Ever since Jurgen Klopp announced his intention to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season back in January, transfer speculation regarding the Reds squad has inevitably ramped up.
Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, and Adrian are all out of contract this summer and will almost certainly join Klopp in departing. But if the transfer gossip columns are to be believed, an Anfield exodus is looming, with such talk only ramping up as the club closes in on the appointment of Feyenoord boss Arne Slot as Klopp’s successor.
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Caoimhin Kelleher have all been linked with various moves elsewhere at some point over the course of the campaign, while there have also been suggestions that the club could be prepared to cut their losses on the likes of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo.
Throw in the Reds’ recent struggles on the pitch and onlookers have unsurprisingly been rather less forgiving to out-of-form stars, or those boasting chequered injury pasts. So that’s the likes of Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, and even Dominik Szoboszlai also ‘at risk’, while you never had to dig around too deeply on social media to unearth suggestions to oust the likes of Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott, and Kostas Tsimimas.
Good luck, Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo. Looks like you’re virtually on your own next season when Slot takes over!
Of course, such talk, while inevitable when a side is recently out of form and also in the process of hiring a new manager, is rather ridiculous.
There will be Anfield exits beyond Klopp at the end of the season and uncertainty will still persist, of course. Van Dijk, Salah, and Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract in 2025 for starters.
But Liverpool’s summer under their new Dutch head coach will be one of evolution rather than revolution, with the Reds squad that starts the 2024/25 season having a rather familiar feel.
However, it will be a slightly different story when Slot’s first pre-season as Liverpool manager gets underway as he will be left without a plethora of senior stars.
That’s because the European Championships and Copa America both take place in the summer. And with a plethora of Liverpool stars expected to be involved in the two international tournaments, only a handful of the Reds’ first-team squad will actually report back to the AXA Training Centre for the start of pre-season training – which predominantly gets underway at the start of July.
The Euros get underway in Germany on June 14, with the final taking place one month later on July 14. While rather unlikely, the Reds could have as many as 11 of their current squad taking part in the tournament.
Alexander-Arnold is certain to be in the England squad if fit, while Gomez was recalled by Gareth Southgate during the March international break. The Three Lions boss confirmed that Jones could have been handed a maiden call-up too if not for an untimely injury, while Elliott perhaps has a slim chance of still breaking into the squad.
Liverpool currently have three representatives in the Netherlands squad, with Van Dijk set to captain the Dutch and Gakpo and Gravenberch also hopeful of call-ups. Konate, Jota and Szoboszlai should also be called up by France, Portugal, and Hungary respectively.
