A 3-4-3 formation featuring Liverpool’s most expensive signings of all time in each position.
Goalkeeper: Simon Mignolet – £9m
Only five goalkeepers – Fernando Muslera, Angelo Peruzzi, David de Gea, Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon – have switched clubs for a bigger transfer fee than the £9m which Liverpool paid to Sunderland in June 2013.
Defender: Glen Johnson – £17.5m
Johnson joined Liverpool from Portsmouth in July 2009. The deal is Pompey’s second most lucrative sale to date, marginally behind Lassana Diarra’s move to Real Madrid, which took place in January 2009.
Defender: Dejan Lovren – £20m
Liverpool’s most expensive defender was recruited from Southampton after effectively handing in a transfer request, saying: “My heart is already in Liverpool”.
Defender: Mamadou Sakho – £15m
Made 18 Premier League appearances during an up-and-down debut campaign in England. Has yet to feature this term.
Midfielder: Lazar Markovic – £19.8m
The 20-year-old winger’s recent move from Benfica has really got Liverpool fans excited. If he lives up to his potential, £19.8m could prove to be a bargain.
Midfielder: Adam Lallana – £25m
Joined from Southampton on July 1, but has yet to play for the Reds due to a hamstring injury.
Javier Mascherano – £18.6m
One of two players on this list who can be fairly labelled as “world class”. I’m sure you can guess the other…
Stewart Downing – £18.5m
Managed to make 65 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, scoring just three goals, before the Reds took a big hit on him by selling to West Ham United for just £5m.
Andy Carroll – £35m
Still holds the record for being the most expensive British footballer of all time, but he has scored just 15 Premier League goals – including nine for current club West Ham – since joining the Reds from Newcastle United for crazy money in January 2011.
Luis Suarez – £22.8m
Suarez signed for Liverpool on the same day as Carroll, but he was much more of a hit. The controversial Uruguayan scored 69 goals in 110 Premier League games, before departing Anfield for Barcelona last month, leaving the Reds with a £50m profit and countless memories – mostly happy.
Fernando Torres – £20.2m
Widely criticised and described as a massive flop nowadays, having struggled to find top form since joining Chelsea for £50m three and a half years ago. However, Liverpool certainly got a good deal when they bought him from Atletico Madrid in July 2007. Torres scored 65 goals in 102 league games for Liverpool.
Subs:
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina – £6m
Midfielder: Joe Allen – £15m
Forward: Mario Balotelli – £16m
Midfielder: Jordan Henderson – £16m
Midfielder: Alberto Aquilani – £17.1m
Forward: Robbie Keane – £19m
Forward: Djibril Cisse – £14.5m
SEE ALSO:
Angel di Maria in Manchester United’s most expensive ever XI.
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