Liverpool's transfer business is usually smooth but after missing out on £115m Moises Caicedo to Chelsea and with Romeo Lavia snubbing them too, the pressure is really on to solve the 'mess' and deliver Jurgen Klopp a midfielder
One of the hallmarks of the John W Henry era at Liverpool has been success in the transfer market.
Having learned from early mistakes like Mario Balotelli, Liverpool have enjoyed more victories than defeats since then.
Astute recruits Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson helped Jurgen Klopp build a team to win every major competition.
But that carefully-established reputation is in danger of imploding after an awful week for Liverpool's transfer chiefs.
If missing out on Moises Caicedo to Chelsea was a major blow, to suffer exactly the same fate with their next target, Romeo Lavia, would be hugely embarrassing.
Klopp is always keen to present a unified voice at Anfield but he'll be aware that signing a top-class holding midfielder could be the difference between mounting a title challenge this season, and not.
Club legend Jamie Carragher, normally sympathetic to Liverpool's point of view, hasn't held back at seeing his club outdone by Chelsea's brash owner Todd Boehly.
'An absolute mess and a joke,' is his description of how the situation has been handled at Anfield.
Having lost midfielders Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner in one swoop, one would have hoped for a smoother succession.
Yes, Alexis Mac Allister has arrived from Brighton alongside Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai but the Argentine World Cup winner was forced into a defensive role in the opening game at Chelsea and wasn't his usual self.
'Liverpool are now in a pretty difficult place. People know they are desperate,' added Carragher.
The timeline of events is odd. Klopp sang Jude Bellingham's praises in January but come the summer, Liverpool decided they couldn't compete financially and the player joined Real Madrid.
Yet
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