Liverpool have unquestionably been one of the English top-flight’s most well-run outfits for the last decade or so, seeing their profits and performance levels soar – particularly following Jurgen Klopp’s arrival.
The German made it clear, however, that the time has come for the club to put its money where its mouth is and ‘throw in proven quality’.
“Always we had to really look at: ‘What did we earn? And are we around that at the end?’ That was always the situation and that was clear,” the 55-year-old told reporters in his pre-match presser, as relayed by The Telegraph.
“We all know the two biggest transfers in the past, Ali and Virgil, we all know how it happened. We got money from Barcelona [for Philippe Coutinho] and spent it wisely, I would say.
“How we did it so far brought us to where we are. Fine. But nothing gets cheaper. There is inflation for all of us, and football as well. Sometimes you have to spend. We are really happy to give all our young kids a chance. I am so positive about the impact they will have in the future, whenever that starts. Like Harvey [Elliott] now, Calvin [Ramsay], Ben Doak, Bobby Clark – really interesting. They all are.
“But around you, from time to time, you have to throw in proven quality. And in an ideal world, they are young as well.”
For the Reds, that picture looks very clear; Jude Bellingham is right at the top of the pile of potential immediate injections of class, though he’ll set them back around £131.7m (assuming the midfielder doesn’t enjoy a stellar World Cup).
READ MORE: What FSG’s backroom shuffle will mean for potential Liverpool sale – The Athletic
Talk around FSG’s potential full sale of Liverpool Football Club is potentially timely in that respect given that we can hardly afford to just stop at the England international (insanely gifted as he is).
We can reasonably expect to lose as many as three midfielders in the summer window when James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contracts expire.
The argument can be made about them merely being ‘bodies’ to fill out the squad but an ageing midfield beyond that should have alarm bells ringing when it comes to the future of that department.
If investment was ever needed in the midfield – it’s now.
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