Liverpool's best transfers under FSG - ranked
Following the fairly shocking news that Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are looking for buyers for Liverpool Football Club, it's only right that we took a trip down memory lane to revisit some of the best signings made under the sports investment group since they assumed control of the club in October 2010.
Of course, there were plenty of bad ones too. We're talking the likes of Fabio Borini, Doni, Mario Balotelli and Tiago Illori. And those are just the players ending in 'i'.
Who could forget spending £35m on Andy Carroll? Nobody. Who could forget Samed Yesil? Absolutely everyone. Now playing amateur football in Germany, in case you were wondering. Still only 28, though. Maybe there's time to realise all that potential
Without further ado, here are the 15 best signings Liverpool have made since January 2011. It's quite a list.
15. Divock Origi (£10m from Lille)
Where else to start but with cult hero Divock Origi, a £10m signing from Lille in the 2014 summer transfer window. Origi was never good enough to cement a place in Jurgen Klopp's starting XI but makes the list through the sheer magnitude of his best moments in a Liverpool shirt.
That goal against Barcelona, that goal against Spurs, that goal against Everton. Players dream of having one of those goals on their CV. Somehow, inexplicably, Divock Origi has three.
14. Daniel Sturridge (£12m from Chelsea)
Injuries ruined it all, but for a season and a half Daniel Sturridge and Liverpool were a match made in heaven. He scored just seven minutes into his debut and notched 10 goals in 14 league appearances after leaving Stamford Bridge for Anfield in January 2012.
The following season he made up one-third of the streets will never forget 'SSS' triumvirate with Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez, scoring 21 times in the Premier League. It all went downhill from there, but Sturridge was electric during those 18 months and remains a significant 'what if?', even if he did hang around long enough to pick up a Champions League winner's medal.
13. James Milner (Free agent)
The ultimate utility player who can give you a 7/10 performance just about anywhere across the pitch, James Milner has been an outstanding pick-up for Liverpool considering that many predicted his career to start winding down when he joined them as a free agent in 2015.
Seven years on and he's still there, filling in at right-back when required, even if Father Time does appear to be catching up with the 36-year-old now. His nine assists in the 2018/19 Champions League season remain both a record and an excellent bit of football trivia.
12. Georginio Wijnaldum (£25m from Newcastle United)
One of the most dependable players on this list, Georginio Wijnaldum's contributions to Liverpool over the course of his five seasons at the club shouldn't be overlooked. He played in all but one of the 38 matches during Liverpool's victorious Premier League campaign and never made fewer than 33 appearances in a league season.
Aside from being one of the few players seemingly impervious to the physical demands of Klopp's system, who could forget his two goals in two minutes after coming off the bench against Barcelona in the Champions League? Worthy of the transfer fee alone.
11. Joel Matip (Free agent)
There's not much that needs to be said about Joel Matip. He's been a fantastic centre-back when fit for Liverpool having cost exactly nothing. There have been a few too many injuries but picking up a player of this quality on a free transfer was one of the best pieces of business Fenway Sports Group ever managed to pull off.
Over the years he has proved to be the perfect centre-back foil for Van Dijk, even if it appears that Ibrahima Konate is now the better option.
10. Fabinho (£39m from Monaco)
An expensive addition but a necessary one, Fabinho was signed from Monaco in May 2018 for a little under £40m ostensibly to replace the outgoing Emre Can in midfield. He's done far more than that, proving to be the glue that holds Jurgen Klopp's pressing system together.
Even filling in as an emergency centre-back, Fabinho has been invaluable to Liverpool since joining, so much so that the team very noticeably drops off whenever he is out injured.
9. Roberto Firmino (£29m from Hoffenheim)
So underrated he suddenly became a little bit overrated, the man with the 1000-megawatt smile has been a key factor behind Liverpool's success in the past few seasons.
While never prolific, with 15 goals in 37 games his best Premier League return, Roberto Firmino has been a selfless false nine, often between the headline acts Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. An exceptional signing who continues to contribute even now in his eighth season at the club.
8. Andy Robertson (£10m from Hull City)
In terms of value for money, there's a case to be made that the acquisition of Andy Robertson from Hull is the best pound-for-pound signing in recent Premier League history.
Although he was slowly integrated into the starting XI, such is Jurgen Klopp's want, 'Robbo' has been an ever-present down left flank since taking the starting position from Alberto Moreno (yikes) towards the end of 2017. One of the best left-backs in the world and he cost a snip.
7. Jordan Henderson (£16m from Sunderland)
Signed in the same 2011 summer window that saw Damien Comolli splurge on the likes of Charlie Adam, Sebastian Coates and Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson has gone on to surpass just about every expectation anyone would have had for his Liverpool career - particularly given the fact that after replacing Steven Gerrard as club captain in 2015 he had a colossal pair of shoes to fill.
Henderson followed in Gerrard's footsteps by lifting the Champions League and then went one further to lift the club's first league title in 30 years. He's been a resounding success with Liverpool and could well hit 500 appearances for the club.
6. Luis Suarez (£23m from Ajax)
He left with nothing other than a League Cup medal and several controversies to his name but Luis Suarez's 31 goals and 14 assists in 2013/14 took Liverpool to within a Steven Gerrard slip of the Premier League title.
For that feat alone he deserves his place among the upper echelons of signings, even if he did leave in acrimonious circumstances. Still, after his sale to Barcelona for £65m, the club did at least make a tidy profit.
5. Philippe Coutinho (£8.5m from Inter)
Speaking of profit, it's now time to place Philippe Coutinho, who comes in at fifth solely because of his sale to the famous Catalan club. Simply put, the £142m fee Liverpool managed to squeeze out of Barcelona allowed them to purchase both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson with change left over, finally shoring up the team's significant defensive frailties.
While he was a glorious player in his prime at Liverpool, Coutinho has been a shadow of his former self since leaving Anfield and his exit proved to be the catalyst for the trophies won under Jurgen Klopp.
4. Alisson (£67m from Roma)
The only reason Alisson is this far down is due to the sheer quality of the signings above him. Since joining from Roma for £66.8m in the summer of 2018, Alisson has proved himself as one of the very best goalkeepers in the world. And to think that Chelsea spent five million pounds more on Kepa just a few weeks later.
It's easy to overlook now but his injury-time wonder save against Napoli kept Liverpool in the Champions League they eventually went on to win.
3. Sadio Mane (£30m from Southampton)
Sadio Mane had already been at Liverpool for a full season before Mohamed Salah arrived and from that point on the Senegalese forward was (perhaps unfairly) overshadowed by the man on the other wing.
While he didn't quite match Salah's sheer goalscoring output, although 120 goals in 269 appearances is nothing to sniff at, Mane's all-round game was superior. Together they were devastating and it is no coincidence that Liverpool have struggled this season in his absence. Mane was a world class operator from the moment he walked in the door to the moment he left.
2. Virgil van Dijk (£75m from Southampton)
A January addition for the eye-popping amount of £75m, Van Dijk had it all to prove after moving from Southampton to Liverpool. He delivered almost instantly with a late header to knock Everton out of the FA Cup on his debut and things only got better from there.
A transformative signing for Liverpool and the rock upon which their Premier League and Champions League titles were built. Worth every penny and then some.
1. Mohamed Salah (£37m from Roma)
Who else?
274 appearances and 170 goals later and Mohamed Salah is still firing them in for Liverpool. He's already scored the eighth most goals in the club's history and has Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler and Steven Gerrard all within reach, with only 17 more needed to leapfrog all three Kop legends.
Signed in the summer of 2017, few expected Salah to have the impact he did but there were no doubters left after 32 goals in 36 league games during his debut season. An all-time club great for only £37m is as much of a bargain as you can get in this day and age.