After a period of mediocrity, Liverpool have climbed back towards the top of the Premier League in recent years thanks, in part, to an outstanding transfer policy.
The Reds got very little wrong in the transfer market during Jurgen Klopp’s reign as he re-established the Anfield club as one of the finest teams in European football, winning the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League in 2020.
Liverpool haven’t always been so impressive in the transfer market, though. Here are some examples of when the club got it wrong.
Florian Wirtz – €125m from Bayer Leverkusen, 2025
Florian Wirtz was the golden boy of German football when he was surprisingly signed by Liverpool for an eye-watering €125m in the summer of 2025. This was a record fee for an incoming British transfer at the time.
Given his talent, many expected Wirtz to hit the ground running. He had been a vital part of Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible double-winning team in 2023/24 and was ready for the next step in his career.
However, Wirtz joined a dysfunctional team. After a summer of upheaval – which included massive player turnover and the tragic passing of striker Diogo Jota – the Reds were unrecognisable from the side that had won the Premier League months earlier.
Wirtz’s adaptation took longer than expected, and he got injured just as he was about to hit real form. His first season at Anfield has been a major disappointment. He can still come good, of course, but given the money paid, he has to be included here for the time being.
Alexander Isak – €145m from Newcastle, 2025
It is the same story for Alexander Isak, who shattered Wirtz’s record when Liverpool signed him in a last-minute deal from Newcastle in 2025. The Magpies didn’t want to sell the Swede, but he went on strike and forced their hand.
At St. James’ Park, Isak had evolved into one of the most scintillating strikers in the Premier League, impressing not just with his finishing but also with his overall play. His movement and dribbling ability were remarkable for a towering forward.
However, because of his antics, he basically did not have a real pre-season. Moreover, he was dealing with a slight injury, which meant that he was playing catch-up from the moment he arrived at Anfield.
Liverpool had to slowly increase his minutes, but when he played, he lacked the explosiveness he had shown at Newcastle. An injury then sidelined him for several months.
Like Wirtz, Isak has endured a miserable first season at Anfield, but there is still every chance that he will come good eventually.
Christian Benteke – €46.5m from Aston Villa, 2015
Another attempted replacement for Suarez, a year later, was Christian Benteke, who Liverpool purchased after triggering his release clause at Aston Villa.
Despite his formidable presence inside the box, Benteke lacked the nuance in his game to lead the line for a top club, and he would eventually find this out when new manager Klopp regularly put him on the bench.
He scored 10 goals in his only season with the Reds, which isn’t terrible, but he was never the quality forward the club needed, though he did score a screamer of an overhead kick against Manchester United.
Liverpool, somehow, recouped €31.2m by selling him to Crystal Palace.
Mario Balotelli – €20m from Milan, 2014
Mario Balotelli had already lost his ‘super’ status by the time Liverpool completed a €20m panic buy from Milan for the former Manchester City striker.
In that summer, the Reds lost Luis Suarez, and in his attempts to replace the Uruguayan, manager Brendan Rodgers attempted a Hail Mary signing with the acquisition of the Italian maverick.
It was going to work out either very badly or very well. It was the former, as he scored just four times in 28 appearances.
Andy Carroll – €41m from Newcastle, 2011
When Suarez signed for Liverpool in January 2011, he was apparently under the impression he would be joining the club to partner Fernando Torres in what would have been a strike force for the ages.
Instead, he got Andy Carroll, who arrived for a sizeable €41m on Deadline Day in the winter window. This made him Liverpool’s club-record signing and the most expensive British player ever at the time.
Injuries, naturally, held him back from consistency at Anfield, but when he did play, his scoring record was poor. He would eventually sign for West Ham 18 months after arriving at Liverpool.
El-Hadji Diouf – €15m from Lens, 2002
El-Hadji Diouf was in the middle of a star showing for Senegal in the 2002 World Cup when his transfer to Liverpool was confirmed.
A goal here and there came, but things started to turn sour for Diouf when he spat into the crowd in a match against Celtic in the UEFA Cup, which resulted in a police interview and a fine of £60,000.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher would later say of Diouf: “He has one of the worst strike rates of any forward in Liverpool history. He’s the only No.9 ever to go through a whole season without scoring, in fact he’s probably the only No.9 of any club to do that.
“He was always the last one to get picked in training.”
Loris Karius – €6.2m from Mainz, 2016
Oh, Loris.
In the 2015/16 season, Loris Karius was actually one of the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga, and was voted the second best in the league behind Manuel Neuer by his peers following his performances for Mainz.
That led to a move to Liverpool, but what came after was a series of calamities – high-profile calamities.
In the 2018 Champions League final, he cost Liverpool the game by firing a clearance straight off Karim Benzema into the net, and then spilling a routine Gareth Bale strike over the line for Real Madrid’s third.
He never played for the club again.
Robbie Keane – €24m from Tottenham, 2008
Robbie Keane completed one of his dream moves in the summer of 2008 when he signed for Liverpool from Tottenham.
Upon signing, he said: “I’ve been a Liverpool fan all my life, going back to when I was a kid growing up in Dublin, and I always had a Liverpool shirt on my back. So, to be here now as a Liverpool player is incredible and I couldn’t be happier.”
The Irishman had his moments in a Liverpool shirt, including a superb strike away versus Arsenal, but it wasn’t enough to stop the club selling him back to Spurs for a loss just six months after he signed.
Naby Keita – €60m from RB Leipzig
After an impressive couple of seasons at RB Leipzig, Liverpool decided that Naby Keita was the ideal signing to bolster their midfield options, and splashed €60m on him.
In retrospect, that fee was far too much, and Keita was never able to pay it back with his performances. Klopp did not trust the Guinea international all that much, preferring Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Keita also struggled with injuries and missed far too many games.
He did not make more than 25 starts in all competitions in any of his campaigns at the club, and made just eight Premier League appearances in his final season at Anfield before leaving on a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract.
Darwin Nunez – €85m from Benfica, 2022
Darwin Nunez was not the first dud Liverpool bought from Benfica. Eight years earlier, in 2014, the Reds had splashed €25m on winger Lazar Markovic, who proved to be a hilariously poor signing.
Markovic’s fee, though, pales in comparison to the money Liverpool spent on Nunez, with the Uruguay international’s fee rising to €85m over the course of his three years at Anfield.
Liverpool’s recruitment department were reportedly unsure that Nunez’s performance in Portugal would scale up to the Premier League level, but Jurgen Klopp was adamant that he needed to be signed after he scored against the Reds in both legs of a Champions League quarter-final tie.
Nunez became something of a cult hero for his work rate and passion, but he was ultimately unfit to lead the line for Liverpool due to his erratic finishing. He was sold to Al-Hilal for €53m in 2025, but the Saudi club unregistered him from their league squad after just six months.
