Topic: LIVERPOOL TRANSFER THREAD 2023 - archived discussions about what’s offensive

[RedBec1993]

There must be a plan with Bellingham, he’s been our target for the best part of 2 years. Surely the club has set aside funds for him. The best young player in the world is not going to come cheap, don’t think his wages will be an issue though.

[DelTrotter]

There must be a plan with Bellingham, he’s been our target for the best part of 2 years. Surely the club has set aside funds for him. The best young player in the world is not going to come cheap, don’t think his wages will be an issue though.

Yeah don't see the money being an issue, can't see us putting in all this supposed effort to get to May/June and go "oh sorry mate, we can't afford what Dortmund want haha". Whether we can afford anyone else on top of him is the massive question though, I don't think just signing him on his own does much for us as good as he is. Not unless Stef becomes incredible pretty much straight away anyway!

[PeterTheRed ...]

I think this being pushed again by the clubs sources reads to me that its part of a negotiation with someone? We don't have endless pots of money so don't ask for mad fees for our targets

Also- the self sustaining thing may be true but to what level is it applicable? We have spent a fortune in the last 12 months on forwards (£150m on Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo), we've got a load of money coming off the wage bill this summer (circa £30m) plus we are ending the capital investment (been running in the tens of millions for the past few summers).

I think this hasn't been praised enough. Signing 3 attackers of that talent level in less than 12 months for only £150 million is great work from our club. We have rebuilt our attacking department without limiting our chances of getting the best young midfieder in the World in the summer.

As for the other midfielder people want on top of Bellingham, there might be different reasons why we are not pursuing him in January. Maybe we are planning to use the 4-2-3-1 or the 4-4-2 more often, now that we have the personell for it, maybe Jurgen and his staff have more faith in the development of Elliott, Carvalho, Jones and Bajcetic, or maybe the other midfielder we want (if we want him) is not available in January.

With players like Ismael Bennacer, Ruben Neves, Youssouf Fofana or Djibril Sow having only 12 months left on their contracts in the summer, we might be able to strike a cut-price deal on top of signing Bellingham, and within our financial means ...

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Yeah don't see the money being an issue, can't see us putting in all this supposed effort to get to May/June and go "oh sorry mate, we can't afford what Dortmund want haha". Whether we can afford anyone else on top of him is the massive question though, I don't think just signing him on his own does much for us as good as he is. Not unless Stef becomes incredible pretty much straight away anyway!

You'd hope we can afford Bellingham without selling, and then maybe bring in one or two others through sales. I'd personally be open to letting the likes of Kelleher and Jones go if we can include buy back clauses. Gomez too probably although that would cause another problem with the need to sign a replacement.

Other than midfield we're actually in a good position with not needing wholesale changes.

[PeterTheRed ...]

I'm sure we could use the money in a better way, we stand to lose 4 midfielders from our squad in the summer.  I'd rather we didn't use up all of our transfer funds for the summer on one player.

I would have agreed with you, if we didn't already have Fabinho, Thiago, Henderson, Elliott, Jones, Carvalho and Bajcetic for next season ...

[So… Howard Philips]

So if I'm to believe this thread, we don't take enough chances on unproven talent, except when we do and then we shouldn't

Fuck me..

But unproved talent from England and France who are CL regulars are worth taking a chance on …….or something.

[Hazell]

Nothing out of the ordinary there really?

Yeah that's what I thought. Although player sales are the not the only source of funds for us. There's also commercial income and prize money but yeah, the principle is the same. I thought most clubs were run that way but it doesn't seem like it.

[Aldo1988]

I would have agreed with you, if we didn't already have Fabinho, Thiago, Henderson, Elliott, Jones, Carvalho and Bajcetic for next season ...

Lots of options there, but I do think we need a Kante/Masch type midfielder as well as a no 8/Bellignham type.  We need a bit more bite and energy in the middle, like what I've seen of Bajcetic when he's played, maybe (and it's a big maybe) he could play that role?  I'm all for giving youngsters as chance, other clubs do it (Dortmund, Barca etc) and we always look at them enviously questioning where do they get these great youngsters from.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

These posts pretty much nail it for me, and I still find it hard to understand how people can't see this.

It was clear that Fabinho, Keita and Ox were Jurgen's long term midfield plan a few years ago, and would've been the perfect combination of control, strength, energy, and directness if things had worked out. But two of those 3 haven't worked out, which has created a huge issue for us for the last 2-3 years. We've also invested over £150m plus wages in Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo in the last 12 months, so the comments about FSG being tight or us not spending are dead in the water. The arguments around the 'Coutinho money' or 'selling to buy' are also wearing thin.

Despite injuries to Diaz and Jota, scoring goals hasn't been our issue - it's been our porous midfield, lack of pressing, lack of protection for the back four, and failing to control the middle of the pitch effectively. But I think it's time some accepted that we could've bought midfielders in the last 4 or 5 windows, but have chosen not to for a variety of reasons.

We've been in limbo with Ox/Keita for 2-3 years now - waiting for them to either be injury free and put in consistently high level performances, or leave for another club. But those two scenarios are inter-linked and one affects the other - the more injuries they've picked up and the less game time they get, the less attractive they are to other clubs. The less interest there is from other clubs (especially when it's smaller clubs that want them), then the less likely they'll want to leave - as it'll mean less success, less money, and let's face it - a massive step down from being around elite players and a manager like Jurgen.

It also never ceases to amaze me that some also can't understand the limitations of squad size, or the huge impact of having 2 injury prone players on decent wages that you can't seem to either keep fit or sell - but then say things like 'the club is negligent' or 'FSG are tight arses' - when we've actually successfully built an elite group of goalkeepers, defenders and strikers over the last 5 years.

Our current midfield situation isn't due to lack of funds, or negligence, or John Henry preferring a new yacht to Tchouameni. It's a combination of injuries, bad luck, players not wanting to leave, contracts, key targets not wanting to join, Jurgen's loyalty/faith in players (plus his belief he'll be able to get a tune out of them), plus many players all reaching (or passing) their peak at the same time.

We absolutely need a workhorse, durable, and ball winning/retaining midfielder this window, followed by a box to box elite midfielder in the summer - both in the 22 to 26 age range (although I'll make an exception for a 19 year old).

But if this was all as simple as some make out, then Ox would've been sold 2 years ago (plus probably Keita too), and we wouldn't be relying on an ageing Hendo/Thiago, or an out of form Fabinho, or a 37 year-old Milner, or playing a bunch of kids out of position. Fortunately it looks like the next 2 windows could finally fix this, letting Ox/Keita/Milner move on, whilst bring in at least 2 younger (and hopefully more durable) players.

Its always a balancing act getting an elite goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack to peak at the same time - which is something we achieved between 2019 and 2022. If it wasn't for City we'd have won 3 titles in that period, so the argument about spending is mostly about 'we didn't spend as much as City' (who can...). During that same period, we've also had a global pandemic, been building a new training ground, a new stand, and been hit with unprecedented injuries, which are all massive mitigating factors for much of what has happened on and off the pitch.

I think given what we've seen over the last 12 months in terms of transfers, we could well see similar activity in midfield in the next 2-3 windows - especially as the pandemic is over, a lot of the main stand is paid off, Kirby is finished, and the ARE almost ready. Things are far, far better than people often make out, and the future is very bright despite our relatively poor start to the season.

Great summary mate, that’s how I see things too. I’ve been saying for a while that once the cap ex is done, we should have a decent level of cash to invest where necessary.
As you say, it’s not like we haven’t spent either, which perhaps indicates that it’s availability rather than lack of funds which dictates where money has been spent. We’ve had bad luck with mids too, with £90m of players bought a few years back being almost constantly unavailable.

Some of the serial moaners seem unable or unwilling to view the whole picture. It’s far easier to just shout tight bastards, spend some money.

[lionel_messias]

I would have agreed with you, if we didn't already have Fabinho, Thiago, Henderson, Elliott, Jones, Carvalho and Bajcetic for next season ...

Sorry but Elliot, Jones and Carvalho are not central midfielders, in the system we play football.

Fabinho and Thiago are starters but both have injury issues, and Henderson is not good enough or robust enough to start every match now. For example, he should NOT be starting today against Brentford, after a very poor showing against Leicester.

Bajetic looks like a really good player and maybe now have to start some games this season if Fab or Thiago don't get through to May without a knock.

You can name Elliot and Jones as many times as you like but in a 4-3-3 they are getting bullied and shown up against good Premier League midfields, and sometimes against poor ones as well.

I like positivity and backing our players but we need a physical presence in this midfield, we need it now and
to expect miracles from the likes of AOC and Keita now, when both have one eye on June exits, is surely madness.

I'll judge where we are on January 31st though.

[SerbianScouser]

Bajcetic-Thiago-Bellingham will be a quite tasty midfield next season I must admit.

[Chris~]

Paul Joyce…

“Liverpool face having to wait till the summer to sign Jude Bellingham who will cost around £130million, whilst also trying to see off intense competition from Real Madrid and Manchester City. An added complication (to signing players) is that Liverpools transfer strategy is built on a self-sustaining model, but there’s only a few candidates that can be sold this winter, Firmino, Keita, Ox and Milner are all out of contract in the summer.”

The self-sustaining thing as an excuse/pr spin with transfers is always odd in this context, because it's not a case of every fee is paid in full in the window we buy/sell. Multiple times we spend and then players are sold later on with no guarantee on payment terms, or that they'd even be sold, or have £100m+ in fees owed in year end accounts.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

I thought it wasn't about the numbers, but about quality? If we can sign a player like Bellingham, there shouldn't even be a debate about it. You sign the best young midfielder in the World, and then build your midfield around him ...

But if you have no money to build that midfield after you got him, then all you are left with is a depleted midfield that isn't getting any younger.

If we can get Bellingham and then other midfielders, then sure good. If you can only get Bellingham, I feel it would be smarter to use the same amount of money to get 2 midfielders instead. Like for £150 million you can probably get Rice and another high quality midfield. You can probably get Rice and Caicedo or McAllister for the price of Bellingham, or just slightly north or his price at least

[JackWard33]

Some of the serial moaners seem unable or unwilling to view the whole picture. It’s far easier to just shout tight bastards, spend some money.

That’s not the current issue - we just spent some money
The issue is the imbalance in the squad and the shitty planning that’s generated the problem … plus whether we do anything about it this window obv

[Red-Soldier]

So, after the spin coming out of the club, we are now trying to convince ourselves that we don't need another midfielder, currently.

I guess we can roll the dice and see what happens.

[PeterTheRed ...]

Sorry but Elliot, Jones and Carvalho are not central midfielders, in the system we play football.

Fabinho and Thiago are starters but both have injury issues, and Henderson is not good enough or robust enough to start every match now. For example, he should NOT be starting today against Brentford, after a very poor showing against Leicester.

Bajetic looks like a really good player and maybe now have to start some games this season if Fab or Thiago don't get through to May without a knock.

You can name Elliot and Jones as many times as you like but in a 4-3-3 they are getting bullied and shown up against good Premier League midfields, and sometimes against poor ones as well.

I like positivity and backing our players but we need a physical presence in this midfield, we need it now and
to expect miracles from the likes of AOC and Keita now, when both have one eye on June exits, is surely madness.

I'll judge where we are on January 31st though.

Nunez - 6'2"
Gakpo - 6'3"
Bellingham - 6'1"
Fabinho - 6'2"
Van Dijk - 6'4"
Konate - 6'4"

Nunez
Jota

Diaz - Gakpo - Salah
Jones - Carvalho - Firmino - Elliott - Doak

Bellingham - Fabinho
Thiago - Bajcetic - Henderson - Morton

Robertson - Van Dijk - Konate - TAA
Tsimikas - Matip - Van den Berg - Gomez - Ramsay

Alisson
Kelleher - New 3rd GK

I can't see this team being bullied by anyone in the World ...

[Red-Soldier]

I can't see this team being bullied by anyone in the World ...

Have you seen many of our games this season mate?

[lionel_messias]

The "self-sustaining model", no sales in Winter line peddled by Joyce on the club's behalf is the biggest load of bullshit and sophistry.

We have one of the largest revenues in World football and the club is meant to be worth £3.5Bn+.

That means you have finance available, you choose to invest (say!) £50 million on a midfielder now, and you plan ahead knowing certain players will not be on the books from this summer.

We are not run like a bloke at a car boot sale where he has to sell his Blu-Ray collection to get the cash in before he can go over and buy some Kate Bush records.

[Thiago12291]

130m on Bellingham plus his wages over what, a 5-6 year period?

Yeah, don’t see us signing off for that kind of financial package.

Then why are we briefing so much about him?

[lionel_messias]

Snip

I can't see this team being bullied by anyone in the World ...

-That's not the formation we currently play.

-Morton is out on loan, not seen properly in PL. Still a kid.

-Henderson. See above or observe how he plays for us.

-Bellingham. Okay but is still theoretical.

-Bajectic. Still a kid.


We were just bullied by Aston Villa and Leicester. All eyes on Brentford. Hopefully we do better.

[Legs]

You'd hope we can afford Bellingham without selling, and then maybe bring in one or two others through sales. I'd personally be open to letting the likes of Kelleher and Jones go if we can include buy back clauses. Gomez too probably although that would cause another problem with the need to sign a replacement.

Other than midfield we're actually in a good position with not needing wholesale changes.

Those 3 would bring decent money for us the one big problem is they are all homegrown.

My guess is Adrian leaves in the summer and a homegrown keeper is signed.

It might be possible to loan Kelleher for a year im not sure I really want to sell him !

[Asam]

Great summary mate, that’s how I see things too. I’ve been saying for a while that once the cap ex is done, we should have a decent level of cash to invest where necessary.
As you say, it’s not like we haven’t spent either, which perhaps indicates that it’s availability rather than lack of funds which dictates where money has been spent. We’ve had bad luck with mids too, with £90m of players bought a few years back being almost constantly unavailable.

Some of the serial moaners seem unable or unwilling to view the whole picture. It’s far easier to just shout tight bastards, spend some money.

yes tell Jurgen Klopp to stop being a moaner and talking about how the club should take more risks

[Fromola]

The "self-sustaining model", no sales in Winter line peddled by Joyce on the club's behalf is the biggest load of bullshit and sophistry.

We have one of the largest revenues in World football and the club is meant to be worth £3.5Bn+.

That means you have finance available, you choose to invest (say!) £50 million on a midfielder now, and you plan ahead knowing certain players will not be on the books from this summer.

We are not run like a bloke at a car boot sale where he has to sell his Blu-Ray collection to get the cash in before he can go over and buy some Kate Bush records.

Yeah, it's not good enough. It's not like they can hide behind "well if we spent 50 mill we'd fail FFP". Nobody is demanding they spend 130 million on Enzo Fernandez but sell to buy is not good enough and they've accepted they've gone as far as they can with that model.

They'll walk away with multi billions when they sell the club.

[Fromola]

130m on Bellingham plus his wages over what, a 5-6 year period?

Yeah, don’t see us signing off for that kind of financial package.

The thing is, they were probably banking on him costing maybe half that last summer (in 2023) but his price/the market has only soared since then. They know they can no longer compete in the transfer market with their usual strategy and have thrown the towel in (looking to sell up/for extra investment at least).

If we did go out and get him now in the summer it'd basically be raise as much as we can back in sales and by saved wages from expired contracts (also a heavily incentivised package of something like 80+50. It'd impact on our ability to sign anyone else.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Yeah, it's not good enough. It's not like they can hide behind "well if we spent 50 mill we'd fail FFP". Nobody is demanding they spend 130 million on Enzo Fernandez but sell to buy is not good enough and they've accepted they've gone as far as they can with that model.

They'll walk away with multi billions when they sell the club.

We're not sell to buy though are we? We've just signed Gakpo without selling anyone, and did likewise with Diaz last year.

Obviously we can spend more and wish we did, but your constant negativity would be more tolerable without the added hyperbole.

[JackWard33]

We are not run like a bloke at a car boot sale where he has to sell his Blu-Ray collection to get the cash in before he can go over and buy some Kate Bush records.

[lionel_messias]

Yeah, it's not good enough. It's not like they can hide behind "well if we spent 50 mill we'd fail FFP". Nobody is demanding they spend 130 million on Enzo Fernandez but sell to buy is not good enough and they've accepted they've gone as far as they can with that model.

They'll walk away with multi billions when they sell the club.

Yeah, no one is demanding ridiculous signings. In reality, what we needed over the last 2 years were a couple of Konate-type signings but in midfield.

What we need now is one Konate-type signing in midfield this month and then serious business in the summer.

People need to realise that if we are truly self-sustaining then we can't buy Bellingham either in the summer.

[Fromola]

We're not sell to buy though are we? We've just signed Gakpo without selling anyone, and did likewise with Diaz last year.

Obviously we can spend more and wish we did, but your constant negativity would be more tolerable without the added hyperbole.

Not completely but it's the general strategy. 40 isn't a lot in today's market but that might be the budget per year added to sales. Diaz last year we took the plunge and got him awaiting the Mane/Minamino in the summer to mostly balance the fee. Then Nunez eats up the summer budget, partly financed by other sales in the summer.

It's Jurgen Klopp himself who keeps on referencing the sell to buy.

[Asam]

We're not sell to buy though are we? We've just signed Gakpo without selling anyone, and did likewise with Diaz last year.

Obviously we can spend more and wish we did, but your constant negativity would be more tolerable without the added hyperbole.

we have been sell to buy, we probably don’t sign Nunez if we don’t sell Mane last summer

The problem at the moment is:

A) Are we prioritising the right positions?
B) How are we selecting players?

we don’t want to go from being the best at using data to make decisions to being completely dominated by subjective opinions or basing too much on how someone performs against us

For the midfield it’s critical that we sign players who will be dominant at winning their duels, we need that unfair advantage where we know we will not be outcompeted in midfield, we have the creativity at full back and options galore upfront but we can be run over in midfield

[Phineus]

Yeah, no one is demanding ridiculous signings. In reality, what we needed over the last 2 years were a couple of Konate-type signings but in midfield.

What we need now is one Konate-type signing in midfield this month and then serious business in the summer.

People need to realise that if we are truly self-sustaining then we can't buy Bellingham either in the summer.

Bellingham would be great but I agree, there is a big difference between wanting 100m + signings or just strategic squad planning within our means to keep us competing for the elite titles.

Hell, Anguissa moved for 12m in summer and is profiling as one of best CMs in Europe this season in a vibrant Napoli side - the players are out there and are very affordable who could keep the system ticking over and offer us marginal gains needed by their non-fatigued/peaked athleticism.

[Chris~]

We probably don't sign Nunez if we don't sell Mane, as we would have had Mane playing 3000 odd minutes again

[Fromola]

Yeah, no one is demanding ridiculous signings. In reality, what we needed over the last 2 years were a couple of Konate-type signings but in midfield.

What we need now is one Konate-type signing in midfield this month and then serious business in the summer.

People need to realise that if we are truly self-sustaining then we can't buy Bellingham either in the summer.

Ultimately we were too slow off the mark to get the likes of Caicedo and Fernandez in when they would have been what we'd class as affordable. Could have got either/both early in the summer (players we've had interest in) while we were insistent that only Tchouameni and Bellingham could possibly improve our squad.

Our transfer strategy being what it is means we can't afford to hang about and pay inflated fees later.

[disgraced cake]

We probably don't sign Nunez if we don't sell Mane, as we would have had Mane playing 3000 odd minutes again

Yep, if Mane hadn't wanted to go to Bayern we'd be starting that forward three for the sixth straight season. Probably wouldn't have even signed Diaz though I imagine it might have meant we could have got another midfielder in, maybe.

[will2003]

With the midfield being an issue and possibly a lack of funds, personally i think we are telling Brighton we won’t meet their over inflated price, why not push TAA in there until the end of the season … bare with me…

TAA has come through the academy as a midfielder and a highly rated one at that.
He often drifts centrally up the pitch in matches anyway so it wouldn’t be too much of a change.
We have Gomez, Ramsey and Milner who can cover the rb position
He had a lethal shot on him.

I think if we can’t get the midfielder we want we could be creative with the squad.

[Fromola]

With the midfield being an issue and possibly a lack of funds, personally i think we are telling Brighton we won’t meet their over inflated price, why not push TAA in there until the end of the season … bare with me…

TAA has come through the academy as a midfielder and a highly rated one at that.
He often drifts centrally up the pitch in matches anyway so it wouldn’t be too much of a change.
We have Gomez, Ramsey and Milner who can cover the rb position
He had a lethal shot on him.

I think if we can’t get the midfielder we want we could be creative with the squad.

Because we did the same thing in 20/21. Why spend money on a CB? Just throw Fabinho or Henderson there if needed.

[Too early for flapjacks?]

Matip as the 6, TAA as the left sided 8 and deep lying play maker, and Alisson as the right sided 8 and goal scoring creative midfielder.

[jepovic]

These posts pretty much nail it for me, and I still find it hard to understand how people can't see this.

It was clear that Fabinho, Keita and Ox were Jurgen's long term midfield plan a few years ago, and would've been the perfect combination of control, strength, energy, and directness if things had worked out. But two of those 3 haven't worked out, which has created a huge issue for us for the last 2-3 years. We've also invested over £150m plus wages in Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo in the last 12 months, so the comments about FSG being tight or us not spending are dead in the water. The arguments around the 'Coutinho money' or 'selling to buy' are also wearing thin.

Despite injuries to Diaz and Jota, scoring goals hasn't been our issue - it's been our porous midfield, lack of pressing, lack of protection for the back four, and failing to control the middle of the pitch effectively. But I think it's about time some people accepted that we could've bought midfielders in the last 3 or 4 windows, but have chosen not to for a variety of reasons.

We've been in limbo with Ox/Keita for 2-3 years now - waiting for them to either be injury free and put in consistently high level performances, or leave for another club. But those two scenarios are inter-linked and one affects the other - the more injuries they've picked up and the less game time they get, the less attractive they are to other clubs. The less interest there is from other clubs (especially when it's smaller clubs that want them), then the less likely they'll want to leave - as it'll mean less success, less money, and let's face it - a massive step down from being around elite players and a manager like Jurgen.

It also never ceases to amaze me that some also can't understand the limitations of squad size, or the huge impact of having 2 injury prone players on decent wages that you can't seem to either keep fit or sell - but then say things like 'the club is negligent' or 'FSG are tight arses' - when we've actually successfully built an elite group of goalkeepers, defenders and strikers over the last 5 years.

Our current midfield situation isn't due to lack of funds, or negligence, or John Henry preferring a new yacht to Tchouameni. It's a combination of injuries, bad luck, players not wanting to leave, contracts, key targets not wanting to join, Jurgen's loyalty/faith in players (plus his belief he'll be able to get a tune out of them), plus many players all reaching (or passing) their peak at the same time.

We absolutely need a workhorse, durable, and ball winning/retaining midfielder this window, followed by a box to box elite midfielder in the summer - both in the 22 to 26 age range (although I'll make an exception for a 19 year old).

But if this was all as simple as some make out, then Ox would've been sold 2 years ago (plus probably Keita too), and we wouldn't be relying on an ageing Hendo/Thiago, or an out of form Fabinho, or a 37 year-old Milner, or playing a bunch of kids out of position. Fortunately it looks like the next 2 windows could finally fix this, letting Ox/Keita/Milner move on, whilst bring in at least 2 younger (and hopefully more durable) players.

Its always a balancing act getting an elite goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack to peak at the same time - which is something we achieved between 2019 and 2022. If it wasn't for City we'd have won 3 titles in that period, so the argument about spending is mostly about 'we didn't spend as much as City' (who can...). During that same period, we've also had a global pandemic, been building a new training ground, a new stand, and been hit with unprecedented injuries, which are all massive mitigating factors for much of what has happened on and off the pitch.

I think given what we've seen over the last 12 months in terms of transfers, we could well see similar activity in midfield in the next 2-3 windows - especially as the pandemic is over, a lot of the main stand is paid off, Kirby is finished, and the ARE almost ready. Things are far, far better than people often make out, and the future is very bright despite our relatively poor start to the season.

We just haven't been nearly as good at recruiting midfielders as recruiting forwards and defenders. This has actually been the case during most of Klopp's years. In attack, we have invested a lot of money but we have also had close to 100% precision. In defense, we have made one expensive and very succesful signing (VVD), and several extremely low cost ones like Matip and Robertson. I can't think of a single expensive signing that hasn't paid off.

In midfield, I would say that Fabinho is the only outright success. Thiago has been a good signing too, but injured quite a bit. Milner was clever, very good bang for the buck although he's hardly world class. But then we have signed half a dozen youngsters that never reached the needed level, and we've spent quite a bit on Ox and Keita. Then there's sone weird ones like Arthur Melo. All in all, it makes you wonder who is doing the scouting and planning of midfield recruitments, because it's on a much lower level than the rest of the team.

[mickeydocs]

Maybe we need to rethink what is going on.
Klopp is slowly building his second team.
We assume the team he is building will be a team designed like Klopp 1.0.

However the evidence based on recent transfers suggests otherwise.
Klopp’s great Dortmund side was primarily 4231 and designed to be aggressive and pretty much bypass midfield.

Reus was his 10, and what a player. Carvalho excelled in this role at Fulham. Bobby can play this role. They can both also play as a false 9. Jota can play 9 & 10.
Nunez will work as a sole striker. Gakpo can also play this role.
Salah is incredible no matter where you play him.
Diaz and Gakpo provide great options on the left. Jota of course is great on the left, but better in the centre.
Now think about the tactical flexibility, speed, and ability across our attacking options.
Konate is a powerhouse- just how good will he become. VVD is going nowhere.

Our fullbacks are versatile, not to mention wold class.

Which leaves our midfield as the final piece of the jigsaw.
Who will play the Bender role, who plays the Gundongan role.

I am convinced we will get Bellingham.

Klopp is planning for the future.
This is a season of transition. It is possible we don’t get CL.
Maybe we get well beaten by Madrid.

Let’s stick together and give our great Manager the time to create a team with the ability to do it all again.

[lionel_messias]

Mickey, I don't massively disagree with your positive outlook there. Surely Klopp is building 2.0.

But why should we be "well beaten" by Real Madrid or lose out on top four to fairly poor (or badly managed) Spurs and Man U sides,
when all could have been prevented by signing a couple of midfield players?

I would like to see Klopp go 4-2-3-1 myself but we have not seen this in the last 3-4 games, even when 4-3-3 doesn't really suit players like Elliot and Hendo.

[macmanamanaman]

Building for 4231 makes sense.
With a bit of luck, we are already 90% there for this switch, even with our existing personnel, and assuming noone else signs.

I for one,  am all for bypassing midfield. 
Have a double pivot, 2DMs that never cross the halfway line and have everyone except for the 2 cb and 2 dms attack attack attack.