Grading Liverpool on Their 2016 Summer Transfer Window Business

"We have to change a lot of things to be successful," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters at the beginning of March, but while the German was widely believed to be plotting a slow build for his first summer transfer window in England, a lot has changed for Liverpool since the end of the 2015/16 season.

Klopp has overseen the departures of 13 first-team players and the signing of a further seven in what can be deemed a major overhaul, while the Reds' academy has been the subject of a reshuffle, with 16 names leaving the club either temporarily or permanently and various players promoted.

After a quiet January that saw him make just one immediate addition to his squad with the loan signing of Steven Caulker from Queens Park Rangers, Klopp has utilised the summer to implement a sea change.

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The former Borussia Dortmund boss has showcased his ruthless streak, mirroring his first summer at the Westfalenstadion in 2008—a period that saw 13 senior players leave for new challenges and nine brought in to replace them.

Liverpool have started the season slowly, with a 4-3 win at Arsenal in the Premier League followed by a disappointing 2-0 loss away to Burnley, while a 5-0 triumph away to Burton Albion in the EFL Cup came before a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane.

It remains early days on the pitch, but with the transfer window closing at the close of play on Wednesday night, how have Klopp and his backroom staff fared in the summer market?

Here, we grade Liverpool on their 2016 summer transfer business, largely considering incomings and outgoings on a subjective basis in terms of their value to the squad and the value found in the market—kicking off with the seven-strong contingent brought into Anfield for a combined total of £69 million.

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Incomings

• Sadio Mane, from Southampton: £30 million
• Georginio Wijnaldum, from Newcastle United: £25 million
• Marko Grujic, from Red Star Belgrade: £5.1 million (agreed in January)
• Loris Karius, from Mainz 05: £4.7 million
• Ragnar Klavan, from Augsburg: £4.2 million
• Joel Matip, from Schalke 04: free
• Alex Manninger, from Augsburg: free

Total: £69 million

(Full transfer fees subject to various add-on clauses.)

"One thing I do know is that Klopp is very keen to have his new-look squad ready for pre-season, ready for July 1," football journalist Ben Smith told an Anfield HQ podcast (h/t Empire of the Kop's Jordan Chamberlain) ahead of the summer window.

While this proved to be difficult in terms of outgoings, Klopp came close to doing so with the seven additions made to his squad, with the German's final two signings coming on July 22.

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Designed to allow him as much time as possible with his 2016/17 squad on the pre-season training field, a summer of positive acquisitions saw Klopp strengthen a number of key areas—perhaps most notably between the sticks.

Bringing 23-year-old German goalkeeper Loris Karius to Merseyside, with the former Mainz 05 star taking the No. 1 shirt, has seen Klopp address concerns over his first-choice stopper, while the arrival of veteran custodian Alex Manninger provides experienced back-up and a welcome mentor for Karius.

Compared to 2015/16's options of Simon Mignolet and Adam Bogdan, a pecking order of Karius, Mignolet and Manninger looks to be significantly stronger.

Furthermore, the signing of centre-back pair Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan represents an upgrade on outgoing duo Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure, with Matip in particular possessing the quality to boost Liverpool's defensive line for the foreseeable future.

Marko Grujic, a 20-year-old Serbian midfielder signed in January but joining Klopp's squad this summer following a loan spell with Red Star Belgrade, provides strength, power and dynamism, while Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined from Newcastle United for £25 million, lends the German tactical flexibility.

Perhaps most encouraging, however, has been a bright start to the season from the summer's most high-profile signing, Sadio Mane, with the Senegalese winger turning in three excellent displays so far—Spurs left-back Danny Rose described his pace as "frightening" in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw on August 27, per the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones

Klopp has shored up his back line, added a high-potential talent to his midfield and, in Wijnaldum and Mane, given himself further options in moving forward into attack—however, he cannot be wholly satisfied.

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Liverpool's move for Mane seemingly came after a deal to sign Klopp's former protege Mario Gotze broke down, as reported by the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce, while the pursuit of midfielders Mahmoud Dahoud and Piotr Zielinski, as well as Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell, detailed by Goal's Melissa Reddy, ultimately failed.

Finally, a late £11 million bid for Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic was rejected, according to German outlet Kicker (h/t the Express' Bruce Archer), suggesting Klopp was not wholly content with his options on August 31.

Furthermore, it can be argued that the 49-year-old made two major oversights in failing to acquire a new first-choice left-back or another defensive midfielder, but only time will tell whether this will prove costly.

Grade: B-

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Outgoings

• Christian Benteke, to Crystal Palace: £32 million
• Jordon Ibe, to Bournemouth: £15 million
• Joe Allen, to Stoke City: £13 million
• Brad Smith, to Bournemouth: £6 million
• Luis Alberto, to Lazio: £6 million
• Martin Skrtel, to Fenerbahce: £5.5 million
• Sergi Canos, to Norwich City: £4.5 million
• Jerome Sinclair, to Watford: £4 million, compensation fee
• Jordan Rossiter, to Rangers: £250,000, compensation fee
• Joao Carlos Teixeira, to FC Porto: £250,000, compensation fee
• Mario Balotelli, to OGC Nice: free
• Kolo Toure, to Celtic: free

Total: £86.5 million

Loans: Danny Ward (Huddersfield Town), Ryan Fulton (Chesterfield), Adam Bogdan (Wigan Athletic), Jon Flanagan (Burnley), Andre Wisdom (Red Bull Salzburg), Lloyd Jones (Swindon Town), Sam Hart (Port Vale), Allan Rodrigues (Hertha Berlin), Lazar Markovic (Sporting Lisbon), Ryan Kent (Barnsley), Jack Dunn (Morecambe), Taiwo Awoniyi (NEC Nijmegen)

(Full transfer fees subject to various add-on clauses.)

"We will see what happens before August 31, but after all the transfers, this time it is my team. There are no players probably who are here any more who I don’t want," Klopp told reporters at the end of July. "There are no transfers I didn’t want, we have not sold anyone I didn’t want us to sell."

Inheriting a squad from Brendan Rodgers in October, Klopp was left to make do with the players at his disposal for 2015/16, but the summer window has provided him with the opportunity for overhaul.

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Along with spending £69 million on new signings, Klopp has overseen a significant list of departures, ensuring Liverpool made a profit in the market, with a host of big-money sales fuelling his acquisitions.

Primarily, this came with the long-awaited sale of Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who joined Crystal Palace in a deal worth up to £32 million in the third week of August after falling out of favour under Klopp—he made his last start for the Reds against West Ham United in the FA Cup fourth round in February.

If Palace are required to pay all of the add-on fees negotiated in the deal to sign Benteke, Liverpool will have made a minuscule £500,000 loss on the outlay sanctioned to bring him to Merseyside from Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Joe Allen and Jordon Ibe were both sold at high value, with the Reds receiving a further £28 million for two players who played a combined 3,353 minutes under Klopp in 2015/16, per Transfermarkt.

The decision to part ways with both Toure and Skrtel can also be seen as a positive one, given the creeping age of the former and the undeniable depreciation of quality from the latter, who still earned Liverpool a princely £5.5 million on moving to Fenerbahce.

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Playing hardball over the value of their talented academy players also saw Liverpool impress in the market, with Brad Smith (£6 million), Jerome Sinclair (£4 million) and Sergi Canos (£4.5 million) leaving for relatively high fees despite their lack of experience and lowly position within Klopp's squad.

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Selling Luis Alberto to Serie A outfit Lazio for a fee rising to £6 million represents solid business given the Spaniard had just two years left on his contract with the Reds, ensuring a loss of just £800,000, while agreeing a mutual termination of Mario Balotelli's contract is a reasonable outcome to the striker's plight.

Sending the likes of Danny Ward, Ryan Fulton, Ryan Kent and Allan Rodrigues out on loan should see Liverpool's best youngsters receive vital experience ahead of a potential first-team role in the future, while Klopp also cut Adam Bogdan, Jon Flanagan and Lloyd Jones among others from the wage bill; the manager, however, may be disappointed not to see the back of Mamadou Sakho, who chose to stay on Merseyside.

There were some disappointments in the market, of course, namely the decision to allow high-potential attacker Lazar Markovic leave to join Sporting Lisbon on loan, but on the whole, Klopp and Liverpool's transfer committee performed well in ridding the Reds of their deadwood.

Grade: A-

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Squad Shape, 2016/17

Seven signings, 13 major departures and £17.5 million in profit later, and Klopp has assembled his definitive squad for the 2016/17 campaign:

• Goalkeepers: Loris Karius, Simon Mignolet, Alex Manninger
• Centre-Backs: Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan, Mamadou Sakho, Joe Gomez, Lucas Leiva
• Full-Backs: Nathaniel Clyne, Connor Randall, James Milner, Alberto Moreno, Trent Alexander-Arnold
• Central Midfielders: Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum, Marko Grujic, Kevin Stewart, Cameron Brannagan
• Attacking Midfielders: Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Sheyi Ojo
• Strikers: Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, Danny Ings

This, though supplemented by Liverpool's vast youth banks, projects mixed fortunes for the Reds over the course of the season, with some areas significantly stronger than others.

Between the sticks, Karius serving as No. 1, backed up by the able Mignolet and the experienced Manninger, should be considered an improvement on 2015/16's ranks but likely marooning Sakho—as the Mirror's David Anderson has suggested—to leave Matip and Dejan Lovren as his first-choice centre-back pairing is questionable.

Klopp's failure to sign a new left-back, instead opting for James Milner as likely first choice opposite right-back Nathaniel Clyne, is a pitfall in his summer planning, but despite a potential lacking in terms of holding midfielders, the German's options in the middle of the park have been strengthened considerably.

However, the addition of Mane to Klopp's wide ranks along with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and the emerging Sheyi Ojo, as well as the streamlining of his centre-forward options in Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Danny Ings, should promise goals in 2016/17.

Largely, Liverpool conducted positive business in the summer transfer window, particularly in receiving large fees for unwanted talent, but there remains a niggling feeling that Klopp's squad is still something of a work in progress.

Overall Grade: B

Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents.

Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby_ and Facebook here.