The Reds may have romped to the 2024-25 Premier League title, but it's already clear that they're going to be very busy in the market
Liverpool boss Arne Slot did something truly remarkable last season. He made replacing the iconic Jurgen Klopp look easy, as the former Feyenoord coach led the Reds to Premier League glory. Perhaps even more impressively, he did so with just one new player in Federico Chiesa – and even then, the Dutchman barely used the Italian attacker.
It's, therefore, exciting to think what Slot might achieve with a significantly strengthened squad because it's already clear that Richard Hughes & Co. mean business this summer. After last year's infuriating inactivity (even in terms of tying Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold down to new contracts), the Reds are now seemingly intent on doing as much business as possible before the end of June.
Indeed, a deal for Jeremie Frimpong has already been completed, which has really taken the edge off Alexander-Arnold's departure for Real Madrid, and it seems that more world-class reinforcements are on the way.
GOAL runs through all of the areas the champions still need to strengthen, and who's likely to make way for the new arrivals…
Getty Images SportWrap up Wirtz deal ASAP!
Dominik Szoboszlai played a key part in Liverpool's 2024-25 title triumph, with his relentless running proving integral to Slot's pressing game. The Hungary international also stepped up in massive wins over Manchester City and Newcastle in February. However, 16 direct goal involvements was considered a slightly underwhelming return for a player who was regularly deployed just behind Liverpool's front three.
Consequently, the club's fans went into meltdown when it suddenly emerged that Liverpool were leading the race to sign Florian Wirtz, arguably the most exciting and effective No.10 in the game today.
Once it emerged that the Germany international was open to leaving Bayer Leverkusen, the natural assumption was that he would join Bayern Munich, who have always revelled in hoovering up all of the Bundesliga's top young talent. Wirtz, though, apparently has his heart set on a move to Merseyside, and Leverkusen are obviously far more open to selling their most valuable asset to Liverpool rather than the team that dethroned them as champions of Germany.
Bayer are understandably playing hardball, holding out for a fee in the region of £125 million ($170m), but, according to the latest reports, a British-record deal is close to being agreed. Until the official confirmation arrives, though, Liverpool fans won't rest easy, particularly as former Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has just taken over at Real Madrid.
Wirtz wouldn't just be a statement signing; he'd be a game-changer, and likely to be worth every single penny. After all, the Germany international has only just turned 22 while only Salah (36) has racked up more assists than Wirtz (33) in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues over the past two years. Just imagine the damage they could do together in the Premier League – particularly with Frimpong supporting them!
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLine up a Robertson replacement
It was fantastic to see Andy Robertson collect the second Premier League winners' medal he so richly deserved, as it should remove any question mark over his status as one of the competition's best-ever left-backs. However, there's simply no getting away from the fact that the 2024-25 campaign underlined that Robertson is in decline, which is perfectly understandable for a 31-year-old.
Playing full-throttle football for so many seasons was always going to catch up with him eventually, as underlined by a solitary assist in 33 Premier League appearances. Even more worryingly, Robertson was, at times, a liability from a defensive perspective, most notably in Liverpool's two games against Fulham, when he was made to look very bad indeed by Antonee Robinson, a player long touted as his Anfield heir.
Hughes, though, has another successor in mind, namely Milos Kerkez, and signing the Bournemouth ace certainly makes an awful lot of sense. The Hungary international is still only 21 years of age (Robinson is 27) and showed this season that he can provide the kind of penetration down the left flank that was once Robertson's forte.
Kerkez has previously been linked with Manchester City, so he won't come cheap – Bournemouth are believed to be demanding approximately £45m ($61m) – but the word is that he, too, is desperate to join Liverpool, meaning Slot should have a Robertson replacement sooner rather than later.
GettySign a striker
Liverpool need to sign a striker this summer because, right now, they don't have one they can rely on. It really is as simple as that, because Diogo Jota can't stay fit, while Darwin Nunez can't convert open goals.
How much an interested party would be willing to pay for the Portuguese is unclear at this stage, given his injury record. Remarkable as it may seem, though, there are apparently a few clubs willing to pay a reasonable sum of money for Nunez.It's been claimed that Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone believes himself capable of getting the best out of the painfully unpredictable Uruguayan and Liverpool would certainly be open to sending Nunez to the Metropolitano if it would help to convince the Rojiblancos to let Julian Alvarez move in the opposite direction.
At this particular point in time, though, it seems far more likely that a Saudi Arabian club would be willing to pay over the odds for Nunez, given there was already interest in doing so during the January transfer window. Wherever Nunez goes (and he will depart this summer), the money raised from his sale will undoubtedly be put towards acquiring a promising young centre-forward.
With Champions League-qualified Newcastle having priced Liverpool (and pretty much everyone else) out of the running for Alexander Isak, and Arsenal seemingly closing in on Benjamin Sesko, Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike is looking like the preferred candidate to lead the attack next season – although it is worth noting that the Reds are going to face stiff competition for the Frenchman's services from Chelsea. Again, the fee could well be prohibitive but given the scarcity of No.9s on the market right now, it might be a price worth paying from Liverpool's perspective.
However, it will be well worth keeping an eye on any developments surrounding Victor Osimhen. The Nigeria international no longer seems to be on the radar of Europe's elite and appears to be edging towards the Saudi Pro League, but the buy-out clause in his Napoli contract is €75m (£63m/$84m) – which actually seems pretty reasonable for such a proven and well-rounded goal-scorer…
Getty Images SportSort out Konate's future
Ibrahima Konate represents quite the conundrum for Liverpool. The France international clearly has it in him to become a truly world-class defender; he's big, strong, quick and his centre-back partnership with Virgil van Dijk was arguably the best in the Premier League last season.
However, Konate's Anfield future is far from certain for two reasons: firstly, he's worryingly error-prone; secondly, and far more importantly, he's got just one year left on his contract.
Konate may not be anywhere near as valuable as Alexander-Arnold, but Liverpool would still be loath to lose the 26-year-old for nothing at the end of next season. Hughes & Co., thus, have a big decision to make on Konate.
If it looks like he is even considering following in Alexander-Arnold's footsteps by running down his contract in order to secure a move to Real Madrid (or maybe even Paris Saint-Germain), Liverpool should cash in on Konate immediately. It would hardly be the ideal outcome, of course. It's not like the Reds are well-stacked in the centre of defence as it is, with Jarell Quansah having gone backwards over the past year and the frustratingly brittle Joe Gomez only just back from a season-ending injury.
We're also still waiting for the long-awaited arrival of a young, left-side centre-back to eventually take over from Van Dijk. Indeed, Liverpool really need to strengthen the heart of their defence this summer – even if they keep Konate.