Gareth Taylor makes his last transfer before the season opener (Credits: Imago Images)
Liverpool’s summer transfer window has been record-breaking to say the least. The Reds saw very high-calibre footballers move to Anfield as the club splashed a lot of cash for their services.
On deadline day, Liverpool signed Alexander Isak, breaking the British transfer record with a fee of £125m. Before the Newcastle striker’s transfer, the club had already broken the record once for Florian Wirtz.
The transfer for the German was valued at £116m. Although Arne Slot missed out on Marc Guéhi, it has nevertheless been one of the most successful transfer windows for the Dutch gaffer.
The women’s side of the city was quiet, though, as new manager Gareth Taylor, who joined Liverpool in August, managed to make only two signings this summer.
Interestingly, the English manager made both transfers on deadline day. The first transfer was of Swedish striker Beata Olsson, who joins the Reds from Kristianstads DFF.
Manchester City recently announced Liverpool’s second and last women’s signing of the season as Taylor swooped in Japanese full-back Risa Shimizu from his ex-employers.
Taylor spent five years at Manchester City before agreeing to manage the Reds’ women’s team in Merseyside.
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Risa Shimizu joins Liverpool on loan
The deal is set to be a season-long loan as the Japanese full-back focuses on recovering from an injury hangover. The Kobe native ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the last Olympic Games.
Japan faced Spain in their opening match at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The game ended in a 2-1 loss for Japan as Shimizu went down in the first half.
However, the full-back has recovered and appeared in Manchester City’s last friendly of the pre-season against Durham. Taylor knows her from his time in Manchester and was also the one who bought her from West Ham United.
The injury occurred when Risa was turning to chase the ball, and as she planted her foot awkwardly, her knee twisted, causing the incident.
She returned to Manchester post-injury, and the medics quickly diagnosed it as an ACL rupture. Risa underwent a successful surgery on the 12th of September last year.
She was out for a whopping 401 days, but she seems excited to train again under her ex-boss. The Japanese footballer can play on both flanks, adding versatility to the Reds’ women’s division.
With only two signings through the summer, it will be interesting to see how Gareth Taylor starts the new campaign when Liverpool face Everton on the 7th at Anfield.
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