Exactly. I’d suggest that we actually need turnover to remain successful. Under Klopp I felt we held onto players too long (midfield change excepted). I’d like to see 3-5 new signings every season; given this is Arne’s first proper ‘summer’ and we did FA last summer, it is fine to have more turnover this summer.
Where I’d get concerned is if we lose both Quansah and JoGo and only bring one player in (especially if Ibou hasn’t signed an extension); similarly if we loose more than two forwards (Chiesa and Darwin seem fairly certain), then I’d like to see us replace the lost numbers with at least n-1. Ideally though we keep Diogo, Luis and Cody and bring in just Ekitike this summer.
As great the signings are so far, probably only Wirtz would be expected to slot in and start immediately. The two FB signings have great competition for both positions. Kerkez of course is the long term solution but it is not necessarily immediate especially if Robertson stays. So Kerkez and Frimpong do not necessarily come on immediately as bang on starters. In this way, there will be a nice transition period.
It’s interesting because changing the team carries as much potential risk then rewards.
If anything, at the end of the season we seemed more predictable, and if we make the assumption that teams has figured us out to some extent, then having more changes could make it harder for the opposition to prepare.
There will be some luck factor as well, and that’s fun. If it was all predictable, we’d just be bored.
The best Liverpool teams of the 70s and 80s or the likes of United in the 90s and 00s etc all kept turning the squad over. New faces add energy and an element of tension/change that are essential to keep players pushing which is essential if a team is to stay at the top.
It very much depends. When you get your recruitment right, as we largely have in recent years, it reduces the need for sizeable turnover until players start ageing out or leave at the end of their contract. With the business we’re doing this summer, I could see a couple of slower windows thereafter, mainly looking to replace guys like Mo and Virgil as and when that becomes necessary.
Teams like Chelsea and United have huge turnover because their recruitment is largely shite and every summer requires almost another complete rebuild, and they’re invariably worse off for it.
I think the work we’re doing the summer is fine and needed to be done, but it’s coming off the back of a couple of fairly quiet windows, and I expect to see that kind of activity-inactivity cycle continuing, and if it does it will be a sign that our recruitment and squad-building is on point.
Kerkez was the obvious signing we needed at LB. The rumours continued to persist especially as we had the Bournemouth connections with Richard Hughes. We probably end up paying somewhat close to what City’s paid this time for Ait Nouri. That’s smart business.
Same goes for Frimpong. He was the best available right back with an affordable release clause. Again, The club would have known that Trent wasn’t about to sign a new contract and had enough time to line Frimpong up.
We didn’t seemingly look at any other alternatives. The two were probably seen as first choice and do come in the affordable bracket (for a club that’s in the top 3 (Wirtz’s words, not mine) . The acquisition fees of Kerkez and Frimpong over the length of the contracts makes them a very viable deal.
Wirtz is an opportunistic signing. We had the bandwith to go for him this season (which a lot of other clubs didn’t). Reckon City busting their bank for Haaland’s extension and the scrutiny over their 115 charges is reflecting in the business that they are doing now.
I’d like to think Antonee Robinson was the best LB in the league last year but Kerkez wasn’t far behind. And Robinson’s 27 compared to Kerkez’s 21. Kerkez’s signing is a no brainer in that regard.
Considering both went when there contracts expired suggests nobody wanted to pay for them hence why they stopped. You can only sell players if there is a buyer.
Wasn’t just Ox and Keita. Lallana as well. We carried too many passengers in that team. We could have pushed them into a loan. But we ended up carrying them. Led to more miles in the legs of Milner, Fabinho & Henderson.