Liverpool transfer plan proves Jurgen Klopp is already…

Liverpool transfer plan proves Jurgen Klopp is already building his next great team

To paraphrase the late, great singer Terry Hall, it has been a case of too much, too old for Liverpool this season.

Or at least that's the accusation.

Certainly, the former point has considerable credence. In Europe's leading leagues, no player appeared in more top-level games than the 64 Virgil van Dijk managed during 2022. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise, then, that Van Dijk sustained a hamstring injury mere hours into the new year that will keep him out for at least a month.

With Liverpool having featured in every competitive game they possibly could last year bar the UEFA Super Cup, five other players - Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson - feature in the top 20 in terms of outings during 2022.

While Alisson and Salah have been decisive at both ends of the field this season, the relentless grind goes some way to explaining the drop in form at times from each of the other players, particularly given both Fabinho and Henderson are expected to operate at a high level of intensity in the Liverpool midfield.

But are the Reds overall simply getting too long in the tooth? It's a question that, as with so many regarding Klopp's side this season, doesn't have a simple answer. It's awkward, as they say.

Take the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, Liverpool's performance in the 2-2 FA Cup third round draw prompting alarm bells to sound louder than ever.

Klopp's side had a starting line-up with an average age of 28.15. For Wolves, it was 24.69. Liverpool were much older, then. But an analysis of the breakdown of the individual ages is somewhat more instructive.

Of Liverpool's 11 starters, five were aged 30 or over. Four, though, were 24 or under. Which left just two - 28-year-old Andy Robertson and the aforementioned exhausted 29-year-old Fabinho - as operating in what are accepted as their peak years.

For comparison, when Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final in 2019, the then 20-year-old Alexander-Arnold was the only starter not aged between 25 and 28.

More youth, then, is required. But in truth it's already there. The problem is the ability and circumstances in which to use it properly.

Harvey Elliott came off the bench against Wolves and, still only 19, has appeared in more games this season than not only any other Liverpool player, but also the rest of his Anfield career put together. At times the learning curve has been steep and borderline unfair, particularly in midfield. Curtis Jones, meanwhile, has been injured for the most part.

Then there are the new signings. Ibrahima Konate has barely featured this term due to injury, Darwin Nunez is adapting to a new league, Fabio Carvalho has had limited opportunities, Calvin Ramsay has had to overcome a long-term spell on the sidelines and Cody Gakpo has only just arrived. And none of this mentions Academy graduate teenagers Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark, who have both appeared in the Premier League this season, exciting winger Ben Doak and last campaign's breakthrough, Kaide Gordon.

And of the other Liverpool players in their peak years, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota remain long-term injuries and Naby Keita has yet to start a game this season.

With Ben Davies the only one of the last 12 permanent first-team and paid-for Academy signings to be aged over 25, the Reds have for some time been actively looking to bring down the average age of their squad and prepare more players for longer-term success.

Diaz turns 26 later this week. And even without the winger, Liverpool could name a relatively strong team of players aged 25 and under.

In goal would be Caomhin Kelleher, with Joe Gomez and Konate the centre-backs and either Alexander-Arnold or Ramsay at right-back. Midfield would see Bajcetic, Elliott and Jones, with Carvalho, Nunez and Gakpo up top. Left-back would be the only issue, although Luke Chambers has shown great progress at the Academy over the last 18 months. And this is without considering loan players such as Tyler Morton and Conor Bradley.

Too much? For some Liverpool players at different ends of their careers, that is proving the case. But the Reds as a whole aren't too old. If anything, some of their next generation just aren't yet of an age to know if they can take on the baton into future years.

READ NEXT

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here