#LFC SUMMER TRANSFERS THREAD

Given that it looks like Liverpool aren’t going to spend big this summer, who could they target in order to bolster their title-winning squad? Today we’re going to take a look at some cheaper U23 signings that the club could make.

Our first suggestion is Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. The 18-year-old’s versatility would be a huge boost to Liverpool’s squad, adding some much-needed cover at LB as well as adding an option to the frontline. Saka would be a big upgrade on Liverpool’s current LB cover (James Milner)

Saka has been a revelation in North London this season, having a direct hand in 14 goals in all competitions. His xA p90 in the Premier League is 0.26 - putting him in the 89th percentile among wingers across Europe’s top five leagues and the 99th percentile among full-backs.

Given his contract situation, LFC may be able to land him cheaply. Whilst they can’t offer him a guaranteed spot in their starting XI, he’d pick up plenty of minutes given his versatility and would be well-placed to succeed either Mane or Robertson as he enters his peak.

Next we have another current Premier League player, Ben Godrey. Norwich will almost certainly be relegated at the end of the season - making Godfrey a really enticing option for clubs looking for a low-budget CB.

Dejan Lovren turns 31 this summer and Liverpool should probably look to upgrade their back-up CBs regardless. Godfrey - a Premier League captain at 22 - would be an excellent addition to the squad if Liverpool could convince him to take a reduced-importance role.

However, Godfrey’s reputation seems to have survived Norwich’s awful season and rumours are that the Norfolk club could still demand a sizeable fee for him.

Axel Disasi - a key figure in Ligue 1’s best defence by goals conceded (21) and 3rd best by xGA (26.46) - is reportedly available for around £12m. A monstrous presence in duels and a very capable progressive passer, Disasi would be an excellent stand-in for Klopp’s side.

Whilst adjusting to Liverpool’s high-line from Marseille’s low-block system may take time, Disasi has that at just 22 and his profile as a natural penalty area defender would add something new to the makeup of Liverpool’s CB options.

Given Liverpool’s ability to generate decent fees for unwanted players, they may even be able to fully fund a move for Axel Disasi by selling Dejan Lovren.

Moving further forward, Gent’s Jonathan David is definitely somebody that Liverpool should consider. The 20-year-old Canadian scored 15 non-penalty goals and assisted a further 7 in the league last season.

David is probably best understood as a second striker, he is not massively dissimilar to Kai Havertz. His identification and exploitation of space in the penalty area is excellent, as evidenced by his volume of penalty area touches and xG value of his shots.

Capable of playing across the frontline but at his most dangerous as an attacking midfielder, David would be an ideal signing for Liverpool. Like Bukayo Saka, he would be signed to play a rotation role initially but could be moulded to replace a key player in the long-term.

In the short-term, David would make it considerably easier for Klopp to rest any of his front three and would also be a good option to bring into midfield and provide an extra goal threat if Liverpool were chasing a game.

In the long-term, he has all the qualities to be developed into the ideal successor to Roberto Firmino: he’s highly-intelligent, a very capable ball-carrier and somebody who is able to drift around the final third and create space for those wide-forwards to penetrate.

Our final suggestion is Raphina - the Brazilian forward currently playing for Rennes in Ligue 1. Like many of Liverpool’s more recent signings, the underlying numbers here suggest that Raphina’s true productivity is done a disservice by his goal and assist tallies.

Excluding pens, Raphina's xG+xA p90 in Ligue 1 last season was 0.57. To put that into context, here are some players that - based on that metric in 19/20 - we’d expect Raphina to be more productive in terms of creating and scoring goals than in the future:

Son Heung-min (0.56)
Marcus Rashford (0.56)
Kai Havertz (0.54)
Raúl Jiménez (0.55)
Jamie Vardy (0.54)

Clearly, that’s not to say that Raphina is a superior player to those but it does give an idea of why he’d be such a good value signing. He’d be an excellent rotation option and, stylistically, a great back-up to Mohamed Salah.

Those are our suggestions. Some other names that we considered were:

Jamal Lewis
Pervis Estupiñán
Duje Ćaleta-Car
Jérôme Onguéné
Mohammed Salisu
Enock Mwepu
Eberechi Eze
Mounir Chouiar

End of thread.