Liverpool's Most Expensive Ever Signings: Successes or Flops?

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Liverpool made headlines this summer as they racked up a shopping bill of over £450 million on seven new additions. The headline signings were those of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, with the Reds twice smashing the British transfer record to bring both men to the club. So far this term, however, neither has truly set the world alight. 

Wirtz caused quite the shock as he rejected Bayern Munich to make the more difficult move to Anfield, trading everything he knew in the form of his German homeland and the Bundesliga in favor of the bright lights of the Premier League. But the former Bayer Leverkusen man has managed just three assists so far on Merseyside, none of them coming in the league, and is still waiting for his first Liverpool goal. 

Isak has had a similarly tough time. After sitting out much of the preseason as he looked to force a move from Newcastle to the Reds, some fitness concerns were to be expected. However, the Swede has struggled to impress this season, finding the net just once in an EFL Cup game against second-tier Southampton. 

Misfiring Signings See Liverpool Lose Ground 

These misfiring big-money signings have conspired to torpedo Liverpool's hopes of retaining the Premier League title. After winning their first five games this season, the Reds have since lost five of their last six games, including the recent 3-0 drubbing away at Manchester City, leaving them languishing down in eighth in the table, eight points behind table-topping Arsenal, and a 9/1 outsider in the title race. 

The use of a betting calculator will show just how far behind the bookies truly think Liverpool are this term. The popular odds calculator at Thunderpick shows that a £10 bet on Arsenal to win the title would yield just £5 in winnings. Compare that to the £90 one could make on the Reds, and it's clear to see just how far apart the oddsmakers think the two title contenders are. 

But with both Isak and Wirtz struggling so far this term, we got to thinking about previous Liverpool record buys. Did they struggle? Or would they ultimately become a success? While we're reserving judgment on both those two, as well as fellow summer signings Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez, we certainly are judging these big-money signings... 

Virgil van Dijk: Success 

The signing of Virgil van Dijk was the exact moment when Liverpool went from contenders to superteam. The Dutchman arrived from Southampton for a fee of £75 million back in January 2018, a fee which was then a world record for a defender. Many scoffed at the deal, thinking that Klopp and the Reds had overpaid massively for their new centre back. Eight years later, no one is scoffing anymore. 

Within six months of his arrival, Liverpool reached the UEFA Champions League final, ultimately losing to Real Madrid in Kyiv. One year on from that, the Reds reached the final again, this time coming out on the winning side with a 2-0 victory against Spurs in Madrid. Add another year onto the timeline and the Merseysiders had ended their three-decade wait for a Premier League title, with van Dijk playing a starring role. 

Fast forward to now, and Big Virgil is Liverpool captain and a two-time Premier League champion. Across the last eight years, he has made a whopping 335 appearances, winning everything there is to win. Even at the age of 34, he remains one of the best defenders in Europe, and it's impossible to consider him anything other than an overwhelming success. 

Darwin Núñez: Flop 

Prior to this summer, Darwin Núñez was Liverpool's record signing, with the Reds forking out £64m to secure his services in the summer of 2022. The Uruguayan arrived at Anfield having bagged 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica throughout the 2021/22 season, including goals home and away against the Merseysiders in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. 

Throughout those two games, Jurgen Klopp saw enough and brought Nunez to Anfield, thinking he had found the prolific striker his side desperately needed to take the fight to Manchester City. But unfortunately, things wouldn't work out as expected on Merseyside. Núñez managed just 40 goals in 143 appearances throughout his three years with the club, far from the expected output when Liverpool made him their record signing. 

It has to be said, however, that the "flop" verdict is still a harsh one. While Núñez may not have scored the number of goals that many had hoped he would, he still played a crucial role in Liverpool's Premier League title triumph last season, and that has to be taken into account. Still, it wasn't enough for him to be considered a rousing success overall. Will the team’s new additions manage to do better? Time will tell!