Liverpool’s latest and second Premier League title triumph is to the credit not only of Arne Slot but also a recruitment team who continue to lay the foundations for sustained success both in the present and long into the future.
As Liverpool blitzed Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s procession to the title – Gary Neville felt the Reds would win 4-1 pre-match and even that ‘barbaric’ prediction proved to be rather kind on the beleaguered visitors in the end – Slot’s starting XI featured four players who joined the club from the beginning of 2023.
Cody Gakpo has kicked-on considerably under Slot. The Dutchman’s tally of 17 goals means he has exceeded last term in eight games fewer.
The midfield trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile, is up there with the most consistent, most coherent in all of European football. The dynamism of Szbosozlai, the athleticism of Gravenberch, and the iron fist in a velvet glove that is Liverpool’s all-action Argentine at the base of that triumphant triumvirate.
All joining in the summer of 2023, Liverpool succeeded in tearing up an old title-winning midfield and constructing a new one in it’s place in the space of just one transfer window.
Fortunately, Liverpool will not have to replace Mo Salah or Virgil van Dijk this summer. But with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract expiring and Alisson Becker’s long-term future also uncertain, the recruitment staff at Anfield will once again face another serious test of their credentials.
Ryan Babel applauds Liverpool’s Giorgi Mamardashvili deal
The good news is that past success bodes well for a prosperous future.
Liverpool will hope that Alisson’s successor has already been secured. Giorgi Mamardashvili, the £25 million acquisition from Valencia, is ready and waiting to step into the Brazilian’s shoes should Alisson follow Fabinho and Roberto Firmino to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to the Georgian edition of La Gazetta, former Reds winger Ryan Babel sees Mamardashvili as a perfect example of Liverpool’s usually-impeccable long-term planning.
“I know he’s a great talent,” Babel says, believing that the giant Georgian could also prove integral even if Alisson stays and Caoimhin Kelleher makes way instead.
“I think it’s good that they brought in such a competitor for Alisson. We have a pretty long season ahead of us [next term], which could lead to a lot of injuries, so Mamardashvili’s transfer is the right move in every way.”
One of the stars of Georgia’s impressive Euro 2024 campaign, Mamardashvili has endured a mixed season with Valencia. However, amidst some high-profile errors, there have also been the type of world-class, point-blank saves upon which Mamardashvili his cemented his reputation as one of the game’s next-best shot-stoppers.
Mamardashvili saved a Vinicius Jr penalty against Real Madrid while insisting Alisson’s place as Liverpool’s number one will come under threat once he is in the building.
The colossal frame of Alisson will leave an almighty hole to hill, however, when the day comes for a bonafide Premier League great to say his goodbyes.
Claudio Taffarel explains Alisson’s importance at Anfield
Claudio Taffarel, Brazil legend and the current goalkeeping coach at Anfield, is in no illusions about the size of the task facing Mamardashvili somewhere down the line.
“I was impressed [with Alisson] when I arrived,” Taffarel, the 1994 World Cup winner, tells ESPN. “The admiration that the players have for him. The staff here – both this one and [Jurgen] Klopp’s in the past – the board…
“He really is a very important figure here because of the history he has had here, on the field. Showing [his talent] in games, important games.
“The club made that decision [to sign Mamardashvili], I think a year ago, a year and a bit ago. This purchase of this young player, maybe a little for the future.
“But Alisson is a guy who is at a very high level. And even with his age, with his experience, with his desire, it will be very difficult for someone to come here and replace him, right?”
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