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Potential Impact of Liverpool’s New Signings

After one of the most thrilling seasons in years and a Champions League spot in the bag, Brendan Rodgers is in the midst of reinforcing his squad. It seems the Liverpool hierarchy has finally got their act together and learnt from the mistakes of previous transfer windows, and got their business done early. With Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can and Lazar Markovic confirmed already, and a left-back and centre-back high on the wish list of Brendan Rodgers, it begs the question: what effect will these new players have on the squad that took us on that roller coaster ride last season?

liverpoolsignings

Let’s start with the top end of the pitch. Rickie Lambert brings a much needed improvement to the Liverpool bench. The 6 ft 2 Kirkby boy has real grit and determination, perhaps picked up along the way in lower leagues. In fact, in his first two Premier League seasons, he scored an impressive 28 league goals. Making him the 3rd highest scoring Englishmen of the past two years. So for a mere £4 million, he carries a significant goal threat. His sheer size may lead to the misconception that he may not be good with the ball at his feet; yet 10 assists last season suggests otherwise. He is the type of big striker who loves to bring other players into the game, by laying it off to teammates or picking out runs of quicker individuals. Another interesting impact of the Lambert signing is that by having a big centre-forward, Liverpool’s centre-backs become familiar in training with that style. Meaning Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke or Romeu Lukaku won’t bully Liverpool, as easily, next season.

Another player that is more than likely wearing the Liverbird on their chest next season, is Loic Remy. If reports are true, he has had his medical in Boston – where Liverpool are in the midst of pre-season. He will become Rodgers’ 5th signing of the summer, joining for a fee of around £8.5 million. This could rise to £11 million depending on player performances. The Frenchmen brings clinical finishing, as well as pace and power to Rodgers’ side, like that of Daniel Sturridge. Remy scored an impressive 14 goals in 24 appearances for the Magpies and that was quite often through the middle. His versatility is another attribute to his game that would be a huge bonus to Rodgers. He likes his players to be able to rotate positions and give him more options as a manager.

With Lallana (now out for 6 weeks due to an injury) and Markovic signed, it would be fair to assume that Liverpool have their heart set on carrying on the exciting brand of attacking football shown last year. Come the end of the 2013/14 season, Brendan Rodgers adopted a 4-4-2 diamond, with Suarez and Sturridge up front and Sterling in behind. Sterling’s form and improvements in the second half of the season earned him a plane ticket to Brazil, as well as picking up the Liverpool Young Player of the Year Award. He ended the previous campaign with an impressive 9 goals and 5 assists. However despite this, the acquisition of these two quality attacking midfielders will surely cast some doubt over whether or not Sterling will be able to cement his place in the starting XI next season. And at only 19 years old, he needs to be playing consistently to improve himself. In my opinion, his best shot of nailing down a spot in the team would be if Brendan Rodgers was to switch back to his favored 4-3-3 formation. With Sterling out left, Sturridge in the middle and Markovic/Lallana out right.

Another player these new attacking midfielders would have an impact on, is Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian magician signed in the January transfer window of 2013. Many claim his signing (along with Sturridge) sparked a turnaround in the fortunes of Liverpool. His silky smooth style of play, as well as his eye for a defence splitting pass, put him into the hearts of Liverpool fans instantly. However, his consistency leaves a lot to be desired. One week he terrorizes the opposition, then the next we ask ourselves was he on the pitch?

The rise of Raheem Sterling has seen the two battle it out for the number 10 position at Liverpool, with Sterling coming out the winner more often than not, leaving Coutinho to come off the bench. The reduced playing time he could experience may hamper his development over the coming years. This is an issue Brendan Rodgers must handle with careful hands. Next season, if Rodgers continues his 4-4-2 diamond formation, he will have 4 brilliant players fighting for one number 10 position. With Suarez gone, my guess is that Brendan Rodgers will switch back to his favoured 4-3-3 or he may even change to the 4-2-3-1 formation – with interchanging positions to accommodate the plethora of talent at his disposal. Brendan Rodgers sure does have a nice problem on his hands.

Coutinhio vs Sterling
Coutinho vs Sterling

In front of the keeper there has been no signings thus far, however, there are some very strong claims that a fee has been agreed to bring Southampton centre back Dejan Lovren to Anfield. The powerful ex-Lyon man moved to Southampton only a year ago, for a fee in the region of £8 million, but in the last month he is reported to have handed in a transfer request, as well as having said that “his head is already at Liverpool”. Lovren would certainly be welcomed into the Liverpool defense that was widely blamed for the failure of winning the League last campaign.

Another position that Liverpool definitely need to strengthen is the left back spot. Previously in the transfer window it seemed that Liverpool were all but certain to capture the services of the highly rated Spanish youngster, Alberto Moreno of Sevilla. Yet, the deal appears to have fallen through because the two clubs, could not reach an agreement on a payment structure that suited both parties. Although Jon Flanagan did a very good job at covering the left side, it is clear for all to see that he is definitely not suited to playing there, and he looked very uncomfortable when it came to going forward in the way Rodgers needed him to.

Overall, Rodgers new signings should have a very good impact on the Liverpool squad as a whole and even improve it from last year. Although Liverpool unfortunately lost an unbelievable talent in Luis Suarez, Rodgers has compensated for this by buying wisely to add quality and depth to his side to cope with the added play time next year in the Champions League. Also, the increase in competition for places will almost certainly give players the motivation to try and improve to get in Rodgers starting XI.

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