As one of England’s most successful and popular clubs, Liverpool are doing alright for money.
Especially over the past few transfer windows, Jurgen Klopp and Co. have spared no expense in adding their top targets to the Liverpool squad and have been rewarded with on-field progress.
But Liverpool do have a spotty record when it comes to spending big. Not every blockbuster transfer has come good.
And so below, based primarily on opinion (so if you disagree feel free to tell us why we’re wrong in the comments section), Squawka has ranked Liverpool’s top 20 most expensive signings based on their performances and achievements for the club.
20. Alberto Aquilani
Bought from: AS Roma
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 28
Signed as Xabi Alonso’s replacement in 2009, Alberto Aquilani arrived at Anfield carrying an ankle injury and things didn’t get much better from there.
Despite showing flashes of quality, the Italian failed miserably to replace Alonso in the deep-lying playmaker role and eventually left on a free in 2012 following loan stints at Juventus and Milan.
19. Stewart Downing
Bought from: Aston Villa
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 91
Stewart Downing’s time at Anfield will forever be remembered for the 2011-12 season when he failed to score or assist a single goal in the Premier League.
Brendan Rodgers even tried to convert him into a left-back in a bid to help him regain some form. As you can imagine, it didn’t work out.
18. Lazar Markovic
Bought from: Benfica
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 34
One of the many signings made after Luis Suarez was sold to Barcelona, Liverpool seemed to be banking on Lazar Markovic fulfilling his potential, but as things stand it appears he never will.
The Serbian winger played his best football in England while on loan at Hull City last season and was again loaned to Anderlecht in January. He barely kicked a ball for the Belgian club and is now training with the Liverpool youth team, where coaches say he has proven a positive influence.
17. Andy Carroll
Bought from: Newcastle United
Fee: £35m
Liverpool appearances: 58
Signed as soon as Fernando Torres had dotted the Is and crossed the Ts on his contract at Chelsea, Andy Carroll had plenty of pressure to deal with as soon as he joined.
Despite playing well on occasion, a return of six goals from 44 Premier League matches shows that Carroll found replacing Torres too difficult a challenge.
16. Robbie Keane
Bought from: Tottenham
Fee: £19m
Liverpool appearances: 28
It appeared like a match made in heaven as Robbie Keane joined the club he supported as a boy. The dream lasted just half a season for Keane, though, as he was sold back to Spurs after failing to make an impact, a wonder-goal against Arsenal at the Emirates aside.
15. Christian Benteke
Bought from: Aston Villa
Fee: £32m
Liverpool appearances: 42
Christian Benteke was signed by Brendan Rodgers, but after he was given the sack and Jurgen Klopp replaced him, the Belgian attacker’s days at Anfield appeared to be numbered.
He scored a stunning overhead kick at Old Trafford (arguably the best consolation goal in Premier League history) but other than that didn’t offer an awful lot and was sold to Crystal Palace after just one season.
14. Fabinho
Bought from: Monaco
Fee: £44m
Liverpool appearances: 7
Fabinho falls squarely into the ‘wait-and-see’ category. He figures as high as 16th by virtue of having not yet disappointed, though the fact Klopp finds himself having to dismiss rumours of a quickfire transfer away illustrates how, of all this summer’s signings, Fabinho looks to be taking longest to settle.
13. Naby Keita
Bought from: RB Leipzig
Fee: £53m
Liverpool appearances: 10
Naby Keita looked like a contender for signing of the season in his Premier League debut against West Ham. But since then he’s yet to truly wow spectators and injury hasn’t helped his cause. Still, you expect him to be ranked higher next time we update this list.
12. Dejan Lovren
Bought from: Southampton
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 154
An absolute calamity in his debut campaign, Dejan Lovren has improved over the past couple of seasons but doubts remain over his suitability to lead the Liverpool defence long-term. Whatever your opinion, Klopp thinks he’s “world-class” and Lovren is very much willing to go along with it.
11. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Bought from: Arsenal
Fee: £35m
Liverpool appearances: 42
READ MORE: Was Oxlade-Chamberlain right to make summer switch? Arsenal and Liverpool fans have their say…
Based on his mid-to-end-of-season form last term, his Champions League goal against Manchester City being the highlight, you would back the former Arsenal winger/wing-back to climb further up this list over the coming campaigns should he come back from his serious knee injury OK.
10. Alisson
Bought from: Roma
Fee: £65m
Liverpool appearances: 14
Thanks primarily to having enjoyed the most consistent playing time, no summer signing has made a bigger impact at Liverpool than Alisson.
He may have goofed against Leicester for Rachid Ghezzal’s goal, but he has demonstrated his immense quality through his flick against Brighton, his general ball-playing ability and the fact Liverpool have conceded just five times this season, the joint-best record in the division.
9. Adam Lallana
Bought from: Southampton
Fee: £25m
Liverpool appearances: 143
It took a while for Adam Lallana to get going at Anfield, but he flourished into a really important player for the club in the 2016/17 season, providing energy and technical ability as a link-man in midfield.
Klopp seemed to have got the best out of the England international, who won the Three Lions’ Player of the Year award in 2016, but as Lallana enters the peak years of his career, he is encountering injury after injury and is liable to be usurped in this list by several of the players above.
8. Georginio Wijnaldum
Bought from: Newcastle United
Fee: £25m
Liverpool appearances: 106
Handed an immediate return to the top flight after suffering relegation with Newcastle United, Georginio Wijnaldum became a key player for Klopp’s Liverpool in midfield during his first season at Anfield.
He then allowed his level to drop over the course of the last campaign but looks to be getting back to his best this term and is being given more game time than perhaps would have been expected. The Dutchman also chipped in with some crucial goals in his debut campaign at Anfield, including a winner against Manchester City and the opener in the Champions League-deciding match against Middlesbrough.
7. Virgil van Dijk
Bought from: Southampton
Fee: £75m
Liverpool appearances: 38
Despite the £75m fee, few assumed Virgil van Dijk would instantly solve Liverpool’s defensive problems upon his arrival from Southampton in the winter transfer window.
It turns out, he very nearly has. From February of this year to the Reds’ recent 4-1 win over Cardiff, Liverpool went without conceding a single Premier League goal at Anfield.
6. Javier Mascherano
Bought from: West Ham
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 139
Not the flashiest player on this list but certainly one of the most important. Following an underwhelming six-month spell at West Ham, Liverpool put Javier Mascherano out of his misery by bringing him to Anfield in January 2007.
The tough-tackling Argentine forged an elite midfield partnership with Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard for the Reds and his form culminated in a move to Barcelona, where he won everything there is to win in the club game before moving to the Chinese Super League this year.
5. Sadio Mane
Bought from: Southampton
Fee: £36m
Liverpool appearances: 87
Sadio Mane’s searing pace, technical ability and eye for goal made him an instant hit at Anfield and his performances were rewarded with a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
4. Roberto Firmino
Bought from: Hoffenheim
Fee: £29m
Liverpool appearances: 159
The Brazilian has become something of a cult hero on Merseyside thanks to his startlingly white teeth and penchant for celebrating goals extravagantly. There is also the fact Klopp seems to have decided to build his Liverpool side around him.
Roberto Firmino plays in a quasi-false nine attacking role for Liverpool and, having been rewarded with the club’s iconic No.9 shirt following Salah’s signing, enjoyed the best season of his career last term with 27 goals across all competitions.
3. Fernando Torres
Bought from: Atletico Madrid
Fee: £20m
Liverpool appearances: 142
After becoming one of the most feared strikers in Spain with hometown club Atletico Madrid, Fernando Torres opted to take on a new challenge by joining Liverpool in 2007.
Immediately he became one of the most potent attackers in the Premier League, scoring 24 goals in his debut season prior to netting the winning goal for Spain at Euro 2008.
Injury problems prevented Torres from featuring as often as he would have liked, but when he was fit enough to play he was deadly.
2. Mohamed Salah
Bought from: AS Roma
Fee: £36.9m
Liverpool appearances: 69
In Mohamed Salah’s debut season at Liverpool, with every passing week another record seemed to fall.
Meet Mohamed Salah:
First Liverpool Premier League hat-trick under Jürgen Klopp.
First Premier League hat-trick at Anfield since 2013.
First Liverpool Premier League hat-trick since 2014.
First Egyptian to score a Premier League hat-trick.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 17, 2018
The Egypt international scored 32 Premier League goals to replace Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo as the Premier League’s all-time top-scorer in a single season (disregarding the old 42-game format).
1. Luis Suarez
Bought from: Ajax
Fee: £23.7m
Liverpool appearances: 133
Luis Suarez joined Liverpool as a highly-rated forward from his days at Ajax but left as a truly world-class player after developing his goalscoring instincts at Anfield.
In 133 matches for the club, Suarez netted an impressive 82 goals and he was one of the form players in world football during his final season, scoring 31 times in 33 league matches.
The Uruguayan was involved in some unsavoury incidents during his time at the club but as a footballer, he was one of the very best they have had in the Premier League era.
The post From Carroll to Suarez: Ranking Liverpool’s top 20 most expensive signings appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2FC6Tpb
No comments:
Post a Comment