FSG have proven in the past with their purchases of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk that they’re willing to spend on the big players when absolutely necessary.
According to Dave Maddock, this might act as evidence for a potential Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe swoop in the summer – although this ignores the fact those signings only came after Liverpool had banked £142m for selling Coutinho…
As a result, we only think a £100m+ signing will occur this summer if firstly we qualify for the Champions League, and secondly, we offload one of the current front-three.
There’s also the small possibility of investment into the club from a third party who could provide an injection of transfer revenue – with FSG only ever spending the club’s money and not their own.
“Liverpool’s transfer budget is generally dictated by Champions League qualification but, even with that looking increasingly unlikely, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a decent amount of investment this summer,” Maddock told Anfield Watch. “It’s too often forgotten that Liverpool actually did some decent business in signing Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota last time, largely because both players have been unable to make the sustained impact it was hoped they could provide due to injuries. They just need to keep building on that to ensure that Klopp can oversee a smooth transition to a new-look team rather than finding himself needing to rebuild the squad completely in a year or two’s time.
“As for the two strikers mentioned, clubs with deeper pockets are sure to be chasing both, but Liverpool still remain an attractive prospect with Klopp at the helm. It’s worth mentioning, too, that FSG have shown in the past with Alisson and Van Dijk that they aren’t afraid to spend big if they believe there is value in it and, with Mbappe and Haaland, you’d be signing a world-class centre-forward for the next 10 years – that’s value as far as I’m concerned!
“While he isn’t finished yet, Firmino is clearly on a slight downward trajectory, and directly replacing such a unique player would be extremely difficult. So, if Klopp’s next move is to go for an out-and-out No.9, then it would be remiss of Liverpool not to put themselves in the mix. Getting a deal over the line is a different thing, though, and I’d be wary of anyone who can offer certainty over where either player will end up.”
Haaland and Mbappe are obviously dream candidates, but right now, we’d suggest they’re very, very unlikely to sign.
Perhaps if LFC won the Champions League, that might change, but we can barely win a corner at the moment and are not even confident of progression against Rb Leipzig tomorrow, despite a 2-0 lead.