As Liverpool found themselves surprisingly linked with former Red Gini Wijnaldum over the weekend, the reaction in the fanbase was understandably mixed.
On one hand, having decided to put plans for a new midfielder on hold until the summer of 2023, a loan move for the Dutchman could seem fairly shrewd as a short-term fix. Yet, on the other, Jurgen Klopp ’s side are very much soft launching the next generation of their side, with Sadio Mane ’s imminent €41m move to Bayern Munich the latest sign of this transition.
As a result, it would make no sense looking back and re-signing Wijnaldum, even on loan. Liverpool currently have eight senior midfielders on their books and this season should see Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones ’ game-time increase. Any move for the Dutchman would only block that possibility.
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Overseeing the duo’s transition from promising youngsters to first team regulars is one of the reasons why Klopp decided to extend his contract until 2026 as the Reds continue to think long-term and look forward.
“What I am really happy about is that we are in the transformation – not a transformation like 'bam' (clicks fingers) – it's more slight,” he told listening journalists when speaking ahead of the Champions League final. “We have another young exciting player coming in with Fab (Carvalho), we have Harvey and Curtis.
“After the last game I had both together and said to them ‘this is only the start’. And they were like ‘yes, with us on the pitch’. It’s really nice. You see them in training and they are flying because of the opportunities. Yes it's not nice that during the season Harvey is not in the squad, it's a crime, but I just couldn't change it this year. So to have these boys around for this transition is important.
“We have a wonderful, wonderful squad but it's natural that a few things will change. Not now, but in the future, and I think then it makes sense that I'm around. It's not now, it's not next year, but it might be in two or three years or whatever, and it really makes sense that the right people are doing that because we all know supporters are loyal - 'How can you do that?' - and there must be some people who make the right decisions.
“Open space for the next generation, while keeping the present generation on the highest possible level, judge it in the right manner, and use the fantastic opportunity we have in the moment.”
Wijnaldum’s exit last summer and Mane’s this year is about opening space for the next generation to ensure Liverpool’s recent success continues beyond Klopp’s first great side. And that is exactly what new sporting director Julian Ward has been tasked with after taking over from Michael Edwards.
His first task has been refreshing the Reds’ forward line, with Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah now all on the wrong side of 30 and out of contract in 2023. Such a challenge has been met face on with Luis Diaz opportunistically signed a window earlier than planned back in January before Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho were recruited this summer.
Along with that attacking duo, Calvin Ramsay has also been signed this summer with Liverpool bosses viewing the 18-year-old as a real prospect who can develop and play exactly as Klopp and assistant manager Pep Lijnders want their full-backs to play. And the right-back is expected to conclude the Reds’ incoming summer business with a revamp of the midfielder now the priority for summer 2023.
As a result, any speculation linking Wijnaldum with an Anfield return is futile with club insiders insisting business is done and dismissing any further links as nonsense. In Liverpool’s trio of signings, club bosses feel they have signed exactly what they needed and wanted this summer, with further departures unlikely to change such a stance.
Next on Ward’s to-do list this summer will be getting the club’s outgoings right. While the club’s financial situation means they can hypothetically keep the squad as it is for the upcoming campaign, the likes of Takumi Minamino and Neco Williams are tipped to follow Mane out the exit door. Nat Phillips could also be sold depending on the outcome of talks with other players in Klopp’s squad regarding their own future plans.
Once major outgoings are resolved, Reds bosses will switch attention to contract renewals after the first team squad reports back for pre-season training on July 4th.
Joe Gomez and Naby Keita are players Liverpool would like to see agree new contracts, with the Reds also looking to extend with other players without long-term deals who could still have long-term futures at Anfield. However, if resolutions cannot be found after initial discussions and the likes of the England international suggest they want to move on, the club will stick to their trusted model of refreshing and renewing their squad.
Meanwhile, Salah is the exception to that model with club bosses still holding out hope they can agree an extension with the Egyptian though they are well-aware that time is running out.
Should Liverpool fail to agree an extension with Salah, having also sold Mane, criticism of the Reds’ business model will be inevitable. As is also the case if they indeed don’t sign a new midfielder this summer.
But Liverpool are taking a very calculated approach. No side can completely overhaul in one summer and still expect to be successful with the Reds’ transition instead a gradual one.
First came rejuvenating the front line in 2022, next will come the midfield in 2023. On paper, club bosses have done exactly that by bringing in Nunez, Diaz and Carvalho, and will move again if Salah does end up moving on. The success of such transactions will now be decided on the pitch.
As for midfield, it’s obvious that changes are needed in the future with Klopp’s current options ageing and Liverpool lacking the required numbers to fill their homegrown quotas. But while James Milner will be 37 when his contract expires next summer, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are also both the wrong side of 30 and Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also both out of contract in 2023, with Fabinho, Elliott and Jones also signed up, the Reds have enough at their disposal to navigate the 2022/23 season. Such options saw them challenge for an unprecedented quadruple after all.
Ward and the club’s football operations team have a clear vision to work towards as they wait to see if success can continue with the Reds’ next generation. It is Edwards’ legacy, if you will. And as Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold bemoans the Red Devils “f*****g burning through cash”, having little to show for a £1bn outlay, supporters don’t have too far to look to see what happens when a side doesn’t have such a clear strategy in place.
Whether supporters and outsiders agree with decisions at Anfield or not, the results have spoken for themselves in recent years with Liverpool bosses well aware that is ultimately what they will continue to be judged on. While they are taking an inevitable a step into the unknown with this next generation of Reds, their strategy remains very logical with there a method in the madness, so to speak.
