Transfer deadline day saw the almost certain David De Gea to Real Madrid deal fall-through, West Ham United made a couple of clever loans in the forms of Alex Song and Victor Moses, Manchester United broke the bank to bring in Monaco forward Anthony Martial, whereas Liverpool allowed promising defender Tiago Ilori to join Aston Villa on loan with a view to buy option.
Brendan Rodgers has been very active throughout the summer after making seven additions to the Reds’ setup, none more notable than Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino, while the Northern-Irishman also managed to offload misfiring forwards Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert.
However, the decision to release Ilori and so too Lazar Markovic on loan, sees a lingering trend repeat itself for yet another season upon Merseyside. That is, the swift purchase of an exciting young talent with the promise of the next big thing, only for there to be an even quicker exit, which in most cases hurts Liverpool financially and is not justified.
Fabio Borini
Fabio Borini moved to Liverpool in 2012 for a reported fee of £11 million and became Rodgers’ first signing as manager. The manager hailed the Italian to be a future star and someone he can build a team around after they previously spent time together at Swansea. Fast forward thre- years and the Reds have sold the 24-year-old to Sunderland on a four year deal for a fee of £10 million, £5 million shy of the £15 million the Black Cats offered originally.
His performances at Anfield were few and far between, which ultimately led to his exit. In his first season Borini featured in 13 English Premier League games, one FA Cup tie and six trips across Europe. Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge ran riot the following season and that left him to warm the bench, whereas 2014-15 saw him make 18 appearances.
That registers to 38 matches, is that worth £10 million pounds? Was Borini given a fair go?
It is difficult to break into a team that had the ‘SAS’ terrorising opposition backlines, but when Rickie Lambert is misfiring and Mario Balotelli is more concerned about his next outrageous haircut, you have to think that Borini deserved a solid run to try and prove himself. Overall, the majority of his appearances last term were from the bench and when he did make the starting XI, it was always on the left-side.
What if Borini was allowed to play eight or nine games continuously? Rhythm is a massive factor for any attacker.
Sebastian Coates
Following an impressive display during Uruguay’s successful Copa America, Sebastian Coates attracted the attention of Liverpool, and Kenny Dalglish added another South American to the Reds’ ranks after securing Suarez. The towering defender joined from Nacional for a fee of £7 million.
The 24-year-old struggled to break into the first team and remained behind the likes of Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger initially, he then went out on loan to Sunderland when Rodgers took charge. The Black Cats then made that deal permanent for a rumoured £4 million, which is just over half of what Liverpool paid.
Overall, Coates played just 24 games for the Merseysiders, half were Premier League appearances and the remainder were spread between domestic and European competitions. How can you justify the need to spend £20 million on Dejan Lovren when Coates barely got a run?
Iago Aspas
In an attempt to boost his striking ranks Rodgers turned to Iago Aspas from Spanish club Celta Vigo, and spent roughly £7 million to acquire the Spaniard, who scored 12 goals over 24 games in the La Liga. The 24-year-old became Liverpool’s third signing that year, after Kolo Toure and Luis Alberto.
For much of his time Aspas was playing second fiddle to the formidable Suarez and Sturridge partnership and he only scored one goal during his time at Anfield. The Spaniard was then loaned to Sevilla, where he would eventually seal a permanent transfer and go down as another waste of resources for the Reds.
With just 15 appearances under his belt, it makes no sense as to why Rodgers and his recruitment staff even bothered making the effort to bring Aspas to Liverpool.
Oussama Assaidi
Moroccan international Oussama Assaidi joined Liverpool from Dutch club Heerenveen for an estimated fee of £2.4 million in 2012. In his inaugural season as a Red, the 26-year-old made 12 appearances before falling through the cracks and eventually being shifted to Stoke City.
Now the Moroccan plays his football in Dubai with Al Ahli, and the deal that landed Assaidi in United Arab Emirates remains an undisclosed fee. All-in-all, he made four Premier League appearances for Liverpool, which is perhaps the lowest tally on this list.
Another puzzling transfer, and a further few million down the drain, even though Rodgers claimed Assaidi fit his mould very well.
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There is nothing wrong with selling a recently bought player that failed to impress when given ample opportunities on the pitch, however, spending millions on names who are going to temporarily warm the bench before being shifted onto another club is poor business.
Ilori has been likened as a replacement to Real Madrid’s Pepe, and despite the Portuguese’s brash nature and poor discipline, he is an excellent defender, something Liverpool are lacking at the moment. Not to even give Ilori a sniff of first team action would be unjustified, whereas, Markovic cost the club £20 million, and that alone should read loud and clear. There are no excuses.
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