YET again Liverpool look set for a major summer overhaul after club owners Fenway Sports Group gave manager Jurgen Klopp the green light to splash the cash at the end of the campaign in a bid to turn a squad that is struggling to qualify for Europe and lost the Capital One Cup final into a serious force.
Klopp, who has already secured the signing of defender Joel Matip from Schalke and Serbia Under-21 midfielder Marko Grujic, had been adamant that a raft of new faces would not arrive but an overhaul of the playing staff will take place during the summer.
Few clubs in the Premier League have brought in as many new faces – or spent as much – as the Reds over the past few seasons. Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers outlaid just under £300million on 33 players from the time he took charge in June 2012 until last October when he was sacked, with many of these on excessive wages.
Klopp, of course, can’t be blamed for any of those flops – and there are a number who have still to prove themselves – and it’s only natural that he wants to build and develop his own squad but Liverpool need some sort of stability, some continuity – they can’t get it wrong this time.
One of Rodgers’ final signings – and his most expensive – Christian Benteke is set to be just one of several big names told their services are no longer required at Anfield.
The Daily Mail reports: “Christian Benteke, last summer’s heading grabbing arrival at £32.5million, faces an increasingly uncertain future, with Klopp failing to use him against Augsburg in the Europa League and in the Capital One Cup final penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester City.
“Joe Allen is entering the final 12 months of his contract but Liverpool have not made any attempt to renew his terms, while the position of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet – who was culpable for the goal Fernandinho scored for Manchester City at Wembley – is under threat.
“Those who will definitely leaving the summer include Kolo Toure, Jose Enrique and Joao Teixeira.”
This summer window is looming as one of the most important in recent times for Liverpool and targets must surely include a world-class keeper, a reliable proven goalscorer and some defensive reinforcement. With rivals Chelsea and the Manchester clubs set to spend big, and the emergence of Tottenham, along with the continuing threat of Arsenal, the Reds cannot afford to be left behind.
As the list below shows, Rodgers got it wrong too often. As a result, Klopp cannot.
Players bought by Brendan Rodgers
| Player | Club | Fee | Date |
| Fabio Borini | Roma | £10,400,000 | 13 July 2012 |
| Joe Allen | Swansea | £15,000,000 | 10 August 2012 |
| Oussama Assaidi | Heerenveen | £3,000,000 | 17 August 2012 |
| Nuri Sahin | Real Madrid | On Loan | 25 August 2012 |
| Samed Yesil | Bayer Leverkusen | £1,000,000 | 30 August 2012 |
| Daniel Sturridge | Chelsea | £12,000,000 | 2 January 2013 |
| Philippe Coutinho | Inter Milan | £8,500,000 | 30 January 2013 |
| Luis Alberto | Sevilla | £6,800,000 | 22 June 2013 |
| Iago Aspas | Celta Vigo | £7,000,000 | 23 June 2013 |
| Simon Mignolet | Sunderland | £9,000,000 | 25 June 2013 |
| Kolo Toure | Free Transfer | Free | 2 July 2013 |
| Aly Cissokho | Valencia | On Loan | 20 August 2013 |
| Mamadou Sakho | Paris St Germain | £15,000,000 | 2 September 2013 |
| Tiago Ilori | Sporting Lisbon | £7,000,000 | 2 September 2013 |
| Victor Moses | Chelsea | On Loan
|
2 September 2013 |
| Rickie Lambert | Southampton | £4,500,000 | 2 June 2014 |
| Adam Lallana | Southampton | £25,000,000 | 1 July 2014 |
| Emre Can | Bayer Leverkusen | £9,750,000 | 3 July 2014 |
| Kevin Stewart | Free Transfer | Free | 3 July 2014 |
| Lazar Markovic | Benfica | £19,800,000 | 15 July 2014 |
| Dejan Lovren | Southampton | £20,000,000 | 27 July 2014 |
| Divock Origi | Lille | £9,800,000 | 29 July 2014 |
| Javier Manquillo | Atletico Madrid | On Loan | 6 August 2014 |
| Alberto Moreno | Sevilla | £12,000,000 | 16 August 2014 |
| Mario Balotelli | AC Milan | £16,000,000 | 25 August 2014 |
| Joe Gomez | Charlton | £6,000,000 | 20 June 2015 |
| Adam Bogdan | Free Transfer | Free | 1 July 2015 |
| Danny Ings | Unknown | 1 July 2015 | |
| James Milner | Free Transfer | Free | 1 July 2015 |
| Nathaniel Clyne | Southampton | £12,500,000 | 1 July 2015 |
| Roberto Firminho | Hoffenheim | £29,000,000 | 6 July 2015 |
| Christian Benteke | Aston Villa | £32,500,000 | 22 July 2015 |
| Allan Rodrigues de Souza | Internacional | £500,000 | 2 September 2015 |
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