How Liverpool smoothly navigated their front three conundrum

Liverpool have simultaneously solidified the core of their attack for many years to come, while ensuring they remain as strong as possible in the immediate term.

Wind back a year or so, and the future of Liverpool’s forward department was very much up in the air. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino were entering the final two years of their respective contracts, with none of them seemingly close to agreeing an extension. At the start of this transfer window, the prospect of all three no longer being at the club by next summer, either due to Liverpool deciding to cash in or allowing them to leave as free agents in 2023, was starting to become an worryingly conceivable scenario. 

Even if they all stayed for one more year, going into the new season with such a huge amount of uncertainty and constant speculation would’ve been a far from ideal distraction. While talks around Salah’s contract situation had gone very quiet, leading many to become resigned to his exit either this summer or next, there were no real signs pointing towards Mane or Firmino penning fresh terms, either. 

Replacing any of them would be a significant challenge, but potentially having to fill the void left by all three leaving in the space of a year felt practically impossible. Not only would it require an enormous financial outlay and a prolonged period of heavy transition on the pitch, it would also significantly alter the dressing room dynamic to lose three players who have been so pivotal to everything Liverpool have achieved over the past few years. 

Following the news this week of Diogo Jota signing a new deal until 2027, however, Liverpool have now more or less completed the evolution of their forward department in a way which ensures their ability to remain capable of challenging for major honours in the immediate future, while also guaranteeing stability and continuity in the long run. 

Jota’s arrival from Wolves in the summer of 2021 signalled the start of that process, followed by the addition of Luis Diaz from Porto in January this year. Given what we now know about Mane informing Jürgen Klopp of his desire to leave last year, it seems likely that Liverpool had already laid a lot of the groundwork behind the scenes for Diaz to become his replacement – so that when Tottenham’s interest became apparent in January, Liverpool were able to step in and swiftly wrap up a deal with a minimum of fuss. 

Over the course of a couple of weeks between the middle of June and the start of July, the signing of Darwin Nunez from Benfica for what could become a club record fee, followed by Mane’s move to Bayern Munich and Salah finally signing a new deal, meant that Liverpool effectively solved their plan of attack for the foreseeable future with barely any disruption whatsoever. Of course, it’ll take some time for Nunez to fully gel with his teammates and for Liverpool to get used to playing with a more conventional centre forward, but the Uruguayan is coming into an extremely settled team. 

While externally, there will continue to be plenty of talk around whether he justifies his hefty price tag, internally, there’s no great pressure on him to deliver straight away (although the early indications are that he might just hit the ground running). Even if Nunez does take a few weeks or months to get up to speed, the presence of Salah, Firmino, Diaz and Jota (once he returns from injury) means Liverpool have plenty of forwards who already know the ropes, allowing Klopp to integrate Nunez as quickly or as gradually as he likes. 

With Nunez under contract until 2028, Jota and Diaz until 2027 and Salah until 2025, the core of Liverpool’s attack looks all set for the next few years, without any urgent need to spend huge amounts on further additions. Things can change, of course, and there are no guarantees in football, but Liverpool have lifted a big, dark cloud of uncertainty in a highly efficient manner. 

The one elephant in the room is Firmino, who has recently underlined his love for Liverpool amid recent speculation about possible interest from Juventus. At this point, there’s no hint of any imminent contract extension, and it therefore remains a distinct possibility that he moves on as a free agent next summer – but the truth is, when everyone is fully fit and firing, Firmino is probably only fifth in the pecking order of Liverpool’s forwards. He’s a phenomenal squad player to have around, and Klopp would surely love him to stay on for several more years, so you suspect any decision around his future will come down to what Firmino wants. 

It may be that he’s quite happy to hang about because he feels so embedded within the squad and is so settled with his family in the area, and even if he doesn’t start as many games as he might ideally like, the appeal of winning more trophies with Liverpool is far stronger than any alternative. Or, he might come to the conclusion that he has already achieved all his ambitions at the club, and that he fancies a fresh challenge elsewhere, just like Mane did – whether it be in Europe, or possibly even returning to Brazil. Either way, Liverpool are in a position of strength with Firmino, whereby keeping him would be great, but losing him would be no disaster. 

When you look at how the squad is shaping up as a whole, there’s actually very little work Liverpool have to do in defence as well as in attack. At the back, they’ve got two of the best full-backs in the world, both with specialist cover, and arguably the best set of centre-backs of any club in Europe. It’s a fantastic position to be in, and a culmination of a meticulously executed strategy of ongoing succession planning without compromising the team’s chances of success in the present.

The next major task will be to repeat that process with the midfield – a process that ideally would have started taking shape this summer, but one which Klopp appears to be prepared to wait until 2023 for.