After the promise of – and necessity for – a great rebuild, Liverpool and their supporters found themselves embarrassed twice over the space of 24 hours earlier in August.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
Set to the backdrop of a 1-1 draw with Chelsea that hammered home the need for both sides to acquire an elite defensive midfielder (or, let’s face it, any defensive midfielder), Liverpool twice outbid their rivals for a target only to see them opt for Stamford Bridge instead.
First came Moises Caicedo, whose pursuit brought a British record £111 million bid from the Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group, encouraged by the lack of developments in Chelsea’s own advances.
But as it became clear that Caicedo did, in fact, not wish to join Liverpool, the focus pivoted back to long-term target Romeo Lavia – who, in turn, rejected a potential £60 million move to Anfield in favour of west London.
Twice, if reports are to be believed, Liverpool outbid Chelsea and were the only club to agree a fee with the sellers; twice they were turned down as two of the most talented young defensive midfielders in last season’s Premier League chose to join Mauricio Pochettino’s new side instead.
The situation left supporters to ask all number of questions of the club’s recruitment structure.
It appears as though there was never any real indication that Caicedo would head to Anfield instead of Stamford Bridge, but the temptation of luring him to Merseyside left talks with Southampton over Lavia to stall and the 19-year-old under no illusion he was second choice.
FSG figurehead John W. Henry flew into London to take in the Premier League opener between the Reds and the Blues, but his presence was clearly motivated by more than a marquee fixture.
The hope was that talks then took place between Henry and Jurgen Klopp, as Liverpool’s backroom presides over one of their most uncertain periods – far removed from previous years, when they became the envy of Europe.
With Michael Edwards gone and his replacement, Julian Ward, following 12 months later, the club made the surprise move to appoint a short-term successor as sporting director.
Jorg Schmadtke’s decision to put on hold his retirement to oversee the rebuild at Liverpool was met with derision by some in Germany, such was his reputation after spells with Hannover 96, FC Koln and, most recently, VfL Wolfsburg.
That was only magnified on Merseyside when the deals for Caicedo and Lavia collapsed, with Jamie Carragher among those to criticise.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher described it as a “joke” and an “absolute mess” that Liverpool have gone from Edwards to Ward to Schmadtke who, after his short-term deal is up, will then presumably make way for another permanent sporting director.
“They haven’t got deals done – that is your job, in that role, to get deals over the line,” he said.
“The two players Liverpool bought had buyout clauses. There’s no negotiating, there’s no big deal to go about it: you just meet the buyout clause.
“Liverpool have not got deals over the line and it’s been embarrassing.”
Those deals Carragher referred to were for Alexis Mac Allister – who, incidentally, was lined up by Ward, not Schmadtke – and Dominik Szoboszlai, who arrived earlier in the summer for a combined £95 million.
Since then, Liverpool have seen both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho make surprise moves to Saudi Arabia, which has undoubtedly left Liverpool on the back foot with two unplanned departures for key, senior midfielders.
But the desperate and ultimately failed campaigns for Lavia and Caicedo have made the situation decidedly worse, not only wasting further time to allow new signings to bed in but also showing their hand with a nine-figure bid for the latter.
The challenge now, then, with a fortnight remaining in the summer transfer window, is to fill the void in midfield and answer those questions over a recruitment team left humiliated.
Fortunately for the club, there is still time, and in Japan captain Wataru Endo the first piece of a jumbled jigsaw has been identified.
Few would have expected the 30-year-old from Stuttgart to be a target – and he was unlikely to have been high on Liverpool’s list at the start of the summer – but Endo joins as an experienced and immediate solution in the No. 6 role with a plethora of admirers from his time in the Bundesliga.
However, though he may make a strong impact upon his arrival from Germany, it is hard to escape the feeling that Endo is more stopgap than long-term solution – a reaction to Fabinho’s unexpected £40 million exit, rather than part of Klopp’s vision for “Liverpool reloaded.”
In order for Liverpool to come out of the summer window equipped to challenge on all fronts as they hope, Endo cannot be the end of their business.
Another, younger defensive midfielder would be the next priority, with Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure suggested as the most likely candidate as talks open over a move for the Mali international. Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara and Fulham’s Joao Palhinha are touted as other targets, though Liverpool’s trademark signings are more often than not surprise names.
There is also the matter of a left-sided centre-back, with concerns over Andy Robertson’s suitability to the role as Klopp shifts to a back three in his new 3-4-3 setup.
The lack of room for non-homegrown players in both the Premier League and Europa League squad – Endo’s signing leaves just one spot in the league and, if Ben Doak is registered, none for Europe – adds another wrinkle to the story, with players under 21 or products of English or Welsh clubs at a premium.
But to avoid another situation in which Liverpool are left short, hoping to avoid major injuries as in each of the past two seasons, more quality in depth is required in those key positions – ones it remains baffling have been left unfilled for this long.
It could be the difference between being viewed as embarrassments or the envy of Europe again.
(Images from IMAGO)
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