Injuries have not been kind to Liverpool throughout pre-season, resulting in the Reds fielding eight teenagers in their final pre-season friendly against Strasbourg on Sunday.
Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher and Calvin Ramsay have missed the entirety of the Reds’ pre-season preparations after suffering injuries during the June international break and both remain sidelined ahead of Liverpool ’s Premier League opener away at Fulham on Saturday. The Portugal international suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury following his return to training last month, while Jurgen Klopp has confirmed the Irishman won’t return until the end of August and the Scotland Under-21s international is also yet to return to training.
Meanwhile, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alisson Becker, Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and Ibrahima Konate all suffered injuries during pre-season, while Naby Keita was struck down by illness last week. Klopp has already confirmed Alisson will be fit to play against the Cottagers, but it remains to be seen how many of his other absentees are even close to a return.
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At the very least, Oxlade-Chamberlain is a confirmed long-term absentee, along with Jota, with his hamstring injury suffered against Crystal Palace set to rule him out for two to three months. Klopp will offer a further injury update on the likes of Ramsay, Jones, Tsimikas and Konate at his pre-match press conference later this week, but it would be a surprise to see the full quartet available to play at Craven Cottage.
Considering Liverpool fans wanted their side to sign a new midfielder this summer anyway, to add to the treble arrival of Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Ramsay, supporters will perhaps understandably be a little anxious about the Reds’ squad depth heading into the new season in the face of such injuries.
Klopp’s ranks avoided such setbacks for the majority of the second half of last season as they challenged for an unprecedented quadruple. Yet if they find their numbers limited, it would certainly be harder to even attempt something similar in the campaign ahead.
Having sold Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino this summer, along with seeing Divock Origi depart at the end of his contract, Klopp boasts the same number of senior players (25) as he could pick between during the second half of last season, providing everyone stays fit. Should Nat Phillips and Sepp van den Berg not depart again following their return from loan, his squad will be even bigger.
Yet there could still be room for further recruitment at Anfield, with Liverpool currently only filling 22 places in their would-be 25-man Premier League squad. As a result, given the attacking departures and injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jota, a further offensive recruit could make sense.
Klopp had seven out and out attacking options to choose between as the Reds challenged for a quadruple last season, but that number is down to six this year following this summer’s transfer activity. Yet Carvalho is just as likely to be played in midfield this year as he is in the German’s front three, having already caught the eye as a number eight and with Luis Diaz, Jota, Roberto Firmino and Nunez ahead of him in the pecking order both on the left and through the middle.
Consequently, the Portuguese could essentially be seen as a replacement for the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain due to such versatility, with the 19-year-old also eligible for homegrown status. Meanwhile, while supporters might want to see Klopp sign a new midfielder, he does have nine senior options to call upon in the engine room following Carvalho’s arrival.
Admittedly that might not be the case in 12 months’ time, with James Milner, who will be 37, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain all currently scheduled to be out of contract, and Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara one year further into the wrong side of 30. But that’s why Liverpool’s current stance is to delay signing a new midfielder until 2023, with speculation regarding a potential move for Jude Bellingham growing as a result.
So if we consider the Reds’ midfield options well-stocked, for now at least, with Carvalho only bolstering numbers, is Klopp, under the radar, actually in need of a new forward? Jota’s injury does leave Liverpool’s options stretched, while Firmino’s future remains uncertain ahead of his contract expiring next summer.
Sure, he still has Mohamed Salah, Nunez and Diaz alongside the Portuguese and Brazilian, while Elliott and Carvalho offer further back-up options. But considering Klopp had seven senior internationals to pick between last year as the Reds challenged on all four fronts, the exits of Mane, Origi and Minamino have left him short in comparison.
Liverpool are admittedly unlikely to strengthen further despite their injury setbacks, with club sources insisting their incoming business is done for the summer. Yet if that stance changed, one former Reds attacking target could be about to come available on a free transfer.
Memphis Depay joined Barcelona on a free transfer from Lyon last summer, but the Catalans’ financial woes have led to them looking to offload the Netherlands international midway through his two-year deal. Having initially wanted €20m for the forward’s services, the La Liga outfit are now reportedly in negotiations with his lawyer to cancel his contract and make the 28-year-old a free agent.
Depay actually impressed for Barcelona last year, registering 13 goals from 38 appearances. But with the Catalans signing Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen this summer, and having brought in Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mid-season last year, they need to offload players with the Dutchman a likely casualty, having already fallen down the pecking order as a result of such business.
Depay has loosely been linked with Liverpool repeatedly over the years, despite spending a disappointing 18 months with Manchester United after moving to Old Trafford in a £25m move from PSV Eindhoven in 2015. Yet the Reds held talks with the Dutch giants themselves prior to his move to Old Trafford.
Willing to meet PSV’s £25m asking-price, Liverpool made Depay a contract offer, though then-boss Brendan Rodgers was evasive when speaking about the club’s interest in April 2015.
“I can’t confirm either way - you know me, in terms of speculation of players,” he said. “The kid is a very talented player, of course. But I wouldn’t like to confirm either way. It’s clear we need the goal threat for next year.
“There’s going to be a whole raft of players that I’m sure will be looked at, then will be up to the club if they’re affordable and if they’re available. We’ve identified that [a striker] as a priority. We’ll have to see availability first, and then take it from there.”
While Rodgers was not forthcoming about his side’s interest, PSV sporting director Marcel Brands confirmed Liverpool were in talks and ahead of United in the race for the then 21-year-old’s signature.
“PSG and Liverpool are indeed a step ahead of Manchester United in the race to sign Memphis,” he revealed in May 2015. “United have only informed us about their interest. The list of interested clubs has grown in recent weeks. But Bayern Munich are not among the teams that want to sign him.
“It’s only logical that there is a lot of movement around Memphis. He is still a young player, but is already hugely efficient. He should be proud of that. There isn’t usually a lot of movement in the transfer market at this stage of the season. It’s an exception that so many clubs have already shown an interest in Memphis. That only illustrates that he’s on the right track.”
Yet less than a week later and Liverpool had missed out on Depay with a £25m move to Manchester United agreed instead. So how did the Reds miss out on the forward, who was keen on a move to the Premier League, when a deal had seemed so close?
The Athletic reported that an injury to Daniel Sturridge ultimately saw Liverpool put the deal on hold as they were forced to switch targets. Despite willing to make Depay one of their highest earners, the Reds asked him to wait to complete a deal as they looked to sign Christian Benteke instead, with Rodgers’ need for a new striker being the move’s undoing.
Confused by Liverpool’s approach, having not been told how long to wait, the forward pulled the plug on the move and ultimately signed for United instead, with the Reds later signing Firmino as an alternative. Considering the Brazilian’s success at Anfield, it’s hardly a decision club bosses will regret in hindsight.
Ironically Firmino ended up replacing Benteke as the Reds’ main striker following the arrival of Klopp in October 2015, and, with 98 goals from 328 appearances to date, has won every major honour going with Liverpool. Yet there has always remained an attraction to Depay from Kopites as they wondered what could have been.
Having ultimately failed at Manchester United, the Dutchman rebuilt his career in France with Lyon, scoring 76 goals from 178 appearances during four-and-a-half years at the club. Twice boasting over 20-goal seasons, perhaps it was the temptation for Depay to replicate such form at Anfield and rub salt in Red Devils wounds that really appealed to fans.
For much of his time in Ligue 1, he did find himself linked with a move to Liverpool with his close friendship with compatriot Gini Wijnaldum often cited as one possible hint a deal could happen. Indeed, whenever they two were pictured together, Reds fans weren’t too far behind urging Depay to join his international team-mate at Anfield.
Yet with Wijnaldum no longer a Liverpool player, it feels that ship has sailed. And considering the Reds made no move for his services when he was available on a Bosman transfer last year, it seems unlikely they would act differently now should his Barcelona contract be torn up.
But Depay, who has proven himself as a prolific goalscorer in Spain, France and the Netherlands, will only consider a move to a top club should he be forced out of Camp Nou. No doubt hungry to make the Catalans regret such a decision, he would be an attractive option on a free transfer, given he is still only 28 and is capable of playing anywhere in a front three as well as behind a main striker.
Liverpool waved off two such players in Mane and Minamino this summer, with the latter playing a pivotal role in the Reds’ being able to win a domestic cup double. While Klopp will have faith that his current options are enough to challenge for the Premier League or Champions League, an extra proven body certainly wouldn’t hurt.
No strangers to an opportunistic transfer when it stares them in the face, the prospect of Depay on a free transfer would be exactly that. And given Liverpool’s interest back in 2015, he is a player who has been on the radar of the Reds’ recruitment team before.
But despite all that, a move for the former Manchester United man remains unlikely. While he might tick boxes on paper, it would be a surprise if Liverpool moved for him, free transfer or not, with Depay looking set to remain one that got away.
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