Let’s imagine Liverpool as a game of Jenga. For the last eight-and-a-half years, the club has been a formidable tower of stability. Now, with the upcoming departure of Jurgen Klopp and several other key components of the clubās make-up, there is a risk the whole structure becomes shaky.
The foundations are still solid. Mike Gordon and Fenway Sports Group are sound owners and chief executive Billy Hogan is a safe pair of hands. The players are top-quality, with a thriving academy in a purple patch of production.
But Klopp leaving was not the only piece to be pulled out of the tower on Friday. Less headline-worthy but still significant was the news of other exits that will follow ā Kloppās long-serving right-hand men Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz plus the ālink manā Vitor Matos, a coach who serves as a messenger between the academy and first team.
Also buried amid the number of Klopp love-in features on Liverpoolās website was the announcement that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will leave at the end of the January transfer window. That is no huge surprise. The German, a close ally of Kloppās, was always seen as a short-term solution.
But these five blocks being pulled out of the tower leave Liverpool, so often credited as one of the best-run clubs in Europe, looking vulnerable.
Virgil van Dijk’s unwillingness to publicly commit his long-term future to the club has caused a stir
Jurgen Klopp’s key assistantsĀ Peter Krawietz (middle left) andĀ Pep Lijnders (middle right) will follow him out the Anfield door in the summer
Virgil van Dijkās comments, in which Liverpoolās captain refused to commit his long-term future to Anfield, caused a stir to say the least. There are no pressing concerns that he wants out but his reluctance to go on record with a desire to stay sent fans into a state of anxiety on social media.
Who can blame Van Dijk? The only manager he has known at Liverpool is leaving, with the entire coaching team following him out of the door. Fitness guru Andreas Kornmayer and other coaches, such as John Achterberg, may face uncertain futures under a new regime.
Whoever replaces Klopp in the dugout, whether it be Xabi Alonso or someone else, will want their own men to stamp their authority quickly. So you can understand Van Dijk and others wanting to see what the future holds before putting pen to paper on new contracts.
Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold also have deals running out next year. There are no worries that the latter would want to leave but stalling on an extension could weaken Liverpoolās bargaining position, especially if Alexander-Arnold has a starring role for England at Euro 2024.
Salah still has his admirers in Saudi Arabia. Sources close to the Egypt captain say he is loving life on Merseyside, but anxieties over his future will remain until he signs on.
Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold also have deals that are set to run out next year
The most worrying thing is that none of these issues are expected to be resolved before a sporting director is appointed. Given the due diligence and data-driven approach to which Liverpool will commit, no successor to Klopp will be confirmed in a hurry.
The Reds are watching a number of players ahead of the summer transfer window but any desire to steal a march on rivals will be thrown into uncertainty by the lack of a sporting director and new manager.
It would be a grave overstatement to say Liverpool are in turmoil but that could quickly change if these issues are not solved before too long.
