Liverpool have fallen from their throne at the top of the Premier League. While Arne Slot's side have enjoyed something of a revival in recent weeks after such a shocking decline over the autumn months, they are a far cry of their 2024/25 selves.
Three successive wins have been claimed, and Liverpool are undefeated in six matches across all competitions. Still, this is a team far removed from the fluent and ferocious form of last season, and they will not catch pace-setters Arsenal in the race to the finish this season.
There are many variables at play, but after a record-breaking summer of spending in the transfer window, you'd be hard-pressed to make a compelling claim that Liverpool have hit the jackpot on a whole.
Why FSG have failed to strike gold with recruitment
Liverpool have struck gold time and time again on the transfer front, with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk the staples, but a long list of acquisitions securing a glittering era of trophy-winning success.
Virgil-Van-Dijk
The fact that Slot guided Liverpool to the Premier League title in his first year without welcoming more than Federico Chiesa to the ranks underscores both his tactical genius and Jurgen Klopp's brilliance, assembling a team capable of hitting the biggest heights.
However, FSG's big-money push this year has yet to prove a fruitful one, with players struggling to integrate.
With Klopp at the helm, Liverpool and FSG were widely lauded for their incredible eye for a deal. However, they did occasionally blunder, with Naby Keita a case in point.
Now, sporting director Richard Hughes may worry that he's accidentally landed a new version of the Guinean midfielder, whose career in English football was ruined by a glassy fitness record.
Liverpool's new Naby Keita
When Liverpool forked out £125m to bring Alexander Isak over from Newcastle United before the transfer deadline in September, they did so with the knowledge that they were making him the most expensive player in British history.
Liverpool's Alexander Isak
Less than four months into his career on Merseyside, Isak, 26, has had a tough time, only bagging twice in the Premier League, the latter of which came against Tottenham last time out, but at the expense of his fitness, breaking his leg when challenged by Micky van de Ven and now sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The most frustrating part is that Isak has shown at the highest level - in the Premier League - that he is one of the best in the business. Liverpool know this well, having been damaged by him numerous times.
But, for all the £280k-per-week talent's brilliance, FSG and Richard Hughes and Slot knew that he is a player who had endured setbacks on the injury front across his three years on Tyneside, and this disastrous development suggests that he is in danger of becoming the new Keita, immensely talented but impeded by flimsy fitness levels.
Keita, who excelled in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, slumped as soon as he touched grass in England's top flight, unable to muster a convincing run of form for pretty much the entire five-year span of action under Klopp's wing.
Naby Keita's Premier League Career By Season
Season
22/23
21/22
20/21
19/20
18/19
Data via Transfermarkt
There is hope and expectation that Isak's woes won't be so severe, but it's worrying all the same, with the anxious wait for the results of the 6 foot 3 striker's MRI scan anticipated to make for grim reading for those of a Red persuasion.
Last year, producer and content creator Lewis Bowden claimed Isak was "the best player in the world". It was a bold and contentious claim, and one which cannot ring true on current form.
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak-2
But Isak's £125m transfer fee and his past exploits in the Premier League confirm that Liverpool have a superstar on their hands, but despite his immense quality, there's little question that such an injury- and fitness-ravaged debut campaign will have heightened fears that the new Keita has alighted at Anfield this year.
Isak-Liverpool-injury Related
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