Liverpool star Fabio Carvalho has become an instant fan favourite after his dramatically late winner against Newcastle. Newcastle looked set to steal all three points from Merseyside when Alexander Isak bagged the opening goal in the first half. Roberto Firmino’s equaliser looked like that would be it for the hosts as they pushed for a winner late on, before Carvalho popped up with a close-range finish to win it for Liverpool at the death. Express Sport takes a look at four questions FSG may need to answer in the final 24 hours of the window.
The obvious
Liverpool’s refusal to dip into the market in the summer transfer window is becoming stranger by the minute. The 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth distracted some from the necessary, but were brought back down to earth with the opening 45 minutes against Newcastle.
Liverpool undoubtedly have done extensive scouting across the globe for who they could bring in and somehow have come to the conclusion that not one player who’s available would improve Klopp’s squad. Given the type of signings being made this late in the window still, it’s hard to understand just how Liverpool’s transfer officials haven’t found one player capable of helping Klopp’s squad.
Liverpool were guilty of ‘panic buying’ back in the 2021 January window with both Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies joining to help the defensive injury crisis. Neither went on to become a success at Anfield and perhaps Liverpool are wary of something similar happening in their so far unsuccessful pursuit of a midfielder.
Joe Gomez
There was a time before his heartbreaking injury setback in 2020 where Joe Gomez was seen as the obvious starter alongside Virgil van Dijk. Fast forward just two years and his stock at Liverpool has fallen to the point where he will still be behind Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip when everybody is fit.
It was just earlier this summer that Gomez penned a new five-year contract at the club, but he’s in desperate need of a turnaround in form if he harbours any hopes of making the England squad this winter. That may come too soon for Gomez, but he’ll want to be back in the England set-up sooner rather than later and being the fourth-choice at Anfield won’t cut it for Gareth Southgate.
He’s had a good opportunity to stake a claim for the starting line-up in recent weeks due to injuries to Matip and Konate, but it’s hard to see him keep his place on current performance. Selling Gomez would be out of the question for now, but there must be some thoughts for the future of the 25-year-old and whether his long-term career remains at Anfield.
Darwin Nunez
Liverpool fans immediately fell in love with Darwin Nunez after his goal in the Community Shield against Manchester City and he played a huge role in helping the Reds save a point on the opening day against Fulham. But his start to life on Merseyside was postponed after a moment of madness against Crystal Palace.
His three-match ban is over this weekend and he’ll be a welcome addition to Klopp’s squad against Everton on Saturday. Whether Nunez is thrown straight back into the side remains to be seen given the example of his temperament against Crystal Palace with a Merseyside Derby up next.
Liverpool’s owners spent a record fee on the Uruguayan though and will want to see Nunez back and proving his value for money sooner rather than later. The early indications led to some likening him to Luis Suarez, but there are also fears that Nunez’s temper could hold him back.
Youth the way to go
Clubs have often gone down the route of bringing in experienced players capable of slotting in and providing some input on the elite level. Liverpool have gone down a different route this summer with Carvalho being trusted with a starring role and he’s already made an instant impact at his new club.
Harvey Elliott was arguably Liverpool’s best player on the pitch in the game A 19-year-old and 20-year-old leading the way for Liverpool on a night they needed to pick up all three points. Maybe Liverpool’s route to success in the transfer market will be looking at youth and Jude Bellingham fits that bill at just 19 himself.
It’s clear Borussia Dortmund won’t sell this summer, but Liverpool will need to throw the lot at him next year to get the deal done.
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