To be fair, we nearly always get these reports of transfer war-chests at the beginning of every summer – which have been fed to Liverpool’s respected correspondents by the club.
Last summer, the Echo boldly suggested that £200m would be made available, and after spending a considerable amount less than that, on transfer deadline day 2017, Paul Joyce speculated in the Times that Jurgen Klopp had £175m to splash in 24 hours!
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James Pearce has his say on Nabil Fekir deal – and he hasn’t ruled it out…
In reality, Liverpool spent £80m-odd last summer [Transfermarkt] although did spend almost that entire sum on Virgil van Dijk in January and secured a future deal for Naby Keita as well…
Today, James Pearce has reported that Klopp will again be armed with a financial war-chest ahead of 2018/19.
“With the Coutinho money unspent and on the back of a Champions League run which has generated in excess of £70million, the stage is set for another big investment in Klopp’s squad this summer,” he began.
“Fenway Sports Group know that greater depth is required to ensure that Liverpool maintain a challenge both at home and abroad.
“If any offers for Salah do arrive this summer, they will be instantly dismissed. This is a £200million talent who is driving the Reds forward. Liverpool intend to add more quality around him, not entertain replacing him.”
As mentioned, we’ve heard all this before, but last summer, we were a little unlucky in that Southampton reporting us to the Premier League meant we had to wait on our no.1 target van Dijk, and Rb’s refusal to sell Keita meant the same.
If we’d had secured the pair in 2017, our spending would have been near £200m for the window.
This time around, we hope there’s less bumps in the road. Targets will have already been drawn up by Klopp and his team, but securing them is another matter entirely.
What’s essential is that we’ll be able to offer Champions League football, something we can confirm today v Brighton at Anfield.