I remember once standing in a small room at Liverpool’s old training ground in January 2018 and listening to Jurgen Klopp talking about the sale that week of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.
Leaning against the wall, the Liverpool manager’s countenance was one of deep resignation.
Klopp had been at Anfield a little over two years, had not at that point won anything and the departure of the Brazilian to the Nou Camp had put something of a torpedo right through the middle of his plans.
Strange, then, that we look back at that period now as lift-off for Liverpool. They had bought Mo Salah and Andrew Robertson the summer before and, aware the Coutinho deal was imminent, bought Virgil van Dijk just days before he left. Then, the following summer, a new goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, and midfielder, Fabinho, also arrived.
Those five players — among others — were to form the cornerstone of a team that won everything there was to win over the following three seasons.
Liverpool are expected to undergo a squad overhaul this summer after a disappointing season
They need to get it right and suitably refresh Jurgen Klopp’s squad or I fear they may lose him
We’ve seen in bursts this season the quality and style that took them to the top is still there
This was Liverpool at their smartest. Value-for-money transfers that paid off immediately. Future-proofing in such a way that setbacks such as the Coutinho sale could not only be weathered but turned around to look like opportunities. And it needs to happen again right now.
Liverpool are a different club currently. As they look to refresh Klopp’s squad this summer, they will do so without the influence and expertise of former sporting director Michael Edwards, who left a year ago, and without the help of the money and status that comes from being in the Champions League.
They are, frankly, on the back foot and if they don’t find a way to refresh and rejuvenate Klopp’s squad successfully then his very future may come in to sharp focus.
To even talk of Klopp’s standing at Liverpool feels strange, given what he has achieved. Towards the end of last season, with Liverpool marauding on four fronts, I wrote that Klopp may well have constructed the club’s best ever team. There is a strong argument he had and I will have that conversation with anybody.
But the ground shifts quickly in football and at Anfield the cracks that have appeared this season go deeper than the surface. With this in mind, if…