Transfer funds and squad structure: A retrospective on the loss of Philippe Coutinho

The moral of the story

Alisson and van Dijk simply were able to balance out Klopp’s side and make them well-suited to contend with the elite of the Premier League and that of Europe as a whole.

The moral of this story, in pure football terms, is that a team cannot tether themselves to specific players, the main concern should be overall roster structure and construction.

The goal is to produce a talented squad that will not have trouble attacking or defending. Transition is vital and a flexible squad should be able to go forth up the pitch without fear in their hearts.

A tentative footballer is not a successful one. He must be responsible, while also being confident. A system that can produce footballers of such a mindset needs a figurative anchor.

Klopp was able to produce two of such anchors out of the remnants of Coutinho’s Liverpool career. Van Dijk holds the back line solidly and allows the fullbacks to storm up the flanks without trepidation. He also raises the productivity of his centre-half counterpart, whether it is Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren or Joel Matip.

Alisson has been a truly important addition as well. He is not only purely sensational in goal, featuring quick reflexes and adept charges forward to preempt potentially dangerous attacks. He has also added a thoroughly unexpected presence in the back end as a distributor of the ball.

He has incited a considerable amount of counterattacks, many of which resulted in goals. Such a presence is truly unprecedented in goal, especially as compared to his predecessors in Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius.

As a more thorough squad, Liverpool has ascended to the top of the Premier League table past the nearly indomitable Manchester City, with their unceasing funds, although there is a long way before the title is actually won. Also, they found a way to navigate the tumultuous waters of the Champions League group stage and steer safely to the round of 16,  in large part due to the contributions of van Dijk and Alisson.

Therefore, assets must be viewed as just that because no team would want to discard Coutinho, but transforming him into a stellar defender and a sublime goalkeeper is much better for long-term squad health and construction.

A trade is a staple of American sports, yet a trade of Coutinho for van Dijk and Alisson is a reasonable analogy. You would be hard pressed to find someone that would turn this theoretical deal down. Two all-world players will trump one, regardless of how dynamic or proficient in scoring goals the former is.