Every time Liverpool lose a defining player, the same instinct kicks in: who replaces him? It happened with Stevie G., Coutinho, and Mané. Now, with Mohamed Salah set to leave the books, it’s happening again, with the club linked to right winger after right winger. It is the wrong instinct. Liverpool don’t need to replace Salah; they need to restore the calm that made Salah inevitable. This summer shouldn't be about chasing a new icon. It should be about restoring out core…building a cohesive squad that is designed with a solitary focus: collecting trophies. We need to prioritize systemic reliability over individual brilliance.
The tropaeic-foundation is a high floor, not a high ceiling. We already have several key pieces: Van Dijk (I’ll never give up on you), Konate (I saw today that contract extension was progressing), MacAllister, Gravenburch, Szoboszlai (despite his antics over the weekend), Wirtz (maybe too cheeky in the first half against City), Ekitike, Isak (assuming no broken legs). We also have under-rated and/or under the radar (for the moment) squad players: Chisea, Gakpo, CuJo (is that his nickname?...not to be confused with the great NHL goaltender from the 1990s/Stephen King novel about a scary dog), and Rio “great in 1v1s but couldn’t find the right pass to save his life (at the moment)” Ngumoha. But at times this season, we’ve felt incredibly thin. Especially at right back. So with Salah poised to leave, I propose we look to the summer transfer window seeking reinforcements; seeking to “raise the floor. ”
In this post, I present my “Christmas in July” Summer Transfer Window Wishlist.
Let’s start in the back. As has been said, the best offense is a good defense. We have Van Dijk and Konate (apparently, for the moment). Kerkez has great hair but he stresses Virgil out. Let’s sell him. Replace him with Antonee Robinson (Fulham). At right-back, Connor Bradley is my starter, with Frimpong as his deputy (or, we sell Frimpong and build and invest those proceeds in building a brick wall on the 18).
Center back wise, let’s splash some cash. I’m looking at bringing in Gonçalo Inácio from Sporting CP, Chris Richards from Crystal Palace, and Ronald Araujo from Barcelona. This means we have to sell Joe Gomez (who I genuinely adore) but it’s not personal, it’s business.
Which brings us to the midfield. We need a 6 who wasn’t an 8 that we’re making a 6. I’m looking at Alan Varela from Porto. He’s not the most dynamic, but neither was Fabhino (before he lost his legs). He’s the shield that let’s our 8s (Szoboszlai, Gravenburch, Mac Allister) to do their thang. And, for a wild card, I bring in Tyler Adams (I can’t help but want Americans in the squad) to kill games. This means we sell Endo but…
Taken all together, we’re giving our back 2/3s the stability that it needs. VVD still has gas, but not when he’s playing two positions at the same time. Chris Richards is Joe Gomez-plus (he’s at least scored goals) and can play in any CB role. Araujo is not someone I’d want to meet in a dark alley and can play RB when called upon. Inacio steps into Virgil’s role when he decides to hang up his cleats (or move to Atlanta United!). The stress of Kerkez and unreliability of Frimpong is eliminated, for a “quieter” flanking tandem of Robinson (another “American”) and Bradley. We’ve also got Leoni as for the Carabao Cup and I think someone else whose name escapes me at the moment (I think we signed on an academy deal in the January window).
The output vacuum left by Salah is replaced by tactical optionality. We need not replace Salah but rather reimagine what made him so effective in the first place, redistributing his 20+ goals across a rotating cast. We make the team responsible defensively but difficult to game plan against offensively.
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