5 things Liverpool got wrong in 2017

#3 Spending so much money on Oxlade-Chamberlain

Did Liverpool waste money on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain?

Of the £80m Liverpool spent in the summer of 2017, more than half went on the purchase of forward Mohamed Salah, and only an insane man would claim he’s been anything less than a huge hit – he’s scored a crazy 19 goals already in all competitions and is a potential frontrunner for Player of the Season thus far. But £35m of that £80m went on bringing in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and while his form has gotten better as of late, it’s hard to justify such a huge transfer fee.

Firstly, did Liverpool actually need him? Their roster of wide forwards – the position Chamberlain started his career with Arsenal - is already probably the best in the Premier League – Salah, plus Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane. Chamberlain wants to be seen as a central midfielder, but Liverpool didn’t really need him there either when you consider they have Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson, and his attempts at becoming a central midfielder have looked disastrous when he’s played there for England.

Thus far, Chamberlain has started just 4 Premier League games – and for a player who cost such a huge amount of money that simply isn’t good enough. Basically, it’s tricky to understand Klopp’s mindset when it comes to signing the England international. Liverpool fans would have to question why he spent the money on Chamberlain and didn’t hold onto it and simply bid more for van Dijk, a player his team actually needed.