Complacent Liverpool guilty of gross transfer failing
Karan Tejwani
- 10 Oct 2022 15:05 BST
- 3 min read
Liverpool’s tough start to the season continued with a 3-2 defeat at Arsenal, leaving Jurgen Klopp’s side 10th place in the league, a whole 14 points behind the leaders, Arsenal.
The Reds have suffered this season, struggling to maintain their form and only showing glimpses of how good they can be, and that has reflected in their results in this campaign.
They only signed four players all summer, with their biggest one being Darwin Nunez from Benfica, while others were meant to be squad options, and that has caused a problem.
Additionally, they aren’t a very young team either, and that could cause a problem for them in the long-run as rivals get ahead of them.
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Liverpool need to refresh squad
Liverpool have on average, named the third-oldest starting XIs in the Premier League this season, and that could be an issue for them as they have been left behind in that regard.
They’ve been relying on ageing members of the squad such as Jordan Henderson and James Milner this season, while Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk aren’t getting any younger either.
In yesterday’s defeat at Arsenal, it was revealed that the average age of Liverpool’s starting XIs was 27 years and 342 days, the 18th youngest, while the Gunners were at 24 years and 186 days, the second youngest.
In terms of the oldest squad to be named in a Premier League match this season, Liverpool’s starting eleven for their opening match against Fulham was the oldest: 29.4-years-old.
Graeme Souness on Liverpool's ageing squad:
"Looking at the age of some of the current team - 31-year-old Thiago, Jordan Henderson, 32 and James Milner at 36." #lfc [liverpool echo]— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) October 8, 2022
Amongst the 10 oldest starting XIs named in the Premier League this season, Liverpool appear thrice, with the team that drew 3-3 against Brighton and lost 2-1 at Manchester United also appearing in that list.
Liverpool need to act in the transfer window to amend this issue: the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have taken a more youth-centred approach to their transfers and will continue to do so for the next few years.
Manchester City and Manchester United are targeting more players under the age of 25, while others such as Brighton and Newcastle are also emerging in that category.
If Liverpool don’t move to rejuvenate their squad in the coming transfer windows, this slump could continue for a few years and it could affect performances on and off the pitch.
