Liverpool, England’s one of the most successful clubs of all time, are long past their glory days but showing signs of a fight back in recent years since Jurgen Klopp’s appointment as the Reds mentor. They have been nowhere in terms of transfer spending spree if compared to fellow title rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United – but the ex-Borussia Dortmund gaffer has insisted that the club will spend ‘big money’ in summer and compete for the silverware that is yet to be conquered since the league was rechristened as Premier League back in 1992.
Liverpool have paid a world-record transfer fee of £75 mil for a defender when they signed in Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton. However, they lost Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona and are likely to let Emre Can leave for free in the summer after not agreeing to match his contract demands. Although they are still going strong in the prestigious Champions League competition as well as in contention to secure a ‘top four’ finish, the Merseysiders must acquire some renowned names to contest for the title.
Here are three such names Liverpool must explore in the summer transfer window:
Jorginho
Age: 26
Current Club: Napoli
Country: Italy
The Brazil-born Azzurri international was on Liverpool’s radar during his days with Hellas Verona. Jorginho, however, opted to stay in Italy and decided to join Rafael Benitez’s Napoli instead. He soon rose to fame at Naples and became an integral part of their developing squad that has flourished fully under Maurizio Sarri. They are now competing for the Serie A title against giants Juventus and Jorginho is dictating the show from the middle of the park. He is the example of a perfect ‘number 6’ and will be an upgrade to departing Emre Can. He holds strong passing traits, vision, distribution attributes and loves to build the game up from a deeper midfield role. He, alongside RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita, will form one of the most fearsome midfield of Europe if they manage to produce the same like they are currently doing for their respective sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLkDvhV2jNA
Alisson Becker
Age: 25
Current Club: AS Roma
Country: Brazil
Jurgen Klopp seems to have witnessed enough of Simon Mignolet and dropped the inconsistent Belgian to make way for young German custodian Loris Karius between the sticks. Karius has hardly put a foot wrong in recent weeks which has led Liverpool to cool down their interest in Brazilian Alisson Becker. Klopp, being a keen admirer of the AS Roma keeper, is not going to give up that easy if he considers a reinforcement is truly required in goal and won’t be thinking twice to pay an asking fee of as high as £70 mil. Roberto Negrisolo, the ex-Roma goalkeeping coach, has hailed Alisson as ‘The Messi of Goalkeepers’ and it will be interesting to follow how Karius handles the pressure and stakes a claim as a first-team regular for years to come. Else, the Reds will be knocking the door of AS Roma for Alisson Becker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1XxEQOB-OY
Nabil Fekir
Age: 24
Current Club: Olympique Lyonnais
Country: France
The French attacker might prove to be a quality recruit if the Reds want to replace Philippe Coutinho to some extent. He is at his best this season and has done tremendously well in a ‘number 10’ role. The French international has also flourished as a centre-forward as well as in wide attacking roles. He has fancy footwork, strong passing skills, link-up play along with long-shot and set-piece attributes that remind of Coutinho’s excellence at times. Ligue 1, with all due respect, is no match for Premier League’s quality, but the young Frenchman deserves an opportunity to experience English football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RnQrNFldag
