It was about as interesting a summer transfer window as possible for Liverpool FC. They sold the best player in the entire Premier League to Barca, for a huge sum. And it all happened in the wake of an international controversy and extreme disgrace. The Reds then went on a buying spree with all that new cash. And one of their buys is another headcase/problem child in Mario Balotelli.
However, that comparison isn’t all that fair, because Suarez always gets it done on the field. His teammates like him, as he works hard and maintains focus. And then he bites people and hurls racial slurs.
Unlike Balotelli, who hasn’t lived up to his hype and fulfilled his talent. Also Liverpool FC essentially turned Southampton into their farm club or feeder club. And even though the Saints have sold off so much of their team, not just to The Reds, but other clubs as well, the side is still looking pretty good thus far.
He’s here:
Rickie Lambert (Southampton) Undisclosed; Adam Lallana (Southampton) Undisclosed; Emre Can (Bayer Leverkusen) Undisclosed; Lazar Markovic (Benfica) Undisclosed; Dejan Lovren (Southampton) £20 million; Javier Manquillo (Atletico Madrid) Loan; Alberto Moreno (Sevilla) Undisclosed; Mario Balotelli (Milan) £16 million
He’s gone:
Luis Suarez (Barcelona) £75 million; Luis Alberto (Malaga) Loan; Michael Ngoo Released; Stephen Sama Released; Luis Suarez (Barcelona) Undisclosed; Iago Aspas (Sevilla) Loan; Andre Wisdom (West Brom) Loan; Pepe Reina (Bayern Munich) Undisclosed; Brad Smith (Swindon Town) Loan; Connor Coady (Huddersfield Town) Undisclosed; Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace) Undisclosed; Joao Carlos (Brighton) Loan; Thiago Ilori (Bordeaux) Loan; Jordan Ibe (Derby) Loan; Yusuf Erdogan (Kasimpasa) Undisclosed; Sebastian Coates (Sunderland) Loan; Oussama Assaidi (Stoke) Loan; Krisztian Adorjan (Novara) Undisclosed
As you can see, this summer transfer window was all about buying and selling forwards. The storyline was how do you replace the 31 goals of Luis Suarez? Daniel Sturridge had 21. But who’s going to work next to him at Liverpool FC so that Sturridge and the new scorer complement each other?
Paul M. Banks owns and operates The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports, Yahoo! and the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world and been featured in hundreds of media outlets including NFL Network, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN2. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)