Signing young, relatively unproven talent can be dangerous…
Tottenham fans were licking their lips at the prospect of the half-a-dozen high profile signings they made following the sale of Bale. Over £40 m was spent on the likes of Lamela, Chadli and Capoue – undoubtedly talented players – but young, inexperienced and unproven at Premier League level. A further £50 m was shelled out on Soldado, Paulinho and Eriksen, and only two of those six players can claim that they enjoyed a successful first season at White Hart Lane.
Liverpool risk making the same mistake: buying hastily in order to fill the void left by Suarez’s departure, in order to appease the fans. Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Divock Origi are all impressive young talents, but are they worth £45 m? Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert have both enjoyed wonderful spells with Southampton, but another £30 m has come and gone and the Red’s have still not truly replaced Suarez.