LIVERPOOL may be preparing for a significant summer transfer spend at the end of the season.
Liverpool’s transfer chief in waiting, Julian Ward, has a clear strategy to follow when he takes the reins from Michael Edwards at the end of the season. It could be a busy time for Ward to step into his new role too, with a big summer potentially in the pipeline to refresh Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
Last summer and this January passed by with the Reds bringing in just one new face per window.
That has been fairly consistent with Liverpool’s general transfer strategy over the past few years, with additions to Klopp’s harmonious squad introduced in dribs and drabs.
But with time ticking on for many of the club’s most influential stars, it could merely be the calm before the storm.
Last year, a report from The Athletic suggested that Reds owners FSG saw the 2022 summer market as more reliable and predictable than that of 2021.
Having tended to hold onto their cash in recent years, particularly compared to Premier League rivals, Liverpool could finally start to burn through it at the end of the season.
Two recent signings in particular could nudge Ward in the right direction.
Separated by less than 18 months, the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luiz Diaz bear numerous similarities, and offer suggestions as to where Liverpool see their rebuild taking place.
At £45million and £38million respectively, both players were signed in a similar price bracket, at a similar age, and they can both form part of a front three.
Klopp clearly sees players who meet those criteria as a safe bet, given that they are old enough to have shown their potential over multiple seasons, and do not command astronomical transfer fees.
Furthermore, the German has a proven track record of taking that calibre of player to the next level, as he did with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, and as we are already seeing with Jota.
Rejuvinating Liverpool’s front three, whose air of invincibility finally seems to be fading after a stellar few years, is clearly high on the priority list at Anfield.
Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino will all be over 30 by the end of the season, and it makes better business and football sense to acquire replacements bit by bit, rather than all at once.
Indeed, there is little indication that Salah will lower his contract demands and pen a new deal under Klopp.
Currently, the Egyptian is set to be available on a free transfer at the end of next season, which could pressure the Reds into selling while they still have the chance.
If that becomes necessary at the end of the campaign, Ward only needs to look at the likes of Diaz and Jota, as well as a cluster of attackers before them, to find a fully functioning blueprint.
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