News about Liverpool transfers as the team prepares for the summer window.
At Anfield, a new era is being ushered in, and Liverpool manager Arne Slot is busy making plans for the future.
Although the void left by Jurgen Klopp will be difficult to fill, the club’s future can be shaped by some of the best brains in European football, like Michael Edwards, Julian Ward, Richard Hughes, and others.
And with the transfer market opening on Friday, everyone’s eyes will be on Slot to make his first signing of his reign at Liverpool.
Although few Premier League sides have made a move thus far, there is still a lot of conjecture surrounding a number of players because the transfer window opens on the same day as Euro 2024.
Who then might Liverpool sign in the summer? Even though the Reds’ aims are once again well guarded secrets, it has been challenging to predict early actions because of the radical shift at the head of the team.
Naturally, transfer offers are rarely kept totally secret. The £40 million signing of Fabinho from Monaco is an unusual example of a deal that was disclosed without any concrete indication of Liverpool’s interest.
Consider the quick signings of Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Alexis Mac Allister—all three players were signed a few days after Liverpool’s interest was revealed. The same can be said of several acquisitions completed during the Edwards administration, and on the one time when Virgil van Dijk’s pursuit became public, Liverpool had to halt talks with Southampton for a few months.
As a result, club insiders have already played down any connections the club may have with certain players that they had been rumored to be interested in this summer.
Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa is one example. With 27 goals in 53 games, the attacker had his greatest season with the Midlanders, leading them to a Champions League berth. Liverpool is reportedly not actively pursuing a deal for the Englishman, which makes sense given that he is 28 years old and would undoubtedly cost much more than £70 million.
Similar to Watkins, Florian Wirtz scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists for Bayer Leverkusen during their undefeated run to the Bundesliga title under Xabi Alonso. He plays at a position for which Liverpool isn’t now in the market, therefore despite his rumored asking price of up to £100 million, the club isn’t currently targeting him.
Ederson, of Atalanta, who was reportedly set to accept a £40 million contract to become Liverpool’s first summer acquisition, is another player who isn’t joining the club. Even if Liverpool needs a defensive midfielder, Atalanta has not received an offer, and he is not highly regarded on their shortlist of possible additions.
Although Yankuba Minteh, a promising winger from Newcastle, was an important part of Arne Slot’s plans at Feyenoord this season, he will not be playing for Liverpool under his former manager.
According to reports over the weekend, Newcastle is reportedly prepared to consider bids because of their PSR position, and the Reds are among the teams interested in the 19-year-old for a possible sum of about £40 million. That is untrue, though, as Liverpool is not keen to get a player who scored eleven goals in Holland. Nonetheless, the Reds are still looking to add a winger, and several candidates are being evaluated.
This summer, they plan to seek a move for a central defender as Joel Matip left on a free transfer. Goncalo Inacio of Sporting Lisbon is not expected to be it, though, since the 22-year-old is not among the players on their shortlist despite having been watched by the team in the past.
Although reports surfaced that the Reds were planning to ‘intensify’ their efforts to recruit Alan Varela, who plays football for Inacio’s rivals Porto in Portugal, connections to the player were rejected as being pushed by his agent, according to club insiders.
Naturally, more connections will come and go, and Liverpool will keep their cards close to the vest. Although there may be a short delay before the Reds make any moves in the transfer market, Hughes and Edwards will probably have a very busy summer because there are a number of positions that need to be strengthened.
