Last season Liverpool defied all the odds to end a painful 30-year wait for the league title.
With Jurgen Klopp steering the ship, Liverpool did not just manage to slightly better their rivals… they obliterated them.
Now, with his status as an Anfield legend immortalised, Klopp finds himself facing the reality of perhaps his toughest ever season ahead.
Rivals are strengthening at ferocious pace while the Reds have depleted funds in the bank. All teams are now placing a target on Liverpool’s head to beat the kings and, it should be mentioned, there is the strong possibility of a certain Lionel Messi arriving in the Premier League.
Ahead of the action beginning once more on Saturday with the Community Shield final, Sportsmail takes a closer look at the mammoth task Klopp has ahead…
Jurgen Klopp is a reigning champion but knows the season ahead is perhaps his most arduous
Recruitment void
Liverpool enter the Wembley showdown having made just one addition to their senior ranks.
The Merseyside club are a well-oiled business machine these days, and the envy of Europe for the way in which they get things done. However, it’s fair to say events have not unfolded quite as planned.
After announcing records profits earlier in the year, Liverpool were all set to see out their emphatic title charge and reinvest the bountiful rewards that come with this straight back into the side.
Liverpool have been tentative in the transfer market, signing only Kostas Tsimikas so far
And then a global pandemic happened.
Having spent decades working on an inferior budget to their rivals, Liverpool have had to take the sensible option and immediately tighten the purse strings.
The Reds boast one of the biggest wage bills in the country, thanks largely in part to their stellar recruitment over the past few years. Players have stepped up to the plate, turning into global superstars and been lucratively rewarded as a result.
Which is all fine and well, yet this does mean that Klopp has been left counting the coins this summer, while some of his closest foes have been burning through the chequebook.
Chelsea spending big (and well)
No greater example can be seen than that of Chelsea, who have reverted back to the old Roman Abramovich free-spending days without so much as a blink.
Liverpool may be champions of England but Chelsea have already flexed their financial muscle over them with the swift acquisition of Timo Werner.
Chelsea flexed their financial muscle by beating Liverpool to the £53m signing of Timo Werner
It was widely reported that the German striker had his heart set on a move to Anfield to learn under Klopp, only for Liverpool to baulk at the £53million price tag. Chelsea swiftly moved in, agreeing the deal with RB Leipzig and making Werner their highest-paid player in the process.
Werner wasn’t even the first big name to arrive, after a deal with Ajax for Hakim Ziyech was already rubber stamped.
Since, the Blues have added a £50m full-back in Ben Chilwell, and are on the cusp of signing one of Germany’s most exciting talents in the last decade – Kai Havertz.
Adding experience to the shaky defensive line, veteran star Thiago Silva arrived, following the expiration of his PSG contract.
And the spending continued with a £50m splurge on Ben Chilwell from Leicester City
Liverpool defeated Chelsea twice in the league last season, including a fiery encounter at Anfield even after they had been declared champions.
Lampard won’t allow his spat with Klopp to leave the memory any time soon, meaning the coming season could well be an explosive one with Chelsea now heavily armed.
Dark horse rivals
There was a lot to take in at the end of last season, with most people simply just relieved to see football return to the television screens.
Much of the division’s points of interest were sewed up, with the title race falling in Liverpool’s favour and the relegation battle quickly taking shape.
But what many overlooked was the near-pristine finish of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United.
Liverpool’s bitter rivals Man United finished the season with a flourish due to Bruno Fernandes
Benefiting greatly from getting on with their work out of the direct glare of public scrutiny, something clicked at United which saw Solskjaer’s men surge into the top four.
Despite an indifferent season up until that point, United proved that one major signing can make the difference. Bruno Fernandes’ arrival in January was a point of divine inspiration.
Ever the student of the game, Liverpool boss Klopp will have course been monitoring this.
For several seasons now Liverpool have been able to keep United at bay, thrilling supporters by finally climbing back onto that ‘perch’ which Sir Alex Ferguson used to refer to.
United have endured a difficult summer, that much is plain to see. From being dumped out of the Europa League to seeing their captain thrown into a Greek prison cell. And, to boot, club talisman Paul Pogba testing positive for coronavirus.
Jadon Sancho could yet still arrive at Old Trafford, despite United’s failure to agree a fee
Yet these troublesome issues call for a huge response, and it is this that Klopp and his side should be wary of.
When United find themselves in a spot of pressure they spend, and lavishly.
So far they have failed to crack a deal with Borussia Dortmund for Jadon Sancho, but with the transfer window closing in early October, anything is possible.
The small matter of Lionel Messi…
All the above has happened, and yet we haven’t even mentioned the one topic set to dominate football for weeks to come.
The transfer that forever seemed impossible is now very much a reality. Messi is poised to finally grace the Premier League.
And, quite damning for Liverpool, is that his choice of destination looks to be their direct rivals.
The impossible has become a tangible reality with Lionel Messi wanting a Man City move
Even before the 2019-20 season ended Klopp would have been mindful of City dipping into the market, knowing full well Pep Guardiola and his multi-billionaire backers would waste no time in processing the deals.
Right on cue, City quickly went about acquiring the exciting Ferran Torres and versatile defender Nathan Ake… but nobody even considered the possibility of the arrival of Messi.
It could even be said that City were neither looking to recruit in the position Messi plays, or needed to. Yet when it comes down to arguably the greatest player who has ever lived, there is no time to think twice.
City were set to improve this summer regardless, yet with the potential arrival of Messi they will reach an upper echelon that has never before been possible.
He won’t just vastly improve an already world class squad, but completely transform them.
Should Messi arrive and Klopp’s Liverpool be able to hold them off once again, we’re perhaps looking at one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport.
Pep Guardiola was already improving his side, and may soon have the greatest player of all
The bounty hunters
There is also the small matter of what it now means to play Liverpool, and this should be a concern for Klopp.
Many tipped the Reds as the greatest team in Europe last season, with heavy backing among the bookmakers for Klopp’s men to win both the Premier League and retain their Champions League title.
In full flow, the way Liverpool dissected teams was thrilling to watch. Everything clicked and the squad quickly became so much more than just the sum of its parts.
But with such a rise comes a price. Now everybody wants to beat you. Status is on the line.
Like the irrepressible United teams of Sir Alex Ferguson, Liverpool have now become the team who everybody will raise their game for.
This could be a recipe for disaster, particularly given such a short pre-season and the particularly tough early run of fixtures Liverpool have been handed.
Klopp knows every team will now raise their game when facing his reigning champions
Bad omens
It can be said that the start of the season is completely unprecedented.
The biggest league in world football will kick off as a global pandemic continues to rage on, with stands left bare up and down the country.
It seems almost unfair to compare historically, given the multitude of impacting factors. Yet to do so spells concern for Liverpool.
Never before has a side spent so little and successfully retained the Premier League title.
Of course, it should be noted that Liverpool could yet be set to dip into the market in the coming weeks, with a move for Bayern Munich superstar Thiago Alcantara still gathering pace.
Liverpool may yet sign Thiago, but history doesn’t bode well for title winners who don’t recruit
Yet to date, Liverpool have only spent £11.75m to secure the arrival of back up left-back Kostas Tsimikas.
Taking into account inflation over the years, title-winning teams have always spent more in order to keep the crown firmly on top of their head.
In 2007-08, after getting their hands on the main prize, United did not hang around before bringing in Nani, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Tomasz Kuszczak, Rodrigo Possebon and Manucho for a combined £90m.
Going much further back, the last instance of a team buying just one player before going on to retain the title was again Manchester United.
In 1994 they paid just £3.75m to bring in Roy Keane, although it is important to stress this was then considered lavish spending and also happened to smash the British transfer record at the time.
In present comparative terms, it would be like Klopp’s Liverpool breaking the £90m English record for Pogba, which currently stands today.
Liverpool’s title win is perhaps better observed when placed next to Chelsea’s of 2004-05. The first season of Abramovich’s reign saw the Blues end a 50-year wait to be crowned champions of England.
United once retained the league after signing just one star, but smashed the record for Keane
And thereafter, naturally, they plunged straight into the market once more.
Jose Mourinho was inundated with cash to sign Michael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Aiser Del Horno, Slobodan Rajkovic, Lassana Diarra and Maniche for a final sum of £82m.
This sort of money pales into insignificance compared to what is now spent, even though the football world could only sit back with mouths agape at the time. Such riches are plainly not available to Liverpool.
So, Liverpool have some big decisions to make and huge plans to outline.
Klopp has shown without doubt he is one of the best in the business, but now it’s time to pass the greatest test of all.