Liverpool is already being linked with a variety of players ahead of Arne Slot taking over from Jürgen Klopp. But some will head out of the door alongside the German.
Jürgen Klopp will effectively only be the Liverpool manager for the next few hours. After the game with Wolves, the German will head off on holiday, his time at the helm at Anfield then completed.
While Liverpool fans might not be ready to think too hard about what comes next just yet, Arne Slot will be the man to replace Klopp in the hotseat. And though the squad is in a good way as Klopp departs, there are still changes that need to be made and further evolutions to undergo.
We know already that Thiago Alcântara and Joël Matip will depart at the end of their contracts; like Klopp, they will wave goodbye today. But there could be others who move on as well. Chiefly, those who have been out on loan might need to move on to get regular minutes.
Sepp van den Berg has done well in the Bundesliga but will return well down the pecking order while it will be interesting to see whether Fábio Carvalho has a route to minutes under Slot after an impressive six months at Hull City in the Championship. It might be the right time to permanently move on for Nat Phillips (27) and Rhys Williams (23) too.
Despite Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all only having a year left on their contracts, none of those should be allowed to leave. In fact, all of the trio are worthy of getting extensions to pen them down well into the Slot era.
Salah is still the Reds’ most reliable goalscorer, Van Dijk remains one of the best defenders on the planet, and Alexander-Arnold’s best years could still be ahead of him.
In terms of incomings, Liverpool needs to sign a center-back to add to the depth in that department. With Ibrahima Konaté often seeming to pick up injuries and Joël Matip leaving on a free transfer, more bodies in that position are required as an urgent priority. Liverpool has been monitoring Willian Pacho at Eintracht Frankfurt, Fabrizio Romano told Give Me Sport.
Another forward would be a nice addition and while Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez have caused debate because of their lack of goals and assists (relative at least to the standards of previous players in their position or the number of opportunities they have missed), adding to what attacking depth Liverpool has should be considered rather than replacing anyone.
If a good, versatile option was available for a good price, Liverpool should consider adding another forward to its ranks even with five senior players for those roles already being on its books and Kaide Gordon, Ben Doak and others looking to take the next step.
With more matches next season and those games being in the Champions League, extra depth and quality to call upon can only be a good thing. Last month, 1908.nl reported that Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville was someone Liverpool is considering.
The Spanish outlet Fichajes reported earlier this week that Slot has a ‘wish’ for the Reds to sign Feyenoord holding midfielder Mats Wieffer. Valued at around $44m (£34m/€40m), the 23-year-old Dutchman would offer more depth in midfield and allow Alexis Mac Allister to play in a more advanced role as often as possible.
But unless there are departures of players that Liverpool would ideally want to avoid, no more than a trio of changes will be required within the squad.
A center-back is a must and then a midfielder and a forward would be perfect on top of that. Aside from those incomings, there is not a glaring need for much else for Liverpool to kick on from the base Klopp leaves behind.
