The overriding narrative over the course of this summer has surrounded the lack of new signings at Anfield. A Liverpool side which came to within a single point of winning the league title and who won their sixth Champions League found themselves under pressure to continue adding to their squad. Some sections of Liverpool-centric social media are questioning the ownership group, others are questioning the now famous transfer committee, led by Michael Edwards, while still others question Jurgen Klopp. Whilst a degree of frustration given the nature of the transfer window can perhaps be forgiven, these fans are overlooking the difficulty of adding quality to what is already a world-class squad. Any realistic targets will be wary of the challenge posed by displacing any of the first-choice players in their positions and the squad has a positive age profile. The start of competitive (almost) football in the Community Shield gave Liverpool the perfect opportunity to ease the fears of their fans after a difficult pre-season.
Transfer activity at the club on the other side of the Wembley pitch has also been relatively quiet. Spanish international midfielder Rodri arrived for a large fee to provide an alternative to Fernandinho at the base of the midfield. Manchester City also re-signed their former left-back Angeliño following a successful spell in Holland with PSV. Other than that the feeling coming from the blue side of Manchester is one of evolution rather than revolution. Another pre-season under the expert coaching of Pep Guardiola should see City continue their quest to dominate domestically while also taking the next step in European competition.
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