Liverpool has historically been recognized for its prudent financial management. Patience on the market and a strong emphasis on retaining key players characterize the Reds’ approach to player acquisitions. However, this has not always been the case. Over the past nine years, the club has acquired as many as seven players who ultimately declined to participate in games. In this article, Express Sport examines the experiences of former Reds rejects in greater detail.
Taiwo Awoniyi
Taiwo Awoniyi, who is currently tearing it up in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, was never selected for the first team of the Merseyside club. This has nothing to do with his footballing prowess. Due to difficulties with his work permit, he spent the majority of his six years with the club on loan prior to his £6.5 million sale to Union Berlin in 2021.
In the summer of 2022, he was transferred from Berlin, where he had performed admirably, to Nottingham Forest, where he has since established himself as a crucial component of Steve Cooper’s system.
Ben Davies
Ben Davies’ transfer to Liverpool, not to be confused with the Tottenham left-back of the same name, will go down in Premier League history as one of the most peculiar transactions. Evans was acquired by the Reds from Preston North End in February 2021 in an effort to fill in at center-back following the long-term injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip. Nonetheless, Davies was unable to demonstrate his true prowess as Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams passed him on the final stretch. After eighteen months, he was transferred to Rangers, having not participated in a competitive match for Liverpool.
Allan Rodrigues de Souza
Work permit complications prevented Allan Rodrigues de Souza, like Awoniyi, from making his Liverpool debut. Allan worked on a loan basis for five years in Finland, Belgium, Germany, Cyprus, and his native Brazil while awaiting approval of his British visa. He did not, however, obtain a green light. In the end, he was transferred to Atletico Minero in 2020, where he completed his final season with a domestic double before agreeing to join Flamengo this summer.
Andy Lonergan
Andy Lonergan, an English shot-stopper, has been a member of three Premier League clubs—West Brom, Everton, and Liverpool—but has yet to make a single appearance for any of them. Lonergan has not participated in a competitive first-team match since December 2020, when he appeared once for Stoke City in a 3-1 EFL Cup quarterfinal loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Lonergan remains under contract with the Toffees; however, similar to his tenure at Liverpool, he has primarily occupied himself in the reserves.
Alexander Manninger
Alexander Manninger is another Liverpool goalkeeper who never began a first-team contest. Formerly a respectable player, the Austrian served as David Seaman’s substitute during Arsenal’s 1997-1998 championship season. However, he was nearly forty years old when he joined Liverpool in 2016; he was only utilized as an emergency substitute.
Lawrence Vigouroux
Lawrence Vigouroux completes the trio of goalkeepers that comprise the list. In 2014, Liverpool acquired Vigourox from Tottenham subsequent to a fruitful trial. He quickly surpassed Danny Ward as a starter for Liverpool’s Under-21 squad, but in contrast to his teammate, he never made the first team.
Anderson Arroyo
Anderson Arroyo, a center-back from Columbia, is the only remaining player for the Reds. Work permit issues have prevented the 24-year-old from making a first-team debut for Liverpool since his acquisition of the club in 2018. Throughout this period, he has undergone seven loan transfers and is presently engaged in professional activities with Andorra, a second-tier Spanish club.