Liverpool had a huge turnover of players in the summer but should they have done more to keep this player.

Liverpool were building from a position of strength in the summer and have learned the hard way that recruitment is never as easy as it looks on paper.

Richard Hughes was hailed as a genius after overhauling the squad whilst also not topping the net spend table, bumper transfer fees for fringe players were brought in which will allow Arne Slot to have further reinforcements in January. Now though, the failure to sign Marc Guehi and add more depth in midfield has seen what appeared to be a perfect transfer window now come in for criticism.

Has Liverpool’s recruitment been a problem this season?

There is a hint of the Galacticos about Liverpool this season in that a talented group of individuals is yet to click as a unit. When it did, against Eintracht Frankfurt, the result was an emphatic one. What Slot needs to do now is find the same level of pragmatism that he showed last year to grind out results against physical and direct teams. Managers haven’t changed their tactics that much this season despite the Reds boss lamenting the approach seen by some teams.

The analysis of Liverpool has been performed with the benefit of hindsight, there weren’t any dissenting voices when two of the most promising full-backs in Europe were signed or when the best playmaker in the Bundesliga arrived alongside two of the continent’s most prolific strikers. A lot of money was spent, but it wasn’t gambled. The money was seen as a safe investment. What does seem to be an issue, is that too many changes have been made at once with one Premier League champion being missed.

Should Liverpool have done more to keep Luis Diaz?

Speaking on The Athletic’s ‘Walk On’ podcast, Simon Hughes has suggested that more maybe should have been done to keep one of Slot’s key players: “I thought at the time it was certainly the personality brought in. I couldn't have really questioned many of them. I could understand the thinking behind them.

“But I suppose what you don't legislate for is what happened over the summer with Diogo Jota. I mean, I don't think this should be forgotten in any conversation that we have about Liverpool really because I think it has affected the players, it's affected the club. But nevertheless, at the moment they're getting done by stuff that I think that they can affect.

“I think on reflection, I wonder whether they might have kept the power to try a little bit more. But then the problem that you had is there were players that wanted to leave. Luis Diaz wanted to leave, Trent Alexander-Arnold wanted to leave. Those players really had to be sold, as did Darwin Nunez. And everybody was agreeing, I don't think anybody really was saying we've got to keep Nunez. I think some people would have kept Diaz, but he understood the situation of why he wanted to go. Maybe Liverpool should have done more to try and keep him.”

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Hughes has a point. With Luis Diaz, who wanted a new contract, still in the team, the forward line would look more cohesive although there is argument that Jarrel Quansah is an even bigger miss.