Liverpool’s 5 most expensive signings

Before the start of the 2017 summer transfer window, Liverpool’s five most expensive players were Andy Carroll, Christian Benteke, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana.

The fact that a club of Liverpool’s stature had Andy Carroll as their most expensive player over six years is embarrassing, to be honest.

Thanks to Liverpool’s impressive form under Jurgen Klopp, the owners have sanctioned some expensive buys in the last one years. In fact, since the start of the 2017 summer transfer window, Liverpool have signed six players that cost the club more than the £35 million they paid for Andy Carroll.

The sixth highest fee was paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and he narrowly misses out on the Top 5 most expensive players signed by Liverpool.

Note: All transfer fees mentioned include add-ons.

#5 Mohamed Salah - £43.9 million

Mohamed Salah's first season at Liverpool was scintillating

Liverpool’s first summer signing for 2017 was Mohamed Salah from AS Roma for £36.9 million, rising to £43.9 million. In hindsight, the fee Liverpool paid for Mohamed Salah looks like daylight robbery.

At the time of his transfer, it was the most expensive signing by Liverpool and it also made him the most expensive African player beating Sadio Mane’s record when he moved to Liverpool. Since then, that record has been broken by Naby Keita, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Riyad Mahrez in that order.

Salah enjoyed a prolific first season with Liverpool scoring 44 goals in all competitions while breaking several records on the way. He scored 32 goals in the Premier League which is the most goals a player has scored in a 38-game league season.

Thankfully for Liverpool, they signed the Egyptian before the Neymar transfer happened. Otherwise, they would have had to pay a much bigger fee for him.

#4 Fabinho - £43 million

Liverpool’s interest in Fabinho was unknown to everyone a few hours before the deal was announced.

The Brazilian was signed for £39 million with further add-ons taking the fee to £43 million. In today’s transfer market, that’s not a bad amount to play for a 24-year-old Brazilian international midfielder, coveted by several top clubs.

Fabinho is a direct replacement in midfield for Emre Can who joined Juventus upon the expiry of his Liverpool contract.

It is believed, the Brazilian is an upgrade on the players Liverpool currently have in his position and we’ll find out if that’s the case over the course of the next season.

#3 Naby Keita - £52.75 million

Liverpool had an agreement in place to sign Keita 12 month later

Liverpool were keen on signing the Guinean international in 2017, but his club, RB Leipzig, were adamant that the player would not be sold last season at any cost.

Keita had a £48 million release clause in his contract that could be activated in 2018. However, Liverpool didn’t want to take the risk of another club poaching the dynamic midfielder.

Hence, in the summer transfer window of 2017, the Reds agreed on a deal with Leipzig to sign the midfielder in 2018 by paying a premium on top of his release clause. This premium was dependent on where Leipzig would finish in the league at the end of the 2017/18 season.

Since Leipzig finished in a Europa League spot, Liverpool only have to pay an additional £4.75 million on top of Keita’s £48 million release clause to complete the deal. If the club finished in a Champions League spot, then the fee would have jumped to £59 million!

#2 Alisson Becker - £65 million

Alisson is the world's most expensive goalkeeper

Liverpool’s goalkeeping issues in recent seasons are well documented and it was no surprise that the club were linked to several goalkeepers since the start of the summer transfer window.

For a while it looked like a new goalkeeper may not arrive this summer, but then the news broke that the club had put in a world record bid for a goalkeeper to sign Roma’s Alisson amidst interest from Chelsea.

It didn’t take long for Roma to accept Liverpool’s bid as the Reds offered £56 million plus another £9 million in bonuses for the Brazilian goalkeeper.

This made Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper on the planet breaking the long-standing record of €52 million paid by Juventus for Gianluigi Buffon 2001. However, in pounds, the record fee belonged to Manchester City’s Ederson (£35 million) due to the change in exchange rates. Now, in pounds and euros, the record belongs to Alisson.

Many have questioned Liverpool’s decision to sign Alisson for such a hefty fee, but if you saw his numbers from the 2017/18 season, then you’ll know why the Reds went ahead with the deal.

#1 Virgil van Dijk - £75 million

Van Dijk is the most expensive defender in the world

Liverpool’s pursuit of Virgil van Dijk was one that made a lot of headlines for both the right and wrong reasons.

The Reds were keen on adding the Dutchman to their roster in the 2017 summer. However, Southampton raised concerns over Liverpool’s pursuit of the defender, deeming it illegal and as a result, the Reds were forced to publicly apologize to Southampton and say they have ended any interest in the player.

Liverpool didn’t sign him in the summer transfer window but a few days before the winter transfer window opened, Liverpool announced the signing of Van Dijk for £70 million with add-ons taking the fee to £75 million.

The Dutch international was the sixth Southampton player Liverpool signed since 2014 and also the most expensive one. Van Dijk is now the most expensive defender in the world and also the 11th most expensive player in the world.

Although the fee looked big at the time of his transfer, his arrival improved the Liverpool defence massively and also those around him.