When Liverpool last lost a Champions League final, to Real Madrid back in 2018, their response once the transfer window re-opened was emphatic. In came Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri in an £173.25m spending spree - the most costly in the Reds’ history.
FSG’s investment in Jurgen Klopp’s squad was immediately rewarded as they would finish 2018/19 as European champions, having fallen just a point short to Manchester City in the Premier League title race. Give it another year and they would go better on that score, too.
Four years on and Liverpool will be hopeful for similar successes in the season ahead after their latest European Cup final loss to the La Liga giants. And while they haven’t parted with such an extravagant fee this summer, the Reds have parted with up to £99.2m to strengthen their ranks with the signings of Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay.
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Whether such investment can deliver the English and/or European titles back to Anfield come May 2023, only time will tell. But the fact that this has been Liverpool's response this summer then sheds new light on their transfer activity the last time they narrowly missed out on the Premier League title back in 2019.
That summer, the Reds spent just an initial £2.8m to add teenagers Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg to their ranks from Fulham and PEC Zwolle respectively, worth up to £8.7m with add-ons, while also bringing in goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan on free transfers. From that quartet, an injury to Alisson saw Adrian make 11 Premier League appearances, while Elliott would make two top-flight substitute appearances. As a result, the LIverpool's summer 2019 recruits ultimately made a minimal impact as Klopp’s side ended the club’s 30-year drought to be crowned champions.
Of course, such a decision was very much deliberate. Having seen his side finish 2018/19 by winning the Champions League, the German was adamant his squad deserved another year together.
"There was never the intention to spend again because of the team we had last year, which is a wonderful age group,” he told reporters in August 2019. "It’s only in England where you come up with 'now bring in more quality and new faces' and all that stuff at the end of a season.
"Divock Origi has a new contract and all the others have stayed. That is transfer business. I know people smile and even laugh about it, that’s just how it is. But keeping a team like this together is not easy. Half the world would like to have these guys. And they (other clubs) don’t throw nuts - they have money as well! It’s like this.
"We wanted to keep that team together and it means consolidation, pay the bills, play football, go for everything then after the season we can have a look what happened. But this team deserves another year together - that’s how it is. So absolutely it’s a bonus just keeping these guys together for another year."
Klopp’s faith amid minor incomings would ultimately be more than justified, with his team winning the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and European Super Cup. Meanwhile, this ‘wonderful age group’ he lauded would later add FA Cup and League Cup wins to their collection to ensure they have won every major honour going.
But now their story is at an end, with Sadio Mane and Origi the latest players to follow Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Gini Wijnaldum out of the exit door as Klopp’s first great Liverpool side continues to be broken up. Now starting a new chapter, it’s why the Reds are revamping their squad as they look to soft-launch their next generation in line with their ‘retain and refresh’ strategy.
As a result, they’ve had to move in the transfer market in 2022 to refresh their attack, in the face of ageing stars and expiring contracts, with Luis Diaz arriving in January before Nunez and Carvalho this summer. Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah agreed a new three-year contract as Liverpool compensated for the expected exits of Mane, Origi and Takumi Minamino.
With this not an overnight project, the Reds’ midfield is next on sporting director Julian Ward’s ‘to-do’ list with the club planning to strengthen their engine room in the summer of 2023. Yet, such work began as far back as the summer of 2019 when Liverpool signed Elliott from Fulham.
While he might have featured minimally in his first season at Anfield, he wowed in pre-season last year, following his return from a successful loan spell with Blackburn Rovers, and had forced his way into Klopp’s starting XI before an untimely dislocated ankle injury. Featuring sporadically following his return in February, he already looks set to pick up where he left off in the coming months if his latest summer showings are anything to go by.
But while Elliott looks set to be a key player for Liverpool this season, the Reds could be playing an even longer-term game when it comes to the midfielder’s fellow summer 2019 arrival, Van den Berg.
The young Dutchman made four appearances during his first season at Anfield but only two came under Klopp, as he made his debut as a late substitute away at MK Dons, picked up his maiden start in a crazy 5-5 draw with Arsenal in the League Cup, and then started for Neil Critchley-led sides against Aston Villa and Shrewsbury Town in the domestic cups.
A rather raw talent, he left for Preston North End on loan in January 2021 as part of the deal which saw Liverpool sign Ben Davies, with the centre-back never considered as a potential answer to the defensive injury-crisis the Reds suffered that season. However, following 18 months at Deepdale, Van den Berg is looking a very different player.
The 20-year-old made his first appearance under Klopp since before his Lilywhites loan against Crystal Palace on Friday, coming on alongside compatriot Virgil van Dijk, with his performance a far cry from the raw showings that were witnessed upon his first arrival at Anfield.
Composed on the ball as he brought it out of defence and passed it around well, one particular highlight from his showing against the Eagles was the strength and persistence he demonstrated to hold off Odsonne Edouard, despite being down on the floor at one point, to retain possession and pass it to a team-mate. The reports from Deepdale during Van den Berg’s loan spell with Preston had been positive but now Liverpool are seeing his improvement first-hand for themselves.
While Van den Berg is with the Reds first team this pre-season, he is still expected to depart on loan again this summer, with the ECHO understanding that Liverpool have already fielded enquiries from sides in the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga to sign the defender for the season. Yet the Dutchman recently revealed no decision has been made about his short-term future as he looks to make an impact.
"I had a little chat with him (Klopp) about the loan last season," he told liverpoolfc.com earlier this week. "But it’s too early for that. With so many players, everyone is trying their best to impress and of course to get fit.
"For me now at the moment, it’s really to enjoy. It’s a great experience to be here. It’s a great experience to be back training with the guys as well, of course the level is outstanding. I’ve missed it. For me personally now, it’s just try to get back and impress everyone and we’ll see what happens."
With Van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez the four senior centre-backs Klopp has at his disposal, it makes sense for Van den Berg to depart on loan again. In truth, he won’t be the only reserve centre-back expected to depart with Nat Phillips tipped to leave, either permanently or on loan, Davies expected to be sold and Rhys Williams likely to join Billy Koumetio in leaving on loan.
But Van den Berg is offering a reminder of his talents during this pre-season audition that could place him in good stead at Anfield in the future. With Liverpool’s plans to refresh their attack long in the pipeline for 2022, and midfield next on the agenda for 2023, it won’t be long before their defence needs to be tackled too. And in truth, such discussions are already being held.
Van Dijk celebrates his 32nd birthday next month and, while the Dutchman still has a good few years left in him yet as defenders traditionally enjoy a later peak, the Reds are planning for a life beyond him. Such thinking is partly why they signed Konate, now 23, last summer and why they were so keen to reward 25-year-old Gomez with a new five-year contract.
Matip’s long-term future is a little more uncertain, however. The popular Cameroonian will turn 31 in August and is out of contract in 2024, with Liverpool not rushing to sell Phillips as a result this summer, with the 25-year-old considered a possible long-term replacement.
Yet Phillips wants to prove himself in the Premier League and be a regular starter. Even if he left on loan then returned to replace Matip, he’s still unlikely to ever be better than fourth-choice at Anfield.
But that’s where Van den Berg could benefit. Five years younger than Phillips, the 20-year-old boasts more senior experience under his belt than both Williams and Koumetio and, having shone in the Championship, should step up to a top-flight European league this season.
Impress again and he could be well-placed to fill that next Liverpool defensive vacancy in the years ahead, with him not yet at that age where he needs to cut ties at Anfield and definitely depart if Reds first team opportunities are not on offer.
It might take Van den Berg a little bit longer than Elliott to make any real impact on Klopp’s starting XI but Liverpool are starting to feel the benefit from that budget summer transfer window three years ago. Criticised at the time for their minimalistic approach, but the Reds’ long-term approach to improving their squad continues to pay off.
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