KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Klopp's Game of Transfer Poker

Klopp's first card began with working with the players before the first transfer window. His immediate complaints were aimed at the inability for the players to achieve the levels expected because of poor fitness and thereby accommodating blame with the preparation from the previous summer. The injuries stacked up, training sessions were few and far between as the amount of games piled up.

Klopp's second card lasted through into early February. He made decisions to sign Grujic and allow him to remain in Belgrade until the summer. He signed Caulker to cover our defensive problems (albeit very short-lived), and he followed up decent league progress with the early signing of Matip for the summer.

As the season went into fixture overdrive, Klopp managed to spark performances from many players looking like their Anfield days were numbered. Progress to the Europa League Final was both surprising and confidence building. Liverpool lost only five times between Matip signing, and the end of the season. Swansea, Southampton, Man City, Villareal and Sevilla.

Now we're at the turn. You begin to realise your hand and its likeliest possibilities. Expect further movement out, and some in, but the club is starting to take real shape, including the probable positional signings the club are looking to make.

Our incomings:

Goalkeeper - Karius
Left Back - as yet unsigned
Centre Back - Matip
Defensive Midfielder - Grujic (work permit success)
Centre Midifielder - as yet unsigned
Attacking Midfielder - as yet unsigned
Playmaker - as yet unsigned
Winger - Mane

Possibles...

Defensive Cover - if Sakho's ban is implemented and lengthy
Striker - slight chance but only if both Balotelli and Benteke can both be moved on

That's a minimum of eight players, and probably nine or ten.

Outgoings?

Already agreed/Forthcoming/Expected... Bogdan, Skrtel, Wisdom, Enrique, Toure, Rossiter, Teixeira, Yesil, Sinclair, Benteke

Likeliest others

Fulton, Ilori, Smith, Lucas, Allen, L. Alberto, Balotelli

That's about 17 outs.

So reducing our squad by seven, but improving options in the first two squads of 11, you're still looking at (speculative)

Mignolet / Karius
Clyne / Flanagan
Moreno / New Left Back (Chilwell?)
Lovren and Matip / Sakho and Gomez
Emre and Henderson / New centre midfielder (Zielinski?) and Milner
Firmino / New Attacking Midfielder (Dahoud?)
Mane / Lallana
Coutinho / New Playermaker (Gotze?)
Sturridge / Origi

That's a fair amount of talent in our first 22. That still misses out a lot of players. That leaves Ward as third choice keeper. Possible defensive cover in Mercado? Grujic as cover in midfield. Brannagan supporting attacking midfielders. Ibe, Ojo and Markovic competing for places behind a striker, of which Ings is still there too.

I make that thirty. Can we keep them all happy? How did Liverpool end up with so many players?!?

My point? Liverpool have made nearly half of their likely moves this summer. Is Klopp and the transfer committee dealings doing enough to turn a team at the fringes of the top tier into a team feared by the top tier.

Feared top 4 loooool

Unless Henry signs
Horn
Hector howedes or schar
Kante or carvelho
Dahoud or llicic
Moura or sane
Lacazette

I fear the midfield will be our weak link next season. I cannot think Zielenski(if he signs) and guric are going to hit the ground running. If they make it here it won't be next season unless they are pretty special players. So that leaves us with Can, Hendo and milner. Not good enough. We need a top midfielder and we should have 30-40m to spend on one with all the sales

So nice/ refreshing to read something on here that isn't mindless criticism. Props.

Your list changes every fukking week, no doubt depending on who you bought in FIFA! Give it a fukking rest will you. FSG will buy who Klopp wants not you so get used to it!

There are only 2 spots available and Can has one of those nailed down. Hendo is club captain, so unless Klopp really shakes things up we have more than enough CMs to compete in 1 game a week.

Can, Hendeo, Milner, Allen (or his potential replacement- Zielinski/ Dahoud/ Neves etc.) + youth/ rotation/ cup players Grujic, Stewart, Brannagan, Chirivella is prob enough if we're only playing once per week. Only way I see us buying another CM is if we sell Hendo or Milner, which is unlikely imo.

Not even sure Klopp sees Sturridge as No.1, clearly likes Origi a lot, so wouldn't be surprised to see him feature a lot. Then there's Ings and Firmino, I think we're ok.

Origi is nowhere near a class finisher and I would be worried if he was our number 1 striker.

I think we could be lucky this season Sturridge didn't get injured in the run up to the Euros, nor during the Euros, so unless he gets injured in the preseason or in the run up to preseason!!! If so we could be all right for striker options this season...however having said that, I want a top class striker signed...no more prospects please.

We need to sell Allen, Lucas and think about selling Henderson. Next season we will have upgraded our defense our attack and with Sturridge back.

We will have a big lump sum of money to break the bank for a midfield upgrade. Because at the moment the midfield has not been upgraded and is a problem.