Liverpool have started off the 2023/24 Premier League campaign impressively, drawing away to Chelsea in the season-opener before successive victories against Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
The latter – a snatch-and-grab victory courtesy of Darwin Nunez’s incisiveness at St. James’ Park, despite going a goal and man down in the opening half-hour – typified the mentality and belief Jurgen Klopp hopes to instil in his team, a mentality that dissipated as the Reds foundered last term.
A fifth-placed finish was a result of a dreadful run of form for the Anfield side, with a midfield sapped of vitality and a defence devoid of confidence meaning the club ended their illustrious seven-year streak in the Champions League, reaching three finals and winning one.
After such a dismal term, the winds of change were always going to shriek through Merseyside, with Klopp completely revamping the midfield.
Who did Liverpool sign this summer?
The 2023 summer transfer window was always going to be busy for Liverpool, with long-serving midfielders James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all leaving in June upon the expiry of their contracts.
While such exits were expected, the exodus was exacerbated by Saudi Arabian interest in holding midfielder Fabinho and captain Jordan Henderson, with the pair leaving for a combined £52m.
Creative gems Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai has already been purchased from Brighton & Hove Albion and RB Leipzig respectively, but Klopp’s side needed a new No. 6, and they needed one badly.
Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia were both pursued in a high-profile transfer battle with Chelsea, but the affluent London side prevailed on both accounts, leaving the din of the alarm bells echoing around Anfield.
The astute option to sign 30-year-old defensive midfielder Wataru Endo for £16m from Stuttgart was exercised, filling the void, and Liverpool finished up their business by completing a £34m move for dynamic ace Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, a long-standing midfield target.
Should Liverpool have signed Ryan Gravenberch?
Gravenberch’s late acquisition was an imperative move; the failure to effectively buttress the existing ranks with a versatile, multi-functional midfielder would have left Liverpool in short supply in the central department.
Indeed, the ace joined the Bundesliga champions in a €24m (£20m) deal from Ajax last summer, with Die Roten sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic describing him as “one of the biggest talents in Europe” at the time.
Creative gems Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai has already been purchased from Brighton & Hove Albion and RB Leipzig respectively, but Klopp’s side needed a new No. 6, and they needed one badly.
Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia were both pursued in a high-profile transfer battle with Chelsea, but the affluent London side prevailed on both accounts, leaving the din of the alarm bells echoing around Anfield.
The astute option to sign 30-year-old defensive midfielder Wataru Endo for £16m from Stuttgart was exercised, filling the void, and Liverpool finished up their business by completing a £34m move for dynamic ace Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, a long-standing midfield target.
Should Liverpool have signed Ryan Gravenberch?
Gravenberch’s late acquisition was an imperative move; the failure to effectively buttress the existing ranks with a versatile, multi-functional midfielder would have left Liverpool in short supply in the central department.
Indeed, the ace joined the Bundesliga champions in a €24m (£20m) deal from Ajax last summer, with Die Roten sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic describing him as “one of the biggest talents in Europe” at the time.