Liverpool have had some stinkers of transfer windows since the current system was first introduced back in 2002/03.
Admittedly, they got off to a pretty woeful start with that first summer seeing them sign El Hadji-Diouf, Bruno Cheyrou, Salif Diao, Patrice Luzi and Alou Diarra for just short of £20m as Gerard Houllier ’s side started the campaign as Premier League title contenders but ended up failing to even qualify for the Champions League. Still, at least supporter backlash played a part in them pulling the plug on a £9m deal to sign controversial midfielder Lee Bowyer.
In hindsight, Rafa Benitez ’s final two summer windows have not aged well. Spending roughly £40m in each window, the Reds signed Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena, Diego Cavalieri, David N'Gog, Robbie Keane, Peter Gulacsi and Albert Riera in the summer of 2008 and Alberto Aquilani, Glen Johnson and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, while losing the services of Xabi Alonso, 12 months later.
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Yet his hands were admittedly tied by owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet, with such incomings immediately overshadowed by the summer transfer window of 2010/11. Overseen by Roy Hodgson, it's still enough to make Kopites wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night as they recall Javier Mascherano going on strike to force through a move to Barcelona and the combined £25m arrivals of Jonjo Shelvey, Milan Jovanovic, Danny Wilson, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky.
Looking back, the 2011/12 summer window was mixed as Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Doni, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique, Sebastian Coates and Craig Bellamy all arrived for a combined £60m, though the success and longevity of the Liverpool captain helps it avoid any stern scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers ’ summer 2012/13 and 2013/14 offerings of Fabio Borini, Joe Allen and Oussama Assaidi for a combined £27.5m plus Nuri Sahin on loan, and the £48m arrivals of Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet, Kolo Toure, Tiago Ilori and Mamadou Sako, alongside the loan arrivals of Aly Cissokho and Victor Moses, have also not aged well.
Yet Rodgers’ worst window, and arguably the Reds’ too truth be told, was to come in the summer of 2014/15 as Liverpool, having sold the wantaway Luis Suarez to Barcelona for £65m, parted with £117m to bring in Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren, Divock Origi, Alberto Moreno and Mario Balotelli, plus Javier Manquillo on loan. Like 2002/03 and 2009/10 before it was another year of the Reds heading into a campaign looking to go one step further than their Premier League runners-up berth the year before, only to be undermined by poor investment and fall miserably short.
Sure, Lallana, Can, Lovren, Origi and Moreno would all contribute as the Reds emerged as champions of England, Europe and the world under Jurgen Klopp just a few years later, but the then record outlay accompanied by losing Suarez and the saga that resulted in them missing out on Alexis Sanchez, cancelling a deal for Loic Remy and then moving for Balotelli rather than Samuel Eto’o, weeks after Rodgers insisted he didn’t want the Italian, made such failings sting that little bit more.
Fortunately for Liverpool, such regular transfer misfires now seem to be a thing of the past with Klopp at the helm, and Julian Ward picking up where Michael Edwards left off as sporting director. With a clear transfer strategy in place, such dismal windows are a distant memory at Anfield as the Reds look to land the biggest domestic and European honours.
It’s a different story down the road at Old Trafford, however, with Manchester United’s current summer offerings practically a compilation channelling Liverpool’s most infamous modern transfer failings. The Red Devils might have a new manager at the helm in Erik ten Hag but the glory days of the Sir Alex Ferguson era remain further away than ever.
Not aided by failing to qualify for the Champions League last season, United’s summer was thrown into further chaos when talismanic club legend Cristiano Ronaldo decided, just a year on from his heralded return to Manchester, the flailing Red Devils were beneath him if they couldn’t offer the opportunity to win the European Cup and he wanted to quit Old Trafford. While the 37-year-old Portuguese has so far failed to find any takers, and hasn’t refused to play, like Mascherano, to force a move, he did report late for pre-season.
Meanwhile, such a desire to quit has resulted in desperation at United, akin to the Reds’ quest to find a replacement for Suarez which took them from Sanchez to Balotelli. The Chilean had been Rodgers’ first choice to replace the Uruguayan, but had no desire to leave Barcelona for Liverpool as he instead opted for a move to the capital and Premier League title-rivals Arsenal.
Now doesn’t that sound similar to United’s own, ongoing pursuit for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong? The Red Devils had agreed a £63.5m move with the Catalans for the Netherlands international last month, only to find he had no desire to move to Old Trafford and has, far resisted, any attempts to convince him otherwise. Meanwhile, if he does leave Camp Nou, a switch to the capital and Chelsea looks far more likely.
Of course you can also compare the Sanchez saga to that of Darwin Nunez. United had seemingly been the front-runners to sign the Uruguayan from Benfica this summer, only for Liverpool to swoop and land the striker in a deal which could be worth a club-record £85m instead.
Seemingly conceding defeat in their pursuit of De Jong, United are now in talks to sign Adrien Rabiot from Juventus. Having lost Paul Pogba to the Old Lady this summer, his fellow France international is a considerable downgrade. The Christian Poulsen to Pogba’s Mascherano, perhaps, at a stretch?
Back to Ronaldo, with Anthony Martial United’s only other senior striker, the Red Devils are in the market for further attacking recruits as back-up for the veteran. But after having a £7.6m bid rejected by Bologna for controversial former Stoke City and West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic, supporter backlash resulted in them deciding against making an improved offer for the 33-year-old, with it suggested by some reports that the club had been priced out of a move.
Such bargain basement hunting is similar to Liverpool’s own summer window back in 2010/11, with Martial perhaps the Ryan Babel to Ronaldo’s Fernando Torres, considering United had spent most of last season wanting to sell the Frenchman. Meanwhile, now comparing to 2014/15, Arnautovic could have been Ten Hag’s Rickie Lambert - a questionable veteran arrival with Premier League experience, intended to provide back-up only for the departure of an A-list forward to result in him being turned to far more than originally planned. Alas, discontent in the United fanbase now makes the Austrian the club’s Lee Bowyer.
The desperation continues with reports suggesting the Red Devils have been offered Alvaro Morata, despite his failed stint at Chelsea, but could move for PSV Eindhoven Cody Gakpo. Now does that make the Spaniard United’s Samuel Eto’o, who Liverpool ultimately snubbed after he left Stamford Bridge, or Loic Remy, who joined the Londoners after failing his Reds’ medical?
Either way, strap yourselves in as the desperation train continues and we wait to see who will emerge as their Mario Balotelli! As for Gakpo, for the sake of argument he could be United’s Markovic, though they will no doubt hope that, if he does join, he fares a lot better than the Serbian. And if an El Hadji-Diouf is still to gatecrash the show, heaven help them.
Now for players United have actually already signed. Firstly a young left-back acquired for £13m following a lengthy pursuit, Tyrell Malacia ‘wins’ the role of the Red Devils’ Alberto Moreno.
Ten Hag did land Christian Eriksen after he left Brentford at the end of his contract, with the Dane a high-profile Bosman transfer from the capital but also a player, now 30, who has arguably seen better days. Why, it’s Joe Cole all over again of course!
And then we have Lisandro Martinez, a questionable defensive reunion with one’s former manager. Admittedly, doubts about the Argentina international are more to do with the centre-back’s 5ft 9 height not being suited to Premier League football, rather than his actual talent. Still, the similarity to Hodgson bringing Konchesky with him from Fulham is there for all to see.
Admittedly, it’s far too early to judge United’s summer signings and, with three weeks left until the transfer window closes, there could be plenty more twists and turns ahead as Ten Hag looks to rectify the Red Devils’ current plight. But considering how very little is going their way, the stench of desperation is overwhelming.
United CEO Richard Arnold was recently caught on camera at a pub by supporters, bemoaning how the Red Devils have wasted £1bn and ‘f***ing burned through cash’ on ill-judged transfers. While they will be looking to avoid a repeat of such previous errors, it’s clear the road to recovery is a long one.
In the meantime, every transfer embarrassment Liverpool fans have suffered in recent years now appears to be inflicted upon Old Trafford this summer all at once. A look at their fierce rivals and each new transfer update all feels very familiar.
But after the rain, comes the rainbow, of course, and the Reds would eventually be treated to happier times under Klopp’s watch. Whether Ten Hag is the man to engineer such changes at United, as they continue to struggle in the shadow of Ferguson a decade on from the Scot’s retirement, only time will tell.
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