Liverpool has wasted no time at all at the start of the summer window. With a deal for Jeremie Frimpong having been wrapped up weeks ago, Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez look set to follow.
Frimpong had a release clause worth around $39 million (£30 million) written into his contract, which made that transaction simpler. The others have taken more time to conclude. But a deal for Wirtz was agreed a week or so ago, totaling $157 million (£116 million) including add-ons, and widespread reports now say that a deal has been struck with Bournemouth for Kerkez.
Given the Kerkez deal will be worth around $54 million (£40 million), that will take Liverpool's summer spending to around $251 million (£186 million). Highly-rated Armin Pecsi has arrived for a relatively small fee as well.
Liverpool is unlikely to be finished there, with talks ongoing to allow Jarell Quansah to move to Bayer Leverkusen. A center-back, in that instance, is surely a must — with Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi seemingly one option.
A number nine is another possibility, and there will be several sales too, with Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and others potentially set to be on the move. Each will bring in a substantial fee that will offset the investments being made in incomings.
It looks like being quite the reshaping when it comes to the Liverpool team. And given the Reds won the Premier League title by 10 points having taken their foot off the gas at the end of 2024/25, that can only be exciting.
Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. (Image: ALEXANDRA BEIER/AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot said near the end of the campaign that he was looking for "extra weapons" to add to his Liverpool team. Virgil van Dijk had said it was set to be a "big summer".
And the early evidence is that both are going to get what they wanted. Both knew, of course, what the plans were. Slot has been central to them leading into the window, and Van Dijk penned a new two-year contract partly on the basis of what was to come.
"I think we can find one or two extra weapons this team doesn’t have," Slot said in May. "Maybe, maybe, by using the transfer market. That is what we are trying to achieve. That will make us only stronger.
"That is what we need because we saw [Manchester] City spending £200m in the [January] transfer window. All of them will. Apart from the transfer window, we can also improve certain aspects ourselves."
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Clearly, Wirtz falls into the category of being an "extra weapon". In the final third, the Germany playmaker is almost a cheat code because of how effective and devastating he can be.
But the flying full-backs should offer plenty of excitement too. Kerkez's future has seemed so obvious for so long that Liverpool fans could be forgiven for not exploding with joy at the news a deal for the Hungarian is nearing — as it seemingly has been for weeks.
However, he showed in the Premier League last season that as a wing-back, he can make quite the difference. Kerkez's six assists for the Cherries can surely be improved upon with the wealth of attacking quality in front of him at Anfield.
Between those two and Frimpong, Liverpool will have new ways of attacking next season, even without Trent Alexander-Arnold. Slot has got what he was looking for — and the Reds are certainly delivering Van Dijk's big summer.