In the 2021-2022 season, Liverpool almost won the quarter-final, only lacking a little luck to win the Premier League and Champions League. Although they have only won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the end, that achievement is still enough to help Liverpool rise to 18th place in the ranking of the best clubs in the past 25 years, according to a simple scoring system.
To reach such a milestone, teams almost always need a squad in a state of "perfect maturity". Specifically, the majority of players are between the ages of 24 and 28 - the peak of their careers. And that is Liverpool in the 2021-2022 season.
According to data from FBref, the average age of the Liverpool squad (in terms of the number of minutes played in the Premier League) is 27.7 - the fourth highest in the tournament.
This means that they will not only reach their peak form at the same time, but will also decline at the same time as they step to the other side of their career.
When a team like The Kop plays impressively in the 2021-2022 season, it is difficult to accept the fact that: an extensive reform is necessary. And this is why big clubs need long-term strategists - those who care about the "future health" of their squads, while head coaches focus on the present.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, that long-term strategist - Michael Edwards - left the club after the 2021-2022 season. Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the owner of the club, has also begun to shift to the plan to sell the club instead of continuing to invest and operate. His successor Edwards, Julian Ward, suddenly announced that he would leave after only one season.
From the summer of 2022 to the spring of 2024 - when Harris returned as CEO of FSG - Liverpool, there was almost no one responsible for long-term supervision of the squad building work.
Liverpool made a comprehensive reform in midfield in the summer of 2023, when they signed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo. At the same time, veteran names such as Fabinho and Jordan Henderson moved to play in Saudi Arabia, while Naby Keita left the team as a free agent after his contract expired.
The midfield is considered the most obvious weakness of the "Red Brigade" in the disappointing 2022-2023 season, and the strong blood change is understandable. However, there were no significant changes to the rest of the squad.
The average age of The Kop last season was still 27 - the fifth highest in the Premier League and almost no different from 3 years ago, showing the pace of team rejuvenation is very slow.
In their first year in charge, the Harris-led executive team did not seem to be in a hurry to comprehensively reform the squad. Instead, they focus on a bigger problem. That is the fact that the club's three most important stars - Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold - are all entering the final season of their contracts.
Uncertainty over whether these pillars will continue to be together makes it difficult for the board to make major investment decisions. However, the signing of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is seen as a clear signal that Liverpool have begun to consider long-term changes.
While Alisson Becker, in his 30s, has struggled with fitness and injuries, Mamardashvili (22 years old) has had an impressive season in Valencia. He is considered one of the young goalkeepers with the best performances in Europe.
This replacement did not bring immediate results, but it is clear that Liverpool have begun to plan for the future in goal - something that was left unused in the transition period after Jurgen Klopp's time.
And now is the current summer. If Liverpool's biggest weakness in the previous two summers was midfield, this season, the full-back is the position that needs to be upgraded.
Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold were two of the best attacking full-backs in Premier League history. However, Robertson has turned 31 and is no longer in stable form as before, while Alexander-Arnold has moved to Real Madrid.
Given that situation, Liverpool have bet on the future by bringing in younger names: Milos Kerkez (21 years old) and Jeremie Frimpong (24 years old). Along with Conor Bradley (22 years old), the trio are expected to be the foundation on the two wings of the next great Liverpool squad.
Above, the record investment for Florian Wirtz is not simply a blockbuster deal. In the short term, he will replace the creativity that Alexander-Arnold brought. In the long term, Wirtz will be Salah's successor - who can become the center of all tactical systems.
