I thought Iād go through our squad and see where everyone feels we need to improve going forward and give everyone else a chance to give their opinion.
Our current first team squad including players out on loan to return next season:
Goalkeepers
Alisson
Kelleher
Adrian
Pitaluga
Defenders
Alexander-Arnold
Ramsay
Van Dijk
Konate
Matip
Gomez
Phillips
Williams
Van den Berg
Robertson
Tsimikas
Midfielders
Henderson
Thiago
Fabinho
Elliott
Keita
Carvalho
Milner
Jones
Arthur
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Morton
Bajcetic
Strikers
Salah
Diaz
Nunez
Jota
Gakpo
Firmino
Doak
Players who will/might leave from the above:
Kelleher - He will want first team football
Adrian - Contract expiring
Pitaluga - Another loan
Phillips - He will want first team football
Williams - His loan spell at Blackpool has been inconsistent so I expect we will loan him back out or sell him if the right offer comes in
Van den Berg - He picked up a bad injury after a decent start at Schalke, I expect he will go back out on loan next season
Oxlade-Chamberlain - Contact expiring
Keita - Contract expiring
Milner - Contract expiring
Jones - I feel he needs to move on and get some first team minutes
Arthur - End of loan
Firmino - Iād love him to stay another season but he may not get a lot of game time.
Looking at the squad, I can see us doing a lot of business both in and out this summer, if all of the above happens we are going to need to bring in a 2nd choice keeper and an older one for 3rd choice, Iād also buy a young-ish CB who can fill in as and when we pick up injuries (someone aged 19-21). Midfield is the biggest talking point and I can see all of the out of contract players moving on + itās almost certain Arthur will go back to Juventus. I expect we will bring in 2 or 3 in for midfield plus we will have Morton back from loan and Bajcetic who can fill in. Upfront if Firmino moves on I expect we will bring in another 19-21 year old winger who can fill in as and when.
Overall I donāt think we need an āoverhaulā cos itās highly unlikely we will move on all of our midfielders like some people are suggesting. I just think we need to bring in fresh, motivated players in who can take some of the workload off of the current crop who have worked so hard and given us so many good times in recent years.
I expect with a fully fit squad at the start of next season strongest squad will look something like this:
Alisson
Alexander-Arnold
Konate
Van Dijk (c)
Robertson
New CM
Fabinho
New CM
Salah
Nunez
Diaz
Subs:
New GK
Gomez
Tsimikas
Henderson
Thiago
New CM
Elliott
Jota
Gakpo
Reserve:
New GK
New CB
Carvalho
Morton
Bajcetic
Doak
Iām not going to speculate who we are going to bring in as Iām really not sure what funds we will have, Iāve just given my opinion on what we need to help the squad grow.
I honestly donāt think that things are as bad as the media are making out, I understand as fans we all hit a low point when we draw or lose, thatās only natural. But it seems the squad is absolutely exhausted and needs freshening up. I think with Klopp and his team and keeping the core of this squad together and allowing Hendo, Thiago etc some rest we will be fine moving forward. Klopp knew this period was coming, I remember when he signed his contract he said āI want to be here for the transitionā and thatās what happening, we are not in free fall, we are in transition.
Letās keep on supporting our beloved LFC.
Great effort mate, but it might have been easier to list all those you want out or needs to find pastures new,
For me itās a complete and utter overhaul of the midfield, were ok up top and defense needs revamped, out of the back 4 only Konate has long term status, Matip, past his best, Gomez not good enough, big Nat & Rhys I donāt see them being shoe inās or theyād be there now, and the big fella Virgil has already shown signs of wear & tear, so we need to be looking for a replacement soon,
Midfield is done for me, and I include Hendo, Milner Fabinho, Ox, Thiago, Bobby, all done or simply donāt have the engine or energy to work in a Klopp midfield, in short the high intensity system used burns players out quickly so nothing short of a complete clear out will solve our issues, the likes of Naby , Jones, Arthur are for me out of their depth although Jones I think needs a run of games to bring the best out in him, unfortunately heās not going to get that here if weāre hanging on to old legs like Milner, Hendo etc, Naby, Arthur shouldnāt get within a sniff of a Liverpool shirt,
Up top is our strongest dept, even though we are missing two thirds , but when all is well we have one of the best in the league, in goal, I think weāre sorted, Adrian will go but that just opens the door slightly for Pitaluga, Ali remains our go to stopper but Iād rotate more with Kells to allow more rest for Ali and give more experience to Kelleher, if Kelleher gets more time between the sticks heās less likely to want to move on ?
As for the young guns and the promising future stars the work continues, weāve seen the introduction of Kelleher, Ramsey, Morton, Bacjetic, Doak, Clarke, et al, for me we should be seeing more of these young lads, not just in cup games but league fixtures too, itās how you gain the experience you need, getting a run out for a five minute cameo maybe exciting for those concerned but when all is said and done itās no more than a appreciation of their obvious talents, and to remind them ā Your nearly there ladā ,
Thereās absolutely no doubt the poisonous English media will be sharpening their toxic knives , preparing for the inevitable stabbing, but JĆ¼rgen will ride the storm and come back even better, just give the bloke the tools and heāll deliver!!
Hope over Fear !! 🏴
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