Liverpool must boldly sell "priceless" star earning more than Diaz & Jones
Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season before the current campaign is done is an ever-increasingly difficult task. Anfield has been restored over the past decade, willed back into its former imperiousness by an eccentric German genius.
Jurgen Klopp’s gone now, taken up a role of seniority as Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer. But Liverpool endured, endured and eclipsed expectations under new boss Arne Slot.
The Reds are the Champions Elect in the Premier League. A 12-point lead and eight remaining fixtures mark an unbridgeable gulf ahead of second-placed Arsenal. All is very much well.
But uncertainty is rife and the future is hazy. Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season is a difficult task. Chiefly, this is because FSG are expecting to make sweeping changes, tweaks needed up front, at the rear; concerning contractual issues linger like an unpleasant smell as the term reaches its business end.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is the big one, of course, but he’s not the only expected outgoing down Anfield Road this summer.
The players possibly leaving Liverpool this summer
While supporters are resigned to Alexander-Arnold’s departure to sunny Los Blancos this summer, plenty more uncertainty reigns around various other first-teamers’ futures.
Up top, it feels like change is a given. Sporting director Richard Hughes has no doubt canvassed plans to Michael Edwards, who in turn will feed FSG’s senior figures with the plan of approach.
Fabrizio Romano has already confirmed that the Reds are planning to part ways with Darwin Nunez this summer, who almost left for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia this winter but was kept for the remainder of the campaign so not to reduce depth at such a critical juncture.
There has also been chatter around the likes of Luis Diaz and Ibrahima Konate leaving, but the respective stars are crucial parts of the team and would only be sold if presented with an irresistible proposal – that said, Liverpool are mooted to be in the market for wingers.
And reputable reporters such as The Athletic’s David Ornstein have revealed that interest in Diaz is strong. One to keep an eye on as the shuttered market begins to prepare to swing open its stalls.
Then, of course, there’s the matter of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, 32 and 33 respectively and into the final months of their deals, but both still performing at the top level and convinced of their ability to stay at the top for the next few years at the least.
Ultimately, with more than a few fresh faces needed for Liverpool to maintain their lofty level under Slot’s wing, one or two sales are going to be enforced.
Konate, wanted by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, is in the protracted process of extending his deal on Merseyside, but Jarell Quansah could be sold given Newcastle United are keen and may be willing to spend £30m, which may fall below Liverpool’s valuation.
He’s young and talented; in an ideal world, he stays put. In order to bank funds, Liverpool might instead want to turn toward another member of the backline.
Liverpool must sell their long-serving star
You would be forgiven for questioning the crux of this argument, for Alexander-Arnold is set to leave for Real Madrid, and Liverpool’s options at right-back are going to be cut short.
But stagnancy has been the bane of fans’ lives in transfer markets past. Liverpool need to attack the window with a hunger this summer, rewarding Slot’s incredible efforts with a new, state-of-the-art arsenal.
That’s why Joe Gomez, Liverpool’s longest-serving senior player, should be sold this summer having come close to leaving last year.
Gomez was resurgent last season, so important for Jurgen Klopp’s team. However, he was privy to conversations with the Magpies in the summer and might have wound up at St. James’ Park, had a deal for Anthony Gordon come to fruition.
Liverpool signed Gomez from Charlton Athletic for just £3.5m back in 2015, when he was 18 years old. Since, he’s featured 241 times for the first team and has won the full sweep of silverware,
His renaissance across Klopp’s final campaign highlighted his abiding quality, his ability to overcome numerous long-term layoffs that might have derailed another athlete’s career.
It earned him a long-awaited Three Lions recall and indeed prompted Newcastle boss Eddie Howe to launch a move worth £45m for the 28-year-old, which indeed fell apart once Gordon was confirmed to be staying put.
Last year, pundit Steve McManaman described Gomez as “absolutely priceless” for his versatile displays in Liverpool’s senior set-up, but FSG were willing to cash in last year and his nominal impact under Slot’s management suggests the team could make do.
Centre-back
117
–
2
Right-back
102
–
6
Left-back
33
–
2
Defensive midfield
2
–
–
Especially if a cool figure is claimed for his sale, turned toward the acquisition of a new defender.
It’s the right time for him to move on; he’s not the highest earner at the club, but Gomez is on a healthy £85k per week, which is more than the aforementioned Diaz (£55k per week) and Liverpool star Curtis Jones (£15k per week), who is soon to become the foremost Scouser on the books, it seems, combined.
Gomez is a stalwart and a half, one of the central parts of the most illustrious span in Liverpool’s modern history. But it feels like the right time for him to move on, and for Liverpool to inject some freshness into the ranks while they can still bank a cool sum for his sale.
Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season is a difficult task, but change is needed to add some depth and dynamism to Slot’s ranks. He’s doing so well, but it’s time for the Dutchman to put his own external stamp on the squad.
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