Neil Jones has suggested that Jurgen Klopp may feel ‘a tinge of regret’ over one player on whom Liverpool missed out during the summer transfer window.
On the eve of the Premier League season, the Reds agreed a £111m deal with Brighton to sign Moises Caicedo (BBC Sport), only for Chelsea to then hijack the move by submitting a higher offer and ultimately landing the midfielder (The Telegraph).
A few days later, LFC moved on by completing the £16m signing of Wataru Endo from Stuttgart, although the journalist can’t help but wonder if the Anfield hierarchy ended up settling for the 30-year-old as an alternative to the man they really wanted.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Jones stated: “Caicedo, though, would have added so much to this Liverpool side, and I’d be amazed if Klopp didn’t feel at least a tinge of regret about the Ecuadorian’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge instead of Anfield. Wataru Endo might be doing OK, but he’s a level or two below Caicedo, and a fair bit older as well.
“The key for Liverpool, I guess, is that they were able to overcome their disappointment at missing out on both Caicedo and [Romeo] Lavia, and that they have made the most of a potentially tough situation. Alexis Mac Allister is a fine signing who will get better, as is Dominik Szoboszlai, while Ryan Gravenberch’s potential is huge as well.
“Perhaps the more pertinent question is whether Caicedo looks at the respective situations of Liverpool and Chelsea, and wonders whether he made the right call back in August? He’d probably say he did, but the Premier League table tells a different story right now…”
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In all likelihood, Klopp probably won’t lose any sleep over how the summer transfer window ultimately played out, even if Jones’ point about Caicedo having far more to offer in the long-term than Endo is a valid one.
There hasn’t been so much of a disparity between the two players to justify a difference of just under £100m in their respective transfer fees, even taking into account their ages of 21 and 30.
Also, had Liverpool gone through with their £111m deal for the Ecuadorian, the funds wouldn’t have been in place to sign either Endo or Gravenberch in the final two weeks of the transfer window, which would’ve left us with an even thinner squad than what we have now as the injuries pile up.
The Japanese midfielder has still chipped in with a couple of goals at Anfield, whereas Caicedo is still waiting for his first at Chelsea despite playing 419 minutes more than the 30-year-old so far this term (Transfermarkt).
Plus, the 21-year-old had his mind made up about joining the Blues once they came in for him, which suggests that he wouldn’t exactly have had his heart set in pulling on the famous LFC shirt.
Now that the west Londoners find themselves eight places and 16 points behind Liverpool in the table, he may indeed be wondering whether he made the right career choice.
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