Liverpool's absence in the transfer window explored.

How Liverpool transfer policy stood firm.

Liverpool's title win in 2020 was the seemingly continuing rise and reprieve from the Reds, as they comfortably strolled to their first ever Premier League title. The season before that Liverpool had won the Champions League, whilst also finishing their domestic campaign with 97 points, narrowly missing out on the double to Manchester City by a mere point. They had become the rising competitors to City's long-lasting dominance and were starting to deliver trophies that there performances and hype warranted. Following their UCL success, Liverpool only brought in Takumi Minamino, the RB Salzburg forward who impressed on Merseyside in a Champions League group stage game against the Reds, scoring in a 4-3 loss. One year later, and Liverpool seemed to be on course for another quite window until they announced the signing of serial winner Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich and the promising Diogo Jota from Wolves. The true intentions of bringing in both these players seems open to opinion. Thiago's class and his collection of silverware made his transfer a no-brainer where as Jota might have been pre-cautionary given the uncertainty surrounding Mohamed Salah, although, we might never know. Liverpool fans were excited off the back of their unusual activity in the window but the season that followed might be the most unfulfilling in the club's history. Liverpool lost Virgil Van Dijk to an ACL injury away to Everton, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Joe Gomez suffered a similar injury whilst on international duty, also ruling him out for the remainder of the campaign. Liverpool were now without their two recognized center-half's and throughout the season they also ran into injury problems with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Naby Keita, Joel Matip and Alisson, with Jurgen Klopp being forced to chop and change his side in a very unusual and uncomfortable fashion. In fact, Liverpool operated with 18 different center-back pairings last season, with Henderson and Fabinho being relied on as auxiliary defenders rather than their usual midfield residency. They managed to overcome the injury-riddled campaign and finish third in the league, but the drop-off was immense. In the last two seasons prior to that, Liverpool had amassed 97 and 99 points, whereas that season they managed just 69, truly illuminating their decline. Granted, many will label the injuries as the main reason for this but for some, it was the sign of a more worrying aspect.

Liverpool's irregular transfers equals loose squad depth.

Liverpool's squad depth has always been their biggest criticism, alongside their reliance on their trusty starting XI. When their usual eleven were shattered by injuries, Liverpool fell from grace and their rapid resurgence under Klopp was starting to show it's first signs of collapsing. Liverpool, for the first time in their history, lost six consecutive games at Anfield and also failed to score in that time for the first time since the club's establishment. Liverpool's substitutes for the injury crisis were not up the task, which is to be expected and we can't fault them for not matching the intensity set in the previous seasons, but it is the level of the decline that concerned Klopp and fans alike. Liverpool needed to do business in January, and rather than splash the cash they signed Ozan Kabak from the now relegated Schalke and Ben Davies from Preston, who never made an appearance for the club and is now on loan at Sheffield United. Michael Edwards, Liverpool's sporting director has so often executed the club's transfer business superbly, as seen with the recruitment following the sale of Philippe Coutinho, but this seemed panicky from the Liverpool background team and something within the hierarchy of the club was restricting Klopp and Edwards from their usual smart signatures. Kabak and Davies were emergency signings, with ones eventual departure and the others lack of game time exuberating this. Liverpool did of course have Joel Matip in their ranks, but as we've mentioned his sporadic involvement in the side due to his renowned injury issues meant that Klopp could not rely on him to withstand the rest of the season. Kabak did play, but struggled, and was eventually shipped back to Schalke at the end of the season. Liverpool fans had expected their club to finally invest in the club's personal, as last year had definitely exposed Liverpool's reliance on players outside their usual starters. However, Liverpool surprised everyone and only signed one player in Ibrahima Konate, the young Frenchman from RB Leipzig. It's fair to say that Liverpool fans were very unhappy, and took to social media to attack owners FSG, who were under further criticism following the European Super League scandal. Even renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano had tipped Liverpool to bring in some players, with Renato Sanches, Donyell Malen and Yves Bissouma all being linked with a move to Anfield by the Italian. Especially given the departure of Georgino Wijnaldum to PSG, many thought that a replacement for him was a definite rather than a possibility. Harvey Elliot is believed to be the new man there, but his serious injury against Leeds last weekend more than likely rules him out for the season. I don't think Klopp will regret this but nonetheless, the injury table is showing no prisoners with his Liverpool team. Nothing in the window materialized, and Liverpool fans were left thinking about what could have been. The return of key players will be Klopp's only reprieve but why did Liverpool need to strengthen and how could another injury scare force a reenactment of the events that transpired last season?

New season, same Liverpool.

Liverpool's new season with a repaired squad is open to any interpretation and given their previous injury issues coupled with the lack of signings, it could go either way. Klopp will hope that he can keep his favored starting XI fully fit for the majority of the season but there is no denying that this is a big ask. This is not to suggest that Liverpool's squad players are uncapable of filling in the gaps, it's more a case if there key players are out for long periods where the issues begin to arise. Players like Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Naby Keita all have a lot more offer and are definitely capable of fitting into Klopp's demanding system. The prospect of an injury can never be patched by a transfer so nobody can really blame Klopp for not investing in the side. He even addressed this by saying that if there was a player on the market who would improve their squad then he "promises they would go for it". (Sky Sports, 2021). Another concern for Liverpool will be the activity of their arch rivals in the window, with Chelsea and both Manchester clubs going all out. Chelsea have re-signed Romelu Lukaku, City have brought in the £100 million man Jack Grealish whereas United have bolster their side with Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. Liverpool's window doesn't come close and although the Liverpool faithful will believe in their squad to deliver performances, the fine margins at the end of the season might be determined by the business done in the summer. As is the beauty of football, we cannot say for sure whether this will be the case. Liverpool have started the season fantastically, sitting top of the table after five games with thirteen points and have opened their UCL campaign with a memorable 3-2 win over AC Milan. As the season develops, many writers and pundits could come to regret their damnation of Liverpool, but also the lack of recruitment could separate them from the silverware. In the case of the Liverpool faithful, I think it's fair to say that they want signings brought in not for the hype and excitement but rather out of necessity. Judging by the opening six fixtures, Liverpool look like their usual best and the hope will be that this absence within the transfer window is temporary, possibly due to Covid or other inner factors. Liverpool will need to strengthen eventually, but for now they look set for another title charge in England and Europe with Van Dijk back at the helm along with the rest of the Liverpool usual's. The big question, which in Liverpool's case is the norm, will be weather or not they can defy the odds and the criticism placed against them and reach the summit that there current squad is capable of achieving. Transfers or not, this Liverpool side can beat anyone and will want to overcome their off-field scrutiny's with another title-winning campaign.