Liverpool only made one signing in the summer of 2021, activating the $46m (£36m/€42m) release clause in Ibrahima Konaté’s RB Leipzig contract.
But after filling the glaring defensive hole that had been brutally exposed the previous year, the Reds opted to keep their powder dry.
Potential targets were identified, but it was decided that they would wait until the following year while continuing to monitor potential options.
One of those players was Yves Bissouma, with the ECHO reporting at the time that Liverpool was ‘keeping tabs’ on the then-Brighton midfielder.
In the end, it was Spurs who won the race for a player who always seemed destined to join one of English’s top sides, paying just $32m (£25m/€29m) in 2022 when he’d reached the final year of his contract.
Expectations were high on his arrival in North London, but his first season proved to be something of a bust as he was limited to just 10 Premier League starts, partly because of an ankle fracture that caused him to miss 80 days and 17 matches.
Even when he did play, he hardly found himself in an ideal environment to flourish as the club gradually imploded under Antonio Conte.
The arrival of Ange Postecoglou in the summer, though, gave him the opportunity to press the reset button and he and the rest of his teammates have looked re-energized.
On Saturday, Spurs launched the Postecoglou era with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United, and Bissouma delivered a player-of-the-match performance.
He was one of the most prominent players in the match, ranking third for total touches with 67, and he also covered a vast amount of ground, winning a game-high nine ground duels and contributing six ball recoveries (fifth).
Bissouma topped the charts for tackles too (five), but looking at his work off the ball only tells part of the story. He also frequently launched Spurs attacks by using his wicked athleticism and agility to glide past players. The Malian placed third for both progressive carries (three) and total progressive carrying distance (156 yards).
He was tidy and incisive in possession too, as his long passing accuracy (80 per cent) and passes into the final third (four, joint-second in the match) demonstrate.
“He has been brave, gone past people, broke play up,” Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said after naming Bissouma as the best player on the pitch (via Sports View). “An all-round performance.”
Former Spurs player Chris Waddle, covering the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, was even more effusive in his praise.
“Bissouma has been a different class today,” he said (via HITC). “Under the previous managers, none of them wanted to play him.
“Today he has shown his technical quality, lacking in the finish though. But last week and this week he has been outstanding.”
If Bissouma can build on this magnificent display, then he’ll make Spurs’ outlay look like a bargain this year.
Liverpool may have signed Wataru Endo from Stuttgart, but it could still do with a starting-caliber number six before the transfer window closes.
Still only 26 years old, Bissouma could have been a long-term solution, and remains exactly the kind of player the Reds need.
Put it this way — if he was on the market for $32m right now, Liverpool would snap him up without hesitation. Perhaps it should have done so while it had the chance.
