FSG must repeat £169m Liverpool transfer window as Man City's bold number one target
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Many have written off Liverpool’s title chances this season following the 2-2 draw
against Chelsea.
The stalemate at Stamford Bridge really did little for either side in their pursuit of
Man City’s seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Pep Guardiola’s side are now 11 points clear and are now pulling further and further away
from Liverpool and Chelsea, on course for a second consecutive title.
It’s hard to see how they can be stopped in the coming years, especially with speculation
circling that City are making Borussia Dortmund hitman Erling Haaland their No.1 transfer
target next summer.
That’s according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who states that City have meetings
planned with Mino Raiola and will push hard in order to get Haaland in the next transfer
window.
Furthermore, it’s thought that they will also aim for a left-back and a central midfielder
next summer.
The thought of the current City squad, plus Haaland, is really a truly frightening proposition,
and one that Liverpool’s owners FSG cannot ignore.
Liverpool only made one signing last summer in Ibrahima Konaté, and while Liverpool have
more than a good enough team to beat City in a one or two-legged match, their squad
lacks the depth of their rivals to go the distance in a Premier League season, in addition
to the other competitions.
Fans were disappointed that Konaté was indeed the only signing the club made last summer,
and even more so with it being likely that no one will be brought in this month.
But if Liverpool seriously want to stay competitive with Man City in the short-to-medium term,
they absolutely need to invest in the team during next summer.
Simply renewing Mohamed Salah’s contract for a further three or four years isn’t
going to be sufficient.
In this footballing arms race, FSG need to provide multiple signings for Jürgen Klopp
if Liverpool really want to win another league title.
Of course, there are different levels of wealth between the two, and in that sense, Liverpool
are punching up, but FSG’s strict financial model needs to be loosened a little if they
realistically want further success.
Not buying three or four new players next summer —and not just fringe players, but
ones that will give the team a leap in quality — would be nothing short of disastrous in
the face of City potentially signing a player like Haaland.
Yes, of course, City will face competition for the 21-year-old in the shape of Real Madrid,
and no doubt Los Blancos would have greater pull for Haaland than the Etihad side, even
though Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, played for them in the early ‘00s, but City can
offer much more money than Madrid can.
This would be music to Raiola’s ears.
There is a real danger of City now pulling away from every other side in England over
the coming year, and if Haaland is brought in, in addition to whoever the sign for midfield
and at left-back, then City could be spending the next several league seasons show jumping,
rather than being in a race.
That’s why it’s imperative for FSG to support Klopp this summer and reproduce the
kind of transfer business they did in the summer of 2018, when Alisson (£65m), Naby
Keïta (£52m), Fabinho (£39m) and Xherdan Shaqiri (£13m) were all signed, not to mention
Virgil van Dijk, who joined only a few months prior.
FSG were given a pass by fans last summer due to the state of the world with the effects
of the pandemic, but next summer will be a different story.
A repeat of last summer cannot happen again.