Brendan Rodgers, his transfer committee and the Liverpool have developed something of a reputation for being over-cautious, having missed out on several top transfer targets over recent years.
SEE MORE:
Making the case for five Liverpool Player of the Season candidates, including Philippe Coutinho
Six plausible left-wing forward alternatives to Memphis Depay, who’s joining Manchester United
Opinion: Why Paul-Georges Ntep news was leaked on the same day Memphis Depay joined Man United
Memphis Depay is the latest in a long line of players we’ve missed out on, despite being heavily linked with them in the press. It was announced on Thursday that the Dutch winger is set to join Manchester United, subject to a medical (via BBC Sport).
Considering our struggles this season – particularly in front of goal, where we’ve scored just 49 times this season – our fans reacted with understandable frustration at the news. But as we explained earlier this week, we think there’s more to this one than meets the eye.
Furthermore, as the list below will prove, the decisions of Rodgers and the board have proved to be sensible more often than not. Below, we discuss the nine players who might have worn Liverpool Red, but never did.
9) Clint Dempsey (Fulham to Tottenham Hotspur, 12 goals in 43 games)
The American spent just one season at White Hart Lane before heading back to the MLS. He struggled to make an impact, with five of his goals coming in cup competitions. The 32-year-old returned to England briefly for a loan spell with Fulham. We signed Daniel Sturridge just six months later.
8) Gylfi Sigurdsson (1899 Hoffenheim to Tottenham Hotspur, 13 goals in 85 games)
Definitely a decent player but lacks the quality to make a difference at a ‘bigger’ team. He’s been excellent for Swansea, where the team is built around him, but he was in and out of the team at Tottenham and would surely have faced similar prospects had he chosen a move to Anfield.
7) Yevhen Konoplyanka (Stayed with Dnipro, 8 goals in 32 games – this season)
We moved for the Ukrainian late in January 2014. It’s hard to see where an out-and-out winger like Konoplyanka would have fitted into Rodgers’ system. He doesn’t have a great reputation defensively, ruling him out playing in a wing-back position, while we’ve since signed another young wide-man from Eastern Europe in Lazar Markovic. He should have a brighter future.
6) Mohamed Salah (Basel to Chelsea, 2 goals in 19 games)
The Egyptian simply didn’t take to English football. He was barely given a look in at Chelsea and while he might have enjoyed a few more chances under Brendan Rodgers, it would be quite a leap to assume that he would have been successful at Anfield. Currently on loan at Fiorentina.
5) Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Shakhtar Donetsk to Borussia Dortmund, 11 goals in 56 games)
A lot of Liverpool fans were sad to miss out on the Armenian but at least we haven’t had to spend the last two years learning to spell his name! He’s done a decent job for Dortmund but his record is hardly mind-blowing. We already had Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling playing a similar role, so it’s hard to see where he’d have fit in.
4) Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United)
The Dutchman has enjoyed a wonderful year but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, he’s no world-beater yet. Lazar Markovic, Alberto Moreno and Divock Origi all enjoyed success before joining Liverpool, but these young players need time to develop and improve. If missing out on him means we get an established star then it’ll be worth it.
3) Willian (Anzhi Makhachkala to Chelsea, 8 goals in 86 games)
Chelsea have a wealth of options in their attacking midfield positions, with Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata all at the club already when Willian arrived. It would be unfair to call him a failure at Stamford Bridge – he’s played an important part in them winning the double this year – but we wouldn’t take him over Coutinho, would we?
2) Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid to Chelsea, 20 goals in 31 games)
The fiery striker has had a fine first season at Stamford Bridge but hamstring issues have meant the second half of the campaign has been full of interruptions. While Luis Suarez’s injury record was superb, it’s been hard to keep Daniel Sturridge fit. Two strikers on the sidelines might not be the most effective use of our funds – even if Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert, and Mario Balotelli haven’t proven themselves brilliant.
1) Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona to Arsenal, 24 goals in 47 games)
This is the only one we can truly regret. Sanchez would have been the ideal replacement for Suarez and lessened the blow of losing our star man to Barcelona. The board were well aware of this and by all accounts did everything they could to convince the player to come (via the Liverpool Echo). Unfortunately, if a player sets his heart of moving to London then there’s not much we can do about it. It was a shame, but we have to move on.
