Liverpool have had a season of ebb and flow this term under manager Jurgen Klopp. In the first full season under the German tactician, the Reds began the season in rampant form, blowing away everything that came their way and after the end of the festive period, they looked like genuine title contenders.
However, things spiraled downwards from then on, as a series of poor results saw them crash out of the EFL Cup and the FA Cup and lose steam in their race to the top. They found themselves out of the top four and things looked hard all of a sudden. However, they have managed to mount a comeback in recent weeks and have made it back into the Champions League spots, sitting at 4th place in the standings.
The run into the business end of the season will be very crucial for Liverpool as it will have a huge say in their fortunes for the upcoming year. Failing to qualify for the Champions League could hamper their pursuits of big names in the transfer market.
The transfer window will be another crucial period in shaping the future of the club going forward. Klopp, in his first summer window in-charge, brought in 6 new players to the team -Sadio Mane, Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan, Loris Karius, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Manninger.
All the players except third-choice keeper Manninger, have played some part in the first-team for the Reds this term. The likes of Klavan and Karius have struggled a bit, but the rest of the signings have been a huge hit and have made a serious impact this season.
Klopp has given a good account of himself, but he should be prudent in the upcoming transfer window and avoid the mistakes that his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, made during his time.
The previous two summers of 2014 and 2015, under Rodgers, saw Liverpool bring in 17 senior players into the team. While some names like Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne have gone on to become mainstays in the team, others such as Mario Balotelli, Lazar Markovic, and Christian Benteke have proved to be expensive failures and have been shipped out of the club.
This is something that Klopp should bear in his mind and exercise caution in his approach in the window. The former Borussia Dortmund man has admitted in the past that there is some serious investment needed in the transfer window to build the team. However, he needs to be careful that he doesn’t splurge the cash on just the numbers and must ensure he brings in quality addition in the window; something which Rodgers failed doing so.
Liverpool are in definite need of reinforcements in their backline and that should be at the top of their priorities in the market. A striker who would suit the way the team operates along with a quality addition on the flanks to deputize for the likes of Mane should be their targets as well. These are the areas where Klopp should be concentrating on.
Three or four key players with abundance in quality and class are what Liverpool need to turn it around come next season and challenge for the top spot. Klopp should be looking at players who would fit their style of play, instead of spending the cash on adding just numbers to the squad, something which led to his predecessor’s eventual downfall.