"We will wait for him like a good wife when the husband is in jail." Jurgen Klopp has had to use such an analogy more than he would have liked during his seven-and-a-half years as Liverpool manager.
The Reds have regularly been cursed by injury under the German’s reign, with Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury which kick-started a season-long centre-back crisis in 2020/21 perhaps the most obvious example, but this season it has stung that little bit more. The Times reported over the weekend that his squad has missed a combined total of 162 Premier League games through injury so far in this campaign alone - the most in the English top-flight by far.
Such a total is 38 games more than the second most afflicted side, Chelsea, and a whopping 116 games more than the most injury-free side, Brighton & Hove Albion. Boasting an ageing squad stuck in transition, it has proven to be so much more difficult navigating these murky waters as a result, with Liverpool left facing an uphill battle just to finish in the top four.
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Injuries have at least eased up in recent weeks, with Luis Diaz the most senior long-term absentee left sidelined. The Colombian, who is poised to return after the March international break, has missed 27 matches in all competitions so far this season after injuring his knee back in October, then undergoing surgery in December, with such a total set to rise to 28 against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Such a total is only slightly more than the number of games fellow forward Diogo Jota has missed (24) prior to his return from injury last month. The Portuguese injured his hamstring on international duty last summer before suffering a setback in pre-season training with the Reds.
Eventually returning to action in early September, he’d then suffer a serious calf injury in October’s victory over Man City that would rule him out of the World Cup, and keep him out of 18 Liverpool matches, prior to making his return as a substitute in last month’s Merseyside derby victory over Everton. Yet an ankle injury suffered away at Inter Milan last February has perhaps ensured we haven’t seen the best of the 26-year-old for over a year.
At the time, he had 17 goals from 31 games and was enjoying the campaign of his life. While he would miss only two games because of the setback as he rushed back to feature in the League Cup final, he arguably hasn’t been the same since.
Scoring a further four goals following his return, his 21-goal campaign was the best of the forward’s career. Yet he found himself more bit-part during the final months of last season, following the arrival of Diaz, and hasn’t scored since last April’s 2-2 draw away at Man City.
As a result, Klopp’s Liverpool have had to be ‘a good wife’ to Jota all season long.
“We can see when the boys come on that they are not at their best at the moment,” he would admit ahead of his side’s trip to Crystal Palace. “We have the situation now with Bobby and Diogo. But they need the minutes and will get better. That’s exactly the situation we have.”
But the German has publicly praised the Portuguese a number of times since then as the 26-year-old slowly starts to rediscover both form and rhythm.
“Based on that, I would say [his performance was] really, really good,” Klopp said after handing Jota his first start since October against Crystal Palace. “We tried now to build it up slightly but it was a long time.
“Before that he was injured as well, so he came back from international duty for pre-season, he had no pre-season, he was injured, then he played a few games really good and then he was injured again. So far, it's a really difficult season for him.
“Absolutely okay, he can play better of course, but that's how it is, that's what we have to go through and that's what we do.”
Jota would keep his place for the 2-0 victory against his former club, Wolves, before dropping back to the bench for the 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United. His manager would again praise his contributions following the dismantling of the Red Devils.
“You could see today, and the other night against Wolves, that having Diogo back is super important that we can give the other boys breaks here and there,” he said.
Jota’s impact since returning, whether starting or from the bench, despite his lack of goals is clear. While he very much looked like a player who hadn’t played since October against Everton, it has been a different story in the weeks that have followed.
He had four shots off the bench in the 2-0 victory away at Newcastle United and was unfortunate not to score at least one, while he would match such a total when starting against Crystal Palace and was denied by the woodwork. He then set up Virgil van Dijk’s opener in the 2-0 victory over Wolves, moments after his individual run into the box had created Darwin Nunez’s VAR-disallowed strike.
Meanwhile, a half-time substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to AFC Bournemouth, the Portuguese was central to Liverpool’s limited openings from open play as they searched in vain for an equaliser. He forced a fine save from Neto early in the second half, before winning a penalty after his goal-bound header was handled by Adam Smith, only to see Mohamed Salah miss the spot-kick.
Evidently still having an important role to play at Anfield, that is perhaps why onlookers were so perplexed at suggestions last week that Jota could move on next summer. Football Transfers would suggest he wants more minutes, is of interest to Newcastle United - and that Liverpool would demand £60m for his services.
Boasting an ageing squad, the suggestion that the Reds would look to move on one player actually at the peak of his powers, and one who signed a new long-term contract as recently as last summer as part of their attacking revamp, is perplexing. But maybe it would be a case of needs must?
After all, Klopp’s admission that, “having Diogo back is super important (because) we can give the other boys breaks here and there,” is perhaps rather telling of his place in the pecking order. Even with Roberto Firmino set to leave at the end of his contract in the summer, the Portuguese is arguably fifth-choice at best when all of Liverpool’s options are fit and available.
In little over a year, he has seen the Reds snap up Diaz, Nunez, and Cody Gakpo. All three are likely to start ahead of him on the left flank, with the latter pair potentially the preferred central options too. As a result, as good a player as Jota is, if it’s a case of Liverpool being able to make a reasonable profit on their £45m frontman, maybe he is actually a player they could contemplate sacrificing.
Their ageing squad leaves the Reds with few players they’d reluctantly be willing to move on who could actually raise significant funds. Caoimhin Kelleher and Nat Phillips are expected to depart in the summer, but beyond the pair, Liverpool’s sellable assets are few and far between.
“We continue building at Liverpool Football Club in a responsible manner,” owner John W. Henry would tell the ECHO in an exclusive interview published last week. “We’ve seen many football clubs (including LFC previously) go down unsustainable paths. We have and will continue to focus our attention on investing wisely in the transfer market and we remain incredibly proud of our squad.”
Meanwhile, Klopp would say of the club’s transfer policy last month: “The way this club is led is by not splashing the money and having a look at if it works out or not. Our transfers always have to be on point. So that makes it really tricky where we cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club.”
Such a stance suggests that a carefree spending spree won’t take place at Liverpool under FSG’s watch anytime soon, with player sales still needed to bolster their budget.
While the Reds can’t claim signings have always been ‘on point’, at least before Klopp took over as manager in October 2015, Liverpool’s biggest outlays in the transfer market have come off the back of big-money sales with Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling, and Philippe Coutinho all helping to finance future incomings. The latter’s club-record £142m move to Barcelona would help finance moves for Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, and Fabinho after all.
That business in 2018 was arguably the last time the Reds made significant changes to their playing squad. In truth, it paid off given they would go on to win every major honour going.
Now poised for their biggest transfer window since then, and in need of a midfield overhaul, Jude Bellingham is reportedly Liverpool’s first-choice target. Yet he would cost a club-record fee, with reports in Spain claiming Real Madrid are willing to pay as much as £124m (including add-ons) for the England international. It remains to be seen how the Reds could compete with such efforts.
Critics continue to urge FSG to dig deep into their own pockets to finance a move for the Borussia Dortmund star, and any other required targets. But perhaps Liverpool will need to look to sell to buy once again. If so, speculation regarding Jota’s future starts to make a little more sense.
It’s debatable whether the Reds would be wise to sacrifice Jota, especially after waiting so patiently for the Portuguese to return and just as he’s starting to impact the games once more. Selling the forward would be a ruthless decision, but perhaps that’s what Liverpool need, and in the past have lacked, to avoid a prolonged stage of transition.
On one hand, Jota is a popular member of the Reds’ squad and a prolific goalscorer. Even if not first-choice, he still has the potential to be a match-winner off the bench. But that’s exactly what makes him sacrificial.
He’s not first-choice, his injury record is arguably now questionable, and he’s a rare example of a player at Anfield who, while entering his peak years, would demand a hefty fee. If Liverpool can make a significant profit on a rotational option, it is something they may have to consider, even if it would still be hard to stomach if he was moved on so soon after overcoming this season's difficulties.
If there is any substance to recent speculation regarding the Portuguese’s future, FSG can expect backlash for what it suggests about their ongoing transfer stance. Many Kopites do not relish 'sell to buy', after all, especially when their rivals aren't restricted by the same constraints. But such a policy has served the club well in recent years and this is the Reds’ reality whether supporters like it or not.
In the meantime, the forward can only deliver on the pitch to make it a harder and harder decision come the summer. Having waited ‘like a good wife’ for so long for Jota, only time will tell if this Liverpool marriage reluctantly ends in divorce.
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