Liverpool moved swiftly to address a number of weak points within their squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure left two voids they needed filling. Firstly, the Reds needed a right-back to compete with Conor Bradley and that is why the Premier League champions signed Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen.
They also needed to add creativity to their ranks. The No66, despite having what was considered a down year by his standards, was still one of the best creators in the Liverpool team last season.
For this, the Reds, once again, turned to the BayArena. Florian Wirtz was earmarked as the player to shoulder the burden, alongside Mohamed Salah, of creating for Arne Slot’s side. He joined for a club record fee, believed to be in the region of £100million.
With Andrew Robertson physically declining and Kostas Tsimikas not favoured by Slot, a new left-back was required. Liverpool spared no expense, signing Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for £40million.
The fact the Reds signed off on such a deal for a full-back tells you how highly the 21-year-old is rated.
A centre-back is still required after the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen. Other incomings are expected, though they likely depend on outgoings.
A necessity, however, is in attack.
The expectation this summer was that Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa would all leave the club.
Chiesa struggled to break into the team following his move from Juventus last summer. Nunez wasn’t trusted by Slot in the latter half of the campaign, making just one Premier League start in 2025.
Diaz, meanwhile, was a key cog in the title win but he’s at a crossroads in his career. He wants a new deal. He, according to reports, believes he’s owed a new deal.
Liverpool haven’t been forthcoming with an offer. In fact, the latest reports suggest no new contract is in the offing for the No7. As a result, interest in him is high. Barcelona are keen on the former Porto man while Bayern Munich now have him on their radar after missing out on Wirtz.
There’s longstanding interest from Saudi Arabia too. The official stance, per multiple journalists, is that Diaz isn’t for sale. But what the Premier League champions really want is for an interested club to make them an offer they simply cannot refuse.
The tragic passing of Diogo Jota has no doubt changed the club’s plans. There may have been tentative links with a move away from the club, both Wolves and Nottingham Forest had been linked, the likelihood is he would’ve remained at Anfield alongside Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Liverpool have a difficult decision to make. And we’re already seeing a change to their approach in the market.
The Reds had previously been linked with Alexander Isak. The £150million price tag on the centre-forward’s head seemingly hadn’t deterred those on Merseyside. He would’ve been the exclamation point for this squad.
Now, though, Liverpool might have to divide that £150million budget to bring in multiple attackers.
Instead of an Isak at Anfield, it might be a case of one other striker and a young(er) winger to help with load management this term.
It’s perhaps why we’re now seeing links to different players.
Benjamin Sesko, reportedly a long-term target, is believed to be on the club’s wishlist again after he failed to secure a move to Arsenal. His asking price was €100million earlier in the summer, if reports are to be believed, but that has been reduced as he searches for a move away from RB Leipzig.
Liverpool could grab themselves a bargain, in the grand scheme of things. The striker market is volatile with extreme prices.
If you can get someone like Sesko for €70million, it wouldn’t look too bad, on paper at least.
And with the 22-year-old, you would essentially be trading Nunez in for a younger model. He’s raw, inconsistent and erratic. But you have to assume this signing, if it comes to fruition, would be a little safer than the current No9.
Nunez was a Jurgen Klopp signing. The recruitment team favoured others but Klopp got his man. If Liverpool are moving for Sesko, the research to ensure he’s the right player will no doubt have been a little more robust.
There have also been links to Hugo Ekitike. Again, he’s valued at €100million according to reports. Again, he’s been linked to a host of clubs but remains with Eintracht Frankfurt for now.
He’s not as raw as Sesko but there are question marks hanging over him, as well as red flags.
Either one of Ekitike or Sesko would point to a long-term approach. The club are, of course, buying for the now but they will have one eye firmly on the future when spending large sums of money on them.
The Reds might take a different approach to maximise the current squad.
Virgil van Dijk and Salah penned new, two-year deals. The Premier League champions will want to get the most out of these two players during that time and the best way to do that is to ensure the squad is ready to compete, immediately.
That points to short-term solutions. And we’re now seeing those sorts of links.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was linked by the French media today. The 28-year-old has 30 goals and seven assists across his last two Premier League seasons and though he’s not world class, he’s the sort who could do a job for one or two years.
It isn’t quite as simple as adding goals to the team but the fact is, Liverpool need to add goal threats and goalscorers to their squad if Diaz and Darwin depart.
Mateta ticks the box. Does he increase the chance of winning? Yeah, probably.
Wirtz managed to get a tune out of Patrik Schick, he could definitely do the same with someone like Mateta.
There have also been links to Christopher Nkunku. He was reportedly the top target for Liverpool’s recruitment team in 2022 before Klopp pushed for Darwin.
He’s not had the best of spells at Chelsea but he’s available for a discounted rate, believed to be £35million. The 27-year-old would add depth to the attack, allowing the club to sell one of Diaz or Darwin at this time.
Liverpool won the Premier League title with Diaz doing his best impression of a centre-forward.
They have the squad to retain the title, even if they aren’t able to add an Isak but instead bring in a project player like Sesko or a short-term hit like Mateta.
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