Liverpool may be closing in on the Premier League, but that accomplishment should not disguise the size of the rebuilding job facing head coach Arne Slot at Anfield this summer.
Slot has just endured his hardest week in the job since replacing Jurgen Klopp, following back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United that ended the club’s Champions League and Carabao Cup hopes respectively.
It is the first time the Dutchman has suffered consecutive losses during his debut campaign in charge of the Reds, but, as is so often the case, he will have learned so much more about his team – in particular their weaknesses – in those two reverses than from any of their numerous victories this season, as he and sporting director Richard Hughes prepare for a busy summer.
There are at least five or six players Slot needs to get in – three to go straight in the team and three to be strong back-ups.
Similar to when Liverpool last won the league five years ago, rather than heralding a new era of dominance on Merseyside, this season’s expected title triumph could actually represent the end of an era for this Reds side as Slot looks at changes for next season…..
The ‘elephants’ in the room
The not so hidden ‘elephants’ in Liverpool’s room remain Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and it bears repeating that, as things stand, that trio will all leave Anfield for free when their contracts expire at the end of June.
So, what happens with their futures will have a knock-on effect recruitment-wise this summer, meaning Slot and Hughes may be on the lookout for a new right-sided forward, centre-back and right-back.
Not only that, but the club have also been in discussions with Ibrahima Konate about extending his deal that only runs until 2026, but still with no breakthrough, while reports continue to link Luis Diaz, who has two years left on his contract, with a move away this summer.
The Sky Sports panel discuss whether Mohamed Salah is having the greatest individual season in Premier League history
And all this before we even begin to talk about any possible new arrivals to strengthen the team for next season.
Stop Salah, stop Liverpool?
Liverpool need to bolster their options up front this summer, according to Jamie Carragher, who wants his former club to bring in two forwards to take some of the burden off Salah’s shoulders should he opt to remain at Anfield.
“The lack of pace in the team is glaring in the attack,” he told Sky Sports. “I feel a bit sorry for Salah. He’s taken a bit of stick in the last games against PSG, but he doesn’t get help off the other attackers.
Jamie Carragher said Liverpool’s defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final was one of their worst performances in a final and feels their recent losses highlight where they need to improve the squad
“The other attackers Liverpool have got are good players, not great players. Liverpool need to buy two attackers. Not squad players, but players to hopefully play alongside Salah.”
The numbers back Carragher up, with Diaz [1], Diogo Jota [1], Darwin Nunez [3] and Federico Chiesa [0] having scored a paltry five top-flight goals between them in 2025, meaning Salah has been responsible for a league-high 63.8 per cent of all Liverpool’s goal involvements this season, an unhealthy over reliance that is surely not sustainable going forward.
There are reports Liverpool are considering offloading the injury-prone Jota and Nunez, who the club rejected a big-money offer for from the Saudi Pro League in January, while Diaz and Chiesa could also be on the move this summer, despite the latter having only signed from Juventus at the start of the season.
Were the Premier League’s top scorer to also leave, then that would leave a sizeable rebuilding job in attack for Hughes to undertake, with the Reds reportedly doing due diligence on Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
Ageing squad needs a refresh
The physical – and also mental – toll on Liverpool’s players has been evident in their two losses of late, in part due to Slot’s reliance on a key core of trusted lieutenants all season, with only Man Utd’s Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes having played more Premier League minutes than Van Dijk and Salah so far.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have also been racking up the minutes in the Reds’ midfield engine room, with all three looking leggy and off the pace as a result in recent weeks.
All managers rely on experienced stars, of course, especially having just taken over at a club, but there are clear danger signs for Slot, with Liverpool having the fourth-oldest average starting XI age [27.65] and their average of 1.76 line-up changes per game is the seventh-lowest this season.
While it is important to remember Slot made just one signing last summer, this reluctance to rotate is also indicative of the Dutchman’s lack of trust in back-up players Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott to cover in midfield, with Carragher calling on owners the Fenway Sports Group [FSG] to also bring in a holding midfielder to allow more rest for Gravenberch next season.
“I don’t think he [Slot] has any time for four or five players in that squad, and the fact that he didn’t change players at home to Southampton between the PSG games – against one of the worst teams ever in the Premier League – I can accept that this season as this isn’t really his squad, but next season I’m sure he’ll bring players in,” the former Liverpool captain said on The Overlap Fan Debate. “He needs a centre midfielder to replace Endo, someone younger.”
Liverpool tried, of course, to sign Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi last summer, only for the Spain international to have a late change of heart over moving to Anfield.
It looks like being a busy summer ahead for Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes
However, with Arsenal now closing in on the player’s signature, according to Sky Sports News, Slot and Hughes will have to look elsewhere for alternative targets as the Dutchman tries to mould the squad more in his image this summer.
How do you replace record-breaking full-back?
While there is still no news on Alexander-Arnold’s future at the club, the silence from both parties is ominous, and with Real Madrid having already made their intentions clear after a bid was rejected for the right-back in January, many expect this to be his last season at his boyhood club.
As Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future at Liverpool remains unclear, check out some of his best goals and assists so far this season
That would leave a huge void to fill not just on the right-hand side of Liverpool’s defence, but also in attack given Alexander-Arnold’s unrivalled passing ability that has produced 64 assists since 2016, a Premier League record for a defender.
Highlights from the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle
Conor Bradley has always proved an able deputy for Alexander-Arnold and would be an option for the role, but the England international’s absence in Sunday’s League Cup final once again showed how hard it will be for anyone to replace the defender were he to join Madrid.
And there could even be a scenario this summer where Hughes is having to recruit both a right and left-back following reports Liverpool are also monitoring left-sided full-backs to provide competition for Andy Robertson, including Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and Ajax’s Jorrel Hato.
Jeepers ‘keepers
Another player who recently reminded everyone of his status as one of the best in the world was Alisson after his Champions League heroics to thwart PSG at the Parc des Princes.
Alisson is still only 32, so normally would have at least another five years as the club’s No 1 and yet the Reds brought in Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer – before loaning him back to the LaLiga side – with a view to challenging for a first-team spot next season.
A look back at Alisson Becker’s best saves in the Premier League for Liverpool
And were Saudi clubs to reignite their interest in Alisson at the end of the season after he turned down a big-money approach last summer, it will be interesting to see if Michael Edwards, CEO of Football at FSG, cashes in on both the Brazil international and Caoimhin Kelleher in order to help fund a squad rebuild.
A new leader at the back
Van Dijk was again coy when quizzed about his Reds future in the aftermath of Sunday’s League Cup loss to Newcastle, but Slot will be absolutely desperate for his compatriot to extend his stay at Anfield beyond this season.
The Liverpool captain is irreplaceable in terms of his on-field contributions, as well as his influence in the dressing room, but replace him they may have to.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot remains ambiguous about Virgil van Dijk’s future but discusses the importance and quality he brings to the team
Even were Van Dijk to stay, however, Carragher still believes his former club “needs a centre-back as back-up to the two [Van Dijk and Konate] that we have,” with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen reportedly on Liverpool’s summer radar.
All of which points to one of the biggest squad overhauls in recent Reds history, with Carragher calling for the arrival of “at least five or six players – three to go straight in the team and three to be strong back-ups – with still so many areas of the team to improve”.
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