Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown: The Perils Of Large Transfer Fees
While it feels like the entire Premier League has an obnoxiously wealthy owner who splashes the cash, there’s undoubtedly a two-tier system that allows the big teams to consistently spend big on world-recognized talent, while the smaller teams have to be slightly more frugal with their budgets.
This can work both ways: some of the best teams in the league have brought in players for a fraction of their valuation and sold them for mega bucks. Brighton seems to be able to do it every transfer window, but Bournemouth and Sunderland have also shown that it doesn’t matter how big your bank balance is; it’s about striking the cohesion across the squad.
For Liverpool, they may operate with a much larger chequebook than almost every other team in the league, but this means nothing if the money spent is not going into the right areas and acquiring class players at the right price.
Pros & Cons Of A Global Fanbase
While the EPL is the most globally popular league, there are still pros and cons for Liverpool. Unlike many other clubs in England, the vast majority of their fanbase is international, not local to their city. These fans spend vast amounts of money jetting into the city for the weekend to experience the Liverpool FC experience and the showcase of Anfield as a sporting spectacle, and they expect to be duly compensated.
This creates a higher budget for the club but also raises expectations. When you have fans jetting in from Denmark, Norway, China, Japan, and Australia regularly, then they expect to see the best players in the world operating at their full capacity.
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The betting companies may have had Liverpool going into this year as the favourites for the title, and unlike a real money casino in Australia, outright betting odds for the EPL can change quickly based on the form of key players and big money signings that don’t pull their weight. Fans want results, and especially when the betting companies are tipping the team for the title, Liverpool’s form has been anything but that of defending champions.
The Wirtz & Isak Dilemmas
Florian Wirtz was Liverpool’s most expensive signing of all time —for a few weeks, until Alexander Isak cost them £125 million on deadline day. Wirtz could potentially end up costing the Reds a whopping £116.5 million when all is said and done, and Isak could cost up to £130 million.
If his first few months at Anfield are anything to go by, it does feel as though the German wunderkind is feeling the pressure of such a lofty price tag, despite his national team manager coming out to defend him.
With two players costing a quarter of a billion pounds, there’s growing frustration that they are not delivering anywhere near the standard they should, given their eye-wateringly high valuation. Hugo Ekitike looks like a bargain in comparison, despite also costing £82.4 million, the Frenchman has found the net 6 times in 16 games, and, while it is an enormous sum of money, the fact Wirtz and Isak have overshadowed him might be what is taking the heat away from him, allowing him to play, as the Swede and German struggle more under the weight of their transfer fees.
Rising Above The Demands
Some players in world football perform regardless of the fee or the pressures they face on the pitch. Lionel Messi, the man you see in the clip below, is renowned for his ability to perform at the highest level despite the incredible expectations often placed on his shoulders.
Liverpool’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, was the world’s most expensive defender. Still, he has since gone on to win every single trophy with the Reds, become a spokesperson and ambassador for the club, and cement himself as one of the greatest defenders to have ever played at Anfield.
Yes, there is added pressure, but it is often only the elite players who command such fees, and the fact that Wirtz and Isak have not dazzled yet is a serious concern, as, if Liverpool loses a couple more games, they could find themselves completely out of the title race by Christmas.
Can They Turn It Around?
It might seem premature to level these accusations at these players after a couple of months. Still, with the breakneck pace of the EPL and the unforgiving dynamics that a few losses can create, the Reds have a right to be concerned and to demand that players who cost nine-figure sums perform on the pitch, regardless of how the rest of the team is playing.
Over the years, Liverpool has spent huge sums on players; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. However, between now and the end of the year, it is up to Arne Slot to get the team back on track and to challenge for the top honours, and it is hard to see how he manages this if Wirtz and Isak keep underperforming.
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