When Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool he made the very bold move of keeping the same playing personnel.
Instead of immediately stamping his authority by clearing out the deadwood and bringing in his own men, Klopp used his grace period to try every player and see what he is capable of.
It has proven to be a wise move, allowing the German to run the rule over the squad and work out who would fit in with his new philosophy.
Who would have thought that James Milner would work as a left-back? Or Lucas in defence? Liverpool fans at the Tavern had even forgotten that Dejan Lovren was able to defend prior to his move from Southampton.
Nine months on and the German had a much better idea of his squad and seems to be adding the right type of player in people like Sadio Mane and Giorginio Wijnaldum.
Certain other players will be expected to shown the door as Klopp continues to mould the Reds in his image. Here are the next three we expect to go.
RAGNAR KLAVAN
The first man who should get the axe hasn’t even been at the club that long.
Ragnar Klavan signed from German side FC Augsburg for £4.2m in the summer but has looked average for the majority of the time.
Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren have recently emerged as Klopp’s preferred defensive partnership and – considering both are relatively young in comparison to the 31-year-old Klavan – first-team opportunities for the Estonian would appear to be limited.
ALBERTO MORENO
Alberto Moreno hasn’t been popular with Liverpool fans at the Tavern for a long time.
The amount of points that have been dropped by the Spaniard through defensive mistakes is astonishing – his poor attempt at defending almost set them on the wrong track in their opening day win over Arsenal.
Klopp has stuck by the 24-year-old and may see him in a more attacking role. It could have even been so the Reds weren’t held to ransom looking for a replacement. One thing’s for sure; if things don’t improve, he won’t survive another year.
DANIEL STURRIDGE
Despite Sturridge being one of the best finishers in the league and still boasting a very good goals-to-minutes ratio for the Anfield club, he hasn’t been able to nail a starting role in Klopp’s side.
Perhaps it is because he doesn’t press as much as others in the team, perhaps it is due to the German not wanting to rely on a man who is so injury-prone, but it doesn’t seem as though the England international will be starting too often.
Players of his quality are too good to be sitting on the bench however, so if he isn’t going to play Klopp would be wise to sell with his stock still so high.
