity and excellent positional awareness make Glen Johnson look like a schoolboy, and surely puts his first team future in doubt.
Emre Can, £10M, Bayer Leverkusen – Strong recommendations from Sami Hyypia look to be worthwhile after Can’s preseason. Despite not starting any competitive games so far for the Reds, the German U21 has showed his potential already and should prove a valuable asset given the tournaments we’ll competing in this season. His age also benefits us hugely, as the likes of Gerrard and Lucas lose the ability to cope with the pace of our play.
Adam Lallana, £23M, Southampton – With two excellent Premier League seasons under his belt – the second being his most impressive – Adam Lallana has achieved his dream move to a Champions League club. Despite being hampered by a lengthy injury during preseason, Brendan Rodgers, it seems, cannot contain his excitement at Lallana getting game time, labelling his training “exceptional.” He should return to be in the squad for the Villa game after the international break.
Lazar Markovic, £20M, Benfica – One of the most highly rated young wingers in world football, Liverpool pulled off a massive coup in luring the Serbian from the grips of third-party ownership, which seemingly saw him set for a move to Chelsea. While he too struggled with injury in preseason, his appearance against Manchester City was promising and, provided he stays fit, gives me confidence that he can be a key member of the squad on all fronts this season.
Divock Origi, £10M, Lille – While the young Belgian has returned on loan to Lille for the coming season, his acquisition is not one to be forgotten, given that he was one of Belgium’s brightest sparks in an otherwise disappointing campaign, overshadowing the likes of Romelu Lukaku. An exciting prospect.
Rickie Lambert, £4M, Southampton – For £4M? A steal. Given that the Liverpool-born, boyhood fan was third only behind Sturridge and Gerrard for English assists plus goals last season, this was an intelligent coup by Rodgers. Criticised heavily for not having a Plan B in games last year, Liverpool have acquired not only a Plan B in Lambert but also a quality forward to start in domestic cup games. He looks like he suits the diamond, too, having improved us drastically when he’s come on in games so far this season.
Mario Balotelii, £16M, AC Milan – Blimey. Fans had called for a high-profile Suarez replacement all summer but I personally never saw one coming; at least, not one this big. After “categorically” denying that Mario would arrive during the preseason tour of America, this move stunned many, but pleased even more. While some consider him a risk, Brendan Rodgers has proven himself an excellent man-manager, and for that money, the leading goal scorer in the Italian league over the past two seasons just had to be snapped up. Added a lot to our game against Tottenham at the weekend and should excite everyone involved with Liverpool Football Club.
Now, if I’m correct, that’s an 81% success rate based on the positions I personally wanted to fill at the start of the summer, with just the ‘keeper and a defensive midfielder lacking. However, according to most reliable sources surrounding Spain, Victor Valdes could sign an agreement with Liverpool in the coming weeks to join up with the club after he has recovered from injury – around October/November time. An excellent recruitment if so, that’ll provide much-needed competition for a, to be harsh, unconvincing Simon Mignolet. The defensive midfielder, then, is the one we’re missing. January will come soon enough though and we have plenty of players capable of doing that job. Alex Song on loan might have been an option, but I’d rather pull out all the stops to gain the signature of a better player in January.
Given that Oussama Assaidi, Seba Coates and a number of other players left the club permanently or on loan this summer, it seems all that is left is to sell Lucas Leiva and Fabio Borini in January, if reports are to be believed. I doubt offloading Borini will be too difficult; while his refusal to leave the club is somewhat endearing, I’m sure he’ll soon get tired of playing one or two Capital One Cup games in the first half of the season, and perhaps re-open negotiations with Sunderland or QPR, the two clubs after his signature. Lucas might be trickier, with the likes of Napoli interested in a loan but Rodgers wanting rid permanently. Hopefully, for the good of Lucas’ game and for the good of our squad, he can be sold and aptly replaced.
I can’t remember a window I’ve enjoyed much more, if I’m honest. While there are one or two positions that could have been strengthened, they were not priority areas. The areas we did fill were priority and have been strengthened more than I could have possibly imagined. Hats off to Rodgers, Ayre and whatever ‘committee’ exists behind the scenes because, sitting back and watching the panic, furore and £17M-for-Welbeck-esque deals pan out on Deadline Day made me feel so proud of our club. A window to cherish, for sure.
