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What Do Liverpool Need This Summer?
Blogs

What Do Liverpool Need This Summer?

What Do Liverpool Need This Summer?

Liverpool have all but confirmed themselves as the 2024/25 Premier League champions with Arne Slot bringing in major silverware in his first stint in the job. Whilst that is very impressive, there are some glaring issues that need to be fixed in order for them to continue down the path of success in the future. Here are some things that they could do to ensure they are still in the fight for a quadruple again next year.

Pre Summer

Heading into the 2025/26 campaign, three of Liverpool's superstars are out of contract. Club captain Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all have their contract expire in the summer as it stands. If Liverpool are unable to agree new deals with all three then The Reds will have to deal with their three best players leaving the club on free transfers.

This is extremely concerning. Not only will Liverpool be left without receiving any money from their sales, but they will also have to go on without their contributions. Mohamed Salah will go down in history as one of the greatest ever to don a Liverpool shirt and this season he has upped the ante, having a Balon D’or worthy season. In 43 appearances across all competitions, The Egyptian has recorded 54 goal involvements, split into 32 goals and 22 assists. He has broken numerous records and has been a vital part of Liverpool’s dominance this season and their success since he joined the club back in 2017.

Virgil van Dijk is still one of, if not the best defender in the world. In his 29 Premier League games he has contributed towards 12 cleans sheets, 32 tackles, 44 interceptions, 143 clearances, 94 recoveries, 134 duels won and 89 ariel battles won. His experience at the back has been crucial to Liverpool over the years and the opportunity to mentor young centre backs like Ibrahima Konaté and Jarrell Quansah could help Liverpool be set at the back in the years to come.

The one that that could hurt the most for Liverpool fans though is losing Trent Alexander-Arnold. “The Scouser In The Team” has been with the red side of Merseyside since he was six years old. Working his way through the academy, he has now earnt his place in the starting lineup for many years. He is the seventh all-time leading assister at Liverpool and is second in the list for the most assists in the Premier League. He is a joy to watch with his incredible passing range, crossing ability and his threat from set pieces too. What hurts the most is that his likely destination would be Real Madrid, a club that has cause a few heartbreaks for Liverpool over recent seasons.

Liverpool have been really secret in how contract talks have been going but the possibility that none of them resign is a dark and looming though for all the fans of the club.

Who Can They Bring In?

All good things come to an end and if Liverpool are not able to renew all three contracts then some serious business will have to occur to get even half of the talent of the leaving players. There have been reports that Liverpool will be willing to spend big in the summer to try and get in replacements for the irreplaceable.

Dean Huijsen

Trying to fill a Virgil van Dijk shaped hole will be a mightily tough task but AFC Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen could one day fill into his boots. Since coming from Juventus, the 19-year-old has been fantastic, showing similar levels to van Dijk. In his 23 appearances this season, Huijsen has managed 24 blocks, 42 interceptions, 28 tackles, 20 successful tackles, 126 clearances and 48 ariel battle won. The talent is raw and would need to be developed a bit more but a move to Liverpool would only elevate his levels further.

With a release clause of £50 million, he is the ideal target to get given the price of some of the elite centre backs across the world. A partnership of Huijsen and Konaté would be the pairing at the back for years to come thanks to their youth. Virgil van Dijk would be sorely missed but Huijsen is a step in the right direction.

Milos Kerkez

Staying in Bournemouth and another great target for Liverpool to try and snatch is left back Milos Kerkez. Current left back at Liverpool, Andy Roberston has been an excellent servant to the club ever since he joined from Hull eight years ago. He is behind only Ashley Young and teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in terms of most assists in the Premier League for a defender with 59 to his name.

However, his relentless pressing under Jürgen Klopp has taken a toll on him as the 31-year-old just hasn’t been the same player. He has been sloppy at times and his legs seem to have run out on him at some points. The youth and incredible work rate of Kerkez would be a great replacement for the Scotsman.

Liverpool have sent scouts to watch him for a while now and with Slot’s system suiting a player like Kerkez, it seems like the perfect time to bring in the Hungary international. Having his national team captain Dominik Szoboszlai at Liverpool could play a big part in this move as well, whispering in his ear to join him at the club.

Jermie Frimpong

Obtaining a €40 million release clause in his current Bayer Leverkusen contract, Jermie Frimpong would be a great asset for Liverpool to bring in. The Dutchman wouldn’t be able to replace Alexander-Arnold’s passing ability but he would bring amazing attacking options on the right hand side. In the Bundesliga this season he is ranked in the upper 80% percentile in comparison to those sharing his position for a lot of attacking stats. Per 90 minutes he has averaged 0.20 goals, 1.41 shots, 0.70 shots on target, 0.25 assists, 0.95 successful dribbles and 4.85 touches in the opposition box.

Like Trent, defending is not his first priority but he can knuckle down when he needs to, putting up an average of 75.9% tackles won, 3.61 recoveries and 0.95 possession won in the final third. If Liverpool can bring in both Kerkez and Frimpong then they will be lethal on the wings with each of them constantly bombing up and down the pitch.

Alexander Isak

Despite just helping his Newcastle side beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup to ensure their first trophy in 70 years, Alexander Isak is still a target for The Reds. In the 33 matches Isak has featured in across the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, the Swedish striker has found the back of the net 23 times, accompanied with five assists this season. Liverpool will face competition with Arsenal to secure Isak’s signature with an expected transfer fee of up to £100 million.

Over 90 minutes Alexander Isak has averaged 0.83 goals, 3.02 shots and 1.49 shots on target. Compare that to Darwin Núñez’s 0.47 goals, 2.81 shots and 1.12 shots on target, Liverpool would be getting a much better upgrade.

Julián Alvarez

Alexander Isak would be the main target up top this summer but if Arsenal swoop in first or if Newcastle United manage to extend his contract, it seems Julián Alvarez could make his way back to the Premier League to join Liverpool. He left Manchester City a year ago to join Atlético Madrid in a €75 million deal. 44 appearances later and the Argentine has found himself on the scoresheet 23 times and provided five assists to Atleti teammates.

During his time at Manchester City he featured 67 times in England’s topflight over two seasons. Playing second to Erling Haaland, he still managed to bag 20 goals and nine assist. This time around it would be different though, earning a starting spot. It isn’t just his goals that attract him to Liverpool but his pressing skills as well. He has been known to constantly put pressure on opposing defenders, making Alavarez exactly what Arne Slot wants.

Out With The Old, In With The New

With all these transfer targets and more potentially rumoured arrivals, Liverpool will have to cut a few players lose to finance these deals. Attacking options Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez are serious considering an Anfield exit this summer. Núñez wanted to leave in the January transfer window but approaches from the Saudi Pro League were shut down by the club.

FC Barcelona have been looking at pulling the trigger on a Luis Díaz deal for a while now and this summer could be the time they finally execute that deal. A reported fee of €70 million would be the price tag for the Colombian. The winger is superb on the ball with tricky dribbling but when it comes down to finding the back of the net there are some doubts on him not being clinical enough.

How Do Liverpool Go About Things?

Liverpool are notorious at getting the right deal and finding the perfect guys to suit their system. Sporting Director, Richard Hughes and Chief Executive of Football Michael Edwards have always been on the button when it comes to this sort of stuff and they know what’s best for Liverpool going forward.

Walking away from the wrong move will be key this off-season as if worse comes to worst and Liverpool do loss Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold then rushing in to get their replacements could cause severe repercussions at Anfield.

Liverpool’s top priority should be getting all three of them to agree to new deals that don’t break the wage structure in place and then look to improve on a few positions like left back and midfield. However looking inside the club could be a smart option too. The academy has produced some immense talents over the years and the standard of young players the club has on their books could be enough for them to test that out next season.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Luca Testa

Lead Writer

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