Liverpool have another transfer issue they must overcome as big-money deal looms

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Liverpool were once renowned for their ability to make the correct major transfers but that has changed in recent yearsGo big or go home, as our American cousins like to say. And when it comes to the transfer market, Liverpool have demonstrated in recent years they quite like staying out rather late.Twice last summer alone the Reds smashed their transfer record, committing £116million on signing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen before setting a new British standard with a £125m agreement to take Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.Throw in the £79m deal for Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike, and the trio contributed greatly to Liverpool's eye-watering overall splurge of almost £450m on new players.Of course, inflation and the ever-growing cost of purchasing leading players has meant transfer fees continue to rise.

What was only recently worth £30m is now in danger of becoming almost double that.Bargains are a lot more difficult to find, and not everyone can be like Real Madrid in just waiting to snap up everyone else's leading players on free transfers.But there's an art to spending big. Having access to plentiful funds is one thing - possessing the ability to use that wisely is quite something else.Liverpool don't have to look too far for an example of what can happen when matters go awry following access to a new, bulging transfer kitty.

Just ask any Evertonian following the unwise splurge after becoming flush with Farhad Moshiri's millions.Given the success over the past decade, the Reds can overall be rightly pleased with their recruitment, with far more hits than misses contributing to a squad that at one point was the envy of Europe.For the early part of their ownership, Fenway Sports Group were either unwilling or unable to engage in the big-money spending of many of Liverpool's nearest rivals.That changed in 2018 with the arrivals of £75m Virgil van Dijk and £65m Alisson Becker, with the fact both still remain at the club evidence of their success. Darwin Nunez may also have won the championship, but few would contend his overall contribution anywhere near matched what was eventually an outlay of almost £80m.If Wirtz could be considered a qualified success last season, he too has yet to come close to justifying his fee while Isak certainly hasn't after an injury-hampered campaign.And while Ekitike could do little about the Achilles injury that is likely to sideline him for more than eight months, his fitness setback highlights the misfortunes of recent big-money buys.Indeed, incoming £60million centre-back Jeremy Jacquet had barely agreed his move before he suffered a season-ending injury with Rennes.Last summer's as yet unconvincing transfer business meant the scrutiny was always going to be greater this window on Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and the recruitment team, but the big-ticket purchases will rightly merit the most attention.The interest in RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande shows the Reds are again willing to splash out sizeable amounts for the right player, although their willingness to go up to £86m leaves them some distance from Leipzig's asking price of around £112m.Should Diomande prove out of reach, Liverpool will turn their attentions elsewhere with Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola among the other fancied names.The Reds are likely to have to spend big regardless of whoever ends up filling the Salah-sized hole in their team.