By Conor Allington
Liverpool were very busy over the course of the summer transfer window securing the signatures of some very high-profile players.
We’re going to assess whether or not the red’s active window can be deemed a success, analysing each new signing as well as seeing which players left Merseyside for another club.
As the current Premier League champions, many fans thought Jurgen Klopp’s reds were in for a quiet summer.
After securing the signature of Greek left back Kostas Tsimikas fans started to become frustrated as the former Olympiacos defender seemed to be Liverpool’s only signing of the window.
With the club continuing to deny all rumours and Klopp constantly stating that he’s not looking to add to his current squad fans became less hopeful of new arrivals.
However, in an exciting couple of days during September, Liverpool’s transfer window really started picking up the pace.
In the matter of just 24 hours Liverpool secured the signings of Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara and Wolves forward Diogo Jota filling the hearts of all Red fans with pure excitement and joy.
Konstantinos “Kostas” Tsimikas
On the 11th August Liverpool secured the signature of Greek international Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos for a reported fee of £11.75 million.
The 24-year-old left back joins the club knowing he will be playing second fiddle to first choice Andy Robertson and will be aware that it will take a lot of work, effort and determination to push arguably the world’s best left back out of the team.
The signing of Tsimikas is one that Klopp will be happy with as he hasn’t had a reliable back up left back in his five years at the club.
If Andy Robertson doesn’t play its 34-year-old versatile midfielder James Milner that fills in and although the vice-captain does a steady job Liverpool can’t continue placing him there when Robertson isn’t fit.
Therefore, the arrival of Tsimikas for a cheap £11 million is a smart move. The Greek international showed how good he is during the Europa League games against Liverpool’s premier league rivals Arsenal and Wolves.
The defender adds depth to the squad and finally offers Klopp another reliable option at left back making the fight for starting positions even more competitive.
This signing could certainly prove to be a successful one for the Red of Merseyside.
Thiago Alcantara
Arguably the signing of the summer, Thiago arrived at Liverpool from Bayern Munich for a reported fee of £20 million with the potential for a further £5 million in add ons.
Often regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world Alcantara put pen to paper on the 18th September signing a 4-year contract with the reigning Premier League champions.
Thiago’s arrival makes him one of the most decorated players to ever join the Premier league with an astonishing 28 major trophies to his name.
Liverpool had been linked with the 29-year-old Spanish international for a couple months with both Klopp and the club constantly denying the rumours.
However, in a crazy few hours the Alcantara rumour picked up pace and his announcement subsequently broke the internet.
Klopp certainly has many midfield options at his disposal, but the signing of Thiago was an easy decision to make. The 29-year-old adds the midfield creativity this Liverpool side has been missing since the departure of Coutinho to Barcelona.
His ability to pick out a defence splitting pass from his deep lying midfield position is what makes him so special, he can unlock any defence and set his team on the attack. As well as that he can dribble and defend which is why he is highly regarded as the complete midfielder.
His dominance in the latest Champions League final was clear to see and due to him having one year left on his Bayern Munich contract, Liverpool just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sign one of the best midfielders in the world for a bargain £20 million.
This transfer is most definitely a success and rival fans should be relishing the chance to see a global superstar playing in the Premier League.
Diogo Jota
The signing of Wolves forward Diogo Jota materialised out of no-where. Just hours after the announcement of Thiago, rumours started speculating that Liverpool were after the Portuguese forward.
And this time the rumours were correct. Liverpool announced the signing of Jota on the 19th September for a reported fee of £41 million with the potential of 4 million in add on fees.
Jota signed a long-term deal with the Merseyside club and finally adds quality back up to Liverpool’s world class front three.
Klopp has been looking for a proven back up attacker for some time now with his current options being too unreliable. Divock Origi is too inconsistent where as Xherdan Shaqiri is extremely injury prone.
Jota adds that much needed premier league proven quality to the side as well as adding serious depth to Liverpool’s record-breaking team.
The 23-year-old is a proven goalscorer and fits into Klopp’s system perfectly with his ability to press opposition teams with his pace and high work rate.
The signing of the Portuguese international is another successful one as it adds depth and quality to Jurgen Klopp’s trophy winning side.
Outgoings
With the arrival of three new players Liverpool also needed to trim down their squad with players returning from loan spells as well as some first team regulars being out of favour.
The Reds biggest departure of the window was highly rated youngster Rhian Brewster to Sheffield United for a reported fee of £23.4 million. However, Liverpool included a buy back clause within the next three years.
So, if the 20-year-old proves to be successful at the Blades Liverpool can bring him back. This is smart business by the Reds as either way it is a win, win.
Two big names that left Merseyside this summer was centre back Dejan Lovren who joined Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg for a fee of around £10.8 million.
The other first team regular to depart was England international Adam Lallana who moved to fellow Premier League side Brighton on a free transfer after seeing out his contract with the Reds.
Other sales include Ki-Jana Hoever to Wolves for a fee of around £8.82 million and attacking midfielder Ovie Ejaria to Reading for £3.51 million.
Loan transfers include Marko Grujic who left to join Porto on a season long loan, Loris Karius and Taiwo Awoniyi who were both loaned out to Union Berlin and Sheyi Ojo who joined Cardiff.
Both Nathaniel Clyne and Andy Lonergan were released by the club.
Overall Liverpool’s 2020 summer transfer window was a success as they brought in a world class midfielder as well as a quality back up attacker and a reliable back up left back adding serious depth into Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League winning side.
They also got rid of players either on loan or on a permanent basis who weren’t going to feature regularly and made back some of the money they had spent over the summer.
