Ruthless FSG strike AGAIN as Liverpool close in on agreement | OneFootball

Rebuilding a squad is known for being a long and arduous process, but Liverpool have mastered it.

When areas of the team are in need of improvement, the players find a way to dig deep in times of need and then when the stars align, the club will take immediate action, almost in one fail swoop.

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The strategy itself is bold, and the fans often struggle to get their heads around it. Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are defying the norm by acting this way, but so far at least, it looks to be successful.

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Summer 2023 was the first major example in recent times and summer 2025 has followed suit, although each transfer window focused on entirely different areas of the team. It's remarkable.

© IMAGO - John Henry FSG

FSG's ruthless squad rebuild strategy

Let's take the 2023 window first, just to make it clear what I'm trying to get at here.

Jurgen Klopp's midfield was in a state of disarray. Years of working the players raged had taken its toll and the high intensity approach was really starting to dwindle. The Reds finished fifth in the 2022/23 season, dropping points in half of their games, missing out on Champions League football.

Throughout that summer a number of bold calls had to be made and while replacements were drip-fed in, we saw Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner all leaving. £52m was brought in from their departures. The latter three left with expiring contracts.

Bringing money in for their replacements wasn't the objective here. Each of the players had been great servants for the club over the years and the team needed a cash-injection to revitalise it.

And that's exactly what happened. Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott remained at the club, but we saw four major additions brought in - Alexis Mac Allister for £35m, Dominik Szoboszlai for £60m, Ryan Gravenberch for £34m and Wataru Endo for £16m. The midfield had been totally rebuilt for £145m.

Completing such a feat in just one transfer window was mind-blowing and while the players took a little bit of time to get themselves sorted, the Reds improved their Premier League points tally by 15 points, finishing third in a shock title race with Arsenal and Manchester City.

Now, two years later, we're witnessing yet another ruthless rebuild, focused on the defence.

Trent Alexander-Arnold decided to run down his contract to join Real Madrid on a free transfer, although Liverpool still managed to get £8.6m from his departure, letting him leave a month early.

Furthermore, Jarell Quansah was sold for £35m after Arne Slot decided he wasn't at the required level and we're now looking at a potential outgoing move for Kostas Tsimikas before deadline day.

That left us with Andy Robertson at left-back, Conor Bradley at right-back and an ageing Virgil Van Dijk, contract rebel Ibrahima Konate and a rarely un-injured Joe Gomez available at centre-back.

Prior to the 2025 transfer window opening, Jeremie Frimpong's move from Leverkusen was all-but confirmed and Milos Kerkez's move from Bournemouth was a poorly kept secret. That was the full-backs sorted for £70m - not a cheap package, but understandable given the market right now.

And now we're set to make two more transfers, with Fabrizio Romano suggesting that both Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace for £35m and Giovanni Leoni at Parma for £30m will likely join.

Making four defensive signings in a window is pretty rare. Supposing the two deals are completed over the next two weeks or so, Liverpool will have some remarkable depth to utilise this season.

The old regime of Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate and Bradley as a back four; and the new regime of Kerkez, Guehi, Leoni and Frimpong as a back four. Slot's team now has every dynamic imaginable.

Of course, this year's business has been completed alongside moves for Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Giorgi Mamardashvili, with two young goalkeepers and a striker also signed under the radar.

And you might think of sporting director Richard Hughes and chief executive Michael Edwards as the geniuses behind the masterpiece that has been Liverpool's transfer window this time around.

But if you remember, the 2023 window was masterminded by Jorg Schmadtke, a German managing director who had to temporarily fill-in while the executive hierarchy and recruitment team evolved.

It was FSG that sanctioned the money being spent then and two years later it's FSG at it once again.

Everyone's thoughts on the ownership will have changed over the last 15 years. There have been more highs and lows than you could imagine. And rightly so, John Henry caught some flack at times.

But this last few years has been extraordinary. The Reds have been put back on their perch as the most successful club in England and the transfer decisions reflect that. We're a huge European club.

And so whether you approve of Liverpool's spending or not - trust me, it took a while to sink in - the business that is being completed makes sense with the defence, and the midfield rebuild was exactly the same. Ekitike's move was really quite expensive and Alexander Isak's fee, if the Swede joins, will blow it out of the water. But FSG are experienced professionals, they know what's required.

The Liverpool of old might have been frugal, but the club's ruthless streak is my new favourite thing.