Liverpool already has a couple of players who are hoping to be a big part of the rebuilding this summer. Jürgen Klopp snatched them up ahead of schedule, but they should not be overlooked
In an ideal world, Liverpool would have had less to do this summer. If Aurélien Tchouaméni had chosen Liverpool over Real Madrid last summer, for example, the need for a center-back would have been reduced this time around.
While a squad overhaul is underway, some pieces are already in place that can help turn things around, regardless of whether or not Champions League football is secured before the season ends.
“We cannot make 24 changes [this summer] and say ‘here we go’ — not even 10 — but it is just that we have to make changes — smart changes — and then we go again,” Jürgen Klopp said in the pre-Arsenal press conference. “There are other times when we think about what will happen next year, but this is not one of them.”
Fortunately for Klopp, the Reds don’t need to make ten new signings to turn things around, as some of the answers already exist at Anfield. Fábio Carvalho has made 20 appearances for Liverpool, averaging just 36 minutes per game, and has only played five Premier League minutes since the beginning of November.
Despite not turning 21 until August, there is still time for the Portugal-born playmaker to make an impact at Anfield, and after a season of settling in, there is no reason why he couldn’t find his way to playing more regularly next season.
For one thing, Roberto Firmino will no longer be an option in the forward line, and Liverpool’s transfer priorities will shift away from replacing the Brazilian, while there may be more opportunities in midfield as three or four depart, with at least two coming in.
There are reasonable questions that remain, such as where his best position is, or, more precisely, the role that Liverpool sees him playing most frequently, but Carvalho remains a huge talent.
In retrospect, he should have spent this season on loan at Fulham, for example, but Liverpool had no idea how its own season would unfold, or that Marco Silva’s side would thrive so much and be in European contention.
Calvin Ramsay is another of last summer’s signings who has yet to find a proper role in the Liverpool squad, despite the fact that he, like Carvalho, was seen as a longer-term addition.
Ramsay was overlooked as a solution when Jamie Carragher questioned Trent Alexander-form Arnold’s and asked if Liverpool would be better off signing a back-up for him in the summer who could compete for a place.
Ramsay, signed as a highly-rated young talent in the mold of Alexander-Arnold, has had an injury-plagued first season since arriving from Aberdeen, but he remains a player to watch.
Next season, assuming he can recover from the issue that required surgery and has ruled him out for the rest of the season in time to participate fully in pre-season, he could fill that role.
After all, Kostas Tsimikas barely played in his first season at Anfield before becoming a regular the following season as Liverpool competed on all fronts.
For the majority of Liverpool’s fringe players — Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez are likely to fall into similar categories — their involvement next season is largely dependent on the Reds winning the Premier League.
More games mean more minutes available, and while competing for multiple trophies at the tail end of the campaign can mean needing to play the first-choice side as often as possible, it is also easier to make one or two changes in a team that is not struggling.
Liverpool still has a lot of business to do in the summer transfer market, and any departures (Caoimhn Kelleher, for example) could add to that.
However, there are two options in Carvalho and Ramsay that should not be overlooked during the rebuild.
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