Liverpool are poised to announce the arrival of Roma and Egypt winger Mohamed Salah at Anfield for a fee of £39 million.
The deal is set to eclipse the one which saw the Reds sign Christian Benteke for £40 million two years ago from Aston Villa, thereby making the 25-year-old attacker the most expensive player in the club’s history.
Salah’s signing is, what manager Jurgen Klopp hopes, the next step to his team winning the English title for the first time since 1989-90 – three seasons before the inception of the Premier League.
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But simply because he has arrived for a lot of money does not guarantee success. Indeed, Liverpool’s other big buys have proven to be a distinctly mixed bag over time.
Here are the Anfield club’s biggest five purchases before Salah and how they fared during their spells, ranked out of five stars.
#5 Fernando Torres (£32m)
One of the modern cult heroes of Liverpool and Anfield, Fernando Torres was signed for a then club-record fee from Atletico Madrid, a team that it seemed he would never leave.
At the time, the Spaniard was a 23-year-old promise, and he fully lived up to that during his spell on Merseyside, which stretched from 2007 until January 2011. It proved to be the most prolific period of his career, during which he scored 81 times in 142 outings.
Despite his individual excellence, though, Torres could not inspire Liverpool to a single major honour during his time at Anfield, making his own exploits all the more impressive. Since leaving for Chelsea in a deal worth £50m, he has never quite been the same player, flopping at Stamford Bridge before a spell with AC Milan. He is now back at Atleti.
#4 Andy Carroll (£35m)
Andy Carroll was the man anointed to replace Torres at Liverpool, but the former Newcastle centre-forward never made anything like the same impression as his Spanish predecessor. Indeed, it is remarkable to think that the bulk of the Torres transfer fee was spent on the England international, who proved to be a comprehensive flop.
An entirely different type of player, far more of a targetman to Torres’ threat in behind, he was hampered by injury during his 18 months on Merseyside and scored only six goals in 44 league appearances before being shipped off to West Ham United, who ultimately signed him for £15m.
#3 Roberto Firmino (£35m)
Former Hoffenheim attacker Roberto Firmino has been something of a slow burner during his time with Liverpool but over the course of the last one year, he has shown many glimpses of the form that provoked manager Jurgen Klopp to spend £35m to take him from the Bundesliga side.
After a tricky start to life at Anfield, he ended the 2015-16 season with 10 goals in the Premier League and bettered that tally by one last time around. Firmino has been used as a false number nine to great effect by Klopp as his movement puts off defenders. His game is more than just putting the ball in the back of the net as his abilities allow the Liverpool attack to have a good degree of rotation.
If Klopp can find another strong option in attack, Firmino’s true potential may just be unlocked.
#2 Sadio Mane (£35m)
There can be no doubt that Mane was a smash hit last season. He arrived from Southampton for a fee of a little over £35m, making him the most expensive African player in history.
It did not take him long to make his mark, netting the winner on his Premier League debut in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The was the first of 13 goals for the Reds in the top flight, making him joint top scorer in this regard.
His pace and power out wide was superb, and it was notable that Klopp’s men failed to win a league game without him when he was away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.
Before he can get a full five-star rating, though, he will have to justify his price tag over a number of seasons – something he looks well capable of being able to do.
#1 Christian Benteke (£40m)
Signed by Brendan Rodgers in the summer of 2015, Liverpool’s most expensive ever signing, Benteke was a distinct disappointment at Anfield, despite scoring nine league goals in 29 matches.
Things started with reasonable promise, a winning goal against Bournemouth before a spectacular consolation against Manchester United. But he was not helped by the change in management halfway through the season, as he certainly was not suited to Jurgen Klopp’s style of play, and as a result became increasingly peripheral.
Before the end of August 2016, less than 13 months after joining the Anfield side, he would be sold to Crystal Palace for a fee that could rise up to £32m. Since moving to Selhurst Park, he has netted 17 times in 40 outings – a commendable return.
