Our writers select the first signing Arne Slot should target after taking over as Liverpool head coach.
For the first time since the summer of 2015, Liverpool are heading into a transfer window without Jurgen Klopp at the helm.
New head coach Arne Slot has now been tasked with continuing the club’s evolution when he officially takes his position as Liverpool head coach on Saturday.
With Fenway Sports Group chief executive of football Michael Edwards and Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes also beginning their new roles at the weekend, the Anfield recruitment drive can begin in earnest.
Ian Doyle
Without wishing to hark back to the days when almost every major new signing was wrongly regarded as the last piece of the jigsaw that would turn Liverpool into serious title contenders, there’s no doubt the Reds would have been a bit nearer the Premier League summit had there been one more player in the squad.
And that’s why Slot must make a new defensive midfielder a priority regardless of where else the incoming boss believes his squad should be strengthened.
The sweeping of the board in the corridors of power at Anfield have left a vacuum that will be filled by relentless transfer tittle tattle. Look around and it’s easy to see this has already started, and perhaps will only increase when agents spot and easy route to bolstering the value of their client. After all, who wouldn’t want to be linked with Liverpool?
Throw in a couple of major international tournaments and the rumour mill will be in overdrive in the not-so-distant future. The Reds recruitment team, though, will have their shortlists – and with Edwards back as a transfer influence, don’t be surprised if some of those names are not quite what many anticipated.
Theo Squires
I can see Liverpool strengthening in four positions this summer. Attack (preferably a natural alternative to Mohamed Salah on the right), defensive midfield, centre-back, and in goal. But which will Slot consider the priority? If I was the one making the decision, my first focus would be a new defensive midfielder.
Wataru Endo exceeded expectations following his £16.25million move from VfB Stuttgart, having only been brought in after the Reds missed out on the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. But the Japanese is not a long-term solution. And as highly-rated as Stefan Bajcetic is, he is still only 19 and has missed over a year through injury. He needs to be managed carefully.
You only need to look at Arsenal last season to see the impact a world-class enforcer can have on a team following Declan Rice’s arrival. Liverpool now need to recruit the same, having missed out on such a player in both of the last two summers.
They have been linked with Atalanta’s Ederson, with reports in Italy going as far as to suggest the Reds have been left ‘bewitched’ by the Brazilian.
Admittedly, the arrival of a new head coach, sporting director and plethora of other changes behind the scenes at Anfield was always going to prompt even more summer transfer speculation than usual. But if Ederson is really on the radar, he could fit the bill.
If not, the ECHO reported at the start of the year that Genoa’s Morten Frendrup was being monitored by the club. Time will tell if early interest is followed up in the summer.
Tom Coley
It’s set to be a summer of change for Liverpool. Getting things right will be crucial to helping Slot transition into the hotseat as well as appeasing fans who are concerned at just how the new man might go about trying to emulate his predecessor.
When it comes to the squad, Liverpool’s attack needs some work. It feels slightly wild to say that given they have strong options across the board, but the consistency has just not been there.
Diogo Jota is a great asset when he’s fit but hasn’t been able to have the impact needed over the course of a season, and then there is the Salah debate. With his possible departure it would be smart to both plan for the future without him as well as reinforce.
A left-footed right winger who can create something out of nothing? That’s Michael Olise. Every team in the world should be after him, especially if the reported £60million fee is true. Get Olise done early and let the rest of the squad form around him. Maybe Eberechi Eze as an attacking midfield option as well to go all in on the Crystal Palace boys. That creates problems with Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott, but it sure would be a nice issue to have.
Stephen Killen
Liverpool have to be smart and shrewd. Do they buy a new back-up goalkeeper? Should they buy a central defender despite Jarell Quansah’s emergence? Will the midfield department be targeted again? There are big decisions to be made to ensure the hard work of Klopp is continued.
Virgil van Dijk, Trent-Alexander Arnold and Salah are all entering the final 12 months of their contracts. By the end of the 2024/25 season, Van Dijk and Salah will be approaching 34 and 33 respectively. In recent months, Johan Bakayoko has emerged as a potential target and Slot will know him well having come up against his PSV Eindhoven.
The end of Salah’s career at Anfield is approaching and with the curtain coming down on his spell with the Reds it will be the passing of the baton over to the next Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Salah partnership.
Who better to show you what it means to be a success than one of the best attackers in the club’s history? Not only would Bakayoko rubbing shoulders with Salah be beneficial, being his understudy for a year will ease pressure too and avoid the inevitable comparisons and question of, ‘is he a suitable replacement for Salah?’.
Liverpool have to continue future-proofing and before the Reds are left hamstrung by the need to replace the Egyptian, they need to be proactive. Bakayoko should be Slot’s first signing.
