Last year can be thought of as a real disappointment for Liverpool fans. The departure of Sadio Mane was felt more than some imagined and a lack of creativity in the centre of the park seemed to hold back Jurgen Klopp’s men. Plenty of pundits are tipping the Anfield club for a much better campaign this time around however…
Last Season: 5th
Top Scorer: Mo Salah (19)
Transfers In: Dominik Szoboszlai – RB Leipzig, £70m, Alexis Mac Allister – Brighton, £35m.
Transfers Out: Fabinho – Ittihad Club, £46m, Jordan Henderson – El-Ettifaq, £14m, James Milner – Brighton, Free, Naby Keita, Werder Bremen, Free, Roberto Firmino, Al-Ahli, Free.
First game: Chelsea (A)
It would be fair to say that Jurgen Klopp has bought himself plenty of goodwill and time at Liverpool. Winning the Premier League and the Champions League will do that for a manager. So the drop-off and disappointment that was the 22/23 season is seen by many to be a blip and good times will once again come to Merseyside.
Two big-name signings have been brought in by the time of writing and they are both very creative attacking players who can play in the middle. Dominik Szoboszlai was reported to be a target for Newcastle all summer long but with a release clause expiring at the end of June, it was Liverpool who swooped in and brought the Hungarian captain to the club. Clearly a very exciting talent who has performed extremely well at RB Leipzig who should adapt and flourish in the English game.
Another new signing has already been plying his trade here and once more it was a smart bit of business as Liverpool triggered what was a surprising low release clause for Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister. His performances for Brighton last season were extremely impressive and for a reported fee of just £35million, Liverpool have added much needed depth to their attacking options.
The heart of the Liverpool midfield has been gutted however with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson swapping Merseyside for Saudi Arabia in recent days. On the face of it, this doesn’t look good for Klopp’s side but they really needed to re-tool that midfield and give it that sprinkle of quality.
It will be a big season for Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan striker struggled to find his feet in his first season at the club but big things are expected for his second campaign. I’m certainly one of those that believe he’ll be one of the top strikers in the Premier League and a strong pre-season littered with goals has certainly put him in good stead to start the season in the starting XI.
Last season was just weird for Trent Alexander-Arnold as the right-back struggled defensively but still showed that quality in the final third. A new hybrid position where he inverts into the midfield was trialled last in the season and seemed to reinvigorate his form. If he can build on that then that can only be a boost to Liverpool’s chance to have a strong campaign.
You can’t do a Liverpool season preview without mentioning Mo Salah. The Egyptian international continues to be the main man at Anfield and he’ll surely be happy with the added quality that should lead to him having another strong goalscoring season. Erling Haaland is the betting favourite to win the Golden Boot but Salah is very much in the mix to be runner-up.
I think Liverpool take a big step forward from last year but overhauling Manchester City still feels like a really tall task.