A Comprehensive Preview
AN ARTICLE BY MATTY
It’s been a while. Well, we’ve snagged one trophy, are very much among the favorites for another two, and have oil barons to chase down for a fourth. Yes, the quadruple is on everyone’s minds. The squad depth is the best we’ve ever seen. Everything is going brilliantly for Liverpool FC. But evolution never stops, the people in charge of our club never settle when it comes to bringing new people in or developing our youth into future champions. So in this long-winded and expansive article, I’ll go through each and every player in our first team and even some youth academy starlets to see exactly what the vision might be for this club moving forward, as well as bringing up certain positions (not really specific players, mind you) that we might look for to make tiny tweaks in the squad because, let’s be honest, that’s all we need at this point. Even assigning the word “need” to that last sentence is debatable.
One last thing we’ll discuss is the vision of the future itself. We seem to be moving towards becoming more of a technical, possession-based side while still keeping the gegenpress and counter-attacking systems that have been hallmarks of a typical Klopp team. This can be seen most clearly in the midfield: we’ve got the ultimate midfield maestro in Thiago, we’ve trained Jones and Elliott to be technically gifted with the ball, we’ve even seen Henderson delivering some defense-splitting passes. We’re developing a team that is a combination of both Guardiola and Klopp tactics, which is something that should scare the living daylights out of our opposition. So that’s the type of players we’ll look to bring in if we deem it necessary and frankly, if everybody stays, there’s no need to buy anyone. But I’m not gonna assume everybody stays and I’ll explain why as we go through each player. So let’s start the countdown, shall we?
Edit: I am definitely making a second part to this. It creates more work for me as now I have to scout numerous players to put in as transfer targets that I wasn’t planning on originally, but adding anything beyond these ratings would make this article incredibly long.
Alisson: Brilliant goalie, arguably the best in the world. Excellent distribution, amazing shot-stopping, can score an absolute banger of a header and is one of the nicest people around. Perfect for us.
Caoimhin Kelleher: The Kookaburra Cup hero. An Irish legend. The perfect backup to Alisson. What a lad, Caoimhin Kelleher!
Adrian: Finchy said it best: at this point, Adrian is our party-starter and a translator for Diaz more than a goalie at this point. I could see him signing on for one more year or just retiring. Either way, for a third string goalie who hardly ever sees the field, he’s a good locker room presence and that’s helpful.
Marcelo Pitaluga: I’ve put the young Brazilian here because he seems to have already taken the third string job away from Adrian at the age of 19. Furthermore, his prime aligns with Alisson aging out more so than Kelleher’s. If Kelleher ever wanted to leave for more playing time, this guy is the likely successor to Alisson. Also helps that Claudio Taffarel is here to help with his development. He’s got two legendary Brazilian goalies helping him out, perhaps he can be another club legend down the line.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: The Scouser in our team, his passes are so obscene, the best right back in the league and he’s only 23! As much as Thiago is the controller, Trent is still the main creative outlet in the team. There isn’t a better crosser in world football. Future captain, an absolute star.
Andy Robertson (McMOTM): I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Trent’s partner in crime, Andy Robertson. The Scotsman has a brilliant peg of a left foot, runs like he has three lungs, and constantly defends his teammates on the pitch. He’s been amazing for a long time and will continue to be so for a good while longer.
Kostas Tsimikas: Pound-for-pound one of the best value signings we’ve made. We’ve spent less than £18 million combined on the two best left backs in the world. Yeah, I said what I said, Kostas has been that good when asked to perform this season. He’s also filled Lovren’s old role of being Salah’s best friend and his nickname “The Greek Scouser” suggests a man who’s made clear efforts to fit in with the culture of the city he plays in. Hopefully he can convince Mo to sign a new contract, eh?
Neco Williams: Currently on loan with his future at the club possibly in the balance. He’s versatile, he’s a decent crosser of the ball, he’s got good pace, but he just hasn’t been trusted since the 2019/20 season when he broke through to the first team. Could be a decent squad player, but don’t be surprised if we either promote Conor Bradley or sign a cheap right back to replace Neco. Good player, sure, but he might not be at the level required.
Conor Bradley: Speaking of Conor Bradley, let’s talk a bit about the Northern Irishman. He’s shown a lot of promise in the academy and has clearly caught Klopp’s eye by getting some appearances in the cups. But is he ready to step up to the first team yet? He’s looked a bit shaky when he’s played this season, which is to be expected for most young players trying to make the step up to the first team. The best strategy might be to have Bradley and Williams battle it out to be Trent’s backup and, if neither of them impress, have a couple right backs on a shortlist to buy a better backup and sell Williams to Fulham. I know backup right back may seem like a minor thing to worry about, but we’ve seen how Tsimikas has given Robertson the rest he’s needed for years. I’d like to see the same for Trent.
Virgil van Dijk: The big man is back to his best, the Champions League matchup against Inter proved it. His pace is fully back, his decision-making has always been solid, and his passing is key to the attack, whether it be starting a quick counterattack or keeping possession. I know some people don’t like how he never gets his clothes dirty with the way he defends. I like how he defends, though. It speaks to his incredibly football IQ that he can snuff out attacks without ever being panicked or even having to sprint most times. The best defender in the world, our number 4.
Joel Matip: Oh, how a year changes things. At this time a year ago, I thought that, while Matip was a brilliant player, he was simply too injury-prone to keep. Well, Joel has proven me wrong. He’s been one of our most durable players, being rotated out with Konate on a regular basis to keep him healthy. His giraffe runs make me so happy, I couldn’t believe it when he finally scored off of one of those. His play style is such a perfect compliment to Virgil and his runs have become a big part of our attack when he’s playing. I’m sorry, Joel, for ever doubting you.
Ibrahima Konate: What did I tell you? I said when we first bought him that if we could keep Konate healthy, we’d have an absolute tank on our hands with the young Frenchman. I said he was handpicked to be our eventual replacement for Virgil, with his stature, style of defending and passing ability all reasons to support that theory. He’s played some big games this season and has looked excellent in every situation he’s been put in. If all goes well, he’ll be a rock in the middle of the defense for the next decade.
Joe Gomez: He’s looked solid enough when he’s played, he just hasn’t played enough because of how shockingly healthy the defense has been all season. He’ll get his chances, for sure. He’s overqualified to be a fourth CB but I’m really happy we have him and hope that he stays here for a long time to come. A future CB pairing of Konate and Gomez would be a great one if rotated with the right people to avoid injury.
Nat Phillips: I’d be alright with Nat being fourth choice if we sell Gomez. But I don’t see us selling Gomez unless he actively pushes for a move out so I think we let Nat go wherever he wants and get a decent fee for him. He deserves regular football for some Premier League team. We will never forget the Bolton Baresi and his heroics last season.
Rhys Williams: No. Moving on.
Fabinho: The only CDM that can compare to this man just so happens to also play for Brazil. Poor Fab. And before you come at me about Kante, yes, Kante is better than Fab but is more of a box-to-box than a lone defensive pivot that Fabinho is asked to be for us. He scores a decent amount of goals, his passing is superb, his football IQ nearly impeccable. He is the perfect defensive shield for this team. I love this guy.
Jordan Henderson: His form has been a little patchy at times, but he’s caught fire lately whether he’s playing in the box-to-box role or in Fabinho’s spot at the base of the midfield. His technical ability has improved leaps and bounds over the years, he’s an incredible captain, and his defensive work is still strong even if it’s not quite at the levels it used to be. The perfect leader for these men.
Thiago: You all know how I feel about Thiago at this point. I simply love him and love watching him play. He brings an element of dominance and control that we hadn’t really seen since we had the midfield of Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard. His injuries can be annoying, especially when it holds us back from seeing him play with Fab and Hendo more often. But he is such a key piece to this team when he’s healthy, you can see it in how many of our best performances have come when he’s in the lineup. He is an absolute weapon, one of our X-factors.
Naby Keita: Hello, Naby. I’d like to bring some light to your efforts in effectively replacing Gini Wijnaldum when you’ve played this season. (Alright, I looked at his stats just now to tell you guys about them and they are absolutely ridiculous, give them a look here: https://fbref.com/en/players/f25c8e3a/Naby-Keita). Keita is in the 87th percentile among midfielders in both tackles and pressures while also keeping up his typical attacking output by being in the 99th percentile of progressive carries and 97th percentile of non-penalty goals per 90. Pretty well-rounded from Naby lad, who has been pretty healthy this season outside of a nasty Pogba challenge and an incident with some grass. It says a lot that we offered him a contract extension before the season even started, we clearly believe in his abilities and he’s coming through for us this season more than he has before.
Harvey Elliott: Remember what I said about Conor Bradley, that it usually takes time for youth players to stop being nervous when they make the jump to the first team? Yeah, throw that out the window for this wonder kid. I find it insane that a guy my age could not only make it into the first eleven at Liverpool, but be a star in a team full of world class talent. He’s fit the team like a glove from day one, he gives us that progressive midfielder that we’ve all craved for so long, and his football IQ is incredibly advanced for his young age. The sky’s the limit for this man. What a talent.
Curtis Jones: An excellent player in his own right who has been overshadowed by the emergence of Elliott, Jones has had an up-and-down season typical of most young players breaking into a first team setup. However, you saw that pie chart in the Norwich game thread. Although Jones has played merely half the minutes that Bellingham has this season, their advanced stats are almost identical. Now, we must note that Bellingham’s play style is different from Jones, Bellingham is much more of an aggressive offensive player at this point in time than Curtis. But they do share numerous similarities. Not that I’m trying to dissuade anyone from going crazy over Jude, I’ve done it myself many times. But let’s give Curtis a bit more respect. The lad’s a star in his own right.
James Milner: Milly’s here to drink Ribena and get yellow cards. And the opponents drank his Ribena. Milly is an amazing leader, brilliant utility man, and can stay here as long as he likes. Always my mother’s favorite, she calls him GI Joe.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: I don’t really like saying this, I love this guy. But the writing is on the wall for him in more ways than one. Firstly, he is the only one whose contract expires in the next eighteen months that Liverpool haven’t talked to about a contract extension. This suggests he’s either getting sold in the summer or we’re gonna let him run his contract out. Either way, unless we make an offer to extend his contract (which we have the time to do so if we want), I think it’d be best to try and recoup some money to make way for either a new signing or the youth (or both). There’s also the discussion to be had that, while he is valuable depth in a few positions, he just doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the midfield. Yeah, the dynamism that he has is great, I love it. But it doesn’t really work within our midfield structure nor does it work with his fellow midfielders. Throw in his inconsistent form and occasional injuries and, while I love the Ox and always will, it seems like his days are numbered here.
Tyler Morton: Remember what I said about Harvey Elliott and how his transition into the first team was surprisingly seamless? Same goes for this guy. Tyler Morton absolutely crushed his audition to be put into the first team on a permanent basis and I think he has a real chance of taking Ox’s place in the squad next season. This guy came into a Champions League match against Porto with a patchwork team in front of him and absolutely bossed the midfield. I’ve seen people think of him as the future at the base of the midfield, but I see a difference role for him, one that’s arguably more important: this guy is our successor to Thiago. You can just see it in the way they pass the ball, control the pace of the game, and consistently see two to three passes ahead of whatever they do with the ball. Tyler Morton is a special player, he’s got a very bright future in our squad.
Fabio Carvalho: Our assumed summer signing, we seem to have robbed Fulham of another young English star in the making. The one word that best describes him: joy. This guy genuinely loves to play this game we call football. You can see it on the pitch: he tries to make people look silly, dribbling through five or six people sometimes before ripping off a shot. He’s the catalyst in many ways to Fulham’s success in the Championship this season. I’m not quite sure where he fits in, whether it be as a midfielder or forward. But there’s a lot of traits with him that make it likely he’ll do well here in whatever position we deem best.
Sadio Mane: What a difference a month makes, doesn’t it? At the start of January, I can’t even tell you how many times I saw people saying Mane was washed. Even though his advanced stats suggested he was having one of his best seasons, that didn’t matter to people. He wasn’t scoring, so he was washed. Well, now he’s AFCON champion, he’s scoring goals left and right again and his confidence is through the roof. Overhead kick, anybody? As for his contract, I see Mane being the likeliest one to sign a long-term extension out of the three at this moment in time. He’s proven he can play anywhere in a front three, he’s still near the peak of his powers, and his hunger for success rubs off on a lot of people.
Roberto Firmino: Bobby Dazzler is still a great player. He still leads the press and links play well with the other forwards, making him a valuable player even if the goals have dried up. Yet I think we end up letting his contract run down and have him leave on a free in 2023. His form seems to have taken more of a hit than the other original Klopp forwards, he’s had more injury problems in recent times, and Jota’s recent games suggest he’s getting trained up to fill the linkup role that makes Bobby so unique. There is a contract offer on the table for him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes it. I’d be more than happy if he stays for a few more years. But it just seems like, should Salah sign his extension, that Bobby is more likely to leave than Mane.
Mohamed Salah: Salah’s the best player in the world right now. He leads the Premier League in both goals and assists and the closest people to him in both categories are Mane, Jota, Trent and Robertson. He wants to be here long-term and undoubtedly Liverpool want the same thing. The question is then the price tag. I see one of two things happening with Salah this summer: he either signs his new deal or gets sold for no less than £200 million. It’d be a punch in the gut if we had to sell him, for sure. But I don’t see us budging on our valuation of him, we did the same for Gini and he ended up leaving too. We also can’t destroy the wage structure when we’ve already got a pretty high wage bill as is. I see him getting offered significantly more money per week than anyone else at the club, but if he really wants £500k a week or more, I just don’t think we can afford that or the repercussions that would happen as a result of that type of contract. So here’s the deal, Mo: if you really love us that much and want to retire at Liverpool, prove that it’s not just lip service and give up on the £500k a week dream because you’re not gonna get it here.
Diogo Jota: The lad from Portugal, Jota’s gone from being a strong starting option to a world class star this season. Arguably our most consistent forward this season after Salah, Jota presses like a velociraptor, scores goals in bunches, and is improving his linkup play and passing in each game. He’s here for a while to come, and he’ll be an absolute superstar leading the front line for us. Reminds me of a young Fernando Torres.
Luis Díaz: Our newest signing, the Colombian forward has been very impressive so far. What I said about Carvalho’s joy can also be said about Diaz, he looks to make people silly and have fun playing the game. No-look passes, nutmegs, Diaz does the lot when it comes to embarrassing defenders. He’s also lightning quick, an excellent dribbler, and is already developing chemistry with Robertson. An excellent signing that can only get better from here.
Takumi Minamino: The hero of the cups, Minamino has developed this season into the perfect depth forward: he scores when he’s called upon, he fits in well with any of the other forwards, and he loves being here so he doesn’t complain that much if he’s not always on the field. I hope he’s here for a long time to come, he’s our modern-day Dirk Kuyt.
Divock Origi: Origi is a player that is nice to have around in that he gives us big goals when we need them most. I’m not sure if he stays on for another year or leaves, but I’m alright with either of those scenarios playing out. If he leaves, thank you Divock for the wonderful memories. Classic example of a club folk hero.
Kaide Gordon: The youngest player to score in Liverpool history. Or maybe second-youngest behind Woodburn, I really don’t know. Anyway, he’s 17 and he’s already scored for Liverpool, that’s the point. Gordon is definitely a player that fits into Klopp’s long-term plans, I just question whether he’s gonna be groomed to replace Salah or not. Gordon’s got his strengths for sure, but pace isn’t necessarily one of them. And if you’re gonna try and get a like-for-like replacement for Mo down the line, it might make sense to target another option. He is 17, so he’s got a ton of time to improve. I know he’s gonna be a Liverpool player long term, my only question is how important of a role will he have in the team long-term?
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