Liverpool: 5 players for Jurgen Klopp to sell this summer
Jurgen Klopp’s team is the best in the world right now…
This is a fact.
You cannot deny it given that this squad are European and World champions at club level, whilst being 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Does this mean that every player is perfect? Of course not.
For any team to remain not just competitive, but successful, it’s vital to assess the players you have. Some may be worth loaning out so that they can develop, whilst others perform wonderfully as substitutes.
Sometimes, an offer comes in for a player that’s simply too good to refuse. Other times, no matter how low the offer, you simply cannot offload the player you have and so you’re resigned to pay their wages until their contract expires.
This Liverpool squad are no exception to these rules.
That said, here are five players that need to move on for the squad to continue in their success…
5. Loris Karius
Was he at fault for Liverpool’s Champions League final loss against Real Madrid 2 seasons ago? Yes. Absolutely.
Had he suffered a concussion in the lead-up to his mistakes that went undiagnosed? As it turns out, yes, he did.
Prior to that final, though, had Loris Karius done enough to show he was a trustworthy player?
Let’s consider the facts.
Liverpool had attempted to replace the £15 million, somewhat mistake-prone goalkeeper in Simon Mignolet with Karius – a less than £5 million keeper who, prior to his arrival, no one had ever heard of.
Now I don’t agree with the idea that you always have to spend big money to acquire high-calibre players, but in this instance, Karius was never the goalkeeper Liverpool had been looking for.
That’s why, after the aforementioned cup final, Karius was immediately replaced with £80 million Alisson Becker.
Since his arrival, Alisson has gone on to make amends for Karius’ errors by winning the Champions League and leaving Liverpool as Premier League champions-elect.
Perhaps, then, there’s room for Karius on Liverpool’s bench?
Unlikely.
You need only to consider the impact made by free signing Adrian to see that he’s the back-up Liverpool can rely on for the next few seasons.
During his albeit brief tenure in the EPL, Karius played 29, made 13 clean sheets, won 7, lost 4. An Impressive record.
By comparison, Adrian has played far fewer games for Liverpool, but the weight of expectation and the circumstances surrounding his introduction were far more difficult.
Adrian had been a very average goalkeeper whilst at West Ham before his contract expired and he made the free switch to Liverpool.
In the season’s first game Alisson pulled his calf muscle and had to be substituted. Disaster had struck the Liverpool team odds-on to win the title this season.
Enter Adrian, a player most Liverpool fans were very nervous about. Still, he received a very warm and encouraging Anfield welcome.
Whilst Adrian went on to make just 2 clean sheets in his 11 game run in the Premier League, Liverpool went on to win all of those 11 games.
Couple this with his sublime performance in the UEFA Super Cup final, in which he saved the winning penalty in the shootout against Chelsea and Liverpool fans and players undoubtedly feel more comfortable with Adrian in goal.
More so than they ever did, or will again, with Karius.