Liverpool’s summer signings Thiago, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas have all endured difficult debut seasons which have in many ways been defined by injury.
The marquee arrival, Thiago, played two games and then was horribly scythed down by Richarlison in the Merseyside Derby, which kept him out until January – which coincided with Liverpool’s horrible run of form.
Tsimikas has barely had a kick, in fairness, and the idea that he’d be able to take the load off Andy Robertson has so far not been evidenced.
Jota has done the best and scored nine goals early on, but is approaching three months on the sidelines after his injury in a Champions League dead rubber.
Jurgen Klopp has huge sympathy for all three – and has also explained how the realities of COVID and social distancing rules have made it really hard to settle new people into the dressing room and culture.
“I just walked here on foot, from my coaching office,” the Red boss said to UEFA.tv. “It’s freezing cold in our building because the doors are open everywhere.
“It’s a big change, I would say. I have a jacket on currently, but inside I like to have it a bit warmer. But that’s only one part.
“What I find extremely difficult… I don’t know how many new signings you have, but we had three (in the summer).
“It is very difficult to find your place in the team. You can’t spend much time together in the dressing room, nor in the restaurant. You can’t meet privately. It’s insane.”
This is something we definitely feel affected Taki Minamino upon his arrival from Rb Salzburg last January.
So much so, he was shipped off two weeks back to Southampton, where he’s at least getting games on the south coast.
There may be a situation where someone like Tsimikas could depart Liverpool having never played in front of our supporters.
Let’s hope fans are back by the start of next season – as it’s just gone on too long.