10 of the Craziest Sales Liverpool Have Completed in Recent Years

Liverpool have enjoyed significant success on the pitch since Jurgen Klopp took charge at Anfield, claiming their sixth Champions League/European Cup against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of 2018/19.

Their transfer business has played a key part in their recent achievements, with purchases like Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane all crucial to their resurgence.

But the selling side of their business has almost been just as impressive, with the club managing to make great profits on players who largely failed to impress or even make the pitch during their time on Merseyside.

And with youngster Taiwo Awoniyi (yeah, me neither) the latest to be linked with a big(ish)-money move to CSKA Moscow, here's a look at some of the most eyebrow-raising sales the Reds have pulled off in recent years.

P.s - Thanks Michael Edwards!

Fabio Borini - £10.5m (2015)

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The Italy international has had one of the strangest careers of any professional footballer, playing for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Roma and AC Milan, while also spending time at Sunderland and Swansea.

He arrived at Anfield in 2012 from Roma for €13.3m and is the only player to make this list on whom Liverpool have made a loss.

However, given that he was sent out on loan to Sunderland before his permanent move and has scored a might 11 league goals since 2014, Liverpool could have done far worse than a loss of £2.5m.

Jordon Ibe - £15m (2016)

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Following his arrival on the scene, Wycombe Wanderers winger Jordon Ibe quickly became one of Liverpool's most promising prospects - even touted as the new and improved Raheem Sterling!

But his years at the club brought nothing but stagnation eventually leading to his departure in 2016.

Bournemouth may have looked like the ideal destination for him, but he's struggled to make much of an impact there as well despite joining in a then club-record deal.

Brad Smith - £3m (2016)

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A fee of £3m might not even seem worth including in this list, but it's a reasonable amount considering the impact - rather lack of it - Brad Smith had at Liverpool and at his clubs thereafter.

He only made five (underwhelming) appearances in three years as a first-teamer at Anfield and was unsurprisingly shipped out in 2016.

Bournemouth took another risk on a Liverpool outcast but his impact with the Cherries was just as insignificant as it had been on Merseyside, eventually being loaned to Seattle Sounders.

Christian Benteke - £32m (2016)

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Following a number of impressive displays for Aston Villa, Liverpool paid the £32.5m release clause to bring Christian Benteke to Anfield.

But the big Belgian failed to live up to expectation, scoring an underwhelming nine goals in 29 games during his only season at the club.

Given his poor performances, Liverpool will have been somewhat thankful to have virtually made their money back on the forward, when Crystal Palace took a £32m (including add-ons) risk on him back in 2016, only for them to suffer the same disappointment his former club previously went through.

Kevin Stewart - £8m (2017)

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In 2014, Liverpool captured Tottenham youth product Kevin Stewart and kept hold of him for a further three years.

His time as a Red was one of largely unsuccessful loan spells at a series of lower league clubs including Cheltenham Town, Burton Albion and Swindon Town, in which he failed to make over 10 appearances for any of his temp clubs.

After an underwhelming time of it at Liverpool, it seemed odd that Hull City were willing to put up £8m for the midfielder. Now 26, he seems to have found his level in the Championship, while Liverpool continued their recent knack of turning a quick buck on players never likely to trouble the starting XI.

Mamadou Sakho - £26m (2017)

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The second of Palace's signings from Liverpool - French central defender Mamadou Sakho - was far more successful than Benteke, in fairness.

After being frozen out at Liverpool under Klopp, it seemed like Liverpool might have to give former PSG captain Sakho away. However, a short but impressive loan spell in 2017 worked in Liverpool's favour, raising the centre back's price tag with Palace desperate for a permanent deal.

Never a bad player, Sakho has largely impressed at Selhurst Park when fit. Liverpool once again had the last laugh though, banking an extra £8m on what they originally paid for a player the manager no longer wanted.

 Philippe Coutinho - £142m (2018)

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It's safe to say that the Brazilian magician was Liverpool's prized possession during his time there, so you might feel that an enormous sale was more of an expectation than an outstanding piece of business.

However, the former Inter midfielder only cost the Reds a mere £8.5m when they signed him in 2013, making this one of the greatest profits in footballing history.

Considering Coutinho is now rumoured to be on his way out of Barcelona following Neymar's potential re-signing, Liverpool certainly look like the overall winners in this transfer saga.

Danny Ward - £12.5m (2018)

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The remaining inclusions in this list may well be overshadowed by the sheer size of Coutinho's fee, but this is still impressive business on Liverpool's part.

Prior to Alisson's signature, the Reds hadn't had much luck in the goalkeeping department. Simon Mignolet was more than prone to the odd howler whilst Loris Karius will always be remembered for his shocking performance during the defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League Final.

Nonetheless, Welshman Danny Ward was always some way down the pecking order before Leicester City splashed £12.5m on him last year, only for him to remain a backup there too.

Dominic Solanke - £19m (2019)

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The third of Bournemouth's surprisingly costly purchases from Liverpool is that of England youngster Dominic Solanke.

When Solanke joined from Premier League rivals Chelsea for a minor fee of £3m, very few believed he would become a key part of Klopp's plans.

This rang true when he only made 21 appearances during his two years at the club before leaving for the Cherries, making the forward more of a short-term investment opportunity rather than a long-term improvement for Jurgen's side.

Although he has bags of potential, it's hard to argue he improved his value so much in those few Liverpool outings.

Danny Ings - £20m (2019)

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The latest of Liverpool's sales is that of Danny Ings as Ralph Hasenhuttl looks to improve his Southampton side following a strong start to life in England since replacing Mark Hughes.

A successful four-year spell with Burnley led Liverpool to spend £8m on the lively attacker, but his time at Liverpool was a case of what might've been.

Largely due to injury, Ings only made 14 appearances during a forgetful four years as a Liverpool player.

A much-improved loan spell with the Saints last season was more than enough for them to sign him permanently for £20m, signifying yet another great profit on one of Liverpool's expendable fringe players.