The clamour has started and the yearning for new players is already rife. The transfer window is open after all.
Fans up and down the country will try to persuade their respective teams to make moves in January. Sections of Kopites will be no different. Look at the comments on Linda Pizzuti, the wife of Reds principal owner John Henry’s Instagram. You’d think Jurgen Klopp’s side were battling Premier League relegation not leading the way for the title given some of the messages that have been left.
It can be understood that some supporters would like to see Liverpool strengthen so they can continue to fend off Manchester City and claim the crown. It appears that the race for the silverware will go down to the wire again and every small margin will be crucial.
What’s more, the Reds are saying goodbye to their talisman. Mo Salah heads off to the African Cup of Nations, having plundered 14 goals and recorded eight assists so far. In the current squad, there is no like-for-like replacement. And if Egypt reach the AFCON final, as they did two years ago when beaten on penalties by Sadio Mane’s Senegal, Salah will be absent for seven games.
Speaking last week before the 4-2 win over Newcastle United, Klopp insisted that he hadn’t even considered how Liverpool will operate in the 31-year-old’s absence. The Reds boss said: “Each long-term plan I could have had depends massively on who is available so why should I think in October who should I use in January when Mo is away when I don’t know who is available?
“We have solutions today and I hope we have that after Newcastle as well. It is not the first time, it is a really very average situation that you lose your goal scorer but we had it even worse in the past when both Sadio and Mo left.”
However, Klopp has already emphatically outlined that Liverpool will not be signing any players unless it makes long-term sense. When asked if the Reds could be in a market for a new centre-back following Joel Matip’s ACL setback that may see him ruled out for the rest of the campaign, Klopp sharply replied: “In eight years here, I just never understand this. You always talk about transfers as if they would be the easiest thing in the world.
“Just bring in a player, find the money for it, as if we have endless money. I really don’t understand it. Everybody, you, the fans, everyone talks about it. They all cost money. It has to be the right player. Tell me a club who wants to sell a top, top centre-half who could play for Liverpool?
“Why should we start that process? We’ve only known for a few days that Joel will be out for a long time, which is really bad for us. We still have four centre-halves which is absolutely alright. If we’d had a fifth one already in before that, then it would have been a completely different team dynamic. He wouldn’t have been involved and we wouldn’t have seen steps with him or him.
“It was perfect. Is it perfect now? I’d say as long as we can go with this four then yes. If not then it will be a bit more tricky with the amount of games coming up. It was never wonderland where you bring in a world-class centre-half until the other is fit again. Other clubs don’t put them under the Christmas tree for us and say: ‘Take it and use it as long as you need it.’ I didn’t really think about it [buying a centre-back in January]. I don’t think so to be honest.”
