Transfer window: Despite Liverpool's impressive signings, defence remains a concern for Jurgen Klopp

A look at the players Liverpool purchased in the summer transfer window suggests that the club has done a decent job. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andrew Robertson are certainly suited for Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy. But did Liverpool really manage to tick all the boxes? The answer is no. [caption id=“attachment_3964063” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Jurgen Klopp. Image Courtesy: Twitter @LFC[/caption] It all started with the announcement of Salah to Liverpool for a club record fee of £36.9 million. The attacking midfielder had a terrific last season with Roma in Serie A, where he scored 15 goals and had 11 assists to his name. The price tag of £36.9 million for a player of Salah’s quality can be termed as bargain considering the hugely inflated transfer market. After Salah, Liverpool signed Solanke from Chelsea. The highly talented youngster had excelled for England in the U-20 World Cup and looks all set to prove his mettle in a senior team. The arrival of Andrew Robertson from Hull for £10 million was Klopp’s attempt to solve the left-back problem. James Milner, a bona fide midfielder performed the left-back role last season because Alberto Moreno was not up to his best. Again, Robertson at £10 million was great deal and since then, he played one Premier League match against Crystal Palace where he was outstanding. Despite three good signings, what Liverpool really needed was a solid centre-back. To their credit, they tried to rope in Virgil Van Dijk early. They were even ready to spend £70 million for the defender but Southampton’s reluctance followed by their allegation that Liverpool were tapping up the player resulted in the failure of the transfer. It was pretty evident from last season that Liverpool was struggling at the back. With the exception of Joel Matip, other three defenders – Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez were very inconsistent. The club’s top two centre backs are Matip and Lovren. If both are not available in a crucial match due to injuries, the sub-standard Klavan along with an inexperienced Gomez will have to feature in the starting eleven. After the initial van Dijk deal collapsed, Liverpool still had plenty of time to look for another defender. Speculations were rife till the deadline day that the club was still hoping to secure the services of the Southampton defender. Even Van Dijk handed a transfer request and urged Southampton to release him but nothing got materialised . Liverpool were suffering from defensive problems since a long time. The last time they conceded fewer than 40 goals in Premier League was way back in 2009-10 season when Rafa Benitez was in charge. While Chelsea, the league champions in 2014-15 and 2016-17, conceded 33 and 32 goals respectively in those seasons; Leicester City, the 2015-16 season champions conceded just 36 goals. This season too started on a similar note for Klopp and Liverpool. In their first match against Watford, they gave away three goals with the tie ending at 3-3. In the second leg of their Champions League playoff round, Liverpool scored four goals but still conceded two at Anfield. Defence is sill a major area of concern and the club did not do enough in the transfer window to rectify the issue. On the deadline day, the club completed the signing of Oxlade-Chamberlain for £35 million with five million add on. It’s actually strange why Klopp went with another option in the already-crowded midfield. It’s more like Liverpool making a mere statement that they had beaten Chelsea over Oxlade-Chamberlain’s signing and also showing their ability to buy a player from a league rival. Once Adam Lallana recovers from injury and now that Philippe Coutinho will mostly remain at the club, Oxlade-Chamberlain will find it difficult to break into the midfield. Yes, Liverpool will play more matches this season because of Champions League and having the depth in the midfield is always a good option but even without the Oxlade-Chamberlain transfer, the club would have been fine. On a side note, it’s baffling why Arsene Wenger decided to play Oxlade-Chamberlain against Liverpool last Sunday when it was clearly known that the midfielder had set his heart and mind on joining the Merseyside club. It’s quite foolish from Wenger, who has an experience of more than 33 years as manager in top flight football, to choose only him over other available players. What was he thinking? To conclude, Liverpool have increased their attacking options significantly but it’s their defence that is still vulnerable. They did fine in the transfer window but just not enough.