Liverpool may have found something of a workable solution to their ongoing struggles on the pitch, though it’s abundantly clear that major surgery will be required for a more reliable fix beyond the summer window.
Jamie Carragher suggested on Sky Sports (via GOAL) that Jurgen Klopp had likely told FSG that his side need between £200-250m to rejuvenate a beleagured midfield department.
Assuming that Jude Bellingham will cost in the region of £130m, the Merseysiders still need to find a further £120m or so to ensure that outgoing potential exits in James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are all addressed in the market.
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James Pearce, writing for The Athletic, rightly harked back to the 2017/18 season to point out the pivotal £142m injection we benefitted from thanks to the sale of Philippe Coutinho – a level of investment we simply won’t receive for the players we’re prepared to wave goodbye to over the course of the next two windows.
That leaves FSG with one of three options; selling the club in full; accepting a partial investment opportunity; or pumping money into the club coffers with their own cash.
Accounting for any potential rise in Bellingham’s value, not to mention the asking prices of or two further midfielders we should realistically be looking to add to the squad, and it’s not entirely inconceivable that a further £120m – ideally a figure as close to the game-changing £142m previously received as possible – may be required to ensure that Klopp has a fully functional squad going into the 2023/24 campaign.
That’s a tough ask without the financial benefits of Champions League football – even more so if Fenway stick rigidly to a policy of sustainability at a time where the need for investment is irrefutable and the potential lack of it negligent.