Premier League: Jurgen Klopp's new-look Liverpool under pressure to deliver trophies after heavy investment in squad

It’s fair to say that no club’s regression in the Premier League era has invoked passions like Liverpool’s. The Merseyside-based team, boasting of a spirited fan base, had seen much of its glory days before the Premier League, including winning 18 league titles, then a record for an English club. In 26 years since the inception of Premier League, Liverpool finished second on the table on just three occasions. There were, of course, notable exceptions where the club rose above and grabbed the limelight. Like winning the Champions League in 2005 and two FA Cup titles, but largely, the club’s performance in two and half decades has been mediocre.

It’s also fair to say that for the first time in a really long time, Liverpool are now considered as one of the favourites for the league ahead of the new season, which starts on 10 August. In terms of quality, Liverpool do not match Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, but thanks to the additions they made in the pre-season matches, and retaining the services of key attacking players, the Jurgen Klopp’s side can dare to dream about bringing home the 19th title.

There’s no doubt that under Klopp’s stewardship, Liverpool have become a force, playing a brand of football that is attractive in the truest sense of the word. A footballing philosophy that is eye-pleasing and also good enough to convince top talents to sign for the club. Klopp’s rebuilding process saw the club qualify for the Champions League twice in succession and also reaching the final of the Champions League last season. This will be the third full season for Klopp and now the exceptions are sky high in terms of delivering trophies.

The expectations are justified because of the way the club has conducted its business in the transfer window. Klopp made sure that there is some upgrade with the kind of players who have joined the team. The biggest improvement came in the area which was the most problematic in the last two years. Liverpool signed Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker from AS Roma for a record fee of £66.9 million after Klopp came to the conclusion that neither Loris Karius nor Simon Mignolet is good enough to be team’s No 1 goalkeeper.

Paying that kind of fee for a goalkeeper raised few eyebrows but Liverpool had no other option. After Mignolet failed to impress Klopp last season, Karius became the German coach’s No 1 choice. He showed potential at the beginning, proving his abilities as good shot-stopper but he lacked consistency. The goalkeeping woes of the club reached its pinnacle when Karius committed two ridiculous errors against Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final. Alission comes to the club with huge expectations, but pressure is not new to Alisson considering he was Brazil’s numero uno at the World Cup. His distribution is also at par with world’s best and he showed the glimpses of it during the club’s pre-season game against Napoli.

There were demands from a certain section of the fans that Liverpool should sign a centre-back with doubts persisting over the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez. With so little time left for the closure of transfer window and Klopp himself telling that he’s not looking to make more additions in the defence, it’s highly unlikely that club will go for a defender. The record-signing of Virgil van Dijk in the last season’s January transfer window certainly helped in developing more solidity at the back. Lovren, who’s also infamous for his inconstancy, will be the first choice centre-back apart from Van Dijk. Lovren, for all his errors, improved significantly as last season progressed and his performances in the Champions League and in the World Cup with Croatia are a testament to that.

A look at Liverpool’s midfielders will grab your attention for sure. Emre Can left the club for Juventus, but Liverpool have secured the services of Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri. This in addition to the already existing midfielders like club captain Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Gini Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner. While it’s not sure whether Chamberlain will play any role this season due to his knee injury, Klopp is still left with many options and it’s a good headache to have. Looking at the pre-season games, Keita, who was signed by the club last season from RB Leipzig for £52.75m but then was loaned back to same club, seems to be a welcome addition. Keita meets the physical demands of Klopp’s game and also showed his vision when it comes to the passing game.

Another worthy inclusion to this season’s squad is former Stoke City winger Shaqiri. There were concerns regarding his work rate, whether he could meet the standards of Klopp but in the pre-season games, he showed why Klopp didn’t hesitate to bring him over. Shaqiri excelled playing behind the strikers in an advanced play-maker role, showing his brilliant passing range and also helping the team in terms of scoring. Nabil Fekir was considered as an ideal replacement for Philippe Coutinho but since then the deal fell through due to medical issues and it looks like the French midfielder won’t be part of the club anytime soon. Shaqiri is not a traditional No 10, but he surely made a case to play in that position.

The best part about Liverpool is their front three. Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah scored 88 goals in all competitions last season. They are the reason why there’s a lot of optimism around the team and a lot of success this season will depend once again on the attacking trio. Positive news is that both Firmino and Salah have signed new deals with the club and talks are ongoing for Mane. With Daniel Sturridge proving that he still has something to offer and the presence of Dominic Solanke show that Liverpool’s attack is more than sorted for the upcoming season.

Credit should go to Klopp and club’s sporting director Micheal Edwards for ensuring that most of the team’s weaknesses are taken care of. There’s more quality in their attacking ranks, depth in the midfield, and an improved defence, all of which were missing in the last season. Now the demand is to win trophies, especially the 19th league title, their first in the Premier League era.

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