Danny Murphy is of the opinion that Liverpool could be set to welcome roughly five or six players into the squad this summer with as many stars heading in the opposite direction as part of a major overhaul.
The pundit rightly pointed out the need for the Reds to qualify for the Champions League next term – citing the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s men have already banked in the region of £140m from reaching the final in Paris and the knockout stages in 2022/23 – to fund such a swathe of incomings.
“The size of that Real defeat was another example of why it will be time for a big reset at Liverpool this summer, which I think could see as many as five or six players leave and the same number signed in their place,” the former Red wrote for BBC Sport.
“Whoever they try to bring in, having Champions League football is a great carrot to be able to offer and of course the finances that come with qualification would be crucial for any squad rebuild as well.
“Liverpool made almost £100m by reaching the Champions League final last season and just by reaching the knockout stages this time they have already banked around £40m.
“That money is extremely important to them and being in the Europa League does not bring anything like the same reward.”
The Merseysiders are already expected to see a number of prominent names depart on frees at the end of the campaign, with the likes of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita all on expiring contracts.
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That alone leaves us in something of a difficult position given we’ve historically utilised player sales to facilitate our incomings.
With all the new money that has entered the Premier League, however, sustainability is no longer the name of the game for Liverpool – particularly not when facing the squad-wide concerns that have massively impacted our form this season.
The midfield, in particular, is in desperate need of both an injection of quality and quantity (a task made partly easier by the emergence of Stefan Bajcetic).
Add on top question marks around the futures of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez AND the confirmed exit of stalwart Bobby Firmino this summer and it’s looking like we’ll indeed have a lot of work to do this summer.
Five or six new incomings seems about right, though it remains to be seen how deep FSG will dig into their pockets to get one of their prize assets back on track.