Liverpool’s summer of change has already started, although this is more a spring clean given the timing of what is essentially a clearout before the makeover begins.
Scrubbed off the list are Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the quartet Jurgen Klopp called “four Liverpool legends” who were given an Anfield farewell on Saturday.
And while other names who have been gathering dust could soon follow, the task of continuing this transitional phase will soon fall into the hands of Jorg Schmadtke, the 59-year-old who is set to play a crucial role in Liverpool’s transfer window.
“He won’t be taken for a ride,” former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann tells i of the man who was supposedly going to retire after leaving Wolfsburg earlier this year.
“He’s a very capable man, but it’s a big job because in a short space of time you need to bring players in. You need the money for one, and while Liverpool is still a big pull, you are competing with the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle, Real Madrid, Barcelona. It will be interesting but it won’t be easy.
“He’s done a great job wherever he was. The last few years he was at Wolfsburg and he said he wants to pack it in [and retire]. He said that’s it, he had somebody else in place, but did say well maybe in six months’ time the missus kicks me out the house because I’m at home too often, and then it might be a different story.
“If you get the opportunity to go to Liverpool you have to take it. He’s a very likeable guy and he knows his stuff. But he’s got to get to know the club now. The area, the people. He will know the players, but he’s got to get these deals over the line which won’t be easy because the competition is strong.”
With three midfielders leaving Liverpool, it is an area they will need to address this summer, an area Hamann knows all too well having won nine trophies during his seven-year stint on Merseyside.
One of the best defensive midfielders going in his heyday, a selfless role that provided a foundation for Steven Gerrard in particular to flourish, Hamann believes this position is where Liverpool must start to build a new team around – although all that depends on whether they feel the current incumbent is up to the job.
“The first position I would look at is the holding midfielder,” Hamann adds. “If they feel Fabinho is the player who plays there, and he gets back to the level he used to be – because with Rodri he was probably the most dominant player in the league – then that’s that.
“If they don’t think that, then you have to look at a holding midfielder, because once they have that you can build a team around that with what else you need.”
Liverpool have benefited from Curtis Jones’ recent purple patch, the 22-year-old playing a starring role in their seven-game winning run that only ended on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, but his improvement alone will not be sufficient with Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita all departing.
That is why Liverpool have been heavily linked with Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister. A deal has even been agreed, reportedly, and while Hamann believes the World Cup winner would be a “wonderful” addition, the German also thinks Newcastle boast a fear factor that his other former side do not.
“I’d like a player like Joelinton from Newcastle, who’s got a physical presence,” says Hamann. “The players Liverpool have got are all very similar, and if you look at the size of the Newcastle team – size isn’t everything, but when you stand in the tunnel and see these guys you think, ‘Wow’, because they’re not just big, they can play as well.
“I would like a player of Joelinton’s stature, who can make a goal, has got a physical presence, is good on the ball, is just an all-round player, and hasn’t got too many defensive responsibilities with one player behind him. A player with a physical presence would suit Liverpool very well.”
One factor potentially holding Liverpool back this summer, however, will be the lack of Champions League football next season, which will be confirmed before Sunday’s final round of matches if fourth-placed Manchester United earn a point at home to Chelsea on Thursday.
But, amid interest from Arsenal, no Champions League did not deter Hamann from swapping Newcastle for Liverpool in 1999, and the 49-year-old – who went on to win the competition with Liverpool in 2005 – says a marquee signing of Mac Allister’s calibre could provide a domino effect that means the Reds still recruit strongly this summer.
“I came to Liverpool when they didn’t play in the Champions League. There was slight interest from Arsenal but when I heard Liverpool was interested my mind was made up pretty quickly,” Hamann says.
“I don’t know how players think these days, what’s most important; whether it’s the club, which was the case in my time. Whether it’s what they want to earn or Champions League football, it could be many factors, I do not know how they think.
“It certainly doesn’t help if they don’t play in the Champions League, and the other thing is that you’re not guaranteed to play there next season. Can they catch City and Arsenal? Arsenal potentially, Newcastle will be a force next year, Manchester United are catchable I think, but then again Chelsea will come good again at some stage. You see what happens to Brighton, too, so there’s no guarantee with Champions League football, so if you bring the right players in it gives you the best possible chance.
“You need the first signing to put a strong team together. If Liverpool sign a Mac Allister first, a big player, I think it makes things a little bit easier with the ones to follow.”
Didi Hamann was speaking to i courtesy of Casinos En Ligne
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