Liverpool have a rather large transfer kitty now at their disposal.
Philippe Coutinho’s long awaited and inevitable move to Barcelona finally went through this week, with the Reds pocketing a hefty £145m from the deal.
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Will they spend it wisely? Will they f***.
After selling Luis Suarez for £75m back in 2014 the Merseysiders embarked on possibly the most infamously atrocious spending spree in transfer history.
It made Tottenham’s the year before look world class.
That forgettable summer the Reds reinvested the Suarez sum in the likes of Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno and, of course, Mario Balotelli.
But they couldn’t make the same mistake again… could they?
Here’s who Liverpool, despite being linked with a number of stellar names, will actually sign over the coming months with their handsome Coutinho funds…
1 James Ward-Prowse (£30m)
Liverpool have got some money to spend and some players to sign, so naturally their attention turns to the south coast.
Despite seemingly failing to get any better in the last four seasons, Ward-Prowse tops their wanted list and a £30m bid does the business.
Will be hoping to build on his promising one assist and zero goals so far this season.
2 Maya Yoshida (£15m)
If you thought the Southampton raid finished at Ward-Prowse… think again.
Liverpool fail to learn from Dejan Lovren’s disastrous spell at Anfield and move for another centre-back – Yoshida – to partner him after Virgil van Dijk goes on strike trying to force through a switch to Barcelona.
Yoshida, to everyone’s surprise, fares no better than Lovren, scoring an own goal on his debut by booting the ball in off his own face.
3 Glenn Murray (£3m)
Who is 2018’s answer to Rickie Lambert?
Step forward Mr Murray, with the journeyman seen as an ideal upgrade to their previous ‘Plan B’ – signing Steven Caulker on loan and playing him up front.
Surprisingly fails to establish a ‘telepathic understanding’ with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
4 Manuel Lanzini (£40m)
Lanzini is effectively Coutinho without the flair, skill, vision, goals and assists. So close enough.
West Ham are reluctant to lose their star man but David Moyes needs to free up funds to start pursuing Steven Pienaar, Darron Gibson and John O’Shea.
The Argentine assumes Coutinho’s old Liverpool shirt number and instantly becomes the worst no.10 in the club’s rich history.
5 Alexandre Pato (£10m)
Balotelli was a gamble that didn’t pay off, so which other maverick striker also deserves a second shot at the Premier League?
Pato – the man who seemingly never ages – is convinced to swap Chinese riches for sunny Merseyside and sells approximately a billion shirts in his first week.
Manages to record four times the amount of haircuts (so four) as goals scored during his very short stint at Anfield.
6 Jose Gaya (£25m)
What’s that you say? A slightly erratic Spanish left back is next on the wishlist? One coming right up!
Despite Alberto Moreno’s turbulent Liverpool career, the Reds splash out £25m on Valencia full back Gaya.
Gaya immediately forgets the basic principles of defending, conceding three penalties on his debut.
7 Gabriel Barbosa (£20m)
Remember Lazar Markovic? Remarkably he’s still a Liverpool player, although even the bench is a pipedream for him this season.
Well the Reds need a replacement and turn to another ill-disciplined winger brimming with potential in Barbosa – AKA Gabigol.
Gabigol is spotted leaving a city centre bar at 6am within a month and is banished to the reserves… alongside Markovic.
READ MORE:
- Here’s how Philippe Coutinho’s Barcelona career will pan out
- What would Philippe Coutinho look like in some of Barcelona’s best retro kits?
- Remembering Liverpool’s title-winning heroes of the 2018/19 season