08 Hello Goodbye

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Meet the new Reds

Introducing the new signings and wishing all the best to those who have sought pastures new



Grujic

Welcome to LFC: Marko Grujic; Joel Matip; Loris Karius; Alex Manninger; Georginio Wijnaldum; Sadio Mane; Ragnar Klavan.

Some of our incoming summer business was actually completed earlier in the year. Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic – an under-20 World Cup winner in 2015 – became Jürgen Klopp's first permanent signing back in January.

Serbian journalist Milos Markovic says of his compatriot: “He can be best described as a box-to-box midfielder who plays with great maturity, the kind you would never expect to see from a 20-year-old boy. Grujic is a highly intelligent player who grabbed his chance with both hands, going from strength to strength throughout the 2015/16 season.”

Matip


A few weeks after the announcement of the Grujic signing, another deal was completed: centre-back Joel Matip confirming that he would be leaving Schalke 04 to make the switch to Anfield. With over 200 Bundesliga appearances to his name at just the age of 25, the acquisition of the Cameroon international has been seen as a shrewd one – although he will obviously need time to settle in to the rigours of the Premier League.

Karius

Matip is one of a quartet to switch to us from German football, including two goalkeepers. Loris Karius, a former Manchester City youth player, arrives from FSV Mainz for a fee of £4.7m. A hand injury curtailed his pre-season but his future at Anfield looks bright. “I am delighted we have signed Loris,” said the boss. “He has had a fantastic season with Mainz and has developed into a very good goalkeeper since his return to Germany. I am really pleased that we were able to move so quickly to get him and that Loris has shown such a desire to come to Liverpool FC with a lot of other clubs interested in him.”

Manninger

Providing back up for Karius and Simon Mignolet will be Alex Manninger, a Premier League title-winner with Arsenal back in 1998 who has spent the majority of his career in Italy and Germany where he most recently featured for FC Augsburg.

Klavan


One of his colleagues there, Ragnar Klavan, clearly caught the eye of Klopp when we faced them over the two legs of last season's Europa League last-32 clash. The Estonian centre-back's ability is not in doubt.

Mane


When it comes to acquiring Premier League experience and goals to the ranks, the manager has also been busy, bringing in first Sadio Mane from Southampton and then Georginio Wijnaldum of Newcastle United. The duo, who are capable of playing in a variety of attacking roles, both netted eleven Premier League goals last season and will be looking to again feature regularly on the scoresheet.

wijnaldum


Fond farewell: Jose Enrique; Kolo Toure; Joao Carlos Teixeira; Samed Yesil; Jerome Sinclair; Jordan Rossiter; Brad Smith; Joe Allen; Jordon Ibe; Martin Skrtel; Sergi Canos

Kolo…Kolo Kolo…Kolo Kolo…Kolo KOLO TOURE! While the catchy tune will probably still be sung by fans, we will no longer see the popular Ivorian wearing our shirt as his contract came to an end this summer and he moved to Celtic. Kolo, now 35-years-old, departs after three seasons during which he made 71 appearances and netted one goal.

Toure


He's not the only player moving on as Jürgen Klopp looks to reshape his playing resources. Fellow centre-back Martin Skrtel, who'd been our second longest-serving player after Lucas, brought his LFC association to an end by joining Turkish side Besiktas J.K. The Slovakian had originally arrived from Zenit St Petersburg in 2008. In 320 appearances he scored no less than 18 goals, many of them in big games like the double in the 5-1 win over Arsenal in February 2014.

Skrtel


Allen

Jose Enrique, signed by Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012, is another experienced defender whose time with the club has now ended. In the middle of the park we will no longer see Joe Allen after the Welshman, signed by Brendan Rodgers, moved to Stoke City in search of regular first-team football.

Still in the infancy of their careers are Joao Carlos Teixeira (23 ), Brad Smith (22), Samed Yesil (22), Jordon Ibe (20), Jerome Sinclair (19), Jordan Rossiter (19) and Sergi Canos (19). Those seven have also moved on, with Teixeira declaring the switch to FC Porto in his homeland was “a dream” but adding that LFC is “a club that made me grow and supported me. Four important years in my life! Thank you to the club, to the fans. Thank you Liverpool.” Full-back Smith, an Australian international, has signed for AFC Bournemouth in a £3m deal. Yesil, a German striker, came to Merseyside from Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 but two cruciate-ligament injuries restricted his opportunities.

Jordon Ibe had signed a new contract in 2015 and featured 41 times last season, but it was felt that an offer of £15m from AFC Bournemouth was too good to refuse. Meanwhile striker Sinclair had originally moved to our Academy from West Bromwich Albion and later became LFC's youngest-ever player when, aged 16 years and six days, he featured against the Baggies in a League Cup tie. His only goal for the Reds from five appearances came in a 2-2 FA Cup draw with Exeter City at the start of 2016. On 1 July it was confirmed that he'd joined Watford.

Rossiter's time with the first team saw him register the same record as Sinclair: one goal from five games, the strike coming on his debut in a 2-2 League Cup draw with Middlesbrough at Anfield. In May he signed a pre-contract agreement with Glasgow Rangers. That same month Spanish striker Canos made his LFC debut in the final-day 1-1 draw at West Brom. It would be his only appearance as he joined Norwich City in July.