In order to assist FSG make a bid for Jude Bellingham this summer and still improve Jurgen Klopp’s team, Liverpool has received a double transfer bonus.
With Jude Bellingham in their sights this summer, Liverpool must respond to a crucial query. Can Bellingham handle all of Liverpool’s issues by herself? Given their size, the answer to that question is almost certainly no. This leaves FSG with the difficult task of attempting to overcome Bellingham’s ᴇxᴏʀʙɪᴛᴀɴᴛ transfer fee in order to also add players to Jürgen Klopp’s team.
Of course, it’s simpler said than done. Liverpool’s finances in recent years have prevented the club from ever making major investments. The kind of hefty sum needed to lure Bellingham away from Dortmund will already deplete the team’s financial resources.
Liverpool must also address a number of other positions, though. Their center-back position appears to be weak. In order to give Klopp more choices up top, Roberto Firmino is moving on to greener pastures, therefore the club likely needs one or two additional midfielders in addition to Bellingham.
If FSG cannot find a solution, this would demand unprecedented levels of spending. And there might only be one way, through the open market for free agents, for Liverpool to affordably improve the team within FSG’s finances.
This summer, there are a number of free agents who might offer value to Liverpool, and two of them currently appear destined to depart their current team.
Daichi Kamada and Evan Ndicka, who are both reportedly on Liverpool’s radar, have reportedly had their contract offers from Eintracht Frankfurt removed by the club, according to Bild and Sport 1. This gives Liverpool a significant advantage in their pursuit of the two players, though it must be added that it is unclear how likely a move is at this point given that Ndicka has admirers but no concrete interest.
However, signing the pair for nothing may be a big deal for Liverpool and would undoubtedly be a way to avoid having to choose between spending money on the team and bringing Bellingham to Anfield this summer.
The Bundesliga’s Ndicka is a skilled defender, and his style of play fits Liverpool’s strong back line. The potential of this left-sided center-back to fill in for Virgil van Dijk would be a huge plus. He is still quite young at 23, so he has a lot of time left to be at the peak of his game.
On the other side, Kamada is a very valuable player. Since moving to Frankfurt, he has been incredibly reliable, consistently providing goals and assists. There is a Roberto Firmino-like quality to him, and he can play a variety of roles in ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ and midfield in addition to having a dynamic presence in the middle of the field.
Kamada, who was born in 1996, is almost at the peak of his career. At 26 years old, Liverpool would be committing to him for at least the next three or four years. Signing him on a free transfer for a player who has made 68 goal contributions in the last four years at Frankfurt and has contributed to 18 goals in 37 games this season would be a significant coup.
There isn’t much precedent for a club signing two players on free contracts from the same club during the same transfer window, so it can feel a little bit like a cheat code. However, Liverpool had previously purchased players from the same team. Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, and Dejan Lovren were all acquired by the team from Southampton during the same transfer window in the summer of 2014 under Brendan Rodgers. Maybe Kamada and Ndicka can accomplish something similar this summer.
It would undoubtedly be the wisest strategy to use throughout the transfer window. Both Ndicka and Kamada won’t want excessive salaries, and Liverpool is aware that other players of comparable caliber would probably cost them significantly more in transfer fees alone, making a potential double deal a tremendous value.
