Hugo Ekitike celebrate the victory after the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt at Europa-Park Stadion.
Liverpool have been linked with a transfer interest in Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike.
The summer transfer window has reopened and Liverpool are in prime position to finalise further business on top of five deals already completed. After winning the Premier League in his first season as head coach with a largely inherited squad, Arne Slot is part way through putting his own imprint on this Reds squad in an attempt to claim even more silverware.
The transfer window did open initially for ten days from June 1 to June 10, designed to allow clubs competing in the FIFA Club World Cup the opportunity to strengthen their squads before the tournament began. Real Madrid made use of this period to Liverpool's benefit as it allowed them to recoup around £10m just to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave one month before the expiry of his contract. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was allowed to depart to Brentford for £18m.
Incomings, as usual, have been the source of most excitement with right-back Jeremie Frimpong the first to arrive in a £29.5m transaction with Bayer Leverkusen, then he was soon followed by Hungarian goalkeeper prospect Armin Pecsi from Puskas Akademia for £1.5m.
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The latter will join fellow shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving on Merseyside this summer, with the Georgian part of a £30m agreement struck with Valencia in 2024.
Also inching closer to the Anfield entrance is Florian Wirtz, with Leverkusen accepting a £116m offer after meticulous negotiations for the midfielder, and left-back Milos Kerkez, as talks continue with Bournemouth.
All of the above combine to create a promising sign of intent early in the summer, especially as the champions have watched rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all make their first moves in the market.
As more transfer action looks likely between today and September 1, the deadline day, the ECHO takes a look at what a best-case summer would look like for the Reds.
Incomings
Liverpool have covered off their most pressing transfers with activity underway since wrapping up the Premier League title at the end of April.
Frimpong, joining Conor Bradley under a new contract, will work together to fill the Alexander-Arnold-shaped hole in the team. Wirtz would be the out-and-out No.10 that Slot feels is a necessary piece of the puzzle and Kerkez would be a long-term left-back for this team. Mamardashsvili seems to be taking the back-up goalkeeper role, with a view to following Alisson's act in years to come.
Next on the agenda would appear to be a new striker. Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike, fresh from a 22-goal season, has been the name most frequently spoken of in rumours. The downside is his club has been outspoken over their €100m (£85m) evaluation, so another hefty sum would have to be paid on top of the money already committed to other new signings.
More experienced options such as Viktor Gyokeres or Victor Osimhen appear to be vying for summer moves themselves, though they won't come that much cheaper.
Ekitike seems to fit the profile of the player - one with plenty of room to develop - that Anfield chiefs have sought after in recent seasons, though lessons learnt from Darwin Nunez's time suggest a superstar in front of goal is what is needed.
Before the summer began, the club were linked with Dean Huijsen, and understandably so given the circumstances around their four current central defensive options.
The 20-year-old prospect is no longer an option as he has since signed for Real Madrid in a £50m deal. Looking elsewhere, Ajax's Jorrel Hato is another talent with the advantage of versatility in different defensive positions that could be put to good use by Slot.
Outgoings
Alexander-Arnold and Kelleher have kicked off a strong summer with regards to collecting fees - now it is up for grabs who follows them through the exit.
Nunez appears almost certain to leave given talk of signing a new striker. It is believed he prefers a move to a European club in order to stand the best chance of staying in Uruguay's plans for next summer's FIFA World Cup, which might make this the easier route to go down for a quicker parting of ways, but if Saudi Pro League clubs were to reignite their winter interest then they might be able to offer more money.
Andy Robertson is a surprise contender to leave with Atletico Madrid interested. If Kerkez is taking the Scot's place and he decides to go, little can be done to stand in his way - the benefit could be profit on the £8m he was signed for eight years ago.
If the 31-year-old is to depart Anfield then that confirms the need to keep Kostas Tsimikas as back-up in the position.
Ibrahima Konate would spring an unwanted decision on the club if he has not renewed his contract - which expires in 2026 - before the end of the summer window, but the dream scenario is that he does sign a new deal so a sale will not have to be considered.
Then there are fringe players Harvey Elliott, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Tyler Morton all to judge against any offers received and their individual desires to play regular football, as their opportunities at Anfield aren't likely to increase next season.