The Reds may be 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League, but it's clear they need to seriously strengthen their squad this summer
Virgil van Dijk was calling for calm after Liverpool's second setback in a week. The 33-year-old Dutchman has been playing at the highest level long enough to know "how football works" and he was acutely aware that a horribly lethargic display in Sunday's Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle would spark panic among supporters, given it arrived immediately after the midweek Champions League elimination at the hands of a superior Paris Saint-Germain side.
"In five days, you lose twice and the world is sort of sinking," the Liverpool captain told . "Two weeks before, everything was sunshine and rainbows. There's still a lot at stake, though, good things. We're in a good position. There are so many positive and good things to look forward to. We play for the Premier League – the most difficult prize to get."
Van Dijk is correct, of course. Very few people expected Liverpool to be in the title race at this stage of the season – let alone running away with it, with the Reds presently 12 points clear with nine rounds remaining.
Arne Slot winning the title in his first season in charge would be an astounding achievement, particularly as it's been made painfully clear over the past week that his squad will need to be significantly strengthened this summer – even if Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold end up extending contracts that expire at the end of the season (and that's a big 'if' at this stage!).
It's obviously rare to see a potential title-winning team in such dire need of new signings but that's the position Liverpool find themselves in after bringing in just one new face last summer (Federico Chiesa)…
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At this point, it would now be more a surprise if Alexander-Arnold agreed to stay at Anfield. Of the three stars with expiring contracts, he was always the most likely to leave. He may be "the normal lad from Liverpool whose dream came true", but it's been clear for some time that Alexander-Arnold is drawn to the idea of joining his good friend Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid.
After all, he's made no secret of the fact that he wants to become the first right-back to win the Ballon d'Or, and playing at Santiago Bernabeu would undoubtedly help his cause, given just how seriously Florentino Perez & Co. take the prize…
Of course, losing Alexander-Arnold – and for nothing – would represent a devastating sporting and financial blow for Liverpool. He may not be the greatest defender in the world, but he has been utterly integral to the Reds' offensive game for years now, and he was very conspicuous by his absence at Wembley, where poor Jarell Quansah failed dismally to carry anything like the same attacking threat as the injured Alexander-Arnold.
Granted, the very exciting Conor Bradley would have started instead of Quansah had he been fit to play, but his unavailability was an issue in itself. The Northern Irishman has proven his world-class potential against the likes of Madrid this season, but the fact that he’s had four significant spells on the sidelines since the start of last season is a growing cause for concern.
It also has to be said that while Bradley is undoubtedly a more tenacious tackler than Alexander-Arnold and is also good going forward, he doesn't boast anything like the same range of crossing or passing. Then again, what right-back does?
It's highly likely that a lot of Liverpool fans probably won’t fully appreciate Alexander-Arnold’s attributes until he’s gone, because Bradley still needs time to develop and prove that he can play twice a week for an entire season. Even if the 21-year-old is the chosen successor, a worthy understudy will still have to be signed, as Quansah is not up to the task and Joe Gomez has never been more than a stop-gap solution.
At the end of the day, though, unless the Reds land an assist-machine like Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong this summer, the right-hand side is likely to be seriously diminished from an offensive perspective next season.
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It was taken as a given that Liverpool would sign a quality centre-back this summer. They may need two, though. The presumption was that Van Dijk would eventually agree a new deal with the club, but speculation is mounting that the captain is now considering moving elsewhere.
The Dutchman's departure would decimate a defence that he's been holding together for years now – because he's not only Liverpool's most accomplished centre-back, he's their undisputed leader. Without him, there's a very real risk that the Reds' brittle backline would completely collapse.
Still, it's likely that there will be some talented centre-backs on the market this summer. Bournemouth have little chance of holding onto Dean Huijsen given how impressively the 19-year-old has performed during his debut season in the Premier League, and he's probably the ideal signing as far as Liverpool concerned – but competition for his services will be intense.
It's also been rumoured that the in-demand Marc Guehi favours a move to Anfield over Stamford Bridge, St. James' Park or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Crystal Palace ace certainly showed at last summer's Euros that he has the talent to thrive at the very highest level.
Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck is another name now being mentioned, though, as Liverpool have long been looking for a left-footed centre-back and the 25-year-old Germany international also fits their age profile.
Ronald Araujo cannot be discounted either. The Uruguayan very nearly left Barcelona during the January transfer window, and although he ended up signing a new contract, the suspicions remains that he only did so to ensure that the Catalans can secure top dollar for Araujo this summer.
Still, while all of these players would undoubtedly represent excellent additions to the Liverpool squad, especially as it's clear that Ibrahima Konate simply cannot be counted upon to deliver on a consistent basis, the hope is that any new arrival will be tasked with playing alongside Van Dijk for a year or two rather than immediately replacing him.
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Liverpool fans are not just hoping that Richard Hughes returns to the Vitality Stadium to sign Huijsen this summer; they'd also love to see Bournemouth's former technical director snap up Milos Kerkez too – because the Reds are in dire need of a new left-back.
Andy Robertson has been a tremendous servant for Liverpool, unquestionably one of the finest signings in the club's history, given the prominent role he played during the Jurgen Klopp era after arriving at Anfield from Hull City in 2017 for an initial £8 million ($10m). However, playing full-throttle football for seven seasons clearly took a toll on the 31-year-old Scotland international, whose form has fluctuated wildly this season.
Kerkez, by contrast, has been consistently excellent for Bournemouth and, at just 21, he has the potential to become one of the most exciting full-backs in the Premier League. When one considers that Robertson's current understudy, Kostas Tsimikas, turns 29 in May, everything now points to Liverpool going all-out to sign Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary team-mate this summer.
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It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Hughes for the way in which Martin Zubimendi's proposed move to Merseyside broke down. A deal had been agreed with the Spain international and there appeared to be nothing Real Sociedad could do about it, given Liverpool were willing to meet the buy-out clause in Zubimendi's contract. However, the Basques brilliantly managed to convince Zubimendi to perform a dramatic, 11th-hour U-turn by playing on his deep-rooted connection to the club.
Still, the fact that Liverpool didn't have a Plan B didn't reflect well on the Reds' recruitment team and Hughes was ultimately indebted to Slot for sparing him any further criticism from the fanbase by successfully converting Ryan Gravenberch into a No.6. The Bayern Munich flop has been one of the revelations of the season, and the only problem is that Liverpool have become too dependent on the Dutchman.
Salah and Van Dijk are the only Reds to have played more minutes in the Premier League this season than Gravenberch, who has looked utterly exhausted in recent weeks because of the especially demanding nature of his particular role. Slot has unquestionably contributed to his compatriot's fatigue by playing him constantly, but the coach will argue that he had no choice; that Wataru Endo, the only other orthodox defensive midfielder in the squad, isn't anywhere near as good in possession as Gravenberch.
It's imperative, then, Hughes belatedly signs a six, one that Slot sufficiently trusts to be able to give Gravenberch regular breaks next season. The big problem is, though, with Zubimendi seemingly set to join Arsenal instead this summer, Liverpool are likely to find it even tougher to find a worthy alternative.
Consequently, another hybrid midfielder may be acquired, particularly as Slot doesn't have that many options to his liking as it is, with only four players (Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones) presently competing for three slots and, as we discovered this season, that's not good enough for a squad that wants to challenge for both the Premier League and the Champions League on an annual basis.