Let me be clear from the outset: I like the look of Liverpool’s squad as things currently stand. News has just broken that we are spending nearly £70 million to sign Hugo Ekitike, who will come into a lineup that was the best in the Premier League last season. We had the second-best defence in terms of goals conceded, whilst the midfield was revamped nicely during the end of Jürgen Klopp’s reign and arguably looks stronger than ever now. Yet the job of the people in charge isn’t to think with such a positive mindset. They need to think negatively about where we need improvements and where things could go wrong. Although many supporters would happily have three world-class players for each position, the role of Richard Hughes and his team is to think sensibly. A mix of brilliant players alongside youth prospects and top-notch piano carriers is what you need in order to win the top-flight, so they will look to see whether they feel as though that’s what we’ve got.
Liverpool have now reached an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for striker Hugo Ekitike. Fee is £69m up front with a further £10m in add-ons based on club/player success.
— David Lynch (@davidlynchlfc.co.uk) 21 July 2025 at 11:04
They also need to look without emotion entering their thought process. They have a huge amount of data available to them, which allows them to see the kind of things that supporters won’t even begin to contemplate. As we were all desperate for them to give Mo Salah a new contract, for example, they will have been looking to see if he’s running less than previously, or speaking with the player’s camp about what his plans are with Egypt moving forward. That is all the kind of stuff that will have been taken into account before the new contract was offered, whilst the man himself was proving on the pitch precisely why he’s worth every penny. What I want to do here, then, is to think in a way that I think Hughes and his team will have been thinking. How does the Liverpool squad actually look when you strip away the joy and euphoria that came alongside the title win and the success that Arne Slot brought to us all? I think there will be two areas of real concern that they’ll be looking at.
The Attack is Still Unclear
The tragic loss of Diogo Jota is something that his teammates will be dealing with for the foreseeable future. Although I’m quite sure that many of them will have been glad to get back into the pitch and playing again, I’m also aware of the fact that for some of them it won’t have been easy at all. There is also no getting away from his absence from the squad moving forward, which is what Hughes and co will have to look at. The rumours around the future of both Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz continue to swirl, to the point where I would now be genuinely surprised if either of them were still at the club come August. The fact that Arne Slot seemed so reluctant to use Federico Chiesa last season also means that his future remains in the air, which leaves us with just Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo in terms of attackers that the manager is willing to trust. Add in the fact that Salah will be heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations in December and you can suddenly see why the attack is an issue.
Liverpool their attack with
— 433 (@433.digital) 20 July 2025 at 17:49
The signing of Hugo Ekitike will obviously help on that front, but that still only gives us three attacking players when we arguably had six during our title-winning campaign. Although I’d be genuinely astonished if the Reds also ended up spending £150 million on Alexander Isak, I would not be surprised if news about another attacking signing was leaked in the coming weeks. There have long been rumours of a move for Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, with the 24-year-old Brazilian almost certain to leave the Santiago Bernabéu this summer. If we fail to bring anyone else in, then I would be worried about what it means for our attacking options, especially considering the fact that Cody Gakpo wasn’t always the strongest when it mattered. Those thinking that Jeremy Frimpong will replace Salah during AFCON seem to be ignoring the regular injury problems that Conor Bradley has demonstrated, meaning that ignoring our new right-back in the position would be folly.
Defensive Frailties
We are now reasonably well-stocked in both the right-back and left-back departments, although I personally would argue that Conor Bradley’s body can’t be relied on, Andy Robertson has too many miles in his legs, and Kostas Tsimikas isn’t good enough to play at the highest level. Generally, though, the impression I get is that the full-back position isn’t one that the club will be looking to strengthen any time soon. The same cannot be said at central defence, which I actually think might not be as strong as everyone else seems to think. I was slightly concerned towards the end of the season that Virgil van Dijk was at the scene of the crime more often than may have been realised. He has always been a relaxed defender, turning on the afterburners when needed, but there were several occasions when he didn’t seem to be paying attention and was caught out by strikers that you’d normally expect him to have in his pocket. I wouldn’t say we should replace him, but I do think he needs to be rested more.
Castello Lukeba looks an absolute talent mind in this French u21 defence. He’s so calm and reads the game so well. Can see what Liverpool are apparently interested.
— Toontastic (@toontastic.bsky.social) 22 June 2025 at 17:22
The main problem with that is that we don’t really have anyone who can play in van Dijk’s position at even close to the same level that he can. He is now 34, so we do need to start thinking about a long-term plan to replace him. Meanwhile, on the other side of the defence, Ibrahima Konaté continues to be linked with a move to Spain. Not only that, but the right-sided centre-back has a history of suffering from injuries, so presuming that we’ll have another campaign where he’ll be as available as he was last season seems unlikely. I don’t think I need to even mention Joe Gomez’s injury problems, meaning that you could probably say that we have two centre-backs even if there are three names attached to them. The links to Marc Guéhi upset me because of his LGBTQ+ stance in the past, yet it at least shows that Hughes and his transfer team are thinking about the position. People are worried about player churn, which I understand, but it is something that Slot had to deal with at Feyenoord and coped well with.
