What’s going on at Liverpool?! Reds reduced to a laughing stock after losing both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea

Not so long ago, the Reds were renowned for their mastery of the transfer market – but now it seems they’ve no idea what they’re doing

Shortly after full-time at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was informed that his Chelsea counterpart was hoping to bring in a few more players before the transfer window closes. “That’s what every Chelsea manager wants,” the German mused in his post-match press conference, “and they usually get it.” The media packaged Klopp’s response as a dig at the Blues, which was unsurprising.

The unprecedented level of spending Chelsea’s owners have embarked upon since last year’s takeover has undeniably upset some of their rivals. Splashing close to £1 billion on players in just three transfer windows was always going to provoke as much jealousy as confusion, given this is an era in which many clubs are trying desperately hard to live within their means in order to adhere to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations – Liverpool included.

So, a display of bitterness towards the Blues would have been somewhat understandable coming from Klopp – particularly after losing two transfer targets to Todd Boehly & Co. in a matter of days, with Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia both deciding to move to Stamford Bridge instead of Anfield.

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However, it would be a surprise if he didn’t have more of a problem with his own club’s dealings than those of Chelsea right now…

After all, there is no real shame in being outbid by Chelsea. It’s hard to get the better of a club that is not only paying over the odds for players – but also throwing ludicrously long and lucrative contracts at them. As any agent will tell you (at least privately), the size of the salary on offer is often a determining factor in completing any deal.

However, while Chelsea may have prevented Liverpool from solving their defensive midfield problem, they certainly didn’t create it. Indeed, Jamie Carragher and Alan Shearer were right to label the events of the past few days as “embarrassing” from Liverpool’s perspective – because this is a very public mess all of their own making.

Which is shocking, really, given how well the long overdue midfield overhaul began, with Liverpool effectively wrapping up deals for both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai by the end of June.

Those quality of those two signings – and the speed with which they were completed – renewed the fans’ faith in the recruitment strategy at Anfield, after months of doom and gloom following the horribly misguided decision to wait until 2023 before trying to sign long-time No.1 target Jude Bellingham, who eventually ended up joining Real Madrid for even less money than Liverpool offered for Caicedo.

Consequently, when both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson were allowed to move to Saudi Arabia, it was presumed that Liverpool had already lined up at least one top-quality replacement.

Staggering turn of events

Lavia was clearly first-choice, but the Reds’ recruitment team didn’t believe the Belgian was worth the £50m fee that Southampton were demanding – which was fair enough, given we’re talking about a 19-year-old with just one good Premier League season under his belt.

However, when Chelsea entered the fray, Liverpool responded by agreeing a £110m deal with Brighton for Caicedo, which was as stunning as it was puzzling. The Ecuadorian is a better and slightly more experienced player than Lavia – but he was even more overpriced. Remember, Sandro Tonali, an Italy international who helped AC Milan reach the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League, joined Newcastle for nearly half the price.

So, if Liverpool had ruled out signing both Caicedo and Lavia because of the inflated fees, fans could have once again grumbled about FSG’s parsimony and prudence, but they wouldn’t have been able to criticise the consistency of the club’s approach to the transfer market.

However, right now, the Reds are rightly being ridiculed because it appears as if they suddenly have more money than sense – which is a staggering turn of events for a club that was, under former director of football Michael Edwards, being lauded as the masters of the transfer market.

Run the risk of being cleaned out

It’s certainly farcical that they were willing to return to Southampton – after missing out on Caicedo – and pay more than the original £50m the Saints were requesting for Lavia. It suggested that panic had sent in at Anfield, which doesn’t bode well for their hopes of belatedly bringing in a specialist No.6 before the close of the transfer window. Any potential seller will now be acutely aware of the level of Liverpool’s desperation – and the amount of money at their disposal.

By showing their hand with the Caicedo bid, Liverpool now run the risk of being cleaned out – and the fans deserve to know how it’s come to this. Indeed, the mere fact Liverpool are still looking for answers to their midfield issues in the middle of August provokes plenty of uncomfortable questions, chief among them: who is to blame for the unenviable position the club now finds itself in?

Has Klopp contributed to the chaos?

Jorg Schmadtke’s work is coming under intense scrutiny given he’s only overseen one signing since taking over from Edwards’ successor, Julian Ward, in June – and even that was simply a case of activating Szoboszlai’s buy-out clause. However, the wisdom of appointing Schmadtke on a temporary basis is also now being queried, as is Klopp’s role in his compatriot’s appointment.

No matter how the final two weeks of the window go, it will also be imperative for Klopp to provide some clarity on the current set-up at Anfield, at the very least to avoid people starting to point the finger at him. There are already those that believe that the manager’s desire for a greater say in transfers has at least contributed to the seemingly constant upheaval behind the scenes at Liverpool.

Fan frustration approaching boiling point

For now, of course, the focus will be on getting at least one new defensive midfielder in the door, given they’ve no other choice now but to sign someone – the need for greater protection in front of the back four was made painfully clear on Sunday.

Mac Allister is a multi-talented midfielder and he did well at times against Chelsea, playing a key role in the excellent move that led to Luis Diaz’s opener, but he is not a No.6. A proper Fabinho replacement is required if Liverpool are to even have any chance of getting back into the Premier League’s top four this season – let alone challenge for the title.

But a new signing is also imperative to quell the fans’ frustration, which is dangerously close to boiling over – again. Klopp clearly isn’t happy now either, though. He was upbeat after the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, and even cracked a couple of jokes, including one aimed at Newcastle’s assistant coach Jason Tindall. But it is Liverpool that the football world is laughing at right now, meaning some serious work now needs to be done to restore their reputation as a well-run club where everyone is reading off the same page.

John Henry was present at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. He’ll have been acutely aware of the fact that even more drastic action is required after the failed bid for Caicedo, so the onus is on the American and the club’s transfer team to get a meaningful deal over the line.

Because Klopp certainly knows what he wants – and indeed needs. The question is, though, whether he is going to get it.