Are Liverpool showing a lack of ambition in the transfer market?

Chelsea finished sixth last season, and that was clearly not good enough for owner Roman Abramovich.

He has already put up £66 million in transfer funds, barely seeing a penny in return, as he looks to return the Blues to their place challenging for the Premier League title.

By contrast, Liverpool finished as low as eighth, and while action has been taken in sacking Kenny Dalglish, in the transfer market  they have been so far underwhelming.

Right now all supporters have to get 'excited' about is a potential £12.5 million (minimum) arrival of Swansea City midfielder Joe Allen.

Allen is a solid player, with a lot of bright hope for the future, but he hardly represents the type of star name Liverpool fans are dreaming of.

This wasn't what Kenny Dalglish had in mind when he hailed the club's six-year £300 million shirt deal with Warrior Sports as the most important in their history.

Now it is probably a good thing Dalglish left, his side last season were underwhelming, and he overspent on average players in the transfer market.

His first contribution this summer was to be the signing of Mohamed Diame on a free from Wigan, again probably a player not of Liverpool calibre, but when he was sacked the plug was pulled on that one.

Brendan Rodgers has talked the talk so far, but in the transfer market he has not exactly provided the wide ranging scouting network many hoped he would.

The signing of Fabio Borini should prove a shrewd addition, a player he knew from his Swansea and Chelsea days, but after a failed pursuit of Swans loanee Gylfi Sigurdsson and the Joe Allen chase it has left questions to be asked as to why he is simply looking at players he has previously worked with.

Sure he knows them and knows how to get the best out of them, and you can't blame him for wanting a bit of familiarity when tasked with overhauling the Liverpool squad, but a reminder- This is Liverpool - Expectations are higher than almost anywhere else.

Many would argue that the club are incapable of attracting the very top names in football right now. Sitting outside of the Champions League it is a fair argument, but Liverpool are a club respected worldwide, as seen on their recent tour of the USA, with star names such as Steven Gerrard in their ranks.

Players should be lining up to play for them, but the pulling power does not appear to be there. Is it the manager's fault, or have enquiries simply not been made?

Arsenal are reported to have signed Santi Cazorla from Malaga for just £16 million, narrowly over the £15 million Liverpool could pay for Allen. Comparing the two there is no contest really.

Rebuilding Liverpool is, unlike Chelsea, unlikely to be a one-season job. Rodgers is clearly hoping to take a steady approach.

But while the Stamford Bridge club go into the season ahead aiming for the title, Liverpool enter in hoping for a top four spot at best, a true sign of the times.

There are bargains to be had out there in the transfer market still, as Arsenal's acquisitions of Cazorla, Giroud, and Podolski show, and indeed their own signing of Borini.

The problem is Borini and Allen are just not going to be enough. And if Agger is sold, then a replacement will have to be bought.

Is it the effect of their overspend last summer? Most likely. The damage was done last summer by Dalglish and Commoli and this is the price of the mess. FSG want to consolidate without putting in unsustainable amounts of cash.

There is still time for Liverpool to sign Allen, despite Laudrup's words today that he will attempt to block any transfer, and move onto bigger and more exciting targets. They may have to if they really want to make a big improvement next season rather than simply a steady one.

What do you think of Liverpool's transfer activity so far this summer?

image: © Nigel Wilson