Due to the ongoing Confederations Cup, in addition to the majority of professional footballers taking their holidays abroad following a lengthy campaign, the Premier League’s off-season has so far been a relatively quiet affair in regards to transfer talk. Yet the club that’s been making the most noise so far has been Liverpool, with a number of inward transfers already agreed, while speculation regarding the future of Luis Suarez appears to be ongoing and far from conclusion.
To date, Brendan Rodgers has secured the signings of Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Kolo Toure, with more expected to follow them to Anfield before the close of the summer transfer window. But are these transfers taking the club in the right direction? Are they addressing the intrinsic problems on Merseyside? And who else is on the Reds’ gaffer’s radar?
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My first point of praise in regards to Rodgers’ acquisitions is undoubtedly the fees involved. Toure’s move comes under the bosman ruling, whilst Aspas’s and Alberto’s transfers from La Liga come at a collective total of just £13.5million, according to BBC Sport. It’s a stark and welcome contrast from the Damien Comolli era, with the former Director of Football overseeing the excessive purchases of Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson to name a few and the Frenchman’s transfer bill at Anfield coming to £120million, despite spending just 18 months as a Reds official.
Many, including myself, wondered whether Rodgers would suffer from a difficult second season at Liverpool due to the restrictions in finance placed upon him in the summer window, but so far he has managed to operate swiftly and successfully to secure his desired targets, which have clearly been analysed, pursued and negotiated with for some time.
Furthermore, he has undoubtedly confronted his biggest challenge in the transfer market already by finding a suitable replacement for the retiring Jamie Carragher in Kolo Toure. The Ivory Coast international hasn’t seen regular action over the past few seasons at Manchester City, with just 82 appearances in four years at Eastlands, but there was a time when he was one of the best central defenders in the Premier League, and even if Toure is now entering his twilight years at the age of 32, his wealth of experience will be vital in a squad that is undergoing a regeneration via Rodgers’ continual inclusion of young and promising starlets.
The former Arsenal and City captain can claim two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, in addition to making 429 competitive appearances throughout his career in England. Toure is by no means a long term solution to the departing Carragher, but Rodgers has done well to put the issue on hold for at least another year, whilst other issues in the Liverpool roster, such as in goal and up front, can be addressed.
Meanwhile, although there is always a risk whenever Premier League clubs purchase players from abroad, Iago Aspas appears to be a worthwhile purchase. The 25 year old’s career didn’t take off until a few years ago where he scored 23 goals for Celta Vigo in the Spanish second tier, but last season upped his game to record 12 goals and seven assists in the top flight.
Aspas may not see too much game time whilst Suarez and Daniel Sturridge remain in hot form, and we are yet to see whether or not his 5 foot 9 frame can handle the robust nature of the English game, but the strike-force is an area of the Liverpool which required desperate bolstering, and at £6.8million, the Spaniard remains a relatively cheap punt on Rodgers’ part.
Regarding Luis Alberto, we will quite simply have to wait and see. At £6.7 million, the 20 year old is another punt in many respects, with only spells for the Sevilla and Barcelona second strings to analyse his quality. But the Spain Under 21 has just come to the end of a promising season, netting 11 goals and 17 assists on loan to Barcelona B, and is highly regarded by La Liga pundit Guillem Balague, who views the signing as a solid purchase on Liverpool’s part, and described Alberto via his Twitter account as a midfielder of the same mould as Xavi and Andreas Iniesta.
Should Balague’s prophecy be true, the Reds have an incredible young talent on their hands, and the prodigy fits perfectly with Rodgers’ current ethos of rebuilding the Anfield squad with promising youngsters determined to prove themselves, by providing them enough confidence and regular football to show off their pedigree.
But if Liverpool’s current signings represent a mixture of experience and great potential, their speculated future purchases signify a real lift in quality. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan is fast emerging as one of Europe’s hottest prospects, with the 24 year old claiming an unbelievable record of 25 goals in 28 appearances in the Ukrainian top flight this season, whilst also scoring twice in the Champions League.
Some have likened him to Frank Lampard in terms of his movement in the box, whilst Mkhitaryan himself claims he represents unbelievable pace, having previously trained as a sprinter. The Armenian international comes with a £20million release clause, which Liverpool are rumoured to be happy to meet, making him their most likely single excessive purchase of the summer.
Similarly, Rodgers is attempting to confront the pressing issue of who will be Liverpool’s No.1 next season. Pepe Reina’s future remains uncertain, following a mixture of interest from Barcelona and another campaign riddled with individual errors for the Spaniard, leading to a hot pursuit of Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet.
The Belgian has just completed his strongest campaign to date for the Black Cats, and at the age of 25 appears ready to make the step up to a European club. Whilst others have speculated a move for Julio Cesar or Michel Vorm, Mignolet represents considerable youth and equal ability in comparison to his QPR and Swansea counterparts, keeping alive Rodgers’ theme of investing in the youngest transfer targets available to him that can still bring something to the Anfield first team.
My only criticism so far is that Rodgers has failed to make a move for a natural winger, which has undoubtedly been a source of major problems for the squad this season. Stewart Downing appears incapable of living up to his £20million billing, with this year’s three goals and five assists not representing enough of an improvement from the English man, whilst Raheem Sterling, Suso and Fabio Borini are yet to make either flank their own.
Wide men are by no means the be-all and end-all of Rodgers’ passing philosophy, often opting for three attacking midfielders, but the Reds could certainly do with a consistent performer who will provide added width to the first team when required.
But overall, despite Rodgers being mostly considered a philosopher and developer of young talent, the biggest successes of his Liverpool tenure to date appear to be in the transfer market. If his initial signings of Joe Allen and Fabio Borini suggested naivety due to their price-tags,, his winter acquisitions, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho were inspired, whilst his summer purchases so far demonstrate an ability to spot firstly a good bargain, and secondly, players with promise, ambition and further potential.
The strategy of buying young and building from within, whilst keeping costs at a minimum, brings a fresh change to the previous tenures at Anfield, where continually poor choices in the transfer market undoubtedly contributed to the decline of a club that were once mainstays of the Champions League.
Rodgers’ purchases may be limited in star quality for now, but every signing, with the exclusion of his inaugural transfer window, has shown the Reds gaffer is moving his club in the right direction, albeit at a slower pace than perhaps the Liverpool faithful were hoping for.
Has Brendan Rodgers made the right choices so far this summer?
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