A move to Liverpool is often deemed as a career defining moment for several footballers. While the club might not be an ever-present entity in Europe these days, their rich legacy, their enviable supporters and the opportunity to be at one of the best clubs in England still makes the club a preferred destination for footballers.
With the glamour of playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe comes the responsibility of performing. Over the course of last few years, we have seen several players make their name at the club while several others have failed to do so.
However, some of the players who have failed to make their name at Anfield have moved on to greener pastures and established/re-established themselves. In this segment, we take a look at five Liverpool rejects who are having a great 2016-17 season.
#1 Peter Gulacsi – RB Leipzig
The 26-year-old Hungarian goalkeeper shot-stopper joined Liverpool in 2007 on a season-long loan from MTK Budapest. Impressed with his performances for the reserves side, they snapped him up on a permanent deal at the end of the season. However, the move that promised a lot did not really take off.
The player was sent out on numerous loans to Hereford United, Tranmere Rovers and Hull City before the hierarchy at Liverpool decided that Gulacsi was excess to the requirements at the club. The Hungary international moved to Red Bull Salzburg in 2013 and the move resurrected his career as he found first-team football easier to come by.
Perhaps, it was his latest move to RB Leipzig that has really helped Gulacsi establish himself as a professional. Having joined in 2015, the player has established himself as the first-choice shot-stopper for the club that has risen meteorically through the German divisions.
Gulacsi has played a critical role in his side climbing to the 2nd spot in the Bundesliga table. He has let in just 25 goals, the 2nd least in the League this season after the mighty Bayern Munich. The RB Leipzig number 32 has featured in 23 league games and has kept five clean sheets.
Moreover, he has shown an ability to make critical saves to help his side’s cause and has been a leader of the side’s defence. With the side realistically Champions League football for the upcoming season, Gulacsi is definitely part of something special at Leipzig.
#2 Brad Jones – Feyenoord
Brad Jones joined Liverpool after having spent more than 10 years on the books of Middlesbrough. After signing at Anfield, the Australian shot-stopper had several loan stints at clubs which included the likes of Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday before he finally established himself at the Riverside stadium in the 2008-09 season.
His impressive performances for the struggling Boro side did not go unnoticed and when Liverpool came calling in the summer of 2010. And it seemed like the perfect step up for the then 28-year-old. However, the move never took off as the player struggled to find consistent game time at Merseyside and was largely restricted to the bench.
Cut to the present and the Australian shot-stopper, who moved to Feyenoord at the start of the 2016-17 season is surely enjoying one of the best seasons of his career. The 34-year-old has played in 23 of Feyenoord’s 25 league games and has kept an incredible 14 clean sheets to help his side establish themselves as the best team defensively in the Netherlands.
Jones has been dominant in the air while also showing great reflexes to frustrate the opposition time and again. He averages close to three saves per game and has also been tidy with his distribution, making him an invaluable member of the Giovanni van Bronckhorst led side.
#3 Suso – AC Milan
Suso was a name on the lips of several Liverpool fans who keenly observe the club’s academy prospects in the early part of the current decade. The Spanish midfielder showed a creative spark very few young players possess, was technically gifted and had the ability to take on his man and beat him with skill.
The player had it all in his armor and looked the next big thing out of the club’s famed academy. Where did it all go wrong? Some attribute it to his poor attitude and several others claim that the player was not suited to the pace and physicality of the Premier League. After struggling for game time at Anfield and failing to impress when presented with an opportunity, Suso initially joined Almeria on a season-long loan before moving to AC Milan on a permanent deal in January 2015.
He, however, failed to break into the AC Milan first team in his first season and was sent to Genoa on a loan in the January of 2016 to help him find game time. That move perhaps could be defined as the one that helped him resurrect his flailing career.
This season, the 23-year-old is finally showing glimpses of why he was regarded as one of the brightest young talents on the planet not long ago. He is Milan’s creator-in-chief having created 47 goal scoring opportunities in 27 appearances and has also found the back of the net on six occasions, the 2nd highest after Carlos Bacca.
With a proven ability dribbling past his man, the Spaniard is definitely a player that features in the opposition team talk. With him finally proving his mettle in one of the top leagues in Europe, we hope that he keeps his head on his shoulders to progress into an elite footballer.
#4 Mario Balotelli - Nice
Perhaps someone described Mario Balotelli aptly when they claimed that you cannot love him unless he plays for you. The eccentric forward has been an enigma ever since he broke onto the world stage with his performances for Inter Milan, scoring wonderful goals in between doing crazy things on and off the pitch.
The striker’s stock had already been on a downward spiral when he arrived at Anfield. After having helped Manchester City to win their first League title since the 1967-68 season, the player soon fell out with his manager Roberto Mancini and moved to AC Milan in a bid to re-establish himself as the player he was touted to be.
While he did score 30 goals in 54 appearances for Milan, it never seemed like he was truly hitting the heights and when Liverpool came calling in the summer of 2014, it was touted to be a marriage made in heaven. The Reds were keen to add more attacking firepower after losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona and Balotelli’s ability as well as experience made him a perfect fit.
The move though did not go down too well and Liverpool decided to let him leave for French club Nice for no transfer fee at end of the 2015-16 season. While Balotelli might not be setting the footballing world on fire, he is certainly doing his bit to ensure that Nice remain in contention for the Ligue1 title. The striker has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances for the French club and has established himself as a critical component of their title run.
Nice remain in contention for the title as they sit five points behind leaders Monaco with seven games to go and if “Super Mario” can remain composed he could etch himself in the memoirs of the club, of course with a bit of luck.
#5 Iago Aspas – Celta Vigo
Let’s be honest with ourselves when we assess the role Aspas was supposed to play at Anfield. Despite being the leading marksman for Celta Vigo for two seasons prior to moving to the red half of the Merseyside in 2013, Aspas was never cut out for the starters role at the club. SAS had already established themselves as one of the lethal partnerships in the English game and Aspas was deemed as nothing more than an addition so as to strengthen squad depth.
The story did not deviate too much from the predicted plot as Aspas found playing time hard to come by in his first and only season at Merseyside. He featured just 15 times for the Reds and could not replicate the fine form he showed at Celta Vigo as he found the back of the net just once.
The player was soon on the move back to Spain, a country he had a proven track record in and while he did not hit it off with Sevilla, his next club, it was a definite upgrade on the footballing life he experienced at Anfield.
At the start of the 2015-16 season, the 29-year-old rejoined his former club Celta Vigo and has already re-established himself as one of the top strikers in La Liga. In the current season, he has already scored 19 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions and sits in the 4th spot behind the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo in the La Liga scoring charts with 14 goals.
Apart from finding the back of the net himself, Aspas has also been a busy operator on the pitch for Celta as he constantly probes and pushes the opposition defenders. He has been his side’s creative lynchpin, having created 41 goal scoring opportunities and has shown the ability to break down the opposition with his passing, skill on the ball as well as vision off the ball.
