Soccer News: As the Only Team Without Summer Signings, Can Liverpool’s Squad Handle the Pressure?

The Soccer News reports that while other traditional top five teams and even 19 other Premier League clubs have welcomed new signings, the sole exception is Liverpool under their new Dutch manager Sloot, who are the only team in the Premier League without any summer signings. Across the top five leagues’ 96 teams, only Montpellier in Ligue 1 share this distinction with Liverpool.

With the rest of the ‘Big Five’ in the Premier League bolstering their squads, and even financially troubled local rivals Everton spending over 50 million euros on five new players, Liverpool fans are growing anxious. Not only has Liverpool not brought in any new talent, but they’ve also sold promising youth player Klarke, who was recently promoted to the first team, to Red Bull Salzburg. Additionally, 13 players including Van den Berg, F. Carvalho, Adrian, Little Ramsey, and young center-back R. Williams have left the club, raising nearly 60 million euros from sales, yet the club has made no investment in reinforcements. Theoretically, Liverpool did sign new players this summer. However, 16-year-old Wolves center-back Alvin Aiman is still a project for the youth ranks; the 35 million euro acquisition of Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili will be loaned back to Valencia for this season.

The next week will be busy for Liverpool, but not with bringing in new players, rather with selling existing ones. With just 25 players in the first team squad, it’s possible that center-back Joe Gomez and 18-year-old winger Ben Doak may leave as well, further thinning the ranks. There’s a significant gap in quality between the starters and substitutes, with the midfield almost entirely dependent on the trio of Szoboszlai, McAllister, and Gravenberch, assuming they remain healthy.

Liverpool’s rivals for Champions League qualification, Chelsea, spent 241 million euros, Aston Villa spent 176 million, and even Brighton invested 172 million. Particularly noteworthy is Manchester United’s expenditure of 165 million euros and Tottenham’s 145 million, both signing four strong players with impressive debuts. Given this context, how can one not worry about Liverpool’s prospects without any new signings?