Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool boss, is optimistic about the forthcoming campaign and gearing up for next weekend’s season opener against Watford. A few things, however, have left the supporters frustrated who hoped for a high spending transfer window after securing a ‘top four’ finish but instead, they are currently sweating over a number of major concerns.
- Liverpool missed Naby Keita, their primary transfer target, as Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig stood firm and kept hold of the Guinean.
- Adam Lallana is injured and out for 3 months.
- Emre Can is not ensuring his stay beyond next summer as of now.
- Philippe Coutinho’s stay looks vulnerable and he might hand in a transfer request anytime if Barcelona come up with alluring offers.
- Chelsea are in talks with Virgil Van Dijk and Southampton are desperate not to do business with the Reds anymore.
- Sturridge is yet to return to training following a cramp after scoring against Bayern Munich in a preseason outing and similar ‘hoping to be fine next week’ news are coming out like previous occasions (and we can predict the outcome from our past experience).
- And Liverpool have been drawn against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim of all, for Champions League playoff round. The Bundesliga outfit remained unbeaten at home last season.
Liverpool, hailed for their rich history, have underperformed in last decade and the fans who have been thriving long for success, were upbeat since the appointment of iconic German boss Jurgen Klopp a couple of years back. The upsurge was imminent as the gaffer successfully injected his trademark ‘Gegen-pressing’ within the squad and the Reds are dreaming of Champions League nights at Anfield once more. But club’s transfer policy has been scrutinized time and again and Klopp was criticized last winter for not strengthening his squad despite being in title contention. Although the Keita deal did not occur due to Leipzig’s rigidity of retaining their prized asset rejecting hefty transfer bids, Liverpool’s transfer business suffered repeatedly under FSG – club’s American owners.
Fenway Sports Group have cleared debts and brought back stability in Liverpool since taking over from nightmarish ownership of Hicks & Gillett. They have renovated Anfield, relaid new pitch, increased stadium capacity and above all, appointed Jurgen Klopp as Reds boss. But they struggled to secure plenty of transfer targets in recent past and despite reports of a £200 mil spending spree, they are yet to cross the £50 mil mark and had to publish a public apology regarding Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk following an official report of ‘tapping up’ to Premier League by his current suitors Southampton.
Players like Dominic Solanke and Andrew Robertson could have been lured irrespective of Champions League football and Mohamed Salah, the only high-profile signing of this transfer window, was recruited following overstretched negotiations with his former employers AS Roma. Roma had to sell him for Financial Fair Play concerns and no other outfit was after the Egyptian at that period of time, else this move would have been jeopardized as well. Michael Edwards, club’s new sporting director, is too young to take charge of such a crucial role and FSG should have explored experienced options to replace previous managing director Ian Ayre.
Prolonged negotiations have seen futile conclusions previously and the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa, Alex Teixeira, Dele Alli and Willian were snapped up in no time by others despite the strong interest of the Merseysiders. They have failed to keep hold of their star players like Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and most recently Raheem Sterling and the situation regarding Coutinho and Can has made the Reds look tense and edgy so far this window.
Injuries have been a major stumbling block under Jurgen Klopp due to his intense training methods and the likes of Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson suffered time and again during past couple of years. Injury-riddled Daniel Sturridge’s appearances have been further cut short since Klopp’s arrival and the German tactician thus requires proper depth in his squad to cope up with injury concerns. Players returning from long term injuries were being termed as ‘like new signings’ by esteemed Liverpool Echo which needs to be stopped.
The UCL playoff draw has done no favor either and the Reds are set to encounter mighty Hoffenheim to enter the group stages of the prestigious European competition. The Reds had a set of tough knockout ties in 2015-16 Europa League campaign, Klopp’s first season in English football and despite defeating Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal, they failed to skip the final hurdle and was defeated by Sevilla in the tournament final. Klopp has taken the Reds closer to a title and the supporters must believe on their gaffer who desperately needs some ‘title luck’ this season.
