Much has been made of our underwhelming crop of summer signings this season, with Mario Balotelli, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana arguably those to come under the heaviest criticism.
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However, is it fair to brandish such players as failures after just a handful of bad performances? The trio have made just 48 Premier League starts between them this season. And to put that in context – Jordan Henderson, Martin Skrtel and Philippe Coutinho have made 89 between them.
All of our summer signings have enjoyed fine careers prior to joining Liverpool, that’s why Rodgers bought them. But sometimes these things don’t work out. In the list below, we count down ten signings who we never got to see the best of at Anfield…
10) Jari Litmanen
He came to Liverpool less than two years after scoring 91 goals in 159 league games for Ajax. He managed just four in his one full season at Barcelona and was hoping to kick-start his career on Merseyside. Unfortunately, he managed just nine goals before returning to Holland, but he’ll be remembered fondly nonetheless.
9) Brad Friedel
A missed opportunity for the Reds. We never gave the American a fair chance at Anfield, restricting him to just 25 top flight appearances. Since leaving us in 2000, he’s carved out a highly impressive Premier League career, including spells with Blackburn, Aston Villa and Tottenham.
8) Fabio Aurelio
His time at Liverpool was hugely restricted by injuries, with the Brazilian making just 87 Premier League appearances in six years. However, in that time he showed glimpses of the quality that could have been. Everyone will fondly remember his goal against Manchester United in 2009.
7) Djibril Cisse
Another player whose time at the club was beset with injuries. The Frenchman scored 13 goals in 49 league appearances for us, ending his second and final full season with us with 19 in all competitions. He’s never truly been able to recreate that early form he shown in France, with the leg break playing a major role in that. He notched in the FA Cup final though, and scored his penalty in the Champions League final too.
6) Xabi Alonso
What?! A surprise inclusion we know but hear us out. Alonso had many excellent moments in a Liverpool shirt but only since his move to Real Madrid and later Bayern Munich has he truly become known as world-class. There are various factors that affected that – not least the quality of players around him – but Alonso has played his best football away from Anfield.
5) Robbie Keane
Keane has scored goals almost everywhere he’s been in his career. He scored over 100 of them for Tottenham Hotspur and has more recently been scoring for fun in the MLS. He never got going on Merseyside, lasting less than six months and scoring just five league goals in 19 games.
4) Stewart Downing
The England international has been the butt of his fair share of cruel jokes in recent years. However, the truth is that he could have easily been a success at Liverpool. He’s done brilliantly for Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and now West Ham United, proving that his time at Anfield was the blip rather than the other way around. Arguably not top, top quality though, despite the amount of caps he’s racked up.
3) Harry Kewell
Managed 93 Premier League appearances and 12 goals during five years on Merseyside. He was never able to recreate the form he showed early on in his career with Leeds United, again mainly due to a succession of injuries. However, he’s only recently hung his boots up after finishing his career in his native Australia.
2) Fernando Morientes
One of the best Spanish strikers of his generation was unfortunately slightly past his peak by the time he got to Liverpool. After 72 league goals in eight years at Real Madrid expectations were high when Rafael Benitez brought him to Anfield. Unfortunately, he managed just 12 goals in 18 months with the club.
1) Alberto Aquilani
The £20m-man who was meant to replace Alonso. He managed just 18 league games for the Reds, spending time on loan with Juventus and AC Milan before eventually returning to Italy in a permanent deal three years on from his arrival. He was bought injured and never truly recovered from that slow start.
