Liverpool benefitting from slice of luck in 'strange' summer transfer market

There were three main priorities as Liverpool sought to repair the damage of a season in which they finished eight points behind Sunday’s opponents Manchester United; midfield, midfield and midfield.

The trend after a period of transition, especially one which is thus far yielding positive results, is to hail the meticulous forward planning and canny negotiating as fresh faces replace ageing legends.

Jurgen Klopp offered a more candid assessment of how his central reservation was refurbished over the summer.

“My God we were lucky,” he exclaimed to the first visitors to the new Anfield Road stand, the ears of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia presumably burning.

“In the summer we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market,” Klopp chuckled to 10,000 fans attending the stadium test event ahead of the partial opening Sunday.

“We didn’t know at that moment. It didn’t feel like it at that moment. But I am really happy it turned out like that. We had Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] and Dom [Szoboszlai]. Then we realised we had a chance for Ryan [Gravenberch]. And then some defensive midfielders said they did not want to join Liverpool…”

Vigour has returned to Liverpool midfield

Klopp’s frankness is a useful reminder that for all science surrounding transfers, occasionally some old-fashioned good fortune helps, too.

In an alternative universe, Liverpool might have been wasting medical fees on Lavia and Mason Mount for the past four months, or be wondering whether the £115 million for Caicedo was a wise purchase or a calamitous panic buy.

Instead, despite a few quiet games recently, Szoboszlai is one of the best signings of 2023, no ceiling has been put on the potential of Ryan Gravenberch, while Mac Allister – absent with injury this weekend – will surely be a mainstay of the Liverpool midfield for the next five years, at least. All have added the energy and vigour so lacking 12 months ago. According to the Premier League’s statistics, as a duo Szoboszlai and Mac Allister are averaging significantly more recoveries and duel successes per game than the Jordan Henderson/ Fabinho partnership of 2022/23.

Liverpool knew a midfield renovation was imminent 18 months ago. In retrospect, there is acknowledgment that too few at Anfield foresaw how soon Henderson and Fabinho would tank.

Klopp realised he had made a mistake failing to reinforce his midfield as early as September 7, 2022 when a Champions League defeat to Napoli prompted his first public announcement about needing a “new Liverpool”. His senior midfielders no longer had the capacity to press high and cover counter-attacks. Allied to the dwindling influence of Roberto Firmino and sale of Sadio Mane, attackers who defended from the front, the Klopp blueprint lacked the personnel to execute it.

Despite Klopp’s obvious concerns, there was no prospect of replacing an entire midfield in mid-season.

Rather than sign a midfielder last January, Klopp recruited Cody Gakpo and turned him into a counter-pressing false nine for the last four months of last season, a short-term correction for what the experienced midfielders could no longer do.

At the top of the organisation, Fenway Sports Group were as aware as Klopp that the tried and trusted trio of Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner, loved as they were, could no longer deliver at the highest level and at least three new central midfielders would be signed. To the consternation of those dreaming of Jude Bellingham in Steven Gerrard’s old No 8 jersey, that ruled out the possibility of a £115 million deal and £300k a week contract for the England superstar.

Once that decision was taken, Mac Allister was lined up to be the first summer deal and discussions turned towards another attacking midfielder. The prospect of protracted negotiation with Chelsea (and some eye-watering wage demands) led Liverpool away from Mount and towards Szoboszlai and his £60 million exit clause at RB Leipzig, which would be triggered the following June.

Even then, Liverpool had to work out what to do with Henderson and Fabinho given they would no longer be first picks in 2023-24 and there was no guarantee they would be leaving the club given their contract status.

Milner was also hoping for an extension heading into the final months of his deal, and had powerful allies in his pursuit of it. Klopp would have loved his vice-captain to have another year. The club said no at a point when they still believed Henderson and Fabinho would be on the payroll.

Saudi riches helped out

Then the Saudi Pro League and their clubs’ penchant for collecting Liverpool veterans provided a useful solution.

Henderson went through the same experience as his predecessor as captain, Gerrard, when he left for LA Galaxy in 2015. He hoped that when he informed the club of an extraordinary deal from overseas it would lead to reassurance that his services were still required at Anfield.

Instead, sentiment gave way to cold professionalism. Henderson was effectively congratulated on receiving such lavish terms leaving him in no doubt the door was open for an exit.

Fabinho had no such wish to hang around once the Saudis offered him a lucrative pay rise. Liverpool cashed in to the tune of £40 million for someone who might easily have been a high-earning reserve had he wished to see out his contract.

Extra transfer funds and shedding of significant salaries was unexpected and played a part in the surprising and slightly chaotic attempts to lure Caicedo from Brighton and Lavia from Southampton before Klopp turned to Wataru Endo just before the August transfer deadline. The contrast between the well-oiled transfer machine in the latter years of ex-sporting director Michael Edwards was stark, but Liverpool felt the perception of turbulence was a reflection to rapidly changing circumstances given the Saudi moves. Had there been an anticipation Henderson and Fabinho were leaving for a combined £52 million, deals could have been in place sooner and the club legends would have received the same grand farewell afforded Milner last May.

The fondness in which Klopp talks about Milner and Henderson demonstrates how much their influence is missed, and their successors have far to go to repeat their success. It is also worth noting that Henderson and Fabinho formed two-thirds of the midfield which defeated United 7-0 last March. There may only be three changes in Klopp’s XI on Sunday and one of those is because Andy Robertson is injured.

Although four new midfielders are helping to shape an Anfield resurgence, the early success still owes plenty to the return to form of Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah’s enduring finishing masterclasses, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s reinvented role, and more capable influencers from the substitutes bench.

It all means the speed of Liverpool’s improvement is as surprising as the haste of last season’s decline, some at Anfield describing the previous campaign as ‘a blur’.

The question of how sustainable their current position at the top of the Premier League must still be answered, though. In terms of results, the work in progress could not have gone much better.