Liverpool Stock Exchange: Analysing the Reds' Squad at the Start of 2017
After Sunday's 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Liverpool are still chasing their first win of 2017.
In four outings since the turn of the year, Jurgen Klopp's squad have let slip leads against Sunderland (twice) and Manchester United in Premier League action, as well as failing to find a way to beat League Two side Plymouth Argyle at Anfield in the FA Cup.
Throw in a below-par display at Southampton in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final and it would be easy to start looking at the panic button, even if it's not quite necessary to press it just yet.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late equaliser denied Liverpool all three points against Manchester United, but that doesn't mean it should be all doom and gloom.
"The Reds' wait for a first win of 2017 goes on but this was an afternoon which breathed new life into their pursuit of silverware this season," James Pearce wrote in the Liverpool Echo. "It marked the end of their recent wobble rather than the continuation of it."
At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky, right?
The Reds are still in the hunt for three trophies and, after the long trip for the replay with Plymouth on Wednesday, will enjoy home comforts for the remainder of January.
After the busy festive period and the tough trip to Manchester United, Bleacher Report takes the time to look at whose stock has risen and fallen over the past few weeks.
Price Is Rising: Simon Mignolet
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Every game Simon Mignolet starts brings an element of pressure.
The goalkeeper is in a fight to be first choice this season, and Loris Karius raised the bar with his performance in the EFL Cup loss at Southampton last Wednesday.
However, while his challenger for the role has been a cup specialist of late, Mignolet is Klopp's current choice in the Premier League.
Against Manchester United, he justified his position with a number of excellent stops.
There was a wonderful save to keep out an Ibrahimovic free-kick in the first half, plus another fine stop to deny Henrikh Mkhitaryan before the break.
His display followed on from a clean sheet against Manchester City before the turn of the year. While he did concede twice at Sunderland, both goals against him were from the penalty spot.
Mignolet started the season as Liverpool's No. 1, lost his spot once Karius recovered from a broken hand and then found himself back in the team after his rival made a number of high-profile errors.
The Belgium international is the man in possession of the job right now—and Sunday suggested he has no intention of giving up his spot again this year.
"As far as I’m concerned my goals for 2017 don’t change—it’s to fight be first choice in the Liverpool team and then to win the title," Mignolet said at the start of the year, per Chris Hatherall of the Mirror.
Karius may end up being the long-term choice, but right now, the German's having to play second fiddle.
Price Is Falling: Daniel Sturridge
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"I believe I’m the best striker Liverpool has, that’s my opinion."
The above quote from Daniel Sturridge was given to Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves in a one-on-one interview ahead of the game against Manchester United.
Sturridge, of course, didn't start the game at Old Trafford. He didn't even make it off the bench.
Minus the services of Sadio Mane—who scored at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday—and with Philippe Coutinho not risked from the start after only just returning from an ankle injury, Klopp opted for Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino as his front pairing in a 4-1-2-1-2 system.
Per Daniel Storey on Twitter, "Sturridge has now managed 23 Premier League starts in the last 32 months."
He did make the most of the opportunity against Sunderland, scoring Liverpool's opener in the 2-2 draw, only to be a non-factor against Southampton in the EFL Cup.
Injuries have hampered him of course, but the England international just doesn't seem to be Klopp's cup of tea when it comes to a leading frontman.
The player added to Shreeves: "You have to take the rough with the smooth in football, you can never take things personally."
Sturridge will still get opportunities to play over the second half of the season, without a doubt, but if he remains on the periphery, something will surely change in the summer.
Price Is Rising: Jordan Henderson
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There is a line in the Joni Mitchell song "Big Yellow Taxi" that goes: "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."
Mitchell's words perfectly sum up how Liverpool fans felt during Jordan Henderson's recent absence from the team.
Without their injured captain, the Reds laboured to a draw at his old club Sunderland and turned in a below-par performance (and that's putting it kindly) against Southampton.
However, Henderson was fit to face Manchester United—and what a difference he made, too.
In the deep-lying midfield role, the England international has taken his game to a new level.
He offers a presence, not to mention providing a tempo to the team's passing—that not Emre Can, Lucas Leiva or Kevin Stewart can come close to matching.
"He adapted unbelievably well to the position so for us he is very important; maybe we relied too much on him," Klopp told the media before the trip to Manchester, per Jack Lusby of This Is Anfield.
If Liverpool want to be successful in the second half of the season, keeping their skipper fit will be crucial.
Price Is Falling: Lucas Leiva
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Lucas Leiva's Liverpool career looked to be coming to an end at the start of the year.
The midfielder, who also fills in at centre-back for the Reds, appeared to be heading for the Anfield exit early in January. Per Simon Stone of BBC Sport, Inter Milan were ready to take him to Italy.
However, the move never materialised. He remains at the club...for now.
Lucas has made 15 appearances this season, albeit the majority of his starts have come in cup competitions.
His most recent Premier League outing saw the Brazilian come off the bench to give away the free-kick that led to Sunderland's second equaliser on January 2.
He has since started against both Plymouth and Southampton—games Liverpool failed to win—and wasn't even on the bench to face Manchester United.
"You want to play—we get paid to play—but I just try to be professional and help as much as I can and when I have the chance do my best," Lucas told PA Sport (h/t Sky Sports).
A solid citizen who won't rock the boat, Lucas' stock will seemingly only rise again with a move.
Price Is Rising: Jurgen Klopp
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We all react differently to adversity.
Losses in form (it is only a blip, right? Right?) can make supporters panic. Liverpool ended 2016 by beating Manchester City at Anfield, but wins have proven tough to come by since that game at Anfield on New Year's Eve.
Losing Mane was always going to be tough. He managed nine goals and five assists before departing to represent Senegal but contributed even more than just those raw numbers show.
His absence has been greatly felt in part due to others having trouble locating the net.
The goals have dried up from Firmino (one in his last 12 appearances) and Origi (none in seven) of late, while injuries to Coutinho, Henderson and Joel Matip left the squad looking thin.
Klopp, though, has never lost faith.
Without Nathaniel Clyne at Old Trafford, he didn't hesitate to hand a debut to teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold. Faced with taking on a red-hot Manchester United side, he switched formation and found a way to nullify Michael Carrick's passing without taking anything away too much from his own team.
Former Red Jamie Carragher was impressed by the way the German eased the pressure on his players ahead of such a pivotal game.
"The run Manchester United were on, seeing Liverpool’s performance at Southampton, the injuries they got and then you see the team-sheet with the young lad playing at full-back but the way Klopp’s handled the press by saying he can’t wait for the game and he’s looking forward to it was excellent," he told Sky Sports.
Sure, conceding a late equaliser was a painful blow. But Klopp is the optimistic sort who can always see positives, and that can't help but rub off on others.
While it may seem odd, Klopp's stock has risen during the recent period of indifferent results.
Long-Term Investment Opportunity: Trent Alexander-Arnold
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Alexander-Arnold was thrown straight in at the deep end against Manchester United.
While he had played for the first team previously in cup competitions, the full-back's first Premier League start, at the home of Liverpool's fiercest rivals, was a baptism of fire.
Klopp could have picked the more experienced Alberto Moreno at left-back and switched James Milner to the right, yet instead he turned to a teenager to fill the void created by Clyne's absence.
That Alexander-Arnold managed to just about cope is a testament to his talent and temperament, not to mention a triumph for Liverpool's academy system.
"We didn’t have to be too brave to bring him, we thought he was ready for it and he proved it," Klopp said after the 1-1 result, per James Whaling of the Mirror.
Bringing a player through the youth ranks saves money in the transfer market, plus shows the club remains committed to unearthing local talent (Alexander-Arnold is from the suburb of West Derby).
Liverpool's congested fixture list has presented opportunities to others, too.
Bleacher Report previously looked at the future prospects of five teenagers—Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Ovie Ejaria, Sheyi Ojo and Ben Woodburn—who featured in the FA Cup game against Plymouth.
Not all of them will make a long and lasting impression during their Anfield careers.
However, Klopp, who signed a new long-term contract last summer, will not hold back players simply because of their age.
How do you assess Liverpool's squad right now? Have your say on who is on the rise—and who needs to be sold quickly—via the comments section.
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