Liverpool’s Record Signings

Liverpool had a very quiet summer in the transfer market at the start of the 2024/25 season. They only really brought in Italian winger Federico Chiesa, with a deal also struck for Valencia stopper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, although the Georgian will not link up with the Reds until summer 2025.

Fans were, understandably, concerned about the relative inactivity, especially with Chelsea spending so freely and Arsenal bringing in some very decent players too. However, any worries have so far proved unwarranted, to say the least, with the Reds flying under new boss, Arne Slot.

They have won 11 of their 12 matches with the Dutchman at the helm, making a mockery of the idea they would struggle without Jürgen Klopp and without major reinforcements in terms of transfers. That said, most supporters will certainly be hoping for an addition or two in January, and certainly some major strengthening in the summer.

Until then, though, let’s console ourselves by remembering transfers past and taking a look at Liverpool’s five most expensive signings of all time. They are a varied mix of hits, misses and a few that are “too early to say”, though perhaps calling any misses is harsh. What do you think?

1) Darwin Nunez, £85m

As with most transfers, there is debate over the fee Liverpool paid Benfica to sign Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, though it is widely accepted that with add-ons the figure will be a club record of £85m. Whilst many fans love the strapping forward and his fighting spirit is clear – sometimes a little too clear – to see, others are doubtful he has what it takes to justify the huge fee.

Signed in June 2022, he has now been at Anfield long enough to have settled in and, at the age of 25, he no longer has the excuse of youth. At times he can look genuinely world class, but then when you look at the excellent chances he continues to spurn, one wonders whether he is even a footballer at all, or just someone pretending!

In his final season with Benfica he was prolific, registering 34 goals from 41 matches but he has not come close to replicating that for the Reds. To date he has scored just 35 goals for the club, having played 105 matches. He frequently appears at or near the top in unwanted stats tables such as big chances missed or underperformance compared to xG and he has to start scoring more frequently – and soon.

2) Virgil van Dijk, £75m

For some time it was clear to everyone except Jurgen Klopp that Liverpool needed a dominant centre back. But it is safe to say that Virgil was worth the wait when the club finally signed him in the winter transfer window of 2017/18. They parted with a massive £75m for the Dutch colossus, then a world-record fee for a defender, and it has proved an absolute bargain.

VVD is a leader and for several seasons has operated at a world-class level. May would go further than that and say that at his very, very best he was easily the best defender in the world and quite possibly performing at a level that put him up there with the greatest of all time. He won various Player of the Season awards in 2018/19 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in that season and three of the following four.

Fast, strong and a brilliant reader of the game, Van Dijk is almost impossible to dribble past. He provides cover for his attacking full backs and is himself a major threat in the opposition area at set pieces. Already a true Liverpool legend, we hope he stays for many more years at the club.

3) Alisson, £67m

If many believed the Reds were in need of a top central defender, the same was certainly true with regards to a goalkeeper. Alisson was brought in a little later than Van Dijk, completing a deal from Roma on the 19th of July 2018 but the signings were similar in many ways. They were both big-money deals, world record sums at the time for the position, both very targeted to fix Liverpool’s weaknesses … and both absolutely brilliant.

Brazilian Alisson played a huge role in the success the club enjoyed under Klopp and, once more, was a world-class footballer, among the very best anywhere. Calm, composed, excellent with the ball at his feet, a super shot-stopper and perhaps the best in the world in one-on-one situations, the former Roma man has to go down as one of Liverpool’s best goalies ever.

4) Dominik Szoboszlai, £60m

Szoboszlai was brought to Liverpool for a fee of £60m after impressing with RB Leipzig in Germany. He signed on the 2nd of July 2023 so it remains relatively early days in his Liverpool career. He has certainly shown glimpses of what he is capable of but has not yet really justified the substantial fee.

At the time of writing, he has played 91 games in all competitions and his return of 20 goals is decent given he is more of an attacking midfielder than anything else. He provides assists as well, is an elegant player and has a little bit of everything. He is a leader as well, and brings a calm maturity to the side, belying his tender years (he turned 24 on the 25th of October 2024). Despite the many positives, there is a distinct feeling that there is more to come from him, and Slot has challenged him to get more goals in the games ahead.

5) Naby Keïta, £53m

Naby Keita trod the Leipzig to Liverpool route several years before Szoboszlai and was brought to Anfield for a fee of £48m. There was a further amount of just under £5m payable as part of the deal due to RB Leipzig having qualified for the Europa League in the season before he left. The deal was made in the summer of 2017, with Keita set to join just under a year later on the 1st of July 2018.

He took Steven Gerrard’s number eight shirt, the Reds icon having left to play in America. Big boots to fill, to say the very least. Keita was signed in many ways as a like-for-like replacement, with his energy and ability to go box to box a big part of his game. In addition, he was a fine footballer, with an excellent all-round game and good intelligence.

On paper, an excellent replacement for Gerrard, the only problem being that, of course, Gerrard was irreplaceable. Keita’s time at Anfield was badly hit by repeated niggling injuries and he played just 129 times in all competitions over his five seasons. He left to join Werder Bremen as a free agent in June 2023.