Liverpool FC is in danger of throwing away the Champions League—and repeating a transfer mistake from the summer. A former Stuttgart player has become a symbol of this.
The schedule has no feelings, but it can still be pretty cruel. Next week, Liverpool FC will face Marc Guehi for the fourth time this season, a player the Reds could use now more than ever since they first tried to sign him. But because they were too late in the summer and – obviously – didn’t make a move in the winter, Guehi now plays for Manchester City. And Wataru Endo plays for Liverpool.
On Saturday, the former Stuttgart player and trained defensive midfielder, who had not even played a total of 45 minutes this season, came on as a substitute in the first half of the away game in Bournemouth as Virgil van Dijk’s new partner because Joe Gomez had been injured in a collision with his own goalkeeper Alisson. The fact that Liverpool conceded the 0-2 just before the substitution, while they were briefly a man down, “sums up our season quite well,” said coach Arne Slot, but that wasn’t even the biggest problem at that moment.
It’s more this: there are huge gaps in a squad that was upgraded in the summer for nearly €500 million and the two most expensive players in league history. In Bournemouth, not only was Endo suddenly a sought-after center back, but Dominik Szoboszlai was also back at right back after an hour, even though he is virtually wasted there. None of this was planned.
“It’s safe to say that some of our players ran out of energy,” Slot lamented after the late 2-3 defeat that knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League spots (even if they do manage to clinch fifth place in the Premier League again). Compared to the 3-0 win in Marseille in the Champions League, he had only changed one position “because we only have these players available.” Did someone say luxury squad?
Slot’s complaints do not go down well with the fans
The fact that center back Giovanni Leoni and right back Conor Bradley are out for the rest of the season has hit the Reds surprisingly hard. In addition, Slot will have to do without his hoped-for striker Alexander Isak until at least March, for whom there is no high-quality alternative available apart from Hugo Ekitiké, who was initially rested in Bournemouth.
While rivals from Arsenal to Aston Villa deliberately strengthened their squads ahead of the season, Liverpool’s management chose a different path that has led them into dangerous territory: results are lacking, the Champions League is in jeopardy, and Slot’s complaints are growing louder, which is not going down well with many fans.
No new signings in sight – is Robertson leaving?
When ManCity and Chelsea recently ran out of center backs, one team quickly snapped up Guehi, while the other recalled Aaron Anselmino from Borussia Dortmund. And the Reds? They are also active in the transfer market, but in a different way than expected: they are currently weighing up whether to allow left-back Andy Robertson to move to Tottenham Hotspur six months before his contract expires.
There is no talk of bringing in reinforcements of their own, even though the need for an additional center back was obvious even before Gomez’s injury, which is unlikely to be long-term. In hindsight, not signing anyone in the summer turned out to be a mistake. To repeat this mistake now would be grossly negligent.
