Liverpool's BOLD transfer call pays off as FSG save £152m

Back in the summer of 2023, Liverpool had a serious problem to solve in the transfer market, and after a couple of unsuccessful player approaches, the club made a bold last-minute call.

Fabinho had decided to leave the Reds following the 2022/23 season, moving to Saudi Arabia after a £40m bid was accepted for the ageing and under-performing 29-year-old.

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But that left the club with a significant hole to fill - the defensive midfielders on the market were not cheap and we had walked right into a vulnerable position.

Moises Caicedo was approached and eventually a £115m bid was declined by Brighton as Chelsea had swooped inane stole him, followed by another unsuccessful approach for Southampton's Romeo Lavia - who also went on to join the Blues for £53m in favour of a move to the Reds.

The solution Liverpool found? Bringing in Japanese international Wataru Endo from Stuttgart for £16m.

No one knew who he was and no one was confident that he would be a good enough addition to help Liverpool compete. But yet, just two years later, he would go on walk out to a packed Stamford Bridge with Caicedo and Lavia clapping him onto the field as part of a guard of honour.

Liverpool got the better player and saved £152m

This afternoon, Liverpool fans were treated to a rare gift - the opportunity to get in their transfer rivals faces and laugh having got the better of them. Justice and vengeance two years in the making.

When Lavia and Caicedo rejected Liverpool, the fans were left embarrassed. Financially, we could all take a sigh of relief, and the pressure on the new recruits would have been monumental if we had sanctioned such expensive deals. So in that sense, it was a massive let off.

But Chelsea had also dug themselves a hole. Yes, they had snatched two incredibly talented players away from Liverpool, but getting the best out of them was going to be an uphill battle.

This afternoon, all three players - Caicedo, Lavia and Endo - were on the same pitch at the same time, and following a humbling guard of honour, the differences between the three were palpable.

As a result of Enzo Maresca playing both of his right-backs in midweek, Caicedo was subjected to a hybrid full-back role, where performed admirably, with 7/10 duels won, a two tackles and five clearances making up the highlights.

In midfield, however, the battle was fascinating. Lavia mustered four duels won, two tackles, one interception and two clearances; whereas, Endo had won 80% of his duels, three tackles, one off the line clearance and one long-ball.

The age difference between the players is important context, but both Lavia and Endo have found minutes hard to come by this season, either through injury or in Liverpool's case the emergence of Ryan Gravenberch.

Of course, the result will matter most to Chelsea fans and the underwhelming performance from Liverpool in the 3-1 loss will be what they might decide to focus on.

But for Liverpool fans, today was al about celebrating the Premier League title win, and leaving the game with the satisfaction that a side-lined Endo was capable of out-performing the players who were initially favoured over him back in 2023.

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In the long-term, Gravenberch will continue to feature ahead of the Japanese captain in Arne Slot's Liverpool side, but the club's smart recruitment strategy has prevailed and today was clear evidence.

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