Liverpool’s recent labors in the opening two league games meant there was excitement when the Reds were linked with AS Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara late in the window, but dreams were dashed as news emerged that the player had reached a deal with Chelsea — and might just stay at AS Monaco after all.
If rumors are to be believed, this is now the third defensive midfielder Liverpool have lost out on to Chelsea, with both Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia having been linked to or approached by Liverpool before
heading to Stamford Bridge. Though it’s likely we will actually see no move for Camara this window as no reports of extensions emerged at the time of the window shutting, that the player and club did reportedly reach an agreement before the window slammed shut suggests Liverpool were out of the running regardless. It’s unclear how serious Liverpool’s purported interest in the player was, but this comes at the heels of spurned efforts for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh and Crystal Palace’s Ismaïla Sarr, which both put a damper on the transfer excitement.
The Reds did get the long-rumored move for Bradley Barcola complete, and Cody Gakpo has remained on Merseyside despite what would have once been an eye-watering £80 million (or more) offer for the 27-year-old from Manchester City, so the attacking depth is not as threadbare as was at times feared.
New signings Víctor Muñoz and Jeremy Jacquet have played well in Liverpool’s opening two matches, but given the outgoings this summer it’s hard not to feel like the Liverpool squad is left very thin.
Mohamed Salah played 3,144 minutes for Liverpool in all competitions last season (the equivalent of 34 full 90s), while Curtis Jones managed 2,859 in all competitions. These are two departing players in positions that have garnered a lot of attention, and their minutes on the pitch leave a big gap to be filled — one that we can presume those behind the scenes at Liverpool anticipated and should perhaps have prepared for with more squad depth.
Liverpool have a lot of quality players in their very new-look squad when it comes to the attack, though it is perhaps worrying that many of these players lack the experience in at least one of the competitions that the Reds will hope to compete in this season (and this includes the head coach), and naiveté will be something Liverpool will need to avoid. This is by no means a doom-and-gloom assessment, as the Reds have a lot of new and returning players that are exciting prospects, and the tools to bring it all together.
Regardless, at the close of a window that promised more incomings, at its shuttering it’s hard not to feel like this Liverpool team will be playing on a knife edge when it comes to both form and fitness.
