Liverpool are flying high. Jurgen Klopp’s men are second in the Premier League, with one game left to finish the first half of fixtures. Ever since Klopp took over as the manager, there have been massive strides of progress made at the club.
They reached the Capital One Cup final last year, only to lose on penalties to Manchester City. They also enjoyed a stunning campaign in the Europa League and Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Villareal were beaten on the road to the final, which they lost 3-1 to Sevilla in Basel.
The Dortmund game, in particular, was the most amazing Anfield game in a very long time as Liverpool came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3, courtesy an injury time winner from Dejan Lovren.
But if there was one thing that last season made clear, it was that Liverpool needed to assess their squad, get rid of certain non-performers and add a whole lot of quality to the squad. And Klopp got down to business early.
So out went Christian Benteke, Joe Allen, Martin Skrtel, Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith and Kolo Toure.
Straight after the Europa League final, the German manager said that the club would strive to finish off their incoming transfers early in the window so that the new players have time to adjust to the other players, the club and most importantly, to the tactics and style of play that Klopp demands.
Liverpool eventually signed seven players in the transfer window – Marko Grujic, Joel Matip, Loris Karius, Sadio Mane, Alexander Manninger, Ragnar Klavan and Georginio Wijnaldum arrived in the summer and the last signing of those – Wijnaldum – was signed at the end of July.
We take a look at how each of those signings has performed this season and whether they have met the expectations that the management and the fans had of them.
#1 Marko Grujic
Grujic was signed in a deal that was agreed with Red Star Belgrade in January, although he arrived only in the summer. The transfer was said to be worth around £6 million. The 20-year-old Serb has been affected by injuries after a strong pre-season. He scored against Fleetwood Town in his first pre-season game for the club, and in his last pre-season game, he put the icing on the cake as he scored a beautiful looping header to round off a brilliant 4-0 win over Barcelona.
But once the season started, Grujic has been mainly used only for the cup games. In the fourth round EFL Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur, Grujic put in a tremendous display. He assisted the first goal for Daniel Sturridge and in general, he was a nuisance to the Spurs midfield with the intelligence of his movement.
But that has pretty much been the only meaningful action in the first half of the season for Grujic. He has had only 30 minutes of action in two league appearances for the Reds this season and has been troubled by recurring niggling injuries, which has ensured his Liverpool career has not quite taken off yet.
Grade – 4/10 – Grujic has shown signs of promise and potential but he just has not played enough to make enough of a judgement about whether this transfer was a success or not.
#2 Joel Matip
Matip has arguably been Liverpool’s best signing of the summer. He joined Liverpool as a free agent after his contract at Schalke expired at the end of last season.
At the end of the 2015/16 season, one obvious change Liverpool had to make was to ensure that their defence did not leak too many goals. And Matip has been pivotal in ensuring Liverpool haven’t been too shaky at the back.
In many ways, Matip’s importance to this Liverpool side has been exemplified by the Reds’ performances when he has not played. He has had a niggling ankle problem which has kept him out of Liverpool’s recent games.
The Reds have conceded 11 goals in 12 games when Matip had played. When the Cameroonian has been missing, that number is nine goals in six games. It is a staggering difference and a testament to the quality that Matip has added to this Liverpool side.
In Klopp’s system, the centre-backs need to be able to pick incisive passes and Matip fits the bill perfectly as he is decisive in his passing. He plays his passes with conviction and sometimes even strides forward to join the attack. In defence too, his reading of the game is excellent and he has shown fantastic aerial ability too.
But for Klopp and for Matip, the important thing will be for him to show the sort of consistency that separates the great players from the good players. The first half of his first season at Anfield has been a success and no one can take that away from Matip.
Grade – 8/10 – He has made a real difference for Jurgen Klopp as the Reds bid to win the league for the first time in 27 years.
#3 Loris Karius
Karius moved to Liverpool from Mainz for £4.7 million with huge expectations. Simon Mignolet’s uncertainty between the sticks meant that Klopp had decided on naming the German keeper as his first-choice.
But it is fair to say that the young German has not repaid his manager’s faith in him. He has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, and his decision-making, at times, has been questionable. His lack of conviction was surprising given that he was voted by fans as the 2nd best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga last season, only behind the great Manuel Neuer.
Karius made his Premier League debut against Hull City at Anfield – a game that the Reds won 5-1. He had a run of 10 straight league games in the side after that, but he could not make the goalkeeper’s spot his own.
He made mistakes – a few decisive ones and that cost Liverpool points. He made a couple of them against Manchester United but those went unpunished, and also made mistakes against West Ham and Bournemouth that cost Liverpool goals and ultimately, points.
The problems for Karius stemmed from the fact that he did not display any conviction whatsoever. He came out to deal with crosses, but didn’t get a convincing touch on a lot of them. That was exemplified in the game against West Ham. A long ball found its way to Michail Antonio and the Liverpool keeper started to rush off his line, before stopping halfway, giving the Englishman an easy finish.
At that point, it would have definitely served Karius better if he had either stayed on his line, or charged straight at Antonio and tried to get to the ball before him. That, in a nutshell, has been Karius’s season so far. There have been moments of promise, but some high-profile errors have overshadowed them
Grade – 4/10 – He has made some fabulous saves and his kicking is good compared to Mignolet, but his decision-making has got to improve.
#4 Sadio Mane
Mane has made a tremendous difference to Liverpool with his pace and direct running, which were some things that Klopp was missing in the team of last season.
Mane has eight goals and four assists in 17 Premier League appearances this season, but his contribution to the side stretches much beyond the numbers.
He presses really well and he presses high up the pitch. The press is a critical aspect of the game for any side that Klopp manages and with the Liverpool defence capable of being extremely shaky, it is important that Liverpool try and win the ball high up the pitch so that the defenders have no much to do.
Apart from that, Mane is always an outlet to pass to relieve the pressure from the midfielders. He has raw pace, but he uses it very intelligently, and knows when to hold up his runs and when to go at full throttle. He has formed a very effective partnership on the right flank for Liverpool with Nathaniel Clyne, and the duo are a serious threat going forward.
His strength is also a huge part of his game. Added to his technical ability and dribbling prowess, Mane’s ability to shield the ball and hold off defenders is a hugely significant part of his game, which he showed that on his competitive debut for the club against Arsenal on the opening day of the season.
Mane received the ball on the right flank and held off the advances from Nacho Monreal, Calum Chambers and Rob Holding before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top corner.
Grade – 9/10 – He has been a significant part of all the good things that Liverpool have done this season, and the team will miss him when he leaves to represent Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations.
#5 Ragnar Klavan
In many ways, the big Estonian is a typical Klopp signing. He wasn’t playing for a big club, he didn’t command a huge fee but he can do his job. Klavan cost the Reds £3.5 million when he moved from Augsburg in the summer.
Klavan has been used as a backup option when either Matip or Lovren have been injured. And for a backup centre-back, he has done a stunning job.
That has been exemplified in December. The Reds started the month off with a disappointing capitulation in the 4-3 loss away at Bournemouth. Against West Ham, he came on to replace Lovren at half-time, and from then on, Liverpool have conceded only one goal in 315 minutes of football.
Klavan’s strength is unquestionable, but his ability with the ball at his feet and his composure while defending tight situations have stood out in his first season with Liverpool. The defender has played in all EFL Cup games so far, mostly partnering Lucas Leiva at the heart of the defence. The Reds face Southampton in a two-legged semi-final tie next month.
Grade – 6/10 – Nothing too flashy or spectacular, but has done his job effectively when he has been called upon.
#6 Georginio Wijnaldum
Wijnaldum joined Liverpool from Newcastle in a deal worth around £25 million. It was a deal that raised eyebrows particularly because of his performances last year. He scored all his goals for Newcastle at St. James’ Park, and it was argued that Liverpool could do without a big money signing who was used to blowing hot and cold.
As it has turned out, Wijnaldum has scored only one goal this season, but Klopp has not played him in an advanced a role as he was playing at Newcastle. In his role, the Dutchman is the man in midfield who has to do a bit of everything.
He has shown a tremendous amount of energy in all the games that he has played this season and he has played well enough to keep Emre Can – Liverpool’s best midfielder last season – on the bench, even when he has been fit.
The Wijnaldum that Liverpool have right now does not do anything flashy. He sticks to his job, keeps the ball moving around and ensures that the opposition midfielders don’t have time on the ball.
Grade – 7/10 – Even though he has not been flashy, he has stuck to his job and gone about his job unassumingly.
#7 Alexander Manninger
Manninger has not made a single competitive appearance for Liverpool. But in fairness, when he was signed, Klopp made it clear that he was being signed more in a coaching role and would fill in between the sticks if there was an emergency.
And even in that coaching role, it looks like the goalkeeping coach John Achterberg calls the shots. Manninger’s role will be very simple, it has to be to ensure that Mignolet and Karius are confident enough heading into every game that Liverpool play.
Manninger has the experience of playing in different leagues in the world and has played at the very top of the Premier League too, having been a part of the great Arsenal teams in the early 2000s.
So, even if he doesn’t play, he has to be someone for Mignolet and Karius to feed off and gain confidence.
Grade – N/A – He hasn’t played a single competitive game this season
