To some it might be perceived as stubbornly cutting off one’s nose to spite their face but Liverpool have never been ones to enter the transfer market and sign a player just for the sake of it. The Reds might have a position in their squad which is in need of strengthening but if the right player isn’t available at the time, Jurgen Klopp would rather remain patient by proceeding with what he already has at his disposal and make do until that right player becomes obtainable.
Such a stance first became clear in the aftermath of the 2016 Europa League final as Liverpool were urged to sign a new left-back to replace Alberto Moreno following his performance in the 3-1 defeat to Sevilla after an unconvincing Reds career to date. But rather than desperately sign whatever left-back he could get his hands on, Klopp instead transformed James Milner into a makeshift solution for the 2016/17 season, with it only being the following summer when the club made their move for a natural successor.
Andy Robertson signed up for an initial £8m from Hull City in July 2017 and, despite a slow start to life at Anfield, he hasn’t looked back since. A champion of England, Europe and the world, along with tasting European Super Cup, League Cup and FA Cup glory, Liverpool’s patience certainly paid off when it came to signing the right left-back and landing on the Scotland international.
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Of course it was a similar story in the summer of 2017 when the Reds tried to strengthen at centre-back, having seen Mamadou Sakho miss the end of the previous season through through suspension as UEFA investigated him for violating an anti-doping rule, before he was dropped from the first team squad by Klopp after being sent home for his conduct on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Virgil van Dijk was Klopp’s desired target and talks were held that summer, however, Liverpool were forced to withdraw from negotiations after being accused of tapping up the Dutchman by Southampton. Rather than target an alternative, the Reds headed into the new season without a new centre-back as a result, amid criticism from their own fanbase and from outsiders for stubbornly not strengthening their fragile defence regardless.
Some questionable defensive displays in the first half of the 2017/18 season only added weight to such an argument but come January and Liverpool successfully signed Van Dijk for a club-record £75m. It might have been six months later than they would have originally liked but the Dutchman was who Klopp wanted and the Dutchman was who got Klopp.
Like with Robertson, Liverpool have not looked back since with Van Dijk establishing himself as the best defender in the world. No matter what alternative they could have signed instead, their decision to wait to sign the Netherlands international proved more than justified.
And the Reds proved they were more than willing to take such a stance again in the aftermath of Loris Karius’ horror performance in the 2018 Champions League final, believing they wouldn’t be able to sign Alisson Becker after initial talks with AS Roma so deciding to stick with the German, Simon Mignolet and Danny Ward instead. But when the Serie A outfit lowered their asking-price, Liverpool once again got their desired target rather than taking an anyone will do approach.
Although not initially first-choice targets, patience also paid off in Liverpool’s pursuits of both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the summers of 2016 and 2017 respectively. Klopp wanted a new forward in his first season at the club and initially moved for Alex Teixeira in January 2016 to no avail.
Rather than sign any available alternative, the Reds decided not to strengthen at the time as their recruitment team went back to the drawing board to weigh up potential attacking solutions. Six months later, Mane was signed. And when the Senegalese was away at Africa Cup of Nations duty in January 2017, Liverpool ignored any pleas to sign a replacement at that time and instead held off until the following summer before bringing in Salah from Roma.
Such players have been crucial to the Reds’ rise under Klopp and it’s impossible to picture their success in recent years without them. As a result, while grumbles about certain transfer decisions or lack of them might persist, Liverpool’s record speaks for itself with them having enough in the bank to prove they more than know what they’re doing.
Recent examples have seen calls for a new left-back or forward ignored until the right player became available, with the Reds then moving for Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz respectively. And even when a defensive injury crisis in 2020/21 forced their hand and prompted the emergency signings of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies in January 2021, calling into their question their stubbornness in not signing a fourth centre-back the previous summer as a result, Ibrahima Konate ’s displays in his first season at Anfield demonstrate why Liverpool were once again right to bide their time before making their move for the right man.
And it appears we are now seeing the latest example taking place this summer after club insiders confirmed the Reds’ transfer business for the summer was done with the arrivals of Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay. Like in the summer of 2021, supporters urged Klopp to sign a new midfielder. Yet, with eight senior options at his disposal, such pleas went ignored with the German issuing a sharp defence of his squad when his decision not to replace Gini Wijnaldum was called into question last year.
Even if players leave this summer, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continuing to be linked with an exit, club sources insist their transfer stance won’t change with a new midfield signing instead their priority for the summer of 2023. But they would have signed one this year if the right player had been available.
Liverpool held talks with Aurelien Tchouameni and tried to persuade him to make the move to Anfield, only to be informed he wanted to move to Real Madrid. As a result, plans for a new midfielder were put on hold.
Considering Tottenham Hotspur have just signed Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion in a cut-price £25m deal, supporters have understandably been left bemused why the Reds didn’t rival Antonio Conte’s side for the Mali international instead, having been credited with interest in the 25-year-old last year.
Yet the lack of movement from Liverpool for the midfielder makes one thing clear. The Reds decided Bissouma wasn’t the player for them.
Considering their current ageing midfield and the lack of homegrown options in the squad against their confirmed interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, a player who won’t be allowed to move on until 2023, it’s easy to speculate he could be the later player Klopp and Liverpool have decided to wait for.
Either way, as things stand, the Reds will head into the 2022/23 season with their squad, barring any further outgoings as it is, with the signing of a new midfielder on hold. Be that Bellingham or someone else, Liverpool would quite clearly prefer to wait.
Whether that leaves them short and such a stance backfires on them in the campaign ahead, only time will tell. But with the Reds’ long term transfer strategy repeatedly delivering the goods under Klopp’s watch, any doubts about their decisions have certainly been quietened as Liverpool continue to teach supporters that patience is a virtue.
