Liverpool head into the Europa League this season for the first time since Jürgen Klopp’s maiden campaign on Merseyside, when he led his new side all the way to the final in Basel.

That night saw one of the underrated goals of any European final as Daniel Sturridge hammered home with the outside of his boot from range, but ended in a comprehensive 3-1 defeat for the Reds to tournament specialists Sevilla.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

Over seven years on and things have changed drastically for Liverpool, who have reached the Champions League final three times since and won it once, as well as lifting the Premier League title.

But a failure of judgment and dearth of luck last term saw Klopp’s side fall short of the top four and see them qualify for the Europa League instead – a curse for some, with the prospect of games every Thursday and Sunday a daunting one, it is however one fans should embrace.

For the players, too, it provides an opportunity to lift the only trophy Liverpool have never managed under Klopp.

And while the manager will insist his plans to “respect the competition in the right manner,” the Europa League – and group clashes with LASK, Union SG and Toulouse – will undoubtedly see rotation in his ranks.

With that in mind, here are six players who could be expected to take their opportunity in Europe’s second tier.

Ben Doak

Let’s get the obvious one out the way first.

It is an open secret now that Liverpool have a prodigious young attacker in their midst; it’s just about finding the right avenue to get him into the side.

Given Doak is up against Mohamed Salah for a place on the right flank, the fact the Reds are not in the Champions League will certainly have played into his hands in that respect.

The platform of the Europa League, which is comprised of lower-level teams but ones who still pose a real challenge, could be perfect for Doak’s direct brand of forward play.

He will terrify full-backs in weeks to come.

Ryan Gravenberch

The late summer signing of Gravenberch from Bayern Munich may have surprised or even disappointed some, given the widespread clamour for Liverpool to bring in another No. 6.

But Klopp is convinced his new man can fill that role and many more, saying prior to his debut: “He is an 8, he can play as a 10 definitely, and yes, in time, he can play as a 6.”

As with Doak, though, it is just a matter of fitting the Dutchman into the side, particularly given the form of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones.

It is clear there will be a slower adjustment period for Gravenberch, but the climes of the Europa League could allow him to gain a foothold – in whichever role is deemed best.

Stefan Bajčetić

Another midfielder who finds himself on the outside looking in at this early stage of the campaign, Bajčetić broke through to become a first-choice starter midway through last season but has been sidelined through injury since March.

Back fit and clocking his first minutes back at any level for Spain U21s during the international break, the 18-year-old is now just waiting for his next chance at Liverpool.

Like with Gravenberch, the ability to shuffle his midfield pack could allow Klopp to reintroduce Bajčetić in the Europa League while resting the likes of Szoboszlai and Mac Allister.

Originally a centre-back, then converted to a No. 6, the teenager actually found his best form with Liverpool’s first team as an advanced midfielder, but his versatility could be particularly useful in Europe.

Wataru Endō

After a shaky first start in Liverpool’s eventual 2-1 win at Newcastle, in which he was brought off just before the hour mark, Klopp all but confirmed that he views Endō as a work in progress.

That is despite the experienced Japanese midfielder being among the oldest in his squad at 30, and having worn the captain’s armband at Stuttgart and for his country.

Signed for £16 million and handed a four-year contract, Endō was seemingly not a stopgap signing, and he will be relied upon this season.

The Europa League, with its varied tests and likely slower pace at times, could give him the backdrop to settle in and find his form.

Jarell Quansah

Just as fans were critical of the lack of another defensive midfield signing before deadline day, there was real scrutiny over the decision not to acquire another centre-back.

Instead, Klopp kept faith with his core of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez – and now, with injuries and suspensions already testing him, he has shown his belief in Quansah.

An outstanding full debut in the 3-1 comeback win over Wolves gave a glimpse of what the 20-year-old could offer as part of Liverpool’s defensive group.

While he will remain fifth choice for the time being, it would not be a surprise to see Quansah given more minutes against the sides from Austria, Belgium and France.

Bobby Clark

There were no shortage of suitors for Clark, an 18-year-old who can play both in midfield and attack, during the summer transfer window.

But as he looked poised to join League One side Derby on loan before the deadline, the deal fell through with it apparent that he will instead be given game time at Liverpool this season.

Klopp made that clear with the inclusion of Clark as part of his senior squad for the Europa League, despite the youngster – signed from Newcastle for up to £1.5 million in 2021 – being eligible as an under-21 player.

He is unlikely to be considered a starter in the early rounds, not least due to his absence from any first-team games so far this season, but his minutes could increase if a knockout spot is secured before the group stage is up.

(Images from IMAGO)

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Whatever the figures on the table, Liverpool were prepared to hold firm and keep Mohamed Salah beyond the 10pm UK deadline set by the Saudi Pro League. A verbal offer worth up to £150 million was swiftly rejected by Mike Gordon, president of the club’s owners Fenway Sports Group, a week previous and suggestions of a world-record bid were given similarly short shrift.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

The timing of Al-Ittihad’s push to sign Salah, which dominated the final hours of the Premier League’s transfer window and kept Sky Sports and the tabloid press ticking over in the six days to follow, was questionable, particularly given accusations of sportwashing amid a summer of heavy spending from the Middle East.

But that, in Liverpool’s eyes, was besides the point: put simply, Salah was and is irreplaceable, with no sum of money worth losing him on deadline day with no chance of signing an adequate successor. Instead, despite the possibility of raking in £200 million for a 31-year-old with two years left on his contract, the club resolved it would be worth more to keep him at Anfield.

This is, after all, a player who has scored 188 times in just 306 appearances since his £43.9 million move from AS Roma in 2017, breaking countless records on the way to fifth spot among the club’s all-time leading goalscorers.

Not only that, but Salah is a player whose creativity is becoming a more crucial aspect of Liverpool’s play. In the first four games of the Premier League season, he has already created four big chances – at least three more than any of his team-mates – while he tops Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai (both 0.5) in terms of expected assists with 0.6.

In each of the past three seasons he has struck 30 or more goals while in each of the past two he has assisted 15 or more for team-mates. Already this campaign, Salah has two goals and two assists in four appearances, leading the Liverpool squad again.

Losing him at any point in the window would have been a seismic blow to Liverpool’s confidence and structure; a player they have relied upon for so long and who has grown into a leader among Jürgen Klopp’s squad, even if he has rarely been handed the captain’s armband and was overlooked in favour of Alexander-Arnold when it came to the decision over Virgil van Dijk’s vice-captain.

Losing Salah on deadline day would have been fatal; losing him after the English deadline due to the overhanging Saudi Pro League transfer window would have been somehow even worse.

Beyond the impact on the squad, any sale of Salah would come at a significant off-field risk, too, not least due to the prize money his goals have helped accrue – Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final in 2022, for example, brought in £106 million alone. Moreover, his marketability as one of the world’s best players and one of the most famous Arabic sportsmen is as beneficial to those on Merseyside as it would be those in Jeddah.

So FSG certainly deserve credit for not bowing to the financial pressure of a club backed by the Saudi royal family, and with both the player and his usually vocal agent keeping quiet amid speculation.

There is a growing acceptance that Salah will eventually be sold, though, despite the Egyptian himself expressing a desire to remain at Anfield for the rest of his career prior to signing a new three-year contract in 2022.

“If you ask me, I would love to stay until the last day of my football career,” he told Sky Sports during negotiations. The revamp of the Saudi Pro League, and subsequent, big-money moves from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez and former team-mates Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, may have changed things since then.

At the time, there were few options open to Salah, particularly as he claimed he couldn’t see himself “ever playing against Liverpool,” with the pool likely limited to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. Now, any of those sides owned by the Public Investment Fund – Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al Hilal – represent feasible destinations for a player who would arrive as the biggest of all draws.

There is also a growing feeling that next summer will be the right time for Liverpool to allow their legendary No. 11 to move on, particularly if similar offers are presented to them. By the end of the current campaign, Salah will be 32 and with 12 months remaining on a club-record contract worth £350,000 a week. A decision will be required over whether to present him with a new and likely significantly improved deal, sell or allow the player to stay for a final season before departing on a free transfer. At that point, it may no longer make sense for FSG to retain their asset regardless of the financial incentives tied to keeping him.

In a way, then, in rejecting Al-Ittihad, Liverpool have bought time to plot a succession plan. They cannot leave themselves in the position with Salah that they found themselves in when Henderson and Fabinho departed in the summer just gone, when they were forced into reactive, rather than proactive, signings. Whether Salah is to leave or not, recruitment staff should be tasked with identifying his replacement long before he moves on.

That may be easier said than done, with the likes of Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Michael Olise (Crystal Palace), Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven) and Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa) floated as early possibilities – along with, of course, Kylian Mbappe. There are certainly options out there, with those mentioned all convincing cases along with the likes of Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo, but the reality is that there are few, if any, who directly measure up to Salah. There has long been a sense that Liverpool would prefer to nurture his successor in house, with Kaide Gordon before his 19-month injury layoff and Ben Doak now breaking through, but would either be ready to make the step up by 2024?

Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may be the prime candidate, but even he is a more natural left winger, a position for which Liverpool already boast Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo as options.

The presence of those four could, however, serve as evidence of the succession plan already in effect – or, more appropriately, another solution to filling the void if Salah were to move on.

Few players are capable of producing in front of goal as consistently as Salah has for Liverpool, and therefore the best route may be to replace him in the aggregate. If there are no players on the market who can score 30 or more goals every season, Klopp will for example need two who can score 20 or more or three who can score 15 or more, every season, to adapt, evolve and improve.

In Núñez, Gakpo, Jota and Díaz, that may already be the case, while the development of Dominik Szoboszlai in the right-sided midfield role could provide another fix. But a player like Mbeumo, Bakayoko or, ideally, Kvaratskhelia would still be required to cover the losses if Salah departed.

Fortunately, Liverpool’s ferocity in talks with Al-Ittihad has ensured the luxury of time to put the pieces in place – as whether in January, next summer or even in 2025, eventually Salah will need to be replaced.

(Images from IMAGO)

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