So far, this summer has proved to be a time of frustration for Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. Clearly he wants to close the gap between them and Manchester United but has been hampered by boardroom difficulties and has not been able to bring in the players he wants.

This summer’s longest drawn out transfer affair has undoubtedly been Gareth Barry’s on-off move from Aston Villa to Liverpool. The transfer seemed to be relatively straight forward early in the summer with the player intent on the move and Villa resigned to losing their longest serving player. However an accusation of tapping up and unwillingness on Liverpool’s behalf to match the £18 Million valuation of the player has seen the transfer stall.

Liverpool have though managed to bring new faces in to the team over the summer. The biggest transfer is Robbie Keane who moves from Tottenham Hotspurs for around £20 Million. The Republic of Ireland striker is a good addition who will alleviate some of pressure on Fernando Torres to provide the goals.

Also arriving are Swiss full back Phillip Degan on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund, Italian Defender Andrea Dossena comes from Udinese for £7 Million and Paris Saint Germain youngster David N’Gog has also signed.

Leaving Anfield this summer is Peter Crouch. He has rejoined Portsmouth for £11 Million after spending three years at Anfield. Benitez has also allowed long serving defender John Arne Riise to leave for AS Roma for £4.5 Million. Youngsters Danny Guthrie and Anthony Le Tallac have also moved on with Guthrie joining Newcastle United and Le Tallac making his loan move to French club Le Mans permanent. Harry Kewell has also left this summer. He has joined Galatasaray on a free transfer. Finally England goalkeeper Scot Carson has joined newly promoted West Brom after failing to impress during last season’s loan spell at Aston Villa.

Liverpool supporters will be hoping that the potential for unrest between Benitez and the board does not hamper the team’s title ambitions. With the acquisition of Keane there is an excitement amongst the fans that he can create a good partnership with Torres. However, Liverpool’s reliance on a few key individual will remain a concern and much will again be expected of captain Steven Gerrard. If they can get a good start then there is no reason why they cannot mount a serious challenge for the Premier League, but they are perhaps a few players short of winning it this season.