da wazamba： Liverpool’s 2016/17 has exceeded expectations thus far. A few Reds may have seen the stars aligning for a title challenge, but the investment at Manchester United and Manchester City over the summer allied to Spurs’ impressive 2015/16, Arsenal’s continued presence at the top end of English football and Chelsea’s move to draft in Antonio Conte had quelled the expectations of many, with a top four push seen as the ceiling.
da realbet： Yet after thirteen tricky games in league action this season, Liverpool are behind only Conte’s Blues in the Premier League table. And with the Londoners due to face Spurs and Man City over the coming two weekends, the window for a return to the summit may well swing wide open for Jurgen Klopp.
With things all rosy on the pitch, some are talking up January as the time to strike in terms of recruiting new players, as one or two choice additions could be enough to end the club’s long wait for a league title. Sadio Mane’s exit to the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year has further added to the need for reinforcements and Klopp has even talked up winter moves.
However, we think the German has enough in his armoury to get by without adding to his ranks, and these FIVE players show that he doesn’t need to partake in the annual month-long scramble for stars…
Joe Gomez
To describe Gomez’s Liverpool career to date as stop/start would be an understatement. The versatile defender, signed from Charlton Athletic in summer 2015, was the only real bright spot of Brendan Rodgers’ closing months at Anfield as he stepped into the first-team, despite his tender age (he was then just 18 years old), straight away and didn’t look out of place.
However, injury hit, and hit hard, upon Klopp’s arrival, with Gomez ruled out for the entirety of the German’s first season due to a knee injury, which was followed in October of this year by a similar set-back. However, he returned to action this week for the Reds’ U-23s, and with a hectic fixture list coming up, he could get game time over the winter – as long as he can get match-fit.
Klopp is known to use what he has rather then spend, as he’s alluded countless times in recent months, and with Gomez just 19 and able to play all across the backline, his future looks bright.
Sheyi Ojo
Like-for-like replacements for Sadio Mane will be nigh-on impossible to track down and sign in January, but Klopp does have a raw talent to use in his place in the shape of Ojo. The flying winger was brought back from a loan spell at Wolves last season during the German’s opening months at Anfield helm and featured regularly during the back end of the campaign, often coming in when senior stars were rested for the Europa League run.
Granted, Ojo – who’s been missing from first-team duties due to injury niggles this term – is a raw player, but he has the pace Mane offers, which has proven to be vital for the Reds in recent months in tandem with the creative talents of Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The only slot in Klopp’s team in which there is not genuine competition for a starting berth is at right-back, where Nathaniel Clyne is the shoo-in pick, which has led some fans to call for an option to arrive in January. However, Alexander-Arnold appears to be a player favoured by the German coach, who handed him his senior debut during the recent League Cup win over Spurs – a chance the teenager took with open arms.
The 18-year-old – who started his career as a rangy midfielder and has even been tentatively compared to Steven Gerrard – is a little reckless in his style of play, both when committing to challenges and rushing forward to support the attack, but he has great technique and seems physically suited to Klopp’s demanding style of play,.
Daniel Sturridge
Sturridge may find himself among less than glamorous company on this list, but the striker is not in the starting XI right now, making him a ‘fringe’ player. The England international, however, remains one of the best finishers in the Premier League and his supreme ability to put the ball in the back of the net will surely be of use to Klopp over the winter when the games are plentiful and players pick up injuries.
Although his suitability to a fluid, high-pressing attacking line has been questioned, it’s been pretty clear in recent cameo appearances from the bench that the 27-year-old is making a real effort to adapt his game, and the sheer prospect of his deadly nature up top in this Reds team will make Kopites salivate.
Ovie Ejaria
Ejaria really emerged during pre-season under Klopp and looks to now be ahead of the likes of Marko Grujic and Cameron Brannagan in the pecking order on the back of his fledgling displays. The 19-year-old, who was poached from Arsenal’s youth ranks, is physically imposing, despite his age, but offers the sort of technique that makes him a viable alternative to Georginio Wijnaldum in the more attacking midfield positions in Klopp’s three-man central ranks. His presence on the bench in Premier League action hints that he is close to breaking through.