Arne Slot Richard Hughes Liverpool Transfers 2024-25
© IMAGO - Arne Slot Richard Hughes Liverpool Transfers 2024-25
Paris Saint-Germain have ended Liverpool’s interest in the 2024/25 Champions League and even the most ardent Red can’t fail to have been impressed by what they saw over two legs.
Luis Enrique has created a hard-working team that’s easy on the eye and always looking to play progressive football. They were deserved winners over the two games.
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There is a strong team spirit running through the youthful squad that appears completely at odds with the bloated, star-centric model of only a couple of seasons ago.
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And, if anything, it shows that if the right recruitment steps are in place then Liverpool shouldn’t worry too much about losing their three soon-to-be out-of-contract stars.
Liverpool's unsustainable wage bill
The futures of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been dominating the news cycle this season. Liverpool have not managed to renew any of them as yet with all three out of contract in summer 2025.
But the club have got a €110 million hole in the budget having missed out on Champions League football last season. It’s not likely that they will renew all three.
Trent is reported to be on £180,000 per week. Van Dijk is on £220,000 per week while Salah is on a dizzying £350,000 per week. That’s around £40m a year just for those three.
The Reds have been reported to be behind only Manchester City in the Premier League wage stakes and are top five in Europe overall. That’s not likely to be sustainable, particularly for players heading towards their mid-30s like Van Dijk and Salah.
FSG Liverpool Virgil van Dijk Trent Alexander-Arnold Mohamed Salah
© IMAGO - FSG Liverpool Virgil van Dijk Trent Alexander-Arnold Mohamed Salah
PSG rid themselves of high-earners
Those three - plus Alisson - are eating a fair chunk of the wage budget and PSG’s transformation over the past couple of years shows that there can be a renewal for the squad instead of a renewal of key contracts.
The French club brought in Luis Campos as an advisor in 2022 and under the Portuguese’s reign, PSG have become unrecognisably better.
When the 60-year-old took over, PSG were paying Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar a little under €200 MILLION a year between the three of them. That’s before we get to other high earners such as Gini Wijnaldum and Sergio Ramos.
But Campos was content to let those mammoth contracts expire and has sought to spread the wages among a wider array of talent in the squad - all the while bringing the average age of the group right down.
© IMAGO
Terrific transfers
This season they have added FOUR reported Liverpool transfer targets in Willian Pacho, Joao Neves, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. On the evidence of the last two legs,it’s little wonder the Reds were interested.
Those deals were part-financed by sales including Hugo Ekitike, Manuel Ugarte and Xavi Simons.
PSG lost their highest-earner and most recognisable player in Mbappe last summer to Real Madrid on a free butseem to be no worse after his departure. It's almost easy to forget at the moment, given how well Luis Enrique's side are handling the season.
The year before, they added Ousmane Dembele for a bargain €50m fee and he has since gone on to have the season of his career. Also brought in was ANOTHER Liverpool favourite in Bradley Barcola.
That summer, they got rid of overpaid and pampered stars in the shape of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Neymar and Marco Verratti. Getting €90m for Neymar from Al-Hilal might well go down as the deal of the century.
In summer 2022 - Campos’ first transfer window - they brought in Fabian Ruiz as well as Portugal pair Vitinha and Nuno Mendes. All three have gone on to become mainstays for PSG with Vitinha and Mendes among the best in the world in their positions.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Liverpool 2024-25
© IMAGO - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Liverpool 2024-25
A lesson for Richard Hughes
PSG have demonstrated over this time frame that they are not scared of losing their star names, their high-wage earners and their match-winners. That is provided the right players are signed to replace them.
Now there have been misses. Ugarte wasn’t up to it, Goncalo Ramos is hot and cold and Randal Kolo Muani for a reported €95m is value in nobody’s book.
But the Parc des Princes side have continually shown since 2022 that they have a plan, a philosophy and a method in their recruitment. They are willing to sacrifice the star quality in pursuit of a better overall team.
That ought to be a lesson to Richard Hughes - Liverpool’s sporting director - who is under pressure due to a lack of renewals. But the fear should NOT be that Salah, Van Dijk and Trent won’t renew their contracts. It should be that their wages won’t be spent properly if they do leave.
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Liverpool need to take a leaf out of PSG’s book. No more “opportunistic” deals like Federico Chiesa while the French side and others hoover up the best, hungriest talent around. This could be Liverpool’s best opportunity for a reset and PSG have shown the way.
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