LFC REINFORCEMENT : Kerkez, Nunez, Isak – Who Liverpool could sign and five sell in transfer window after first deal done

FeaturedLFC REINFORCEMENT : Kerkez, Nunez, Isak – Who Liverpool could sign and five sell in transfer window after first deal donePublished 3 hours ago on March 2, 2025By Nathinab07@gmail.com

 

Kerkez, Nunez, Isak – Who Liverpool could sign and five sell in transfer window after first deal done

 

 

 

The ECHO assesses what Liverpool might be looking to do in the summer as Arne Slot and Richard Hughes get to reshaping the squad

 

 

 

Arne Slot and Richard Hughes will be eyeing up a busy summer transfer window for Liverpoo

 

 

 

Having pledged to assess the state of the Liverpool squad he inherited upon his arrival at Anfield, it’s been more evolution than revolution for Arne Slot this season. Tactical tweaks and positional adjustments have been the most obvious changes implemented by Slot, who has routinely spoken about the quality of the squad he was left with by the outgoing Jurgen Klopp.

 

 

 

Just one signing was brought in, with Federico Chiesa the sole arrival for the Reds last summer, joining from Juventus in a cut-price £12m deal. After Martin Zubimendi decided he wanted to stay put at Real Sociedad, it was decreed that no Plan B would be needed and Ryan Gravenberch has flourished in the deep-lying midfield position under Slot

 

 

 

Having said that, however, Slot conceded last month that he and sporting director Richard Hughes were now more aware of what needed to be added to the ranks in the coming window. And despite a Premier League lead that stands at an imposing 13 points right now, the Liverpool head coach revealed that recruitment work was being done behind the scenes.

 

 

 

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“We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team,” Slot said. “And I think we’ve said this many times last season, or last summer, we didn’t do a lot [in the summer window] because we – Richard, me and all the other people involved – just wanted to know how these players were working with me, the different manager.

 

 

 

“Now we have a very good idea about that, and I think it’s clear to you that I’m not going to tell you which positions we prefer. But it is clear that we’ve assessed the squad, we’ve assessed what we think where we can improve, and that’s where we try to go for in the summer.

 

 

 

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A pre-tax loss of £57m, announced this week, shows the impact of being outside the Champions League, but the club’s financials will be in much better health now given their return to an expanded European Cup that is now more lucrative than ever. The Reds have spent just £12m on transfer fees over the last 18 months, for the capture of Chiesa, and are likely to have plenty of wriggle room this summer as a result.

 

 

 

Here, the ECHO assesses just what the Reds might be looking to do as Slot and Hughes get to reshaping a squad who might well be Premier League champions by the end of the campaign.

 

 

 

Goalkeeper

 

 

 

There will be some upheaval in the goalkeeping department this summer. With £29m Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving from Valencia, a big decision looms for Caoimhin Kelleher.

 

 

 

The Irishman, who has deputised superbly in the absence of Alisson Becker in recent years, will be entering the last 12 months of his contract, making it the last window where the club will be able to get a transfer fee that accurately reflects his true value.

 

 

 

Liverpool have turned down advances for Kelleher before but with Mamardashvili arriving to provide further competition for undisputed No.1 Alisson, it is a fair assumption that the Ireland international could be seeking pastures new.

 

 

 

The club will be unwilling to offload him for anything less than what they believe his worth to be, however, and the Reds have previously turned down offers from Nottingham Forest they felt have been derisory.

 

 

 

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Vitezslav Jaros is entering the final months of his contract at Anfield and could leave as a free agent having made two appearances for Slot’s side. His appearance off the bench at Crystal Palace in early October, after Alisson went down with a hamstring injury, saw him keep a clean sheet in an important 1-0 win. He made an exceptional save later that month in a Carabao Cup win at Brighton having started while Kelleher filled in for Alisson as No.1.

 

 

 

Jaros’s development on loan with Sturm Graz, where he won a league and cup double in Austria, enabled him to move into the role vacated by Adrian last summer at Anfield. However, with his contract entering its final months, it’s unclear what the future holds for the 23-year-old.

 

 

 

Defence

 

 

 

Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with a left-back in recent months, with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez the player most regularly named on the transfer rumour mill.

 

 

 

Hughes was Bournemouth’s sporting director when Kerkez was recruited by the Cherries in July 2023, so the Reds already have acute knowledge of the specifics when it comes to the Hungary international.

 

 

 

From his strengths and weaknesses on the pitch to other facets such as his representatives and contract details at the Vitality, Hughes’ expertise leaves them well placed if they feel the 21-year-old is for them this summer. Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri is another who has been linked, alongside Miguel Guerrero, of Girona.

 

 

 

Midfield

 

 

 

Liverpool’s midfield area is perhaps the most stable when it comes to potential movement this summer. Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are less than two years into long-term deals penned in the summer of 2023, while Curtis Jones signed an extension of his own back in November 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

Wataru Endo hasn’t started a Premier League game under Slot and there was interest from Ligue 1 side Marseille last summer. Harvey Elliott is another who has found himself on the fringes this term but the 21-year-old has shot down talk of an exit in recent weeks on a number of occasions after being linked with Brighton and Borussia Dortmund.

 

 

 

Having failed to convince Zubimendi last summer, it is unclear at this stage if Slot feels his midfield options are sufficiently stocked but a departure for a squad player like Endo may force a rethink. Tyler Morton is expecting to push for a move this summer when he recovers from shoulder surgery and the Wirral-born midfielder saw enquiries from a slew of clubs in the Championship last year alongside interest from Bayer Leverkusen.

 

 

 

Forwards

 

 

 

It is up top that surely provides the most intrigue this summer. Liverpool turned down tentative interest from the Saudi Pro League in January over Darwin Nunez, believing it was more beneficial to keep everyone on board for the second half of a campaign that sees them now closing in on Premier League glory.

 

 

 

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However, as he approaches the end of his third season as a Reds player, the jury remains as far out as it has ever been for the Uruguay striker. Nunez has just six goals this term across all competitions and is now almost certain not to better the 18 he registered under Jurgen Klopp last term.

 

 

 

Slot made public his disappointment with how his striker’s work-rated levels dipped after a glaring miss against Aston Villa recently and a four-month gap between Premier League starts for Diogo Jota did not result in Nunez affirming himself as first choice during that time. AC Milan are understood to be monitoring the situation while Saudi Pro League clubs may also return in the summer months.

 

 

 

Jota seems like a player who Slot trusts more in the No.9 position but the Portugal international has once more been plagued by fitness issues, having featured for just 821 minutes of a possible 2520, excluding stoppage time.

 

 

 

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Luis Diaz continues to be linked in Spanish media with Barcelona although there has been little inclination that it is something Liverpool are concerned about where their Colombia international is concerned.

 

 

 

Alexander Isak has been speculatively mentioned as a potential target with the 19-goal striker yet to sign a new contract at Newcastle United It’s been reported the Sweden international earns around £140,000 a week in the North East, which is a figure that would not put off Liverpool, should they firm up any interest later this year.

 

 

 

Contracts

 

 

 

Slot conceded recently that the contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold will have a major say in what Liverpool will do in the summer transfer window.

 

 

 

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“It’s [still] quite an important two or three months to go,” Slot said when asked about summer plans. “And we have some contract situations to take care of. So there’s a lot of work to do in the background, but my main focus is on the current squad.”

 

 

 

Salah spoke in late November about his disappointment at not being offered a deal and confirmed in January, before the visit of Manchester United, that there was no update on the situation. However, the Egypt star has been less willing to offer further clues when he has been asked in recent weeks, while Van Dijk has been similarly quick to shut down the question of his long-term future whenever asked of late.

 

 

 

There’s a suggestion both are keen not to let the situation now become a distraction at such a vital juncture of the campaign, while Alexander-Arnold has not spoken publicly on his own contract status since September.