There has been little or no action in the transfer market for many top clubs in Europe but Liverpool is certainly not one of those. The Reds, even before the window became officially opened, sought to seal deals as soon as possible and are already looking like a real force ahead of the 2018/2019 season.
Looking at the businesses done, it is only justifiable if fans of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and even title-holders Manchester City feel threatened. The Merseyside club has so far completed a £43.7 million move for Fabinho from AS Monaco and has pulled off an absolute steal by paying £13 million for Stoke City's Xherdan Shaqiri.
Naby Keita who was signed for £52.75 million last season but played on loan at RB Leipzig has also joined the team and is already shinning in the pre-season friendlies. Momentarily, the headline transfer among all these is the acquisition of AS Roma's Allison Becker.
The Brazilian, after lengthy negotiations with the Italian club, has joined Liverpool in a move worth £67 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world at the moment. In addition, rumors emerging suggest that the deal for Nabil Fekir which stalled prior to this year's World Cup has been ignited once again. Scary huh?!
Players such as Divok Origi and Daniel Sturridge have already linked up with Jurgen Klopp's side after respective loan spells, boosting the squad-depth significantly. The only notable absence is, of course, that of Emre Can who joined Juventus on a free transfer this July after seeing his contract run out.
Nevertheless, looking at the personnel at Klopp's disposal, he will hardly be missed. Regarding the shape of the team, a lot is not expected to change in both the attack and in defense as the midfielders have dominated the signings thus far.
For starters, Alisson Becker's arrival has undoubtedly demoted Loris Karius to the first choice backup goalie. Simon Mignolet has automatically become the third choice goalkeeper and may as well be considering offers on the table to secure a move away if he fancies playing every week.
Using the 4-3-3 formation which was predominantly utilized last season, Lovren and Van Dijk are expected to fill the center-back role in the defense. The former impressed for Croatia in their quest at Russia 2018 and may have a slight edge ahead of the Joel Matip and Klavan.
Andrew Robertson could be at his usual left-back position whereas a three-way battle awaits Nathaniel Clyne, Joe Gomez, and Alexander Trent-Arnold for the right-back slot. For the three-man midfield, the arrival of the new signings could facilitate the demotion Georginio Wijnaldum.
With Emre Can gone, the only man left will be Jordan Henderson and he will be complemented by both Fabinho and Naby Keita. This layout simply has the personnel who have the combined ability to create, tackle, make interceptions, dictate the tempo of games as well as score goals when in advance positions.
Now to the fearsome attacking front that caught the attention of football fans last season, Liverpool is expected to field the same players. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah were a nuisance to most teams with well-orchestrated attacking moves mostly executed with pace and precise passing movements.
The evidence of its efficiency is seen in the total of 91 goals scored between the trio across all competitions. The arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri is certainly a plus whereas Fekir's presumed transfer could be hugely beneficial with Liverpool also featuring in two domestic cup games and the UEFA Champions League.
However, unless one among Mane, Firmino, and Salah gives Jurgen Klopp enough reason to be benched, there will be no changes to the front three.
