WRITTEN BY Sam Millne – @sam_millne
Liverpool Top Five January signings 03/01/2022 Sam Millne
With the January transfer window coming to a close, the rumour mill is in overdrive and the merry-go-round is in full swing. Liverpool could still be looking for reinforcements given the lack of forward options with Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all away on international duty at various points. The January window is notoriously difficult to negotiate, however, some of Liverpool’s greatest ever players were signed at this time of year. Sam Millne looks back at some of Liverpool’s greatest January signings.
#5 Philippe Coutinho
Just making it onto this list, ahead of Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Redknapp, is the Brazilian who went from strength to strength after joining from Inter Milan for just £11.7 million.
The little magician, as he came to be known, made an instant impact when he joined in 2013. Linking up brilliantly with fellow newcomer Sturridge, his playing style was easy on the eye and in the following years became more consistent from the left wing, scoring countless curlers after cutting inside and shifting the ball onto his right foot.
Unfortunately, he never won a trophy with Liverpool, narrowly missing out on the league title in 2014, and ultimately left with a tainted legacy when he forced his way out of the club to secure a dream move to Barcelona.
Perhaps though, it’s easier to look back at his move away now we know how the £120million was spent.
Reds wantaway star Coutinho
#4 John Aldridge
Younger readers might be surprised to learn that Aldridge was only at Liverpool for less than two and a half years but, during that time, he led the line for one of the club’s greatest ever sides and made a long-lasting impact.
When Ian Rush left for a brief spell at Juventus, supporters might have been worried about where the goals would come from, but Aldo allayed those fears by scoring 29 times in his first full season, firing Liverpool to the league title.
Before he left for Real Sociedad in September 1989, he won the FA Cup and scored in an emotional final against Everton, just over a month after the Hillsborough disaster.
#3 Luis Suarez
In terms of pure ability, Luis Suarez might be the greatest player to ever wear the red shirt. He signed for Liverpool alongside Andy Carroll on the final day of the 2011 January window and immediately showed Liverpool supporters that the departure of Fernando Torres might not be as devastating as first thought. Though the two upfront together would have been some sight, Suarez thrived as a talisman with Steven Gerrard behind. In the 2013/14 season, he formed an almost telepathic partnership with Daniel Sturridge and had arguably the greatest individual season of any Liverpool player in history.
Unfortunately, his time at Liverpool was blighted by biting incidents and an accusation of racism but that doesn’t take away from his pure technical quality. When he left for Barcelona, he went on to become one of the greatest strikers ever.
#2 Virgil Van Dijk
What more can be said about the Dutch colossus?
He makes the highest level of football look like a kickabout in the park. With Terminator-like strength and pace to keep up with some of the quickest about, he the perfect build for a centre-back.
What makes Van Dijk special though is his all-round ability. The Netherlands captain would make any team better due to his unrivalled reading of the game and quality on the ball.
When he doesn’t play, not only do The Reds lack his presence at the back, but they miss his ability to play pinpoint passes up the field too. Before he signed, Liverpool had a notoriously leaky defence. Van Dijk changed that.
He very nearly didn’t join Liverpool though, as the club were forced to formally apologise for ‘tapping him up’ and pull out of a deal. Liverpool sat tight though and Klopp made sure he got his man six months later, with the defender choosing Liverpool ahead of both Manchester City and Chelsea who were offering bigger contracts.
#1 Graeme Souness
At number one is Graeme Souness. Signed before the days of transfer windows, he joined from Middlesbrough in 1978 for £360,000 and never looked back.
In central midfield, he played 347 times for Liverpool, winning five first division titles, three consecutive League Cups, and three European Cups before going on to manage the club for nearly three years.
People often look back at Souness now and think of him as a destroyer, which he was. However, he was so much more than that. He could nonchalantly skip past challenges and had a strike that would often see the ball fly past goalkeepers before they even had chance to move.
Arguably his finest hour came in 1984 when he captained Liverpool to their fourth European Cup in his final match against Roma on their home turf. Surrounded by a hostile atmosphere in the tunnel, the Liverpool players, led by Souness, began to sing Chris Rea’s ‘I Don’t Know What It Is But I Love It’ in a show of defiance. Liverpool then won the encounter by virtue of a penalty shootout and Souness cemented his place as a Liverpool legend.
