James Pearce has pointed to the poor example set by Arsenal in the wake of complaints from Liverpool fans regarding the Reds’ limited transfer activity.
Despite having spent the most in the window, Mikel Arteta’s men currently find themselves at the bottom of the table having lost each of their three opening fixtures.
“This is where we were two years ago,” the journalist wrote for The Athletic.
“Back then, the summer window shut with only Harvey Elliott, Sepp van den Berg, Adrian and Andy Lonergan brought on board. Two teenagers and two back up goalkeepers. Hardly a booming statement of intent from the new European Champions.
“But the naysayers were soon silenced spectacularly. Liverpool took 79 Premier League points out of the first 81 on offer as they blew their domestic rivals away. It took a global pandemic to delay their coronation as title winners for the first time since 1990.
“Of course, given the calibre of the contenders, repeating the trick will be much more difficult this time around but memories of 2019-20 provide a reminder that improvement can come from within.
“Spending large sums of cash doesn’t guarantee anything. Ask last-placed, pointless, goalless Arsenal.”
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Whilst Pearce is entirely correct to suggest that throwing money at a problem isn’t necessarily the best way to solve it, there’s certainly an argument for Liverpool to have thrown their weight about a bit more in the market.
Having agreed over £40m in player sales, there was arguably room for a calibre of signing of the likes of Saul Niguez or Renato Sanches, the former of which Atletico Madrid were happy to see go out on loan.
As we have proven under the expert guidance of Michael Edwards and his recruitment team, it’s all about spending on the right target rather than spending the most.
Thus far, we haven’t been let down by the vast majority of incomings secured during Jurgen Klopp’s reign, though the disappointment of fans is understandable given the quality of player we lost in Gini Wijnaldum earlier in the summer.