Liverpool recently completed the signing of Blackpool’s inspirational skipper, Charlie Adam, for a reported fee of £9 million, the club’s second major addition to the squad this summer, following the capture of England international and Sunderland winger, Jordan Henderson.
Since the arrival of Liverpool’s new owners, Fenway Sports Group, and the return of their legendary player and manager, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool’s fortunes have turned around. This summer there are genuine signs that the Reds could emerge not only as a prospective top four club, but a serious title contender.
Broken promises
Liverpool fans may remember when former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett purchased the club, they promised then manager Rafa Benitez that he could sign ‘Snoogy Doogy’ if he wished. It was just one of many broken promises that Liverpool fans had to endure throughout their tenure as owners, their mistreatment of the club at times was so diabolical it would have made Sir Alex Ferguson proud.
While the new owners may not have managed to capture the signature of ‘Snoogy Doogy’ to this point either, they have captured some players thus far who will bring hope back into the heart of the Liverpool faithful. In the winter window, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll both joined the club, and Suarez in particular, has already proved his quality and worth to the squad. The attitude of the new owners to seek out the most talented youth in Britain, and around the world, should be extremely exciting for the club’s supporters.
The influence of Damien Comolli should not be underestimated either, at Arsenal he brought in the likes of Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy, at Tottenham he oversaw the signings of Gareth Bale, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric. Comolli is a man who gets transfers right more often than not, a priceless trait in an activity littered with pitfalls.
The capture of Henderson and Adam is just the start of the summer transfer window for Liverpool. The BBC has reported Liverpool’s first bid for Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing was rejected, however it is understood that Liverpool are returning with an increased offer of approximately £20 million.
Top quality signings
Liverpool are also pursuing a centre-half, after Phil Jones, their number one target, joined Manchester United instead. Kenny Dalglish has specifically stated he wants to make three more top quality signings this summer.
The Reds are expected to make a £10 million bid for Birmingham’s highly-rated centre half Scott Dann, who is a Merseyside local and currently being tracked by both Chelsea and Arsenal. Dann would provide cover to an ageing Reds’ defence, and could prove to be a great coup for the club.
Additionally, Newcastle are set to be offered £15 million for the services of Luis Enrique, who has been touted as the ideal addition to add cover to the left side of defence.
Existing talent
It is easy to forget that there is plenty of existing talent amongst the Liverpool squad, despite how poorly they have performed over the past few seasons. Pepe Reina is a magnificent goalkeeper, certainly one of the top three in the league.
Steven Gerrard was injured last season and missed a lot of football, but going under the knife for his groin operation early last term means he should be fully fit for the start of the new campaign. The at times maligned Glen Johnson is a solid full back, demonstrating his versatility by playing on the left last season.
Dirk Kuyt, Jamie Carragher and Raul Meireles all performed well last term, and so if Dalglish can bring the best out of this core group of players and combine that with the new arrivals at the club, then there is good cause for optimism about the new season.
Liverpool threat
The last two seasons have seen the rise of Tottenham and Manchester City as genuine contenders to the top four in England, and in City’s case, a challenger for the title. This transfer season however could witness a massive upheaval at some of Liverpool’s rivals, as the Reds look to pose a threat for this season’s title.
Arsenal have lost Gael Clichy to City, not a damaging loss in itself, but if Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and others follow the Frenchman out the door, Arsenal’s performance will suffer from the mass exodus.
Tottenham have refused a £22 million offer from Chelsea for their star Croatian playmaker Luka Modric. The player has publically stated his desire to join the Blues however, and if history is anything to go by, when Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich desires a player, he will stop at nothing to acquire them.
With their main rivals potentially losing key players, whilst Liverpool continue to strengthen their squad, a top four finish should be the minimum expectation at Anfield this season. But can they seriously challenge for the league title?
Will Liverpool be a title contender this season?
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