The Most Important Signing of the Summer?

WHETHER you were amongst the lucky few who learned the news early via a bit of premature reporting on LFC TV, or whether you had to wait until Tuesday evening like the rest of the world, most Liverpool fans will now be able to celebrate the news that Luis Suarez, one of the club’s most talented footballers, has now committed to a new and improved “long-term contract” at Anfield.

Of course, the old cliché about contracts not being worth much in modern football is still important, and it’s not really clear what is meant by “long-term contract” – has Suarez signed for an additional two years? Three? Five? Putting all of that to one side though, Suarez choosing to sign the contract is still significant for the club, and should give the side an important boost over the coming season.

Let’s be clear, Suarez is still one of the hottest properties in Europe – Juventus, a team that won Serie A whilst finishing unbeaten across the 38 game season – went very public to talk about their clear intention to sign Suarez, and rumours have come and gone across the summer linking him pretty strongly with Real Madrid and PSG. Suarez is 25 years old, so if he has committed himself to a five year contract (or even longer), then he has effectively committed himself to the club during his peak years when his value, both in terms of transfer fees and wage earning potential, is at its highest.

During an uncertain period for Liverpool, with a new manager at the helm trying to impose a new style of play, a number of high profile players having either left or seemingly hovering by the exit door and a lack of numbers coming in to strengthen the squad, Suarez’s commitment is extremely well timed. By tying himself to Liverpool for the best years of his career, Suarez is making a statement that says he believes in what Rodgers is trying to achieve, and believes that the club can make strides forward into the Champions League places and beyond.

Make no mistake – if Suarez didn’t believe this could be done, didn’t believe in Rodgers and didn’t believe the club was moving in the right direction, he didn’t have to sign this deal. The ticket to Turin, Madrid or Paris could have been very swiftly arranged and the club would have been forced to listen to offers. He chose to sign the deal, and for Rodgers in particular, that should be taken as a significant vote of confidence.
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On the pitch, Suarez’s impact at Liverpool has been huge, and from a footballing perspective that makes the new contract even more important. Many foreign players take time to settle into the pace and physicality of the Premier League – not Suarez. Coming off the bench for his debut and scoring against Stoke, torturing Manchester United at Anfield in the game where Kuyt scored his legendary hat-trick of tap-ins, and scoring his own hat-trick of lethal genius against Norwich last season, Suarez has provided plenty to celebrate.

Without an eight-game ban to serve in the middle of this season, and with some match sharpness already in his legs from Uruguay’s Olympic campaign (thankfully not too much, given their early elimination), then from a footballing perspective hopes should be very high for Suarez to start the season well and make a real impact. His tactical awareness, footballing intelligence and ability to play between the lines will suit him well to Rodgers’ style of play too, and the manager will be very keen for him to lead the way in terms of forward play in the new system.

This renewed commitment is about more than just matters on the pitch though. For all the positives around this new deal, for many fans there is also the sense that Suarez owes Liverpool. Had he chosen to jump ship and join Juventus, PSG or whoever this summer, Reds fans would have been perfectly entitled to have reacted angrily, given the way that the management, the club and the fans stuck so closely by Suarez during the whole sorry Patrice Evra debacle. Whether you think Kenny paid for his support of Suarez with his job or not (my view is that it wasn’t a decisive factor, but certainly didn’t help Kenny in the final analysis), the very public and very strong support that he was given during that time is not something that he would have received from other clubs.

Without going too far down the road of re-opening the rights and wrongs of the whole Evra episode again (that would take a whole other article, and has been done to death anyway), in signing this new deal and committing himself to the club, Luis Suarez has at least shown that he appreciates the unwavering and very public backing that the fans and the management gave him during some very difficult days. In an era where loyalty is a dying quality in top level footballers, this is symbolically important off the pitch as well as hugely relevant on it.

Luis Suarez has shown that he understands what the club went through to support him, has acknowledged that he is part of something special and has, in signing a new contract, shown that he wants to repay that faith and support. More importantly, from a footballing perspective, one of Europe’s hottest striking properties has bought into the future vision outlined by Brendan Rodgers and has put pen to paper to spend his peak footballing years helping to make it happen. In a summer of frenzied transfer rumours and half-truths, this one in itself might turn out to be the most important signing of all.

Find me on twitter @rossco1981
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