Thirteen years, 26 transfer windows, 82 first team signings, over £1.1 billion spent.
Ever since Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool in October 2010, its prowess in the transfer market has consistently been rated above all others. There have been mistakes, inspired business ventures, discoveries, costly failures.
And here we review (out of 10) all of Liverpool’s American signings, taking into account their cost, impact and, in some cases, the funds raised on departure.
However, acquisitions made specifically for the Academy do not count – even if they reach the first team, such as Stefan Bajcetic, Kaide Gordon, Ben Doak and Bobby Clark. Suarez may have caused a problem or two during his time at Anfield, but there was no doubting his talent, especially during the 2013/14 campaign. After selling Fernando Torres to Chelsea, Carroll will always have a special place in the hearts of Reds fans for his FA Cup semi-final win over Everton, but injuries and form made him a very expensive failure.
Comolli summer. In the end, only Henderson offered real value for money – and he could still earn at least £12m when he left 12 years later – although Downing did play in the League Cup final in 2012 before switching to left-back. Brendan Rodgers. Enrique was decent enough, but Adamo, Coates and the unfortunate Don – Blackburn Rovers away? – rarely impresses. Bellamy, in his second time at the club, did his job well.
Ibe promised to be the new Raheem Sterling when he broke into the first team, but fell short of expectations. However, the £15 million Liverpool will receive for his services makes his signing remarkably predictable. Teixeira scored once in eight games and was on the bench for Jurgen Klopp’s first game but never made the grade.
Borini made his first signing under Brendan Rodgers, who gave the Italian a glowing recommendation. The striker did not have such high expectations. Allen did quite well under Rodgers and then Klopp, but the rest were completely forgettable. Yesil, who played two matches in Liverpool, now plays in Germany’s fifth division.
Was this Liverpool’s biggest ever January transfer window? Sturridge knew he had his last chance at a big club when he arrived at Anfield and only injuries stifled his enormous talent, although he won a Champions League winner’s medal. Coutinho, meanwhile, may have been upset about a move to Barcelona, ​​but Liverpool saw the Brazilian as a genuine world-class talent – and £142m is an awful lot of money.
Alberto and Aspas because both produced at the highest level, good players but bad purchases at the time and not only because of the ability to take the last cork. Mignolet proved to be a good earner, while Toure was a very popular professional during his two years at Anfield. Cissokho and Moses were indifferent loans, Sakho became too much of a problem, although one still wonders why Ilori was actually signed.
The summer that finally made Rodgers take control. Lallana, Lovren and Origi won the Premier League winners medals with the European cups won in 2019. Can improve under Klopp and may regret not staying for another season. Moreno will forever divide opinion, but not Markovic and Balotelli, two of the worst signings in Liverpool history, albeit for different reasons.
Benteke was the wrong signing at the wrong time, no matter how hard he tried, while Bogdan was simply never good enough. Down? Who knows The rest,
however, played a role in Klopp’s development, although Ings and Clyne were both hampered by serious injuries, the former’s talent highlighted by the £18m Southampton paid to take him from Liverpool and similar fees subsequently spent by Aston. Villa and West Ham United. . Milner and Firmino became Anfield legends before leaving eight years ago, while the versatile Gomez remains an asset.
Caulker was short-lived – with Norwich City always away – while Liverpool progressed faster than Grujic could in his many loan spells before his eventual departure. Grabara has slipped out of sight but Wolfsburg now value him at over £10m
Mane emerged as one of the world’s best players and was sold at a profit six years later, while Wijnaldum’s consistency and versatility underlined the wisdom of his purchase – if not his willingness to let him leave for nothing. Klavan was a shrewd buy, Matip continues to work in fine form and while Karius’ career never recovered from his Champions League stint in Kiev in 2018, Manninger, 39, was just an emergency at the time and was never needed.
The window that took Liverpool from Premier League contenders to Champions League finalists. Part of the most feared attacking force in world football, Salah could be one of the best signings in Anfield history, while Robertson has proven to be just as defensive as Sami Hyypia. Oxlade-Chamberlain has been unfortunate with injury but has played in 2019/20. 2018 title campaign, while the Reds brought in £19m for Solanke 18 months ago, around three times that amount.
That’s a lot of money. But FSG were happy to use it as Klopp’s words after selling Coutinho. And such was the influence of the Dutchman, now it seems like a kind of theft.
Like Van Dijk, and Alisson and eventually Fabinho helped Liverpool take the final step to the Premier League, Europe and the World Cup. Shaqiri’s talent was undermined by injuries before his departure in the summer, while Keita’s own form problems mean he is a perennial disappointment.
The court price for Elliott is certainly cheap given his impressive contributions over several seasons, although he is still only 20. After a few mistakes, Adrian has proven himself to be solid.
