Former Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan believes that Reds manager Jurgen Klopp will be keen to freshen up his squad in the summer by letting some players leave and bringing in some new faces to add competition to those already at Anfield.
Despite the Merseysiders winning the Champions League last year and currently on course to claim the Premier League title this season, the ex-Republic of Ireland international expects Klopp to make a few changes in personnel to his playing options when the summer transfer window opens.
Speaking about the Liverpool manager to Irish media outlet The 42, Whelan said: “He will want to get rid of some players and bring in others. He knows he can’t stand still. We never stood still in the ’70s or ’80s – once we were in top, a couple of new faces would always come in and we’d build and build. Klopp will be doing that because he has the chance to build a legacy and make a really great side. But they have to keep winning.”
Whelan’s prophecy about Klopp wanting to “get rid of some players” tallies with a recent report in the Liverpool Echo claiming that Xherdan Shaqiri, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren will all be moved on in the summer. Another report by Football Insider last week suggested that goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan could also exit Anfield later this year, so there could well be a substantial exodus at the club during 2020.
Whelan could also be right in suggesting that the manager will be keen to bring a few players in as well as letting some go. Liverpool had a very quiet summer in the transfer market last year, only bringing in Adrian and Lonergan on free transfers along with modest deals for youth players Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg. Even with the current Reds squad on course to win the league by an emphatic margin, Klopp may feel that he needs to splash the cash much more this year to keep the upward curve going.
Indeed, injuries to first team regulars Alisson and Jordan Henderson have struck at the same time that Liverpool have endured their worst run of the season, losing four of their last six games and exiting two cup competitions having been beaten just twice in the whole campaign prior to that slump (as per TransferMarkt). The Reds’ recent struggles have exposed the limitations of the squad when some key figures aren’t available – a situation which could become stark next year if current top scorers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are both at the African Cup of Nations in January/February 2021.
Whelan also makes a fair point about previous champions constantly seeking to enhance their squads rather than accepting the status quo. Manchester City may have won the last two league titles but Pep Guardiola still spent more than £120m just on Rodri and Joao Cancelo last summer, as well as investing £60m in Riyad Mahrez the previous year (as per BBC). Manchester United won three straight titles between 1999 and 2001, repeating the feat from 2007 to 2009, yet they still brought in Ruud van Nistelrooy after the first of those three-in-a-rows for a then-British record fee of £18.5m (as per BBC).
Liverpool may be the top team in England right now but, as they look set to usurp a Manchester City side that were champions for the last two years, Klopp will know that anyone who sits on the throne stands to be knocked off it once other rivals catch up. Therefore, Whelan is entitled to believe that the Reds manager could be busy in the summer in order to keep Liverpool on top of the pile.
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