Liverpool had a very interesting 23/24 season, finishing 3rd in the Premier League and winning the Carabao cup. But in the back of their minds, surely they feel that they could have achieved so much more, spending most of the season in the title race vs Manchester City and Arsenal, and were even top of the table for some time. Unfortunately, in the business end of the season, it all came crashing down, with a series of disappointing results which led to them dropping points in several winnable games. One of the biggest problems with Liverpool was their finishing and lack of clinicality, which didn’t just apply to one player, but almost every player was guilty of being poor in the finishing department. Overall, accross competitions, Liverpool underperformed their xg by 17.11 goals, scoring 86 in all competitions in the ending(Stats via Understat). Those 17 goals could have easily turned a decent season into an excellent one, especially in the Premier League. Darwin Nunez was the most guilty player in this regard, underperforming his xg by over 8 goals over the course of the season. The silver lining is that Diogo Jota outperformed his xg consistently and has been doing so since he joined Liverpool. Fitness has been a big problem for him, and injuries plagued his season in 23/24, playing just 21 games accross all competitions. Liverpool would certainly hope Diogo jota stays fit for the entire season, because I personally believe that Dawrin Nunez is at his absolute best when he comes off the bench and creates chaos, channeling his ability to create something out of nothing. The only glaring issue right now is the lack of a Salah back up. Mohommad Salah unquestionably starts any game for Liverpool, but there is a noticable dip without him, and with his age, injuries are likely to increase. So Liverpool desperately need someone who can be a good backup without causing too much of a downgrade on the pitch. The most important take away however, is the fact that Liverpool have appointed a new manager Arne Slot, who likes to emulate a posession based style of football, with a lot of responsibility placed on the pivot, both offensively and defensively. While Endo is phenomenal at covering ground, he isn’t quite as comfortable receive the ball under pressure, and he is also getting a bit older. CDM is a position that Liverpool need to invest in for the long term. Another area of investment is the LB/CB hybrid, as Slot builds up in either a 3-2-5, or a 2-4-4, requiring his left back to be defensively solid enough to act as a 3rd center back, while also having the on-ball ability to tuck into midfield. Robertson isn’t an ideal fit for the role, especially with his age and injury record this past year. So this is another area where they’d like to invest long term.
Transfers for the CDM role
1.Martin Zubimendi
Probably the most obvious pick for the role, Martin Zubimendi has long been on the list of many of Europe’s elite clubs, and for good reason. The stats may not show it because he is playing for a team who tends to be more direct in terms of their attacking threat, he has a bit of ‘pausa’ and can dictate play really well, while also serving as a good deep lying playmaker, with an ability to break passing lanes and also play the occasional pleasing long pass over the defence. He is also quite solid defensively, with the only real weakness being aerial duels. He has an excellent ability to defend transitions and cover ground, and has a very clean tackling technique so he rarely commits fouls. He has an excellent reading of the game, with an ability to intercept and stop dangerous situations before they pose any threat. We saw how good of a job he did covering for Rodri, who is arguably the benchmark for the modern pivot, in the Euro finals. While judging a player off one performance is never fruitful, he has consistently been showing how good he is, and how valuable an asset he can be to a posession based team. Under Arne Slot, he can turn into one of the best CDM’s in the world. While he does have a 60m release clause, he seems quite keen on staying at his boyhood club, having already rejected offers from Bayern and Arsenal in previous seasons.
2.Exequiel Palacios
Exequiel Palacios has had a breakout season at Bayer Leverkusen. He has been a key part of their success in the 23/24 season, standing out as an excellent ball winner and a deep lying playmaker. In possession, Palacios stands out in terms of his assists, expected assists, Progressive Passes, Key passes, Passes into the final third, Passes into the Penalty area, Progressive carries, carries, successful take ons and successful take on %. He is extremely press resistant and has an expansive passing range. This season he has primarily played as a ball winner next to Granit Xhaka, who has been the main deep lying playmaker in the team, but Palacios has proven to be more than good enough to replace his creative ability at Leverkusen. What also stands out is his ability off the ball. He is incredible at defending transitions, and he stands out in tackles, interceptions, duels won, dribblers tackled, and ball recoveries. He is very press resistant and has an excellent ability to wiggle out of tight situations, and also has an element of ‘Pausa’ in his game, with an ability to dictate the tempo of the game. He is just 25, valued at 40m, and can develop into a truly world class CDM under Arne Slot.
Transfers for the LB/CB Hybrid role
1.Goncalo Inacio
Goncalo Inacio plays as a left sided center back in a back 3, and has really blossomed into that role under Ruben Amorim. He stands out when it comes to Progressive passes, progressive carries, succesful take-ons, expected assists, passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area, shot creating actions and goal creating actions. All these paint a picture of a center back who’s very good on the ball and can create chances for the team from deeper areas. Another stat that stands out to me is his high number of progressive passes received, which highlights that he often receives the ball further up the pitch, in midfield areas. This shows that he is someone who is capable of playing as a defensive left back or as an inverted left back, and can also cover for Van Dijk as a center back. On the defensive side of things, he stands out as well, especially in areas such as tackles, dribblers challenged, and recoveries, all while playing in a posession based team. He is valued at 45m, and would be a perfect fit for the long term plans of this Liverpool team.
2.David Hancko
David Hancko plays as a left sided center back in a back 3, and has really blossomed into that role at Feyonoord. He stands out when it comes to Progressive passes, progressive carries, succesful take-ons, expected assists, passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area, shot creating actions, key passes and goal creating actions. All these paint a picture of a center back who’s very good on the ball and can create chances for the team from deeper areas. Just like Inacio, a stat that stands out to me is his high number of progressive passes received, which highlights that he often receives the ball further up the pitch, in midfield areas. This shows that he is someone who is capable of playing as a defensive left back or as an inverted left back, and can also cover for Van Dijk as a center back. On the defensive side of things, he stands out as well, especially in areas such as tackles, dribblers challenged, and recoveries, all while playing in a posession based team. He is valued at 38m, and would be a perfect fit for the long term plans of this Liverpool team. He has already played under Arne Slot and is familiar with his system, however, adjusting from the Eredevise to the Premier League is a tough challenge, and we have already seen that on the international stage his performances haven’t been up to the mark.
Transfers for the RW Backup
Ideally, This role isn’t meant to simply be a backup to Mohommad Salah, but to also be a potential long term replacement for Salah. However, getting a potential long term Salah replacement in this market is extremely tough, with the only one that currently seems feasible is Mohommad Kudus, but even he will have a large price tag. Due to this, I have a feeling that Liverpool will most likely invest in a pure Salah backup and try their best to renew Salah’s contract, provided his performance is still good. So here’s a list of good backups to Salah, even if they aren’t identical in terms of playing style to Salah, but can still offer a similiar impact.
1.Federico Chiesa
Chiesa is one of the best two footed wingers out there, with an ability to play well on both flanks, as well as playing as a 9. He is an excellent dribbler, and while he has lost some of his pace due to an ACL tear sustained a couple of years ago, he is still an excellent goal creater and difference maker, especially standing out when it comes to expected assists, key passes, succesful take ons, shot creating actions and goal creating actions. He is someone who has the ability to come off the bench and change games, while also offering a different skillset, in the form of a more creative threat rather than a goal scoring threat, which may be useful against certain opponents. Juventus have already transfer listed him for just 15m, and it seems like an absolute steal of a deal, despite Chiesa being rather injury prone.
2.Kingsley Coman
Another two footed, two sided winger is Kingsley Coman. His best form has come when he plays on the right wing, and with the recent acquisition of Micheal Olise, it seems very unlikely that he will get any gametime at right wing. He is someone who is really effective at creating chaos, with an ability to churn out an audacious pass or an audacious skill to beat his man, plus his combination of raw pace as well as a lot of top flight experience allows him to also be a good finisher, getting into the right areas to score chances. He stands out in succesful take ons, progressive carries, expected assists and shot creating actions. The only real disadvantage with Coman is that he has been struggling with injuries for a while, and there are no indications that this will improve at Liverpool. He seems to have been loan listed by Bayern already, with barcelona already approaching him, but not having the finances to pull off the deal. Liverpool do have a good opportunity to swoop in and get a solid squad player.
