Following on from their impressive 2018/19 season which saw the Reds come within touching distance of the Premier League trophy after narrowly missing out to Manchester City by only one point, along with also winning the prestigious Champions League trophy for the sixth time, there was an element of expectation that Liverpool would push on in the summer transfer window.
With the Liverpool and Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry stating that Liverpool would look to invest in their attempts to win the Premier League trophy in the upcoming season, supporters were eagerly awaiting a busy summer. Although such a transfer window has not occurred at Liverpool thus far, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has signed two promising young players in the form of Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg. As a result of those signings, we’re going to take a look at both players and consider what impact they could have on the upcoming season.
Sepp van den Berg
On the 27th of June, Sepp van den Berg became Liverpool’s first signing of the summer transfer window after moving from PEC Zwolle in a move that could cost the European champions up to £4.4 million. The 17-year-old central defender made a total of 22 senior appearances for Zwolle after joining their academy back in 2012. Furthermore, Jurgen Klopp’s new defensive reinforcement has represented Holland on nine occasions at youth level and in that time has scored two goals.
Although the Dutch defender is not the finished article and has been compared to Liverpool teammate Joe Gomez when he moved from Charlton back in 2015, there could be a number of opportunities for the former Zwolle centre-back to impress. Over the course of the upcoming season, the Reds will enter a total of seven tournaments, and the Carabao Cup, which Liverpool are the second favourites to win according to football betting, could be the perfect opportunity for the Dutchman to stake his claim.
Harvey Elliott
After completing the signing of Sepp van den Berg at the end of June, Liverpool fans had to wait over a month until their next signing was announced. Towards the end of July, record-breaking teenager Harvey Elliott became the latest talented youngster to join the European champions after making three senior appearances for Fulham. The 16-year-old Englishman went down in the Premier League history books as the youngest ever debutant in the history of the competition when he featured against Wolves last season.
After coming on in Liverpool’s pre-season friendly match against Napoli, Jurgen Klopp described Elliott as a “fine, fine footballer” following his impressive cameo performance in the Reds’ 3-0 defeat to Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Although a fee for youngster has yet to be determined due to Elliott joining after his contract expired at Fulham, Liverpool could have to pay a record-breaking tribunal fee of more than £10 million with Fulham pushing for a compensation package which includes up-front and future fees.
Their Impact on the Upcoming Season
As stated earlier, with Jurgen Klopp’s side set to enter a multitude of competitions in the upcoming season and with numerous first-team players arriving back late from their holidays as a result of international commitments, there could be plenty of opportunities for both Van den Berg and Elliott to impress.
Throughout his career as a manager, the German has been able to get the very best out of a whole host of players including the likes of Mario Gotze, Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski and others while at Borussia Dortmund, and Andrew Robertson, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and many more during his spell at Liverpool. With a manager at the helm who is more than prepared to give young players an opportunity in the first team, both of Liverpool’s summer signings could be given the platform to have a significant impact on the upcoming season.
Only Time Will Tell
Klopp is widely renowned for unearthing hidden gems of the football world and turning them into future stars, and only time will tell if the summer signings will be the latest individuals to become top players under the management of the two-time Bundesliga and Champions League-winning manager.