Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Jurgen Klopp’s 10 best signings as Liverpool manager – ranked

Liverpool intended to sign the Colombian in the summer of 2022, but Tottenham’s move for Diaz during the January window forced the Reds into the market earlier than anticipated. It didn’t take long for the fans to realise just why Klopp & Co. felt they couldn’t afford to miss out on the Porto winger, either.

Diaz hit the ground running at Anfield, playing a pivotal role in the quadruple bid as he rapidly went about establishing himself as the best dribbler at the club – and the team’s best attacking option on the left flank. The heroic way in which he dealt with his father’s kidnapping in 2023 only further endeared him to the club’s supporters.

The former Cameroon international may never have received universal acclaim in England, but he’ll forever be a cult hero at Anfield, beloved for both his quirky personality and impressive performances in defence, most notably during the quadruple bid of 2021-22.

Matip may have been cruelly plagued by injury, which almost inevitably brought a premature end to his time at Liverpool, but the Reds got eight seasons of service out of the free transfer from Schalke, who will always be fondly remembered for his assist in the 2019 Champions League final win over Tottenham.

Eyebrows were raised when Liverpool paid such a significant sum of money for a player that had scored just nine Premier League goals the season before. However, the Reds had done their homework on Jota, who wasn’t just a forward of enormous potential, but also a perfect fit for Klopp’s pressing football.

Were it not for injuries, Jota would have an even better strike-rate for Liverpool, but he’s already done enough to be considered one of the finest finishers to have ever played for the club.

Liverpool took advantage of Newcastle United’s relegation to snap up Netherlands international Wijnaldum, who proved his valuable versatility and incredible footballing intelligence by adapting to a deeper role at Anfield to become a key contributor to the team that conquered Europe – and then the world.

Wijnaldum sealed legendary status for himself with his two-goal salvo in the miraculous Champions League win over Barcelona in 2019, but many supporters arguably only realised the true importance of Wijnaldum, whom Klopp described as “a manager’s dream”, as the Reds struggled to replace him after his departure on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

After initially taking time to settle at Anfield, former Monaco midfielder Fabinho became utterly integral to the Liverpool cause, the absolute master of the most difficult role in any Klopp team.

Fabinho was even nicknamed ‘The Lighthouse’ because of the way in which he spotted danger and protected the back four. As Klopp once said of the versatile Brazilian midfielder, “He saves our lives.”

A player of immense technical ability and unwavering self-belief, Mane wasted little time in turning doubters into believers after his arrival from Southampton, even winning the club’s Player of the Year award at the end of his first season at Anfield.

He just went from strength to strength from there, forming one of the finest attacking triumvirates the game has ever seen alongside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. So often a man for the big occasion, Mane surprised many when he left for Bayern Munich in 2022, but when he did so, Klopp quite correctly dubbed him “a modern-day Liverpool icon”.

Liverpool’s lack of a world-class shot-stopper cost them victory in the 2018 Champions League final – so they immediately went out and bought one. Alisson did not come cheap – the fee was a world record for a goalkeeper at the time – but the Brazilian has proven himself worth every penny with a string of outstanding displays, particularly during the difficult 2022-23 season when those in front of him were struggling horribly.

Alisson was the perfect goalkeeper for Klopp, a ‘mentality giant’ with an excellent range of passing who contributed assists – and even one very memorable and important goal…

A low-key signing from Hull City brought in to provide cover for Alberto Moreno, the tenacious, tough-tackling and swashbuckling Scot not only made the left-back berth his own at Anfield, he also established himself as one of the very best players in the world in his position.

Robertson is now renowned for his determined defending and the way in which he and fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold take it in turns to terrorise opponents with their forays forward. One of Klopp’s most trusted lieutenants, Robertson is the quintessential bargain-buy.

Plenty of pundits thought Liverpool had overpaid for the classy Southampton centre-back, but having failed with one bid to sign Van Dijk in the summer of 2017, the Reds were determined to do whatever was required to bring in the commanding and calming presence that their brittle backline so desperately needed – even if it a meant paying a world-record fee for a defender.

Van Dijk justified the outlay, thought, and then some. He was imperious during the Champions League and Premier League triumphs, finished second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or vote, and was named Liverpool’s new captain following Jordan Henderson’s departure in 2023.

Long story short, the Reds wouldn’t have become a major force without Van Dijk, who also made a mockery of talk of his decline by capping a monumental display in this year’s Carabao Cup final with an extra-time winner.

Not just one of the best signings Liverpool have ever made, but one of the greatest in Premier League history. Having lost all of his confidence under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Salah had revived his career in Serie A, first with Fiorentina and then Roma, but nobody anticipated what followed at Anfield.

The winger broke the Premier League single-season goals record in his very first year at the club – and just hasn’t stopped scoring since, propelling himself up to fifth on the list of Liverpool’s all-time leading marksman.

Salah’s staggering consistency – and almost-constant availability – were unquestionably two of the key factor’s in Klopp’s success on Merseyside.