As with all major footballing powerhouses across Europe, Liverpool FC have been busy in the transfer market across the years. The ability to attract the right individuals is the first sign of a successful club, but the pressure associated with playing for a club of this stature can also have an adverse effect on many players. But there are those that stand out amongst the crowd and make an impact that reverberates across the annals of history and here we take a look at some of the best signings of Liverpool FC.
#5: Mohamed Salah
Fee: £43.9 million
Signed from: Roma
Year: 2017
Impressing at Basel, Salah had a brief unsuccessful stint at Chelsea before moving on to excel in Serie A for Roma where he scored 29 goals in 65 appearances. When Liverpool FC signed him for a fee of £43.9 million in 2017, nobody doubted the raw pace that Salah possessed but skeptics were unsure if he was the right fit for English league after his failure to make a lasting impact at Stamford Bridge.
But they could not have been more wrong. Salah hit the ground running in his debut season with a sensational form and went on to score 44 goals across all competitions that season, the second-highest tally for any Liverpool FC player in the club’s history. His neat dribbles and raw pace coupled with support from a forward consisting of a False 9 has led the Egyptian King to become one of the most influential Red on the pitch.
He won consecutive Golden Boots in 2017 and 2018 netting 32 and 22 times respectively and has put Liverpool FC back in the limelight, winning the Champions League, Club World Cup along with the Red’s first Premier League trophy in 30 years in just three years at Anfield.
STATS (as of June 2020):
| SEASON | APPEARANCES | GOALS |
| 2017-18 | 52 | 44 |
| 2018-19 | 52 | 27 |
| 2019-20 | 41 | 21 |
| Total | 145 | 92 |
#4: Fernando Torres
Fee: £20.2 million
Signed from: Atletico Madrid
Year: 2007
Having risen through the youth academy at Atletico, Torres spent six years with the Spanish outfit, becoming the youngest captain ever in the club’s history at the age of just 19. By 2007, Liverpool FC came knocking and he was bought for a fee of £20.2 million in the summer, a club record at the time.
The 23-year-old announced himself at Anfield by scoring a beautiful solo goal against Chelsea. A torrential number of goals followed throughout the season, with Torres going on a run of eight successive home league matches in which he scored 12 times. By the end of that season, he broke the record for the most number of goals by a non-British player in a debut season.
Having been injured in the initial stages of the 2008-09 season, he became crucial in Liverpool FC’s league ambitions that year. His partnership with Steven Gerrard was iconic, with the duo striking up phenomenal plays together, including a brilliant display in a 4-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford that season. He became the fastest Liverpool FC player ever to reach 50 goals (in 71 games) which was only broken recently by Mo Salah, and his goal to game ratio was the best in the league.
But the lack of any silverware was glaring as Liverpool FC lost out the league by just 4 points and failed to make an impact in Europe. This was the largest motivator for the Spaniard to hand in a transfer request by 2011 and move to Chelsea, but El Nino’s time at England will always be defined by him wearing the Reds shirt.
STATS:
| SEASON | APPEARANCES | GOALS |
| 2007-08 | 46 | 33 |
| 2008-09 | 38 | 17 |
| 2009-10 | 32 | 22 |
| 2010-11 | 26 | 9 |
| Total | 142 | 81 |
#3: Ian Rush
Fee: £300,000
Signed from: Chester FC
Year: 1980
Liverpool FC paid a club-record £300 thousand to secure this Welsh player’s services from Chester in 1980, making him the most expensive teenager in the world at that time. The amount looks like a bargain in hindsight, with Rush going on to become the highest goalscorer in the club’s history, netting 346 goals in 660 appearances.
Rush became the first British player to win the European Golden Boot in 1984, after scoring 47 goals that season – an all-time club record. He also built up a knack of scoring against Everton, with 25 goals coming against the derby rivals throughout his career. By 1986 after winning virtually every trophy that was attainable he moved to Turin to play for Juventus for a fee of 3.2 million pounds.
However Rush was back at Anfield only a year later with the Reds buying him back for 2.1 million pounds, and he continued where he left off, breaking all goalscoring records for the club in the process. He won 15 titles during his time and two European Cups and definitely one of the best investments the club has made in a player.
STATS:
| SEASON | APPEARANCES | GOALS |
| 1980-81 | 9 | 0 |
| 1981-82 | 49 | 30 |
| 1982-83 | 51 | 31 |
| 1983-84 | 65 | 47 |
| 1984-85 | 44 | 26 |
| 1985-86 | 56 | 33 |
| 1986-87 | 57 | 40 |
| 1988-89 | 32 | 11 |
| 1989-90 | 48 | 26 |
| 1990-91 | 48 | 26 |
| 1991-92 | 31 | 9 |
| 1992-93 | 42 | 22 |
| 1993-94 | 49 | 19 |
| 1994-95 | 50 | 19 |
| 1995-96 | 29 | 7 |
| Total | 660 | 346 |
#2 Alisson Becker
Fee: £66.8 million
Signed from: Roma
Year: 2018
Liverpool FC were gravely lacking in the goalkeeping department a few years ago and Alisson Becker was the perfect answer to the team’s woes. A £66.8 million signing from Roma in 2018, the Brazilian shot-stopper has been influential between the sticks, to say the least. His arrival has coincided with the most successful run of trophies Liverpool FC is enjoying in decades, and his presence instills a certain aura of confidence defensively on the pitch.
He won the Golden Glove in his debut season after keeping 21 clean sheets in the league and his performance in the Champions League was phenomenal, making crucial nail-biting saves against Napoli and Barcelona to earn the Reds their sixth Champions League. Alisson also has the best save percentage in the league (77.8%) and excels at creating chances with his incisive passes.
His impact is even more underlined during his absence, as Liverpool FC crashed out of the Champions League this season against Atletico, with the Brazilian watching helplessly from the stands. There could be no question that Alisson has more than lived up to his price tag and is one of the most important signings the Reds have made in their history.
STATS (As of June 2020):
| SEASON | APPEARANCE | CLEAN SHEETS |
| 2018-19 | 51 | 27 |
| 2019-20 | 30 | 16 |
| Total | 81 | 43 |
#1: Kenny Dalglish
Fee: £440,000
Signed from: Celtic
Year: 1977
Having been turned down initially by the club when he was 15, King Kenny made a name for himself with Celtic winning 5 league titles and scoring over 100 goals for the Scottish side. In 1977, with Liverpool losing out Kevin Keegan to Tottenham, the Reds splurged on the once-rejected Scot £440 thousand making him a marquee signing.
Sir Kenny would go on to become one of the most influential and decorated players for the club, topping the goalscoring charts in his debut season and scoring the winner in a European Cup final. He would go on to net 172 times in 552 appearances as a Red, later partnering up with Ian Rush to form one of the most potent forward partnerships in Europe. The Glasgow born forward earned 15 trophies during his time as a player at Liverpool FC before becoming the first player-manager in the club’s history in 1985, earning another three league titles and two FA Cups.
STATS:
| SEASON | APPEARANCES | GOALS |
| 1977-78 | 62 | 31 |
| 1978-79 | 54 | 25 |
| 1979-80 | 60 | 23 |
| 1980-81 | 54 | 18 |
| 1981-82 | 62 | 22 |
| 1982-83 | 58 | 20 |
| 1983-84 | 51 | 12 |
| 1984-85 | 53 | 6 |
| 1985-86 | 31 | 7 |
| 1986-87 | 25 | 8 |
| 1987-88 | 2 | 0 |
| 1988-89 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989-90 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 515 | 172 |
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Luis Suarez
Virgil Van Dijk
Kevin Keegan
John Barnes
