A Look Ahead: Why 2022 is Crucial for the Reds
ARTICLE BY MATTY
Bit of a new format this time, should be interesting to see how this goes. Instead of using Google Docs to write this article, I’m writing it straight off my phone from work. Just because I’m stuck being the cashier of a cafe doesn’t mean I can’t actually be doing anything productive with my time. But I digress.
So, as we’ve recently heard, Liverpool look likely to sign 8 of their first eleven to new contracts. Alisson is now signed until2027, Fabinho until 2026, Trent and Virgil until 2025, and we’ve yet to see the details for Henderson, Salah, Mane and Robertson. But regardless, considering how Klopp’s reign at Dortmund ended with his best players leaving for free due to Dortmund’s unwillingness to pay increased wages, this must be a brilliant change of pace for the German. Now, with this spectacular team beginning to age a bit, Klopp must look forward to the next generation, those who will join Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in the next iteration of our Red Machine.
We do have some bright young stars in the academy, chief among them Kaide Gordon, who impressed this summer in preseason with the first team. But the general feeling is that more is needed, regardless of whether or not a player of the likes of Jeremy Doku ends up coming in before the window of 2021 shuts. You may be asking by now why 2022 matters so much and why I’ve titled it as a crucial year for Liverpool. I’ll put it simply: the stars are aligning for a bit of an overhaul. The biggest reason I think this will happen, in addition to what’s available in the summer of 2022, is because of Liverpool’s current contracts. We’ve extended a fair amount of them already, likely eight by the time all is said and done. Yet I don’t think we’ll be extending anyone else.
It would be foolish, in my opinion, to extend all three of our front three as they enter their 30s, and with Mane and Salah already receiving extensions you can reasonably see who is being left out. As brilliant as Firmino is and as crucial as he is to our system, it looks like he won’t be getting a contract extension after his contract expires in 2023. Another pair of players who will likely leave in 2023? Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Throw in the expiring contracts of Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, and Thiago in 2024 and you’ve got yourself a good amount of wages and spots available to either bring in some more youth talents (think Gordon and Clarkson, possibly Musialowski). I also think, if the decision has been made already to not extend most, if not all of the players I just mentioned (if you ask me, I think Gomez is the only one getting an extension out of those players), that we will likely sell a few of them before their contracts run down. That means Keita and Ox will likely be gone next summer, and maybe Firmino too. Don’t count out a shock sale of Matip when he’s two years left on his deal next summer as well. This means that we might be losing valuable first team members next year.
Fortunately, next summer is a year where some massive young talents are available. Now notice that, between Milner and Ox leaving, we’ll need some English players to help with the homegrown quota. Fortunately for us, Jude Bellingham could be available next summer. There is a both a lot of sense and urgency with him possibly coming to Liverpool: he fits the bill of what Liverpool typically look for, having completed two seasons in one of Europe’s top five leagues at this time next year, and next year (I could be wrong on this) will be the last year Liverpool can buy him and register him as a homegrown player if the FA doesn’t count Bellingham’s training at Birmingham to be considered as enough to achieve “homegrown” status. Another young English player who could move? Bukayo Saka. It would definitely be a long shot, but if Arsenal fail to do anything of note in this upcoming season (which looks likely), he could push for a move out of London. Considering our stature as a Champions League-level club, not to mention our previous attempts to sign him or how his versatility would fit a number of needs at Liverpool and could even make him a successor in the Firmino role, we could be a front runner for his signature.
As for foreign signings, two players stand out above the rest: Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. While Mbappe looks unlikely due to massive wage demands, next summer appears to be Liverpool’s last chance to grab the prolific Norwegian. His release clause will be £75 million at this time next year, the exact same amount we paid for Virgil. He’d fill an immediate need in the team, with Firmino possibly being sold. While I’m not sold on his mentality nor his ego, if he can improve those things and still remain in top form I don’t see why Liverpool wouldn’t view this as a unique opportunity.
As for more continental talents, one could look to Ryan Gravenberch of Ajax. Only a year older than Bellingham, Gravenberch has the versatility to do anything in the midfield, equally capable of silky passing, long-range screamers and gritty defending. Like Bellingham, Gravenberch is a true all-around midfielder, with no weakness to speak of. His teammate, Perr Schuurs, would be an ideal target in the heart of the defense should Matip leave, or for the more ambitious, perhaps Matthijs de Ligt could force a move from Juventus. The point is there are some absolutely world-class players available next summer, incredibly young players who could join the generation led by Jones and Elliott and significantly bolster it.
Now why am I talking like Liverpool have that money to spend? Consider the players that I mentioned that could be up for sale. Keita and Ox might not garner too much, but Firmino could easily raise significant funds, as could Matip. With the exception of Matip, they’d all have one year left on their contract, the ideal time to sell if they aren’t considered a part of the future. Consider as well that FSG has spent heavily on Kirkby and Anfield in the last few years, making it a bit harder to fund transfers in a self-sustainable manner. With everything else taken care of, perhaps we see spending more in line with 2018 or 2019, where we spent massive amounts of money in order to properly bolster the squad and elevate it from a challenger to a winner. That would allow for an expansive budget in a year where incredible young talents who fit what Liverpool need are available, perhaps for the last time before they become too expensive for us. The stars are aligning for a shakeup, one that will hurt but is also necessary if Liverpool wish to be champions well after Klopp’s likely departure in 2024.
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