Liverpool’s summer transfer plan could be good news for Jurgen Klopp’s long-term target

Jarrod Bowen: All you need to know about Liverpool target

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The arrival of Ibrahima Konate remains Liverpool’s only signing of the summer transfer window, but is their lack of activity all part of a long-term plan?

It’s been a relatively quiet window so far in the red part of Merseyside, with Liverpool getting their singular deal for Konate completed early.

The Reds have only seen one first-team player exit from the club, as Georginio Wijnaldum left on a free transfer to Paris Saint Germain, but Liverpool have been aware for months that the Dutchman wasn’t going to extend his contract.

The fact of the matter is, due to Liverpool’s excellent recruitment under Jurgen Klopp over the past four or five seasons, they are in an excellent position and don’t necessarily need to break the bank to sign anyone at present, with all areas of their starting XI already strong.

Of course, this won’t last for long, but it could be essential to reserving the funds needed to land their long-term target.

For the majority of 2021, Liverpool have been linked with Kylian Mbappe and the generational talent only has a year left on his contract with PSG.

Players like Mbappe don’t come around very often, and at just 22 years of age, the Frenchman has already become one of the world’s best.

Should he become available, every club in the world would do their best to sign him, but any transfer would require significant financial backing.

A deal for the World Cup winner would require any club to offer the Frenchman an incredible salary, as the 22-year-old already earns €18million (£15.3million) a year at PSG, which works out as £300,000-per-week before bonuses.

Mbappe could yet sign a new deal in the French capital, but his stalling suggests he is still not convinced staying at the club is his best option.

Mohamed Salah is currently Liverpool’s highest earner, as the Egyptian pockets £200,000-per-week, so a deal for Mbappe would be a tricky one to organise as it could see the Reds have to completely rethink the club’s wage structure.

Liverpool’s major kit deal with Nike and the £538million investment from LeBron James circulated the rumours that Mbappe to Liverpool could happen, and it certainly makes sense from a footballing perspective.

Financially though, it’s a tough ask for the majority of clubs within world football to cough up the amount required to land such a talent, and also afford his mammoth wage requirements, especially following the lack of funding due to the pandemic.

It is likely that Real Madrid will do all that they can to make Mbappe a ‘galactico’, but realistically it will be a tug of war between all of the top sides in Europe if the Frenchman sees his future away from Paris.

Liverpool may be starting the season without Wijnaldum, who has joined Mbappe at PSG, but they will have Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez back after recovering from long-term injuries (both knee), which will feel like new signings anyway after such a lengthy absence away from the first team.

The previous season was riddled with injuries throughout the Premier League, and Liverpool certainly suffered, being forced to sign two emergency defenders in January, and had to rely on fringe defender Nat Phillips and youngster Rhys Williams to partner up in defence for the second half of the season.

Liverpool’s team was constantly changed and adjusted throughout the course of the recent campaign, with their set-up disrupted as midfielders had to cover in defence, with forward’s dropping deeper, and ultimately Klopp’s system was Plan B for most of the season.

They still managed a respectable third-placed finish though, and Klopp almost has a full squad at his disposal for the start of the new campaign, giving the German the luxury of reverting back to his preferred style of play.

The lack of signings also gives some of the squad players another chance to impress under Klopp, with Naby Keita due a breakthrough season following his big-money move from RB Leipzig back in 2018, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be looking to keep fit and fight for his place.

Wijnaldum’s vacancy may also allow for Curtis Jones to have a more senior role within the team, after the midfielder impressed during an excellent season for the 20-year-old last year, making 24 league appearances.

Young winger Harvey Elliot has been flourishing during pre-season and will be looking to build on his brilliant loan spell at Blackburn last year. Elliot made 41 league appearances in the Championship throughout the last campaign, and the 18-year-old netted seven times during his time in the second division.

Diogo Jota has reportedly been ‘frightening’ Liverpool coaches in pre-season training, and the Portuguese forward enjoyed a blistering start to his Reds career, scoring 13 goals in all competitions during his first year – including a Champions League hat-trick against Atalanta.

All these factors will give Liverpool a natural boost heading into the new campaign following the disappointment of last season.

And with the club’s sporting director Michael Edwards struggling to find value in the market, sticking with what Liverpool have already got at this stage perhaps isn’t the worst idea.

If Mbappe was ever to join Klopp’s side in the future, his pace and intensity would perfectly suit the philosophy that the Liverpool manager imposes on his side.

But there will be a host of clubs fighting to land the Frenchman’s signature – and Liverpool will need to have their chequebook ready.

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