Liverpool have been creative in the transfer market during the past decade but one approach may not be possible this summer
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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Liverpool have long proven adept at being creative in the transfer market. Up against moneybags clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United and state-owned rivals like Manchester City, it has been as much through necessity as design.
And there's one opportunist approach that has been fruitful in previous years and helped Jurgen Klopp build a squad capable of winning honours both home and abroad.
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It owes much to the strength in depth of the Premier League of which Arne Slot quickly became accustomed having swapped the Dutch Eredivisie for England in the summer.
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“He is the type of player I am referring to when I compare this league to the other one I worked in,” said Slot when discussing Wolves attacking midfielder Matheus Cunha last month.
“Wolves are 17th and if you go to the Dutch league, there’s no player in the 17th-placed team who could play at Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord. But Cunha could play in a top-five team in England. That shows why it’s so hard in this league.”
Having flirted with relegation for much of the first half of the season, under Vitor Pereira the Molineux side have moved clear of the drop zone and, should they stay up, would be under much less pressure to cash in on Cunha or any other of their players.
That, though, isn't the case for teams who fail to avoid the drop. And Liverpool have been beneficiaries in the recent past of cherry-picking the best talent from those who have slipped out of the Premier League.
Gini Wijnaldum was one such player when taken from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016 for £25million. The Dutchman ended up becoming a key cog under Klopp's first successful Liverpool team before leaving five years later.
There was significantly less fanfare when Andy Robertson arrived from Hull City for an initial £8million the following year. But the Scotland international became the solution to the Reds' long-term problem position at left-back.
And it was clever business 12 months later to take Champions League winner Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City by triggering his £13.75m release clause.
Since then, Liverpool have concentrated their energies elsewhere in the transfer market. And that is perhaps a reflection of the gap in standard that is continuing to grow between those in the top half of the Premier League and teams struggling to avoid relegation.
Indeed, there are few players who would realistically be of interest to Slot from the trio most likely to go down this term - Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton.
The most prominent are two youngsters who could be viewed as more long-term propositions. One is 19-year-old Southampton midfielder Tyler Dibling, who has been impressive as a regular in the Premier League and won a penalty in the Reds' 3-2 win on the South Coast back in November. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are already reportedly considering a move.
The other is 22-year-old striker Liam Delap of Ipswich Town, who has netted 10 goals for the struggling Tractor Boys including strikes against Aston Villa, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Liverpool will be keeping an open mind as they prepare for what is likely to be a busy transfer window as Slot fashions his squad. But it seems unlikely they will be raiding the teams who are relegated.