4 players Who Could Leave Liverpool This Summer

Liverpool have only qualified once for the Champions League in the past seven years. Hardly an impressive record, on the last day of the season, the Merseyside club confirmed their place in the qualifying round of Europe’s headline competition. A factor that Jürgen Klopp hopes will attract some big names to Anfield, such as Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk. However there are still question marks on which playing staff will be booking a taxi out of Liverpool.

Goals. The most valuable commodity in football.  Sturridge finished the season strongly, with a stand out performance at West Ham reminding Klopp and the Liverpool fans of his ability in front of goal. When talking about Daniel Sturridge, you have to mention his injury record which will play a key part in whether Liverpool keep hold of him. During Sadio Mane’s absence throughout January many were tipping Sturridge to fill in, this wasn’t the case as the former Chelsea striker suffered from illness and a hip injury that was sustained from rehabilitation from another injury. The saga of Daniel Sturridge could run and run until deadline day, with Liverpool hesitant to sell to Premier League rivals.

Daniel Sturridge looks to be heading for the exit door

As news broke last summer that Liverpool had no intention of signing a left back, fans were mystified. Alberto Moreno was the only left back at the club; Klopp’s brainwave was to move James Milner to left side, a move that came in for criticism. As the season went on, Milner established himself as a competent deputy at full back. Meanwhile Moreno warmed the bench for game after game. Moreno’s memorable moment came at West Brom, when the former Sevilla defender collected the ball in the centre circle, and shot wide of an empty net. Ben Foster was at the other end of the pitch and Moreno’s failure to seal the win surely sealed his end at Liverpool. Murmurings from Italy suggest that Italian giants AC Milan are interested. For Liverpool fans the sooner Alberto Moreno is gone, the better.

As Hull succumbed to their relegation, Marco Silva’s promising signings were soon looking at the exit door. Lazar Markovic has had a turbulent time of it since joining Liverpool in 2014. Jürgen Klopp decided loan Markovic to Sporting Lisbon for the first half of the season (the loan was then cancelled) In January the Serbian international earned a Premier League reprieve with Hull City. Marco Silva seemed to have rejuvenated Markovic’s career, with two important goals against Middlesbrough and Swansea. As Hull struggled to keep their survival hopes alive, the Liverpool loanee returned to Melwood to recover from an injury. With Marco Silva now at Watford, and Klopp interested in adding another winger to his squad. Lazar Markovic will hope his former manager will give him another chance in the Premier League.

Probably the most controversial Liverpool exit this summer will be Mamadou Sakho. There have been so many column inches dedicated to the former PSG captain that it’s certain that Sakho will be looking for a new club this summer. Sakho has had an imperious loan spell at Palace, even being included in the player of the season vote at the London club, despite playing only 8 games. Nevertheless, Jürgen Klopp seems to be at the end of his tether with Sakho’s antics, and is determined to find a club who will pay a huge fee for the French defender. It is an unceremonious end to Sakho’s time at Liverpool who still has the backing from some fans.

Mamadou Sakho’s time at Liverpool seems to be over

It promises to be a busy summer for Liverpool, both selling players and adding new faces. Liverpool fans should be optimistic going into the summer transfer window. The sales of Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Sturridge will be hard to take for some fans but could improve Liverpool’s financial muscle in the market.

By Matt

Matt is the owner and chief-editor of the Footy Blog, one of the UK's leading football news blogs.