Liverpool have become a huge force as they boast the names of some biggest stars in current world football.
Liverpool have slowly steadied their ship since Jurgen Klopp took over the club in 2015. The German International’s transition at Merseyside has been second to none as they lifted the recently concluded Champions League campaign.
The Reds fell short of the Premier League title, but they managed to procure an astonishing 97 points. They were plain unlucky as that sum would have helped Liverpool put a full stop to their league title drought. Securing that point tally and lifting the Champions League is a daunting task and it cannot be done without quality players.
Some of the transfer business done by Jurgen Klopp has been clear as a whistle. He has got it a hundred per cent right to elevate them as European superhouse currently. There was a huge clear out, but he has improved the current lot, who have lastly played under Brendan Rodgers.
CIES is a research group within the International Centre of Sports studies that analyse the value of football players. They release the transfer value of the top 100 players after a thorough study of their form over the last year. Out of top 100 players, 11 Liverpool players feature in this list.
We shall look at the five Liverpool players with highest transfer values.
#5 Virgil Van Dijk – €112.1 million
Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk is a bulwark in the defensive line. The UEFA Men’s Player of the year had a meteoric rise since leaving Southampton. Under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp, the Dutchman has lifted the Champions League and Super Cup, while he’s the strong contender for the Ballon d’Or too.
It would be difficult to point out a player with superlative effect in the backline. The Reds, who had one of the worst backlines when Klopp took over, conceded the least in the Premier League last season. His presence has installed faith in other players as well. Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, and Dejan Lovren are provided with a confidence booster by playing along the Dutch Skipper.
His commands from the defensive line have helped the Reds to an unthinkable extent. Undisputably, Virgil Van Dijk has been the best defender since January 2018. Should the Reds manage to clinch the Premier League, which serves as an ultimatum to the supporters, Van Dijk will inscribe in the club’s history books.
#4 Trent Alexander-Arnold – €130.2 million
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his debut under Jurgen Klopp in 2016. The right-back has been one of the stand out players over a couple of seasons.
Since the Liverpool boss relies on his full-backs for creativity, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson notch up assists for fun. In fact, the English International contributed an unbelievable tally of 19 goals last campaign. He can pick out passes from the back and produce inch-perfect deliveries from the wing position to stack up numbers in the final third.
There have been many talks about his suspicion in the defensive part of the game. Owing down to the fact that Sadio Mane provides much-needed cover for Andy Robertson than Mohamed Salah provides to Trent, the academy graduate gets isolated at times. Albeit these reasons, Trent has been remarkable while opposing Leroy Sane, Neymar, Serge Gnabry, Eden Hazard, etc.
At just 20 years of age, Trent Alexander-Arnold has stamped his authority in the world’s football. What’s beckoning is the hands of the right-back, who desires to captain Liverpool one day.
#3 Roberto Firmino – €144.2 million
The word Sistema translates to System from Portuguese. It is the perfect connotation for Roberto Firmino, the Bobby Dazzler. The former Hoffenheim forward is the main system to Jurgen Klopp’s immaculate Liverpool setup. In the vehicle the German drives, the Brazilian holds the preponderance by making his team tick with a great deal of endurance.
It is no brainer than the likes of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger have spoken high about Roberto Firmino over the past few months. His sacrifices mean that others have the liberties to roam around and make constant runs behind the opposition backline. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who are racking up numbers for fun, are benefitted in that way.
Roberto Firmino was used through the right-wing by Brendan Rodgers. And, Jurgen Klopp’s takeover has changed the landscape in Firmino’s career. He has gone on to become the third-most valued Liverpool player, working his socks off up and down the pitch.
#2 Sadio Mane – €157.8 million
Liverpool fans were sceptical when Sadio Mane was signed by Jurgen Klopp in 2016. Fast forward three years later, the Senegalese International has gone on to become one of the exciting wingers in the league.
He was one of the major reasons for the Reds Champions League finish in the 2016/17 season. In the subsequent season, Liverpool qualified for the Champions League final. But, it did not go as scripted as Mohamed Salah injured his shoulder and all eyes looked at Sadio Mane screaming for help. The forward tried his best by notching up a goal, but blunders from Loris Karius helped Real Madrid reclaim glory yet again.
Even though he lived under the shadow in that particular season, his second part of last campaign was total domination. He scored more than 20 goals since the turn of the New Year and helped the Reds lift the Champions League and Super Cup. At 27, Sadio Mane is still hoping to take his game to the next level.
#1 Mohamed Salah – €219.6 million
AS Roma were forced to sell Mohamed Salah to avoid financial issues in 2017. The Reds were interested for a long time on the Egyptian and eventually steered down the price to 36 million, which was the then Liverpool’s transfer record. The Anfield faithful were shaping for their forward line to take shape, which already consisted of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Philippe Coutinho.
The forward reached unprecedented heights during his first season with the club by scoring 44 goals in all competitions. It was a stellar season for Salah, who thrashed his former side Roma in the Champions League Semifinals with two goals and two assists. He was part of the side which agonisingly missed out on the European glory in 2018.
More than a year later, the Reds have conquered Europe. They are the reigning champions of the Champions League and Super Cup, which decides the best team in Europe. Although Salah was not able to mirror the same goalscoring record last season, he was Liverpool’s top scorer with 28 goals in all competitions.
Only Lionel Messi has more goal contributions than Mohamed Salah over the past two seasons. Owing down to this fact, the Liverpool forward is the second most valuable player in the world currently.
