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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Jonathan Wilson

After hundreds of millions spent on players, what was Liverpool’s plan?

Liverpool have suffered a disappointing start to the season.
Liverpool have suffered a disappointing start to the season. Composite: Guardian Pictures; Xinhua/Shutterstock; Shutterstock; Reuters

What was it supposed to look like? Amid all the talk around Liverpool and their disappointing form at the start of this season, that is perhaps the hardest question of all to answer. What were they trying to do? If it had worked, how would this team have played?

The champions spent £424m (about $550m) on new signings in the summer, but if all had gone well, they would have spent an additional £40m ($53m) to land the Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi. The England international would, at the very least, have given an extra option at the back (the injury to Giovanni Leoni has diminished their defensive options further), allowing Arne Slot to rest Ibrahima Konaté, whose poor form continued in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. An early City penalty was a direct result of Konaté getting in Conor Bradley’s way as Jérémy Doku cut in from the left.

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