Liverpool have shown superb man-management this transfer window.
Since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at the club, the Reds have been patient, measured, and prudent in their business transactions in the transfer market.
The crafty German gaffer has hinted all summer long that there wouldn’t be a whole lot of business in the summer. We can’t expect any big signings this year.
It turns out this is a flash of brilliance by the wiley German. First, it fits with the current financial situation publicly disclosed during the summer. Second, this lets the team know that Klopp has complete faith in the players he has.
This also sends an extremely important message and signal to the young lads coming up through the club youth system. It says ‘I have faith and belief in you and I won’t undercut your commitment or chances to succeed by bringing in expensive players to stifle your opportunities’.
FSG, the transfer committee, Michael Edwards, and Klopp have all been on the same sheet of music and this has proven genius for the club. Klopp had an agreement with Naby Keita long before he was finally able to make the move to Liverpool from the Bundesliga. They were patient… they waited.
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They have spread the cash for specific players that filled specific needs Klopp and the team required to become more competitive with their rivals at the top. No unnecessary expenditures to rue the day over. This is part of a far larger design at the new, highly modernized, cutting edge, management paradigm FSG have brought to Merseyside.
While the ‘moneyball’ concept may be foreign to most European football fans, here in the States,it has proven to be a boon for some franchises who have adopted this more scientific approach to team building and acquiring talent outside the internal youth league system.
A recent article expresses FSG’s desire to further this type of new age paradigm at Liverpool, as reported by Joanna Durkan.
Should Liverpool get the addition of the proven genius of Billy Beane to invest time, capital, and experience at scientific team building, this will result in a monumental advantage over far wealthier sides.
Let’s briefly review: Liverpool acquired Andrew Robertson on the cheap, they would go to Roma and get Mo Salah for a song, they spent money to get Sadio Mane from Southampton. Meanwhile they would sell wantaway Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for a ridiculous sum.
Using the proceeds from tha deal, they signed Virgil Van Dijk. They brought in Fabinho,and Alisson Becker to tighten up the defensive structure.
They were patient and measured in getting this business done quietly while the world slept; or were distracted by the high profile players being bandied about in the transfer meat market.
Liverpool continue to develop young talent to keep consistency and continuity, while meeting the ‘homegrown’ home-trained requirements by league laws. Trent Alexander-Arnold is evidence enough of the value of developing promising talented youth within the club.
There has been a lot of hot air and wind whistling in the weeds this summer from media and fans about getting Thiago, Coutinho, Luis Suarez, and dare I say even Leo Messi. But this just doesn’t fit the model the club are now pursuing. The Thiago deal may in fact materialize because Klopp wants him at Liverpool.
But these others are about as likely as flying to the moon on the wings of a pig. If the past is prologue in this case; at least from what we have witnessed from FSG in the past five years. They just do not spend huge sums for players unless the analytics tell them there is untapped value there.