🔴 EOTK INSIDER 🔴: Could Liverpool be set for further incomings? The solutions in the squad... and more! ✍️
Liverpool's business this summer, as far as incomings are concerned, is officially over! Or is it?
The official line coming from the club is thus: Liverpool will not be conducting any further business in the summer transfer window as far as incomings are concerned.
Developing an increasingly efficient recruitment model, the Reds got their additions to the squad tied up early.
Fabio Carvalho was sorted prior to the opening of the window itself, £64m Darwin Núñez came within the opening week (work permit pending), and Calvin Ramsay looks set to be completed this weekend (medical pending).
[Darwin Núñez scored two goals against Jürgen Klopp’s men across two legs of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Benfica]
This is far from being a poor window for Liverpool, particularly given that a longstanding issue in the form of the right-back slot (specifically, cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold) has been resolved courtesy of the acquisition of one of Scotland’s most exciting prodigies.
Julian Ward acted quickly to rectify the departure of one of the world’s most feared attackers in Sadio Mané by turning to Núñez, a raw but decidedly clinical forward with experience in Europe and a penchant for surprising those who gamble on his services.
FIND OUT MORE: What drives Darwin Núñez? What was he like as a young player? All this and more from his former coach, Gabriel González, at Penarol in an exclusive with the Empire of the Kop.
That being said, for many fans, this isn’t quite the perfect window many had hoped it might turn out to be.
The midfield department has rightfully been earmarked by supporters and commentators as a problem area in need of being addressed.
‘Problem area’ is harsh on the face of it, of course, and it should be emphasised that Liverpool’s midfield is only deemed to be in need of some improvement when compared to other areas of the squad. Certainly, a trio often comprised of Thiago Alcântara, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson can hardly be described as disastrous.
The average age of our options in the middle of the park is leaning on the wrong side of 26, a reality that will improve once James Milner’s contract expires next year and depending on how the club handles the futures of the likes of Naby Keïta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
[Naby Keïta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contracts are set to expire next year]
We know at the very least that a quality addition will be the priority of the 2023 summer transfer window, though that will be little in the way of comfort to those who identified the midfield as Liverpool’s weak point last term.
Of course, we’re still yet to know how our promising stars - Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Calvin Ramsay and Curtis Jones - will hack the challenge of first-team football on a regular basis.
Elliott proved to be more than up for the challenge before suffering an unfortunate long-term injury, both Carvalho and Ramsay are unproven quantities as far as the Premier League is concerned and it’s unclear how much in the way of game time Jones will earn in the 2022/23 campaign.
If the opportunity to sign a generational talent like Jude Bellingham does come up next summer (or sooner), it’s difficult to imagine a club like Liverpool not leaping at the opportunity.
Still, a club like Liverpool must also be expected to develop the young talent already at its disposal, and we should discount any one of the four (if not more) breaking into the first-XI on a regular basis this term.
You can catch our reaction to the latest transfer news to have emerged, amongst some of the other top stories knocking about, and more below!
EOTK Insider Opinion: Liverpool may not need to buy Jude Bellingham dependent on how three stars perform next term
[Jürgen Klopp’s gamble with Harvey Elliott instantly paid off last term]
Bold call, we know. At 18 years of age, Jude Bellingham stands out in a way that an extremely small grouping of teenagers across the globe manage to. If the Englishman was to become available this summer, you can bet your life that Jürgen Klopp’s Reds will be thoroughly interested. That being said, after Harvey Elliott blew us all away in the early stages of the 2021/22 campaign, we shouldnt’ be quick to discount the possibility of a youngster or two repeating or bettering that trick.
EOTK Insider Opinion: Farewell to Loris Karius – one of the unluckiest players in Liverpool’s history
With a club icon and world-class attacker in Divock Origi and Sadio Mané respectively departing the club, one could be forgiven for forgetting all about our former German No.1, Loris Karius, whose contract expired. Though we’re more than happy with how things turned out with Brazilian sensation Alisson Becker, the reality is that, at his best, there’s a stellar ‘keeper in Karius who has yet to shake off the confidence blow that was the Kyiv Champions League final defeat.
And last but not least…
#Ep54 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool's transfer window, Bellingham to Liverpool?... & more!
A phenonemal first summer window for Julian Ward? Or falling short of hitting the minimum? The big task was replacing Sadio Mané, which our new sporting director has arguably exceeded at by signing Darwin Núñez. That being said, fans may be forced to wait a year for a new midfielder, which may create further issues down the line…
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