It has been an extremely busy winter for Liverpool as they have looked to replenish a squad that was already thin to start the season before being ravaged by injury. There have been six incoming players
thus far in January, with only youngster Emilia Szymczak being recalled from her loan after being injured on international duty and requiring surgery as an outgoing player. There may be a wrinkle or two late in the window, but it seems likely that the majority of the business is done as the squad prepare to fight their way out of the relegation spot.
Heading into the winter break, it was a bleak picture for Liverpool. Last in the WSL table with nary a win to their name. The squad had seen Marie Höbinger, Sophie Roman Haug, and Zara Shaw all lost for the season with ACL. Sam Kerr was diagnosed with a back injury in the fall that has seen her miss significant time with not timeline for a return. Rafaela Borggräfe was under an FA investigation and unavailable for most of the first half of the season while Rachael Laws has struggled with injuries, leaving presumed third stringer Faye Kirby with the starting gloves in net for most of the year. Other starters and depth players have missed significant time during the first half of the season leading to having a short bench.
Gareth Taylor hinted that Liverpool would be busy in the winter market as the club tried to regain ground lost during the first half. The question became would he be backed by the club hierarchy. So far, the answer has been yes.
Liverpool have made four permanent signings and two loan deals over the first few weeks of January. At least two of the signings are ones that could be deemed significant. Denise O’Sullivan was brought in for a reported club record deal and should immediately help solidify the midfield. Jennifer Falk, while only signed on loan, has been a regular starter for Sweden in net and has already shown a vast improvement over Kirby with her composure on the ball and distribution.
Two of the other winter signings are likely to be regular starters. Alice Bergstrom has already announced herself after putting in two great performances in her first two matches for the club, playing as a wide attacker on the right and left. She will ultimately likely land as the starting right back when everyone is fit according to Gareth Taylor. Anna Josendal will be expected to start as the left-sided attacker when she is fit. Unfortunately she came in with a knock and is still at least a couple weeks away from featuring.
The last two signings should help provide depth in the attack. Martha Thomas is a well known quantity, joining on loan from Spurs after spending the vast majority of her career in the WSL with Spurs, Manchester United, and West Ham. She is not the biggest goal threat, but she provides a presence as a point striker and does well to bring others into play. Aurélie Csillag is a bit more of an unknown at just 22 (almost 23), signing from SC Freiburg after joining the German unit this summer. Most of her career has been in the Switzerland domestic league, but the young attacker has recently made appearances for the Swiss national team and notched her first senior international goal against Wales in December. Csillag believes her strengths lay in taking people on 1v1 and using her speed, which should help as someone who can feature on either flank. She has frequently been used as an impact sub for both club and country.
The new-look lineup should have better quality overall as well as much improved depth. The pairing of Denise O’Sullivan and Fuka Nagano at the base of the midfield should provide much better defensive cover while also offering ball progression and retention that has been missing since Marie Höbinger was injured. Anna Josendal is a bit of an unknown on the left wing, but Mia Enderby has not been able to provide much of anything in the way of consistent production, so the floor is low for Josendal to provide a positive impact. Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle is Alice Bergstrom as a right back. She is a willing runner down the touch line and has already shown she likes to be aggressive going forward and getting the ball into advanced areas, either with the ball at her feet or with deliveries into the box. The is a dynamic that has been sorely missing on the right flank, with Ceri Holland often left isolated as the only attacking threat on that wing surrounded by defenders.
There is still plenty of work to be done to integrate all of the new players and get everyone on the same page. There are also still quite a few players who need to work their way back to fitness to truly allow Gareth Taylor to put out his strongest lineups. There is hope, however, that with an improved midfield base and players with more attacking wherewithal sprinkled through the lineup the club can start to wrack up points in matches that they had struggled to break through or hold a lead in the first half of the season. There have been too many points left on the table with an inability to put matches away with a follow on goal or late collapses. Hopefully that can change in the second half.
