Liverpool transfers 2023/2024: Did Reds replace their outgoing?

Liverpool had one of the busiest summers among European clubs the last time out, as they lost several key men and had to replace them before the season began properly.

They are one of the top clubs in Europe, and fans always expect them to be busy when the transfer window opens.

Jurgen Klopp's men are rebuilding their squad now and mostly want to improve with young men.

They had started the rebuild before last season, but they were forced to make some drastic changes to their teamsheet in the last transfer window.

The Reds lost several men who wanted to leave, and the club simply could not refuse their request.

They were probably the club hit the most in England by the new millions offered in the Saudi Pro League.

While they stood firm and rejected a big-money approach from the Saudis for Mohamed Salah, Liverpool lost Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Middle Eastern country.

These two players are individuals who were still very much in the plan of Jurgen Klopp, and no one had expected them to leave the club.

Roberto Firmino also decided against signing a new contract and left as a free agent, he would eventually sign for a Saudi team as well.

Liverpool released the injury-prone duo of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain alongside James Milner.

These departures left Jurgen Klopp's men short of options in midfield, and they spent the rest of the summer looking for midfield reinforcements.

This left fans who buy Liverpool tickets from vetted resellers worried about how their team will perform in this campaign.

But Klopp knew it was time for him to rebuild, and the loss of many players in the same window meant things had to change fast.

Did Liverpool lose quality players?

Liverpool is one of the top clubs in Europe that spend money on players and offer very competitive wages.

This means they are not a selling club, and they demonstrated that in the summer when they rejected a huge bid for Salah.

Selling the Egyptian would have landed the club enough cash to replace him with a world-class player, but Liverpool showed money is not everything by saying no.

But did they lose top players among the stars who asked to leave the club in the last transfer window?

There is little doubt that the departure of the likes of Fabinho, Henderson and Firmino seriously weakened Liverpool.

The trio were a part of the team for much of the last decade and were in the side that won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, among others.

Liverpool were prepared for the departure of Firmino, but nothing prepared them to lose Henderson and Fabinho in the same window.

Both midfielders were still needed at the club and had enough quality to play for them for a few more seasons.

However, every story has an ending, and it was hard for the club to keep players who had every reason to leave.

But the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita and Milner had to leave the club because the team could do well without them in the picture.

Liverpool was already planning a midfield revamp before the season ended, as that part of their team was dismal in the last campaign because of the players mentioned in the last paragraph.

They were either injured too often to play for the club or were simply not good enough when they stepped on the pitch for the Reds.

But the loss of Fabinho and Henderson meant Liverpool had to make more signings than planned.

Summer signing drama

Liverpool has earned a good reputation for being proactive in the transfer market before now, and that is one reason they signed top players ahead of other suitors.

One interesting case was when they signed Fabinho hours after losing the Champions League final in 2018.

The Reds knew Emre Can was leaving the club and immediately replaced the German.

Another example was how they signed Darwin Nunez as soon as the 2021/2022 season ended, beating several clubs to his signature.

The Uruguayan had been in superb form for Benfica in the previous campaign and stunned Liverpool with some amazing performances when both clubs met in the Champions League.

Klopp publicly declared his admiration for the striker, and Liverpool went to work sealing the deal for his signature.

But in the last transfer window, the Reds showed they had lost that power, which made them an attractive team.

Liverpool were forced to miss out on Jude Bellingham after failing to qualify for the Champions League.

We all understood that, but they also missed out on Romeo Lavia after repeatedly refusing to pay the £50m Southampton asked for.

Liverpool eventually offered around £100m for Moises Caicedo after refusing to meet a lesser asking price for Lavia.

Southampton and Brighton accepted the offers, but the players rejected a move to Liverpool, which was a major blow to the Reds.

Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and is playing in Europe, unlike Chelsea, but both midfielders told them no and moved to London.

It was a major blow to their reputation and forced Liverpool to look outside the Premier League for midfield reinforcements.

Eventual success

Before the transfer window closed, the Reds had made signings and bolstered their midfield with probably better players than the ones they missed out on.

Liverpool signed Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig by triggering his release clause, earning the signature of one of the most exciting midfielders in Europe.

The Hungarian has been on the radar of the top clubs on the continent, and fans expected him to move to a big club someday in the future.

However, Liverpool pounced to add him to their squad as soon as possible and he has been terrific.

The Reds also added Wataru Endo to their group. The Japan star joined after several failed attempts to add a new defensive midfielder to the group and the rejections they received from Lavia and Caicedo.

Endo is not an exciting signing, but he is an effective player who gets the job done in midfield.

Because of his small frame, he would struggle to replace Fabinho in the number six role, but Klopp knows how to develop any player.

Before the two mentioned above, Liverpool had signed Alexis Mac Allister following his World Cup win and impressive campaign on the books of Brighton.

The Argentinian is one of the finest midfielders in the world and has been an amazing signing for Jurgen Klopp's men so far.

In the absence of a proper defensive midfielder, Mac Allister has done well in a more defensive role at the club.

He will get more chances to play closer to the striker in the future, but for now, he has been a terrific buy.

Just before the transfer window closed, the Reds sealed the deal for Ryan Gravenberch, whom they had been following since he was at Ajax.

The Dutchman struggled to get game time on the books of Bayern Munich and needed to be rescued, which Liverpool did.

He has had a good start to life on Merseyside, even though he has not exactly been a starter at the club.

Gravenberch is still only 21 and his move to Liverpool means the Reds started the summer poorly but ended it positively as one of the strongest sides in the Premier League.

In hindsight, Liverpool fans wouldn't have worried about losing Fabinho and Henderson if they knew their club would sign some exciting midfielders who would make their team even stronger.