After Liverpool slumped to a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, it was clear that they needed to strengthen their squad in order to once again contend for English and European football’s top honors.
Last summer was one of rebuilding as the Reds recruited Dominik Szobozlai, Alexis MacAllister, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch to their ranks.
Liverpool needed to get their business right and nearly two thirds into the season, it’s safe to say that they largely did. Szoboszlai and Mac Allister have injected a dynamism in the midfield absent throughout much of last season and while he initially struggled to adjust to the pace of the Premier League, Endo has settled nicely in the holding-midfielder role.
Their quality has proven instrumental as Liverpool have quickly bounced back from last season’s underwhelming performance to force themselves into the thick of a title race and still remain in all three cup competitions.
The new faces in the Anfield dressing room have made quite the impact. That got Rush the Kop to reflect on the five best debut seasons players have enjoyed at Liverpool:
5-Daniel Sturridge
Having been linked to Liverpool the previous summer, Daniel Sturridge arrived from Chelsea in January 2013 as Liverpool looked to include another goal scorer alongside star-forward Luis Suarez in its lineup.
With 10 goals and 3 assists in his first-half season, his impact was immediate. His partnership with Suarez in his first full season in Merseyside saw the two forwards rack up a combined 52 Premier League goals and so nearly fire their side to the league title.
Though they ultimately fell just short, Sturridge and Suarez are still considered one of the greatest strike-duo’s the league has seen in a single campaign. His first season set the tone for his Anfield tenure.
4-Virgil Van Dijk
Another January signing who instantaneously improved his side, Virgil Van Dijk became the most expensive center back in Premier League history when he signed for Liverpool midway through the 2017/2018 campaign.
The Reds’ disorganization and proneness to errors at the back had left them consistently vulnerable in the first half of the campaign, but that all changed overnight with Van Dijk in a Red shirt. The security and leadership he provided Liverpool’s backline helped his side secure a top four finish and embark on a thrilling run to the Champions League final.
Despite a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid, Van Dijk would go on to lift the trophy the next year as well as every other trophy possible at club level throughout his glittering Liverpool career. His first season at the club set the foundation upon which future winners were built.
3-Ibrahima Konate
For just 35 million pounds, Ibou Konate did not take long to prove himself a bargain. Having joined from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021, he faced competition from Joel Matip and Joe Gomez to secure his place at the back along Van Dijk, but locked down his spot, not to mention Liverpool’s defensive third, in the second half of the campaign.
His only defeat in a Liverpool jersey that entire season came in its final match as the Reds suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
The Frenchman instantly lived up to the hype and he has only gotten stronger since his arrival to England.
2-Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007 and quickly established himself as a favorite at Anfield.
The Spaniard’s physicality and blistering pace overwhelmed defenses across the Premier League and Europe as he went on to score 24 goals in the league and another six in the Champions League.
He brought an exciting dynamic that had not been seen at Liverpool for a very long time. His ability to instantly adapt to the English game was a marvel to behold.
After two and a half more seasons, he enraged Liverpool supporters by signing for Chelsea in January 2011. However, since Torres’s departure from Chelsea in 2014, more and more have come to forgive him and look back fondly on what was an exceptional Liverpool career.
1-Mohamed Salah
Liverpool announced the signing of Mohamed Salah in June 2017. The rest, as they say, is history. The signing drew mockery from rival supporters after the Egyptian struggled for game time at Chelsea several years prior, but Salah quickly left anyone and everyone who expressed any doubts to eat their words.
The winger finished the season with a remarkable tally of 44 goals, including a record-breaking 32 in a 38 game Premier League season (Erling Haaland broke that record with 36 goals last season, but Salah still holds the most from open play) and provided another 16 assists.
Salah’s 2017-2018 season not only ranks first for the best debut year of a Liverpool player, but arguably the best individual season any in the club’s history has produced.