Brendan Rodgers has jumped to the defence of his transfer record while in charge at Liverpool, insisting the club "has done everything" to attract elite players.
Despite leading against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday, Rodgers' side eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them 11th in the table with 14 points from their opening 11 games.
As a result, pressure continues to mount on the Northern Irishman, with his success rate in the transfer window coming under particular scrutiny.
Since the 41-year-old joined the club in the summer of 2012, Liverpool have signed 25 players at a total cost of over £200million, with big-money signings such as Dejan Lovren (£20m), Mario Balotelli (£16m) and Mamadou Sakho (£15m) struggling to make an impact.
It was one of Rodgers' known previous targets - Diego Costa - who scored the winner at Anfield on Saturday, and the Brazilian-born Spain striker is one of the 'marquee' signings that Liverpool have missed out on in recent transfer windows.
Costa's current team-mates Willian and Mohamed Salah, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, earlier this summer, Chilean star Alexis Sanchez have all been pursued by Rodgers in that time, with the Merseysiders losing out each time.
Despite the knockbacks, Rodgers believes the club have done enough to try and attract the elite stars, but players are now making their future decisions based on "more than just football terms".
"We know what targets we wanted and what was out there," Rodgers said.
"For one reason or another they are not here and gone elsewhere.
"We work with what we've got and look to improve what we've got and get back to somewhere near the level we've shown over the last 18 months."
Only Manchester United outspent Liverpool in this summer's transfer window, with Adam Lallana headlining £116.8m worth of talent.
However, the Reds have struggled to rekindle their sparkling title-challenging form of last season, and already sit 15 points behind early pace-setters Chelsea.
Rodgers admits that last season's runners-up finish gave the club more of a fighting chance in a competitive market, and has praised the club's transfer approach despite missing out on initial targets.
"We were in a great position at the end of last season, with Champions League football and a way of working, but we just have to work harder and smarter to convince these players to come," he said.
"As I said the club has done everything it could over the course of the summer to get the players who are going to improve us.
"But players look for more than just football terms. They look at where they want to live, they look at all these social factors and that's something we can’t control.
"If someone gets offered say more money to come here but they want to go elsewhere, they want to go to London, there's not much you can do.
"I think the club have shown their hand in terms of they will be prepared to pay the wages of top players, but whether they want to come here is a different matter.
"I think it's where we're at.
"We need to work harder and smarter again.
"We have brought in a raft of players who can hopefully develop and mould into a way of working and be better in the future."
petikan dari LiverpoolTeamTalk
About the Author
0 comments: