The transfer window has ‘slammed’ shut – but in reality – Liverpool’s summer in the market in terms of additions was done with over a month ago.
Christian Benteke signed on July 22, and we’ve been focussed on shipping out the deadwood since.
But what do our eight signings, nine departures and countless sanctioned loan deals suggest about the club’s policies and plans going forward?
Here’s five ideas.
Dejan Lovren’s getting another chance…
The club have given up on Mario Balotelli, sending him back to Italy while even paying some of his wages, and no longer think Lazar Markovic can contribute yet either, loaning the £20m Serb to Turkey.
But fellow £20m signing Dejan Lovren is getting another chance.
The club ignored the chance to sign a new centre-back all summer despite the Croat’s shocking debut campaign, and Brendan Rodgers started him during the first four games of the season, leaving France international and the defender backed far more heavily by supporters Mamadou Sakho, on the bench.
Lovren’s error versus West Ham shows he’s by no means entirely sorted out his defensive problems – and the decision to stick with him will be a defining one if he continues to mess up.
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The club is already admitting its failings of summer 2014…
By loaning out Balotelli (£16m) and Markovic (£20m), the club is essentially accepting that it wasted £36m last year.
The marquee purchase of Roberto Firmino perhaps suggests that we’ve recognised the £25m spent on Adam Lallana, another attacking midfielder, was poorly invested as well.
What’s more, they sold Rickie Lambert following one dismal season at the club, and neither Alberto Moreno (£12m) or Divock Origi (£10m) can get in the side right now. In fact, of the £117m soent on new talent, only Lovren and Emre Can are being used regularly, and only the Croat as a first-choice starter (for now).
While it’s at least promising that the management and club are recognising transfer failings and not sticking with them to make a point, it does remind us of just how appallingly we invested last summer.
A policy of buying young talent and loaning it out, a la Chelsea, is taking shape…
Our global network of scouts have clearly been working tirelessly to recruit the world’s finest teenage talent.
This summer, Bobby Adekanye signed from Barcelona, Brooks Lennon from America, Allan from Internacional in Brazil and Taiwo Awoniyi from a Nigerian academy.
Whether any of these will progress and maximise their talent is not yet known, but their arrivals and the loaning out of the likes of Sheyi Ojo, Harry Wilson, Sergi Canos, Jordan Williams, Danny Ward and Lloyd Jones, to name but a few – shows a clear policy – perhaps influenced by Jordon Ibe’s success and enormous improvement at Derby County last season.
It’s a strategy Chelsea are heavily invested in – even for reasons of potential future transfer fees received – and have a farcical 31 players currently out on loan.
Talented, largely unheard of players are being acquired, settled in to life on Merseyside, before being sent away on loan to hone their skills and test their mettle.
Hopefully it’ll bear fruit.
We’re aiming to play a more varied, direct style of football this term…
Christian Benteke’s signing proves more than anything that our days of stubbornly keeping the ball on the ground, trying to cut teams apart centrally, are numbered.
And by the evidence of our first four matches, it’s clear that we’re going to play to the Belgian’s strengths – which is his height, strength and hold-up ability.
We’ve played with a lone centre-forward, and been happy to vary our supply line to him – much more so than in previous seasons.
The fact we targeted Benteke so strongly, ahead of the likes of Memphis Depay, via the Express, (a quicker, more skilful player) proves this was obviously the club’s plan to fire us back into the top four following last season’s humiliation.
Liverpool are now prepared to spend way above our estimation for players we seriously want…
If the Benteke deal taught us another thing, it was that the club has also changed its policy on the amount we’ll spend on certain players.
We’ve previously been pretty stubborn on sticking to our valuations for new signings – which is a good way of keeping prices reasonable – but our rivals have consistently showed strength in the market by splashing exaggerated cash on targets to get the deal quickly done.
We didn’t want to spend anywhere near £32.5m on the Belgian, and told Aston Villa halfway though July that we’d not be activating his release clause (via BBC Sport). But the Villans remained strong, and categorically told us they wouldn’t be selling unless they were forced to.
As a result, just ten days later on July 24, Benteke arrived at Anfield as our second most expensive ever signing, with release clause met.
In many ways it shows we want to compete with the big boys in the transfer window, although it does set a potential dangerous precedent for future dealings.
