Liverpool warned and inspired by five more clubs who were last to make a signing as relegation beckons
Liverpool are the only Premier League club yet to make a signing this summer, guaranteeing they will either be relegated, finish mid-table or win the title.
Fulham and Liverpool were the final teams yet to blink in the transfer window but the return of Ryan Sessegnon to Craven Cottage leaves the latter alone in trying to navigate a potential disgruntled supporter storm.
Arne Slot has downplayed the importance of transfers and absolved himself of the responsibility for them as first-team coach, while new sporting director Richard Hughes is yet to make his mark.
It is not the first time in recent history that Liverpool have decided to act last instead of fast, but other clubs have struggled when following suit before.
2023/24 – West Ham
Too many chefs in the West Ham kitchen left David Moyes, Tim Steidten, Mark Noble and David Sullivan fighting over one apron while overcooking the Rice for Arsenal in summer 2023.
The decision to wait until that £100m windfall was cleared into their bank account before spending it was part of the problem. The fundamental philosophical differences between manager Moyes and sporting director Steidten were more damaging. While one wanted to pursue Premier League-proven players, the other favoured those with a more continental flavour.
It was, rather pointedly, a battle Moyes did not win. James Ward-Prowse was signed from Southampton but Edson Alvarez was first through the door from Ajax on August 10, later joined by teammate Mohammed Kudus and Stuttgart centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos.
West Ham stuttered and stumbled through another domestic season as their European excursions offered welcome relief once more. Alvarez and Ward-Prowse impressed in bursts and Mavropanos had his moments after breaking into the first team in the second half of the campaign. But their last signing was by far their best; the excellent Kudus put Erik ten Hag and Manchester United to shame.
Final Premier League finish: 9th
Europa League: Quarter-finals, beaten by Bayer Leverkusen
FA Cup: Third round, beaten by Bristol City
League Cup: Quarter-finals, beaten by Liverpool
2022/23 – Leicester
“I’m happy that the window’s shut if I’m being honest,” said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers of the “huge distractions” the club had to endure in a difficult summer which preceded their first relegation since returning to the Premier League almost a decade prior.
Leicester were not only the last Premier League club to make a signing – every other team in Europe’s top five divisions had registered at least one new player before the Foxes finally welcomed their first. And poor Alex Smithies, a third-choice goalkeeper arriving from Cardiff, bore the brunt of the frustration.
Rodgers only actually added one more player to his ranks in the entire window, and might well wish he hadn’t bothered. Wout Faes had a disastrous debut season in England best marked by that infamous game against Liverpool.
The issue was a lack of income from player sales. Leicester had mastered that balancing act before but the two assets who were going to attract any sort of demand and revenue were Youri Tielemans, who teams were willing to wait for as his contract ran down, and Wesley Fofana, who Chelsea negotiated for until the penultimate day of the window. That left Leicester’s hands tied and ultimately consigned them to a Championship fate Rodgers was not equipped to avoid.
Final Premier League finish: 18th
FA Cup: Fifth round, beaten by Blackburn
League Cup: Quarter-finals: beaten by Newcastle
2021/22 – Newcastle
The sense that Mike Ashley had decided to use his last summer transfer window in control of Newcastle to extract as much urine as possible from an exhausted fanbase was only exacerbated by the loan capture of Mexican teenager Santiago Munoz on deadline day. The few supporters not already reduced to tears could only laugh at the rehash of the Goal! script.
Munoz inevitably did not play a single game for the Magpies. One other player came in at St James’ Park but the permanent capture of successful loanee Joe Willock hardly captured the imagination either.
Newcastle went on a 14-game winless run to start the season, during which not only Steve Bruce but Ashley himself was ousted by their new owners. The Saudi PIF appointed Eddie Howe, spent a fortune in January and oversaw an immediate shift from relegation doom-mongers to an upwardly-mobile mid-table team, with Willock still front and centre.
Final Premier League finish: 11th
FA Cup: Third round, beaten by Cambridge
League Cup: Second round, beaten by Burnley
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2020/21 – Aston Villa
The focus was largely on keeping Jack Grealish but Aston Villa worked tirelessly in the background to improve Dean Smith’s overall hand after avoiding relegation by a single point.
Their delay in showing off the fruits of such labour was the result of boardroom upheaval, with Jesus Garcia Pitarch shifted out of his seat as sporting director. Having laid solid foundations upon which to build, Villa had to nail their summer recruitment and it stands up to scrutiny many years later: Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez for little over £60m is a ludicrous hit rate that was entirely worth the wait.
Final Premier League finish: 11th
FA Cup: Third round, beaten by Liverpool
League Cup: Fourth round, beaten by Stoke
2019/20 – Liverpool
After being spoiled by the transfer omnipotence of Michael Edwards and Jurgen Klopp for the past few seasons, Liverpool supporters had their patience tested in the summer of 2019. While Manchester City reacted to their touch-tight title race by spending well over £100m on Rodri, Joao Cancelo and a few more fresh faces, Liverpool decided not to use their cache as Champions League winners in the market.
Their first signing was Sepp van den Berg and their biggest was Harvey Elliott, two teenagers who have experienced different Anfield career since, neither of whom were expected to have any sort of immediate impact.
Two more players joined but Adrian and Andy Lonergan struggled to get the blood flowing too and a mixed pre-season featuring defeats to Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Napoli had fans panicking.
Klopp, Edwards and the rest of the Liverpool hivemind knew better, seeing the value in keeping a settled and hungry team together which had delivered European glory while somehow missing out on the Premier League title. They had it wrapped up by about January while high-spending Manchester City toiled behind.
Final Premier League finish: 1st
Champions League: Last 16, beaten by Atletico Madrid
FA Cup: Fifth round, beaten by Chelsea
League Cup: Quarter-finals, beaten by Aston Villa