New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp rolled into Anfield last October on a wave of optimism and because of the work he’s previously done with Mainz & Dortmund that air of optimism still exists around Anfield. He brought Liverpool to two finals last season but lost both and has a win % of slightly over 44%. After finishing 8th last season lesser managers might already be under pressure but not our Jurgen. When Liverpool performed poorly last season it was often said that it wasn’t Klopp’s team but that excuse will not cut the mustard this season as he has already been backed in the transfer market and will be backed further. One thing is already clear and that is that if Liverpool are to succeed this season a lot of it will be down to Klopp as Liverpool’s signings do not currently appear to be of the calibre of their rivals although this is to be expected. But that’s enough about Klopp, let’s take a look at three of his four signings to date.
For Liverpool’s pre-season games, line-ups and general musings here is their link on the Pre-season hub we have created Liverpool Pre-season info
Loris Karius (£5.0m)
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[/three_fourth]Any team which harbours top 4 ambitions cannot expect to finish there having kept just 11 clean sheets and conceding a total of 50 goals over the course of the past season. Little wonder then with stats like those that Liverpool finished 8th! So it came as no surprise when Jurgen Klopp returned to his homeland to bring in 23 year old Loris Karius from Mainz. With Simon Mignolet having penned a new 5 year deal only back in January it is not a guarantee that Karius will go straight into the starting XI but anyone who witnessed Mignolet’s performances last season will not be surprised should Karius start against Arsenal in GW1. Indeed he has even revealed that Klopp has persuaded him to miss the Olympics so that he is available for Liverpool’s opening games.
So what do we know about the German? At 16 he joined Manchester City and at 18 moved on loan to Mainz before making that a permanent move in January 2012. Last season he kept nine clean sheets which might not sound like a lot but only the top 3 clubs had a better defensive record, Mainz finished 6th. He’s said to possess good composure with the ball at his feet, is adept at dealing with crosses and shows a good command of his area. Three things which Mignolet struggled with last season! With it being unclear as to whether the German will start the season there is every chance that he will be priced reasonably and could yet end up being the cheapest route into the Liverpool defence. He’s certainly one to keep an eye on over the course of pre-season.
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Joel Matip (£5.5)
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[/three_fourth]Liverpool’s defensive stats from last season make for such depressing reading that Jurgen Klopp was always going to bring in reinforcements. In fact he started his rebuilding work back in February when Cameroonian international Joel Matip signed on a pre-contract from Schalke. While there were plenty of individual errors made by the Liverpool defence last season a bigger worry was the fact that there was no obvious centre back partnership with Dejan Lovren making 24 league appearances, Mamadou Sakho making 21 and Martin Skrtel also making 21. With Skrtel set to depart for pastures new, Matip will compete with Lovren, Sakho and youngster Joe Gomez for a starting spot. Liverpool have been linked with a number of other centre backs since the season ended and with the news that both Sakho & Gomez are set to miss the start of the season I suspect we will see another centre back arrive at Anfield, the quality & experience of this individual may be determined by how long Sakho & Gomez will be out for. So what do we know about Matip? He made his first team debut for Schalke back in November ’09, scoring an equaliser against a Bayern Munich team managed by Old Trafford favourite LVG. He made a total of 20 appearances in the 2009/10 season the majority of which came as a midfield anchor. His versatility saw him play a variety of roles the following season. However don’t let this versatility fool you as he has unquestionably been bought as a centre back. At just under 6’ 4” he should have no issues adapting to life in the Premier League, while he’s also quite pacey which means he should work quite well in a high line. From a fantasy perspective he’s clearly got an eye for goal scoring 17 times in 194 league appearances. Will he start against Arsenal? Obviously we’ll learn more about him over the course of pre-season but I suspect he’ll start particularly as Sakho will miss the start of the season.
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Sadio Mane (£9.0m)
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[/three_fourth]Had someone asked you at the end of last season to name the one position which Liverpool did not need to strengthen I suspect there’s an excellent chance you would have said attacking midfield. So what do Liverpool do? They go out and spend a reported £34m on Sadio Mane, an attacking midfielder. I’m not one to question Jurgen Klopp but was Mane really needed? Only time will tell but I suppose they had to buy at least one Southampton player! Mane made his professional debut with Metz back in 2012 before moving to Red Bull Salzburg in August of the same year and it was during his two years in Austria that people began to take notice of his performances. He scored 45 goals from 87 appearances in all competitions. This saw him move to Southampton and while his stats in England were never going to match his Austrian stats they have still been quite impressive. In his first season in the Premier League he finished up with 13 goals and nine assists in all completions and improved on that last season with 15 and nine assists. While there is clearly an argument that Mane wasn’t needed at Anfield that’s not to say that he won’t make them a more dangerous attacking force next season. His pace and directness will add something to the team that was clearly missing last season. Klopp is likely to adopt either 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 depending on the opposition and Mane should fit comfortably into both systems. If I were a betting man my money would be on Firmino, Coutinho & Mane operating behind a lone striker. Which of the 3 proves most popular in FPL is likely to be dictated by price, at least in the beginning. As we saw at the back end of last season Klopp is not averse to rotation but with no European football to contend with this season I don’t see rotation being a major issue this coming season.
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Fixture Tracker – the first 6 games
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Here we go Here we go , lets get on it :dance: :dance: :dance: