Now that the dust has settled and the season has begun, let’s take a look back at Liverpool’s first transfer window under Slot, Hughes and Edwards.
Outgoings:
Sepp van den Berg – Up to £25 million:
I had high hopes for Sepp, but this does seem to be the correct move. Whilst he excelled on loan at Mainz, making 33 appearances and being touted as one of the best young centre backs in the league, it is likely he would not be starting over Quansah or Gomez in the cup games where Slot chooses to rotate. There are valid doubts about centre-back depth in the Liverpool squad, but Bradley’s breakthrough last year and Gomez staying at the club means there is enough cover at CB and RB spots, unless there is a major injury crisis. For someone with a lack of Premier League minutes the fee rising to £25 million seems to be an astute sale, whilst Brentford is a near-perfect stepping stone for the young centre-back.
Fabio Carvalho – Up to £27.5 million
Similarly to van den Berg, Carvalho was one that showed extreme signs of promise early on. This faltered after struggling to get minutes under Klopp, and failing to make any real impact at RB Leipzig. However, this hope was revived slightly after a relatively successful spell at Hull last season that included 11 goals and assists in 20 appearances. In another scenario, where the squad wasn’t packed with talent at no. 10 and on the wing, then Carvalho would probably have been sent on loan to a club like Brentford. But with Jones and Elliott playing similar positions, who themselves are behind Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in the pecking order, it makes sense for him to go elsewhere to seek consistent first team minutes. Again, similarly to van den Berg, the fee is larger than most would’ve hoped and there shouldn’t be too many complaints with this move.
We played darts, but blindfolded for no reason, and got lucky on one leg”
AL’s Lila
Adrian – Free
Ah Adrian. Thanks for the Super Cup, and whilst you’ll leave as a slight cult hero, there were slightly too many mistakes along the way for me to feel particularly sad about his departure.
Thiago Alcantara – Free
Straight into retirement for the midfield maestro after his departure from Merseyside. Injuries prevented us from seeing more than flashes of some of the best technical play I’ve ever seen in midfield for Liverpool. A ‘what could’ve been story,’ but that period in the 21/22 season will not be forgotten and just about made up for his glass legs.
Matip – Free
Now this is one I am sad about. His galloping runs forward, his thumping headers and his coconut jokes – it’s been a pleasure, Joel. One of the best free transfers of all time for the Reds, it was time for him to move on but he will always be central to the brilliant memories of Klopp’s era.
Loans:
Stefan Bajcetic – RB Salzburg
This seems the perfect fit. Clearly supremely talented, Bajcetic was not going to the regular minutes he needed after coming back from a serious injury. There was doubt about the depth at No. 6, which still remains, but has been alleviated thanks to Ryan Gravenberch’s stellar performances so far this season. Under Pep Lijnders, Bajcetic has a manager he trusts and a playing style he knows. If injury problems are avoided, I fully expect this to be a one-season loan before a return to Merseyside and a push for the starting XI for Stefan.
Ben Doak – Middlesbrough
With his potential still not really clear, a loan to a solid Championship club could be a good move for Doak.
Calvin Ramsey – Wigan
Bradley seems miles ahead as RB back-up, it was the right decision to send Ramsey on loan.
Nat Phillips – Derby
How Nat is still at Liverpool is beyond me. He was a brilliant stand-in when emergency struck in 20/21, but he is unfortunately not at the level for Liverpool, and this should really have been a permanent move.
Rhys Williams – Morecambe
See above.
“We went into Tesco to do the shopping . Forgot to buy the food for the week but came out with an air fryer”
AL’s Karl
Incomings:
Giorgi Mamardashvili – Up to £29 million
Whilst a good signing, and one that looks like a future starter once the sad thought of Alisson leaving becomes a reality, it’s not an area that needed urgent fixing. In any other transfer window, the hype of this signing may have been bigger, but the lack of reinforcements elsewhere and the fact that Giorgi is staying at Valencia for one more year makes it a slightly subdued move.
Federico Chiesa – up to 12.5 mill
Similarly to Mamardashvili, it wasn’t an area that needed desperate attention, but it is one that excites. A huge if, but if Liverpool can fix Chiesa’s injury problems, then 12.5 million will go down as a bargain. Slot clearly hopes Liverpool can go deep into all three cup competitions this season, and Chiesa will give Salah the rest he will require to keep performing at the elite level that he currently is.
Overview:
Summer Transfer Window Rating – 5/10
Now, you might read the above and think that this has been a good transfer window. Let me avoid any doubt and say that, to put it lightly, this has been a particularly poor window for Liverpool.
Yes, Gravenberch’s performances have been good. Yet he is not the no.6 that will win us the league as much as I want him to be. The Zubimendi saga was infuriating, but largely due to the consistent meaningless updates that left fans expecting the move to occur. He seemed to be the perfect fit, and there is still hope of a January move, yet it remains irritating that no other move was made for a no.6 even in an admittedly weak market.
Left back cover has not been found for an ageing, yet still performing Andy Robertson, whilst we all know Kostas Tsimikas is not Robbo’s long-term replacement. A LB/CB hybrid such as Calafiori would have been a sensible move, yet we allowed title-rivals to strengthen ahead of us. Given Virgil, Konate, Quansah and Gomez this may seem picky but unfortunately it is the type of transfer window that we may look back on, when an injury crisis occurs or when sales are made later down the line, and regret not taking the chance to bolster the ranks. It is reminiscent of the summer after the Champions League success under Klopp, where van den Berg and Adrian were the only signings.
A late move for Chiesa arguably makes it better than that summer, but the disaster of not sorting out the huge issue of contract renewals for Mo, Trent and Virgil place this summer on a par with 2019’s pitiful recruitment. For all we know the contracts may have been sorted, and whilst this is not necessarily on Hughes, as the contracts had been allowed to run down by previous Sporting Directors, it is an unparalleled catastrophe if even two of the three walk away from Liverpool for free. The discussion of whether Trent, Mo and Virgil should receive new contracts is a controversial one, and you can hear more of AL’s thoughts on this in our new podcast –Liverpool Unfiltered, which can be found on Spotify and Acast.
Anything Liverpool 
Leave a comment