The RUTHLESS transfer decision FSG can't ignore any longer

Liverpool are being extraordinarily quiet in the transfer market.

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Across both the summer and winter windows, Arne Slot has only seen Federico Chiesa come through the door for a mere £12.5m.

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So far this season, the team has not visibly suffered from the lack of investment. The club is excelling in each competition they're playing in.

In the Champions League, they topped the 'league phase' to secure automatic qualification to the last 16, in the Premier League, they are nine points clear and they remain in both domestic cups.

But the games are only set to get harder as the pressure mounts on the team to win silverware given the position they find themselves in, and the players have to keep their composure and deliver for the club.

Liverpool are playing a dangerous game

When the Reds started the season, the objectives off the pitch were clear. They were happy with the squad that they had already compiled - much to the fans' dismay - and the contract situations of Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold needed to be resolved.

Now six months further down the line, it seems as though the club are continuing the same mindset when the situation is much worse than we first envisioned.

Halfway through the season, it is clear that Liverpool need a left-back as Andy Robertson has struggled much more than anyone had predicted. Likewise, the club's options at striker are failing to deliver, with Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota only managing 13 goals and five assists combined this season.

In addition, the contract negotiations with Van Dijk, Salah and Trent have still not come to an end and we are none the wiser as to whether they will be playing for us in the 2025/26 campaign.

Luis Diaz is reportedly unhappy with his contract negotiations, still playing on the same wages that he agreed nearly three years ago and Ibrahima Konate is unwilling to commit his long-term future to playing on Merseyside until he knows where the big three will be playing next season.

So while the team is excelling on the pitch, getting results and delivering comprehensive performances, a lot is going on behind the scenes and eventually, it will catch up to the Reds.

The defensive disaster waiting in the wings

Not only is Van Dijk the captain of the team, but he is also the club's best defender, playing almost every game while managing his fitness.

For Arne Slot, the obvious partner for the Dutchman has been Konate, who has been a standout member of the team this year.

When the pair play, the team looks defensively sound and relatively few chances are awarded to the opposition. They are one of the main reasons why Liverpool have excelled so far this season while Alisson has battled with injury, although Caoimhin Kelleher has been excellent when relied upon in the net.

But when Liverpool could no longer use Konate in defence during December because of his injury, the team had a wobble.

Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah came in and the level of stability dropped. The team drew to Newcastle and Fulham in back-to-back Premier League matches and even when Konate returned, the Reds failed to get past Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.

To put it bluntly, the fitness of Konate is essential to Liverpool securing the Premier League title this season and for his long-term future to not be secured quite yet is a concern. Paris Saint Germain have already declared their interest in signing him this summer.

But Liverpool should have been better prepared defensively anyway. Joel Matip left in May on a free transfer and he wasn't replaced, meanwhile, Gomez was subject to transfer interest and the club decided against freshening up the squad.

Quansah had an impressive debut campaign, but it is clear that he still has loads of development to do and Arne Slot is not in favour of giving him the minutes that he requires to do so. For much of this season, he has struggled to impress in cameo appearances.

And then we get to the route of the problem, Van Dijk's long-term successor. Whether he extends his contract or not, the club captain is not getting any younger and a world where he is no longer a Liverpool player looks incredibly daunting.

Yet despite this situation, the club has not bought a centre-back for seven transfer windows, with the last recruit being Konate, even though we can reasonably suggest that the team needs two new players - one to replace Matip and another to supplement the drop in quality when Gomez and Quansah are needed to be relied upon.

The short-term plan

Arne Slot will be desperate for Konate to be fit for the remainder of the season. If he is, then Liverpool have a great chance to achieve something remarkable come May.

And if Quansah and Gomez are required, then we will need to hope they can deliver the performance levels they are capable of in order to keep the team's momentum going.

But when the season reaches its end, some serious conversations need to be had about the make-up of Liverpool's squad moving forward. Fans have been calling out for action for some time now and owners FSG have been largely silent.

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If the team wins the title this year, then the claim will be that the inactivity in the transfer market has been vindicated. But if we come up short, then fans will riot. And even if the team is successful, another quiet summer can be seen as nothing other than negligence.

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