Liverpool’s mass exodus a sign of ruthlessness and their current situation

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A record amount of players left the club this summer.

It has been quite a transfer window for Liverpool, the first summer window under manager Jurgen Klopp, which has seen many changes both in terms of arrivals and departures.

Liverpool have not exactly spent a little this summer. The signings of Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum ensured there was a healthy outlay with sizeable fees along with more modest purchases of Ragnar Klavan and Loris Karius.

But Joe Allen, Jordon Ibe, Christian Benteke, Brad Smith, Luis Alberto and Martin Skrtel all departing on a permanent basis means the Reds have turned a small overall profit during the window. They were just part of the exodus which the Liverpool Echo reported as a record breaker.

Jerome Sinclair and Jordan Rossiter were among the younger players to leave, Kolo Toure and Mario Balotelli were allowed to depart on a free transfer while Lazar Markovic and Andre Wisdom were among those sent on loan. In total Liverpool let 13 players leave this summer.

There are two possible reasons. One is obvious in the fact that Liverpool did not qualify for any European competition for this season and one or two players may have seen their services retained for this season if the Reds had substantially more games to play.

The other is that Klopp has quickly assessed who he does and does not want at the club. Plenty of the deadwood has gone, those that do not suit his style of play have left regardless of whether they are rated highly or not, and some have gone out on loan to get experience with a view to moving on from the club, or to get the first-team game time they so desperately need.

Some will question why Klopp has not signed a left-back or possibly another midfield player but there is little doubt that the transfer window provided him with the opportunity to get rid of the players that he felt were not able to do what he required in most cases.

He did not want players hanging around the club doing nothing, although he may not have been successful on all fronts in that instance.

It is only the first real step when it comes to change in personnel but it has been a pretty big step. The Liverpool manager has both been ruthless and pragmatic by taking into account the club’s lack of games.