How do you improve almost to perfection? This is the pose that Liverpool is struggling with now, as they look to continue the transformation to the second team of Jurgen Klopp from his term at Anfield.
Having been defeated by one point for the Premier League title and one goal for the Champions League crown – with the League Cup and FA Cup already secured – it may, at least in terms of raw numbers, seem just a little more to overcome. on a void.
However, such a final step is always the most difficult, especially when the constant evolution of the Liverpool team has led to the inevitable disintegration of previous key principles under Klopp.
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Last but not least in the attack, where the triumvirate Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino started together in only five of 63 games this season. Diogo Jota and recently Luis Diaz are already regular contenders for the role.
In any case, Manet seems increasingly likely to have played his last game for Liverpool, with Bayern Munich preparing for a second offer to entice the Senegalese. And as Salah is still procrastinating on a new deal, as things stand, he will soon enter his final season as a player for the Reds. The same with Firmino, although it is understood that the Brazilian would be receptive to an extension of the contract if such is forthcoming. Divock Origi is already gone, with doubts about the long-term future of Takumi Minamino.
Julian Ward, who is taking over from outgoing Michael Edwards as sporting director, faces the daunting task of continuing his offensive recovery.
In recent years, the job has been to attract strikers who knew they had to make their way into the top three. Although not every future signing imagined the prospect of no guaranteed playing time, Jota tackled the challenge.
Now, however, the goal is to complete the attack without much loss of quality. And it will not be cheap.
Salah and Manet – and to a lesser extent Firmino – were not quite finished when they arrived in Liverpool for £ 43.9 million and £ 30 million respectively. Good players, yes. But the work in Liverpool made them great, among the best in the world at its peak. They have set the bar for those who follow.
It is impossible, not least from a financial point of view, to immediately replace such with similar, and instead Liverpool adheres to its proven and reliable formula for finding established talent who believe they can improve in the Training Center of AXA. A shortlist of potential replacements has been drawn up if Manet leaves, a younger striker with the ability to play down to the center to the preferred goal.
The problem is that everyone knows the situation of the Reds. And that will only increase the asking price of each player, even if Liverpool are backed by the proceeds from the sale of Manet with each potential suitor, forced to reach nearly 40 million pounds before the offer is seriously considered.
Take the case of Darwin Nunes. Although the player is very impressed with Klopp and the recruiting team, the reported price of £ 85 million is simply too expensive. Manchester United and Newcastle United, who are both believed to be considering moving the 22-year-old, can afford to pay more for the striker. Liverpool will not do so, adhering to the principles that have served them so well in the transfer market with Klopp and Fenway Sports Group. If Benfica wants to do business at a price that the Reds think is approaching more realistic, things could change.
Nunes has many more developments, similar to other players Liverpool have been linked with in previous transfer windows, such as Jonathan David of Lille – a central striker – and Jarod Bowen of West Ham United, who is showing more.
At least the Reds know that because Klopp is revered as one of Europe’s best managers and the success of his tenure makes Anfield a sought-after destination, persuading potential targets is no longer as important a problem as it was just five or six years ago.
But continuing to change the front line within long-established transfer parameters will be a test for a similarly evolving Ward and Liverpool recruiting team.
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