There will be no Champions League football at Anfield next term after Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool finished the 2022/23 Premier League campaign in fifth place.
It’s an unusual position for the Merseysiders to be in but, in some ways, it was possible to see it coming. The 2020 league champions have an aging squad which is in need of a refresh, particularly in midfield. Skipper Jordan Henderson has now reached the grand old age of 32, while James Milner and Fabinho can’t claim to have young legs, and the competition at the top of the table is getting fierce.
When the SBOTOP stats team prepares for next season there is sure to be a cluster of teams in the frame for top four places, with Newcastle United as a new entrant squeezing the opportunities and the news breaking on Sunday that Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed the new boss of Chelsea.
So Liverpool need to be ahead of the game.
Klopp is working on his summer strategy to bring fresh legs into the middle of the park, with Brighton and Hove Albion’s world cup winner Alexis Mac Allister on the Reds’ radar. The South coast club has won Europa League football and the Argentine is one of the players coveted by clubs around Europe. The Seagull’s recent clash with Manchester City was an ideal opportunity for Roberto De Zerbi’s side to show how far they have come and they earned a 1-1 draw. But they will have a rebuild on themselves with Mac Allister seemingly waving goodbye to the Seagull’s fans after their final game of the campaign, a 2-1 loss away to Aston Villa.
Mac Allister is valued at around £70m, and Liverpool will have to spend another tidy sum to bring in Wolves midfield maestro Ruben Neves. The Reds will have competition from Barcelona, particularly as the 26 year old has said he wants to play Champions League football. Neves has been one of Wolves most important players during their five years in the top flight after his £15m move from FC Porto.
Liverpool need two or three midfielders and Mac Allister and Neves are the right calibre.
Is Palhinha set for Old Trafford?
Much to the amusement of Manchester United fans, Erik Ten Hag’s side put together a good enough set of Premier League 2023 results to beat Liverpool to the Champions League places, eventually finishing above Newcastle United in third. And the Red Devils too are in the market for a midfielder and there could be a potential swap deal on the cards with Marco Silva’s Fulham.
Manchester United may be open to offloading Brazil midfielder Fred who’s contract expires in 2024, and Ten Hag is looking for a player who may be more effective on the ball.
Fulham’s Joao Palhinha is exactly the type of strong midfielder coveted by Premier League bosses and he would be an ideal fit for Manchester United, in the mould of former Red Devils star Nemanja Matic. He has recorded more tackles than any other player in the top flight and the Cottagers struck a brilliant deal to bring him to the club last summer in a £17m switch from Sporting Lisbon.
Palhinha’s value must be nearer £40m now and a swap deal might be the way forward for Ten Hag.
Foxes ready to say goodbye to their stars
The pre-season Premier League 2023 betting odds didn’t have Leicester in their sights as a relegation candidate but the Foxes have just proved the old adage that ‘no team is too good to get relegated’. It’s hard to take for fans of the 2016 champions but, when manager Brendan Rodgers left the club by mutual consent with just ten games to play, the writing on the wall began to come clearer.
Leicester City’s relegation surely means that the club’s more marketable stars will be on their way. The players have underachieved massively but they will still be attractive propositions for top flight clubs in England and Europe’s big leagues. Midfielder James Maddison was the subject of frenzied transfer speculation last summer, with a move to Newcastle on and off throughout the close season. He’s another player who says he wants Champions League football but it remains to be seen whether the Magpies are still interested now that they have hit Europe’s big time.
Harvey Barnes, who scored the opener in Leicester’s final day 2-1 win over West Ham, is sure to find another club as is creative midfielder Youri Tielemens. It’s difficult for diehard Foxes to take but the club needs a reset… and to raise some money.
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