Jurgen Klopp certainly doesn’t have the financial backing at Liverpool to match that of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but it would be wrong to insinuate that he has not splashed the cash to put together the squad he wants.
Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, for example, were record signings in their positions at their time of signing, whilst Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Fabinho cost over £30m. Naby Keita was another expensive purchase, setting the Reds back over £40m initially.
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However, their many new recruits have been counteracted with significant departures. Philippe Coutinho’s sale to Barcelona is the one that first comes to mind, with the Blaugrana spending £106m to secure his signature, but others such as Christian Benteke and Mamadou Sakho brought in well over £20m each.
They were also able to ship off the likes of Dominic Solanke and Jordan Ibe for £19m and £15m respectively despite them making little impact at Anfield – they made just 56 starts between them at the club.
That leaves them with a net spend of £107.77m over the last five years, which is better than 13 other clubs in the Premier League. Michael Edwards has done a fantastic job, and deserved plenty of praise.
A recent report indicates he may have secured another fantastic deal for the Reds, as well. It has been indicated that Lazio value Luis Alberto at €80m (£70m). The 27-year-old has garnered a lot of interest from around Europe this season – he is a player who Liverpool possess a 30% sell-on clause for.
The now-Spain international left the Reds in 2016 having failed to make the grade – he made just 12 appearances all in all. The fee itself was £4.3m – nothing to shout home about.
Since making the switch, he has managed 24 goals and and a huge 40 assists in 124 matches for the Serie A outfit, which puts him amongst the best on the continent. He has played an important part in Lazio’s rise to the top of the table, and it is no surprise to see him pursued.
The Rome-based club are trying to get him to sign a new contract, but even then, he will have a release clause of €100m (£87.2m, Il Massagero via Sport Witness).
Should a potential suitor fork out for Alberto this summer, Liverpool could stand to receive a significant windfall.
Liverpool’s foresight in this case is something to behold – now, they should cross their fingers that he seeks pastures new.
Meanwhile, Liverpool fans are baffled by this transfer target’s latest claim.
