Brendan Rodgers has entered another transitional period, his employers Liverpool have confirmed.

The coach, growly yet affable, will spend the next few months trying to cobble together something cohesive out of his latest batch of big-money signings, before deciding to cut his losses and loaning them all out to Serie A clubs in January.

In amongst these activities, he will also dedicate hours of laboratory time attempting to rebuild Daniel Sturridge while muttering ruefully to himself about what a magical flying carpet ride it all was when Luis was part of the group.

Speaking exclusively to Football Burp, a spokesperson for Liverpool admitted that discussions had begun as to whether they should just bin him off and give his job to that crazy-looking German guy.

The person of unspecified gender said: “As much as we’ve enjoyed plowing hundreds of millions into Brendan Rodgers’s perpetual search for the final piece of the jigsaw, it’s probably not sustainable.

“For now, though, we support him 100 per cent in his transition from respected young manager to maligned middle-aged Southampton raider.

“And if the German guy says no then we’ll ask Stevie to call Carra to text Kenny.”