Liverpool's plan to replace Premier League winners leaving as new era starts
We've known for a long time that change is coming to Liverpool, but that change has certainly gathered pace in the past week.
The announcements that James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were all leaving Liverpool had long been expected, but it was still quite the sight to see those departures confirmed by the club.
The red revolution that has long been been predicted will now gather pace as new arrivals come on board in the summer, but there are certainly specific challenges at play when it comes to replacing the successful quartet.
Here's what Liverpool will have in mind.
James Milner
Milner is surely Liverpool's best ever free transfer signing (Getty Images)He might not be contributing as much on the pitch as he used to, but culturally Milner is likely to be the hardest of the quartet to replace at the club.
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The vice-captain has been so important at setting the standards at Liverpool over the years, so much so that there is a door to a first-team suite named after him at the training ground in Kirkby.
As second in command to Jordan Henderson, Milner has been a crucial addition to Klopp's 'leadership group' which was expanded from four players to six in the summer of 2021 following the exit of Gini Wijnaldum.
Henderson, Milner and Virgil van Dijk stayed in the group as the three lead members, and they were joined by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Alisson.
With Milner gone you'd expect Van Dijk to move up to vice-captain, and there could be a role for Mo Salah - who has long stated his wish to be seen as a leader at the club - in the leadership group.
On the pitch, Milner's minutes aren't going to be too difficult to replace even if his knowhow is.
With Joe Gomez, Calvin Ramsay and maybe a new right-back around then cover for Alexander-Arnold (in his starting position at least) will be plentiful, and we all know that new midfielders will be on the horizon too.
Naby Keita
Keita often suffered frustrating injuries at Liverpool (Bradley Ormesher NMCPool)"When people think about Naby, they probably think a few too many injuries," was Klopp's correct assertion on Friday.
"But, when you look back at important games, you will realise how often he played in super important games for us and how often he performed in these games."
He was right about that too, with 100 of Keita's 129 Liverpool appearances coming in the three seasons when the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup were won.
He may not have had starring roles in all of those triumphs but he did often have important ones, and as a body in the squad he will need replacing over the summer. Preferably with a body less susceptible to injury.
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"Naby, everybody knows we spent a lot of money, there were a lot of expectations there of course," continued Klopp.
"Because of injuries in the wrong moment, he could not fulfil all of them, but a lot of them. Go back and look at the big, big games. The goals he scored, the games he played, and the football he could play in his good moments."
Those good moments were key to Klopp's plan and, as a profile of player at least, it is probably correct to say that Liverpool will bring in the most 'like for like' replacement once the Guinean departs.
Roberto Firmino
Firmino's unique impact on his side won't be forgotten (Getty Images)How do you replace the irreplaceable? Well you can't, but Liverpool have already shown that Cody Gakpo will be a key element of their attack going forward following his arrival in January.
There has been plenty of talk of the Dutchman learning 'the Firmino role' during his short time with the Reds so far, and it would appear that he is the player the coaching staff are looking to to knit together the midfield and attack in that manner Firmino did so expertly throughout his time at the club.
The likes of Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho could also perhaps be moulded into something resembling that sort of player, while Curtis Jones continues to flourish in his position as a left-sided No.8.
Firmino's No.9 shirt is likely to pass to Darwin Nunez, and it promises to be fascinating to see just how he does in his second season at the club as he bids to build on the good things he did in his maiden campaign and shake off the bad ones.
There is only one Firmino though, and for now it appears unlikely Liverpool will look for any sort of similar replacement for the popular Brazilian, because frankly there aren't any you can just pick up off the shelf.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Oxlade-Chamberlain found games hard to come by in his latter Liverpool years (PA)As Oxlade-Chamberlain himself would be the first to tell you, it wasn't solely down to injury why he hasn't often been seen in the last few years. He simply wasn't being selected.
That cruel knee injury at the end of his excellent first season with the Reds was one that he did recover from physically, but you always felt that mentally it continued to take its toll.
"Ox was unlucky in moments," said Klopp on Friday. "Injuries, bad injuries at absolutely the wrong moment. I remember the game against Roma when he got badly injured.
"I had no clue how to sort that situation, he was that good and pretty much irreplaceable in that moment. That was obviously all really hard. Besides that, a fantastic guy and was super important for the team over the whole period."
As with Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain's character has been hailed as exemplary during Liverpool's successful period, and his response to not being selected, as well as keeping standards up in training, would have been important for the balance of the group as a whole.
He was more important in the Premier League winning season than many give him credit for, but in the cold light of day he had become little more than a squad player at Liverpool by the end.
In his role as a wide forward player the likes of Ben Doak and Kaide Gordon could well step up and earn more first-team minutes, and while his status as a midfield player driving forward and into the attack hasn't quite been apparent for some time, it is clear that Liverpool will buy players who can perform those duties.
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