200908 The starting eleven of Portugal pose for a portrait ahead of the Nations League football match between Sweden and Portugal on September 8, 2020 in Stockholm. Top left: Joao Felix, Pepe, goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, Ruben Dias , Danilo Ferreira and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bottom left: Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, Raphael Guerreiro, Joao Cancelo and Bruno Fernandes Photo: Johanna Lundberg / BILDBYRAN / kod JL / JM0020 bbeng fotboll football soccer fotball nations league landskamp sverige sweden sverige a portugal *** 200908 The starting eleven of Portugal pose for a portrait ahead of the Nations League football match between Sweden and Portugal on September 8, 2020 in Stockholm Top left Joao Felix, Pepe, goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, Ruben Dias , Danilo Ferreira and Cristiano Ronaldo Bottom left Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, Raphael Guerreiro, Joao Cancelo and Bruno Fernandes Photo Johanna Lundberg BILDBYRAN kod JL JM0020 bbeng fotboll football soccer fotball nations league landskamp sverige sweden sverige a portugal, PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxAUT Copyright: JOHANNAxLUNDBERG BB200908JL119
Liverpool had a quiet summer transfer window but details are now coming out.
Arne Slot took over the reds in the summer. The Dutch coach replaced Jurgen Klopp who had been at Anfield for close to a decade. Klopp led the team to the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup among other trophies. The fans at Anfield were sad to see him go, with a new era set to begin after him.
Slot joined the club in the summer from Feyenoord, where he had won the Eredivisie. Before the season began, no one really gave Liverpool a chance to succeed. But the reds could end up winning the treble in Slot’s first season in charge.
Liverpool will face Newcastle in the League Cup final in the next few weeks, the club could also win the Premier League and Champions League.
Quiz: Can you name these 10 former Premier League players?
Failed move could make a profit for Liverpool
The reds were not very active in the transfer market during the summer. Federico Chiesa and Giorgi Mamardashvili were the only first team additions during the window. Chiesa joined from Juventus, and Mamardashvili signed from Valencia. The Georgian keeper was sent back on loan to the Spanish club.
Heading into last summer, Liverpool were expecting Caomhin Kelleher to leave the club. The reds then put plans in place to sign a back up goalkeeper heading into this season. Former Lyon goalkeeper and EURO 2016 winner Anthony Lopes was the main target.
However, Kelleher remained at Anfield, forcing the club to send Mamardashvili out on loan. Which meant any deal for Lopes had been scrapped. The 34-year old revealed what happened during the summer in an interview, via Foot Mercato:
“Did I say no to becoming Liverpool’s number 2? Yes, in June, I said no,”
“I’ll be very clear: I didn’t have that option in mind at all. I told myself that I had to keep playing, that I had fire in my legs, and that I couldn’t put my key on the bench, even if it was at Liverpool, Bayern, or elsewhere.”
Lopes then added that he regrets opting out of a move to England.
“I’ll be very clear: if this offer had come at the end of August, just before the end of the transfer window, I would have accepted it, I would have left,” he says. “I would have put my key on the bench, and I would have shut my mouth.”
Anthony Lopes’ failed move could be a blessing in disguise
Lopes not joining Liverpool in the summer could end up giving the reds a £40million profit. Kelleher’s performances this season have not gone unnoticed. He has attracted Newcastle and Chelsea, who could move for him in the summer. The Ireland international has less than two years left on his deal, and is expected to leave. Liverpool value Kelleher around £30million to £40million.
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