Another season across the European leagues has come to a close. Some were settled a while back, at least when it comes to the title, but others remained exciting right down to the final whistle of the final match, with the teams involved taking the races to the wire.
The Premier League wasn’t very exciting towards the end of the previous two seasons as Liverpool comfortably won in 2019/20 and Manchester City just as convincingly regained the crown the following campaign, but 2021/22 certainly was. The two teams entered the final matchday with City leading the way by one point, and while they unexpectedly went down at home to Aston Villa, Liverpool were equally surprisingly pulled back by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. Nonetheless, both teams came back and turned their respective games around to win, and in the end, City kept their advantage to lift the trophy again, for the fourth time in the last five years.
Naturally, with the season now well and truly over as these teams failed in their quest for Champions League glory, both eventually beaten by Real Madrid, the attention turns to the summer transfer window and what thrills await in 2022/23. It’s quite obvious that the resurgence of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp practically stands as the only obstacle for Manchester City to dominate English football so completely, that without the Merseysiders nobody could seriously imagine anyone challenging Pep Guardiola’s machinery.
Now, the big question is, can Liverpool do something in the market and overtake City next season? Let’s take a look.
Maintain squad depth
The fact that Liverpool won both cups in English football and competed for the Premier League and the Champions League right to the end speaks volumes about the quality of Klopp’s team, as well as the number of options at his disposal when selecting the starting XI for each game.
Much has been said about the class of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, and these five forwards obviously represent significant depth for the attacking line. And yet, Divock Origi again scored a couple of crucial goals, his specialty one might say after all the heroics down the years, while Takumi Minamino turned out the club’s highest scorer in the two competitions they won.
The arrival of Ibrahima Konate last summer from RB Leipzig strengthen the section where Liverpool struggled greatly in 2020/21, when Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, practically their entire centre-back department, picked up season-ending injuries. Konate, along with the return of the injured trio, meant Klopp now had plenty to mix with in the heart of defence as well. Gomez ended up providing cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right defensive flank, while Kostas Tsimikas proved another shrewd buy as he seamlessly replaced Andy Robertson on the left whenever the Scotland captain needed a break.
In the middle of the park, Fabinho practically remains the only player without a designated replacement as the ‘six’ in Klopp’s preferred 4-3-3 system. Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are more than enough to choose from for the remaining two roles.
Even Caoimhin Kelleher, who completely pushed Adrian out to make the backup goalkeeper role his own, did the business when called upon, particularly in the Carabao Cup where he stood between the posts each minute of the campaign, including the penalty shootout in the final against Chelsea.
But in the end, the whole length of four competitions proved too much, even for a squad as deep as this.
Focus
It’s worth noting that Manchester City, as dominant as they are in England, fail in the Champions League year after year. For his part, Klopp is always adamant that his team plays to win everything, but maybe it’s time for the Merseysiders to swallow their pride and set a list of priorities.
And having won the cups this year, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if in 2022/23 they revert to sacrificing them by playing academy boys, and get their stars to think about the Premier League and the Champions League only. And even then, they’ll need to boost their ranks in certain areas, particularly with the fact that several notable names look set to leave Anfield this summer.
Departures
Origi is practically gone. The Belgian striker has reportedly agreed everything for a free transfer to AC Milan and there will be no change there. Oxlade-Chamberlain might seek to leave as well, providing a suitable buyer is found given that he has a year left on his contract. Some believe this goes for Minamino too, but Klopp still might choose to keep the Japan international around at least for a year more.
Losing both Origi and Minamino would significantly reduce the depth of the attacking line, but right now, the biggest worry there is the future of Mane. The Senegalese has 12 months remaining on his contract and while he himself claims he hasn’t made any decision yet, reports suggest he has and he’s about to inform the club that he wants to leave. Bayern Munich are believed to be leading the race for his services.
Signings
Liverpool’s activities in the market this summer will obviously be affected by departures, Mane’s not least. If he leaves, a new ready-made attacker, preferably younger, is a must.
On the other hand, Bayern are said to be looking at Mane as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who has quite publicly proclaimed his desire to leave Munich, and it’s surely worth remembering that the 33-year-old striker was shaped and first brought to the big stage by Klopp during his spell in charge at Borussia Dortmund.
Barcelona are said to be leading the race for Lewandowski, but being financially far more stable and with Klopp commanding the team, Liverpool could surely step in and steal the show if they act quickly and with determination.
Further more, Liverpool signing Lewandowski would certainly spell bad news for Manchester City. The champions have just agreed a deal to sign Erling Haaland from Dortmund by triggering his release clause, and having secured the signature of such a formidable young striker, they wouldn’t like it if their main competitors brought in the man who continuously shows that Haaland still has plenty to learn.
An academy prospect could get promoted to the first team to fulfill the role of the sixth-choice attacker, vacated by Origi. But Mane can only be replaced by a top-quality attacker in search of a new challenge – and that description fits Lewandowski perfectly.
Leaving that aside for new, Liverpool are said to be closely watching the situation surrounding Aurelien Tchouameni. The young AS Monaco midfielder apparently has his heart set on joining Real Madrid, but the Spanish giants aren’t willing to pay Monaco’s asking price at the moment, so nothing is done yet.
What ever happens with Tchouameni , the club’s interest in him indicates that Klopp wants to deal with the lack of proper competition/cover for Fabinho, and that can only be a good thing.
Mo Salah
Much will, of course, depend on what the future holds for Mo Salah. The Egyptian has not only broken the record for most goals in a 38-round Premier League season, but he’s also scored more than 20 in each of the five seasons at Anfield so far.
Salah’s contract also expires in 2023, but unlike Mane, he has made it clear he has no intention of changing clubs this summer. So if any rival was hoping to have seen the last of this brilliant forward in a Liverpool shirt, their hopes have been dashed.
Nonetheless, it would be prudent for the club to try harder and secure Salah on another contract. If Mane goes, they need at least one of their long-serving trio (which includes Firmino) to remain at the club as a regular starter. Firmino has also said he wants to stay at Liverpool and there shouldn’t really be any issues in getting the Brazilian to recommit, but he’s hardly a regular member of the starting XI these days.
Salah’s form started dropping about the same time as the contract standoff was first reported, and getting that sorted out might just get the best of him out again for everyone to see. And the best of Salah is certainly enough to make any defender question his own ability to stop him.
System change
Speaking after the Champions League final, Real Madrid head coach labeled Liverpool as more ‘decipherable’ than Real’s previous opponents in the competition. That, of course, seems like a cheap shot of a former Everton boss who has also seen Liverpool beat his superb AC Milan side in that famous Istanbul final in 2005. The numbers don’t lie – Liverpool took 24 shots against Real Madrid and only the amazing reflexes of Thibaut Courtois prevented them from going to the break three or more goals down. The experienced Italian tactician knows that quite well.
But maybe it is indeed time for Klopp to deviate from his standard 4-3-3 shape and play more through the middle, with a recognized centre-forward between two wingers and ahead of a proper No.10. That kind of change could reignite the significance of Firmino, who would surely be a good option in the ‘hole’. It would also make the proposed acquisition of Lewandowski more sensible than anything else.
But whatever happens through the summer, one thing seems fairly certain. Liverpool will be back, fighting for trophies and attacking the thrones both in the Champions League and the Premier League; Klopp will make sure of that.
Time will tell if that’ll be enough to actually win one competition or the other.
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