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Liverpool have one of the highest wage bills in the Premier League and as such have several star players on huge wages. In fact, the Reds boast the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League, amounting to almost £140 million.
Apart from one or two signings, the Reds have not spent big in the transfer market and instead have made some shrewd acquisitions. These players have developed into superstars at the club and have therefore managed to earn new contracts with hefty wages.
A few Liverpool players have been unable to justify their wages
While many of Liverpool's signings have proven to be a success, few have failed to leave their mark and hence have been unable to justify their hefty wages.
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Here we take a look at five such players who have so far failed to justify their wages:
#5 Nathaniel Phillips - £65,000
Due to Liverpool's injury crisis in the centre-back position last season, the club had to turn to academy player Nathaniel Phillips to fill the void.
The 24-year-old certainly did not disappoint. He managed to play 19 league games for the Reds, helping them qualify for Champions League football on the last day of the season. He also won Liverpool's Player of the Month accolade in March.
Liverpool rewarded the youngster with a new contract, increasing his wages to £65,000-a-week.
But with Liverpool's first-team centre-back trio of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez returning from injury, it is highly unlikely for him to play regularly. The Reds have also added Ibrahima Konate to their ranks, making it increasingly difficult for Phillips to make an appearance for Liverpool this season.
Paying such wages to a player who is rarely going to be used in the first-team definitely looks like a bad decision by the club's hierarchy.
#4 Takumi Minamino - £75,000
Minamino arrived with a huge reputation from RB Salzburg in January 2020 for a fee of around £8 million. Liverpool fans had already seen him play against them in the Champions League group stages that season and were pretty excited about what he could bring to the team.
But it's fair to say that Minamino was not able to live up to the hype. During the second-half of that season, the Japanese international played 14 games for the club. However, he was neither able to score or provide an assist in any of them.
Minamino made just eight appearances for the Reds the following season before going out on loan to Southampton in January. Two goals in the first three games at the Saints suggested he would flourish with regular first-team football. But the winger did not manage to score any goals or assists after that and returned to Anfield in the summer.
It looked likely that Minamino would seal a permanent departure in the summer. But Klopp decided to keep the winger hoping to use him as a squad player.
Nevertheless, Minamino has so far failed to justify his £75,000-a-week wages. He will, however, be hoping to impress in the few games he plays to stake a claim in the Liverpool squad.
#3 Naby Keita - £120,000
Naby Keita is another Liverpool player who has been unable to justify his wages so far.
When Keita joined Liverpool for a reported fee of £54 million, much was expected from him. Especially since he was given the iconic number eight shirt that club legend Steven Gerrard previously wore.
Keita did deliver some impressive performances in his debut season. But everything went downhill after his injury against FC Barcelona in the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals.
Since then, it’s been injury after injury for the midfielder, recording a total of just 57 league appearances in three seasons at the club. These stats certainly do not do any justification to his £120,000-a-week wages.
Young players such as Curtis Jones, who is on much lesser wages than the Guinean midfielder, have stepped up in his absence. As such it will be interesting to see how long Liverpool deal with Keita's frequent injury problems, before finally offloading the midfielder.
#2 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - £120,000
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool from Arsenal on a free transfer back in 2017.
The midfielder started well and managed to make 35 appearances in his first season at Liverpool. But just like Keita, his time at Anfield has been marred by constant injuries.
Since joining the club, he has managed to make just 33 starts in the Premier League, having been brought on as a substitute 40 times.
The midfielder even missed the start of last season with a knee-injury and did not make an appearance until December.
But even during the second half of the campaign, when most of the Reds' squad was blighted by injuries, the 'Ox' was still unable to command a regular starting place. He managed to make just 13 league appearances, out of which only two of them came as starts, despite being fully fit.
Chamberlain currently earns £120,000-a-week in wages. Those huge wages have certainly not transpired into performances on the pitch. Perhaps it's time for Liverpool to cut down on these wages and look to offload the player.
#1 Thiago - £200,000
After winning the treble with Bayern Munich during the 2019-20 season, Thiago decided to join Liverpool in the summer on a free transfer. It looked like the perfect signing that would further strengthen an already formidable midfield.
The former Bayern Munich man, however, has so far failed to lay down his marker and has been unable to settle in the Premier League.
Thiago has not been able to build a strong partnership with any of Liverpool's midfielders and on many occasions looked out of sorts in the middle of the park.
Last season, the 30-year-old managed to score just one goal in 30 appearances for the Reds, while he could not register a single assist throughout the campaign!
With weekly wages of £200,000-a-week, Thiago is currently the joint-second highest earner at the club. But the Spanish midfielder has so far faired miserably in justifying those wages.
Liverpool fans will be hoping that last season was just a one-off for the midfield maestro and he can prove his worth in the team this season.
