After the deal with Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, Liverpool spent more than £200 million in this summer's transfer window. This amount includes the deal of Giorgi Mamardashvili transferred from Valencia. The 24-year-old goalkeeper agreed to move to Anfield last summer and has now officially become a member of The Kop.
After having many new players, Liverpool still do not want to stop. After approving the payment of £120 million to Alexander Isak (New Newcastle), Liverpool continued to express interest in Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt). If one of these two deals is successful, The Kop's spending will be around £300 million.
This will be the second highest transfer fee in English football history (after Chelsea's summer 2024 with more than £400 million).
When Jurgen Klopp left the team in the summer of 2024, Liverpool was the team with the lowest spending in the top group and qualified for the Champions League. Every time opponents like Man City, Newcastle or Chelsea spend more than the limit, Liverpool always have a move to protest in the media.
However, now, they are the team with the heaviest spending and show no signs of stopping. Is Liverpool imposing a so-called "double standard" in the Premier League transfer market?
Looking back at the way Fenway Sports Group (FSG) operates - the owners of Liverpool, they are not financial adventurers. Every time they plan to spend a certain amount, especially a player transfer, FSG always calculates the spending plan and the source of money very carefully. It is only when they can balance and have enough additional resources that they will pay, not in the style of Chelsea in 2024.
One of the reasons Jurgen Klopp was so successful at Liverpool was that he was almost in agreement with the owners about buying and selling players. Klopp and FSG's intentions are clear: buy at one value, sell at another higher value, and use the surplus to reinvest. Under the German strategist, Liverpool achieved resounding success thanks to record transfer fees brought to Virgil van Dijk (75 million pounds) and Alisson Becker (66.8 million pounds). However, to make these deals a reality, Liverpool had to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona at a cost close to the price of the above duo.
With the 2019 Champions League and 2020 Premier League titles, Liverpool can exploit the market better thanks to the enhanced effect. With the right direction from the board, The Kop can earn more money than ever in the Premier League era. Meanwhile, the club's commercial vision is expanding. Anfield is increasingly expanded and increased in capacity, bringing higher revenue. Currently, Liverpool is the most profitable club in England.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have participated in the Champions League in 6/7 of the most recent seasons. They even reached the final once again in 2022, after reaching the final in 2018 and 2019. Recently, under the leadership of Arne Slot, The Kop has become the English champions again, despite the quite quiet transfer market last summer. Up to now, it was still a decision like a high-scoring co, plus a little luck.
When Liverpool submitted their financial report at the end of May, they recorded their highest payment ever in the Premier League. Unlike 2020, FSG has not had to shorten any plans due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, although Arne Slot's team was eliminated from the Champions League last season in the round of 16, their almost unbeaten performance in the qualifying round brought them about 90 million pounds.
There have been large spending pledges to keep Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, but there have also been money transferred later. That summer, sporting director Richard Hughes sold two academy players for around £45 million. It is likely that other players will leave in a similar manner to cover the costs.
In the immediate future, Liverpool will have to decide the future of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz. Teams that want these two players have just seen The Kop buy Florian Wirtz for a record price. If they understand Liverpool's financial management, they may implicitly understand that this is the best time to buy Nunez and Diaz.
With Nunez, Diaz and many more players leaving Anfield this summer, Liverpool fans should not be surprised if Alexander Isak comes with a Premier League record price, even Isak can still own the Hugo Ekitike if Arne Slot wants.
