Liverpool have started the summer with a huge transfer spend but the club will look to recoup a great deal in sales in the months ahead
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 23: Richard Hughes, Liverpool Sporting Director during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium on February 23, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Liverpool's aggressive start to the transfer window has seen the club spend over £200m on six players. Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman have all joined Arne Slot's side in a busy June..
The Reds, though, aren't necessarily finished there, and with young defenders being considered and a striker also potentially on their radar, there is still work to be done in the next two months.
For the time being, though, sporting director Richard Hughes may well be focussed on outgoings, with Liverpool looking to refresh their squad and raise money from sales in the coming weeks.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has already left, with the Reds receiving around £10m from Real Madrid in order for the Spanish giants to complete the transfer several weeks early. Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher followed Alexander-Arnold out of the exit door, with the Irishman sealing a switch to Brentford worth up to £18m.
Nat Phillips' time at Liverpool comes to an end too, after the defender moved to West Bromwich Albion for £3m.
And he won't be the only central defender exiting the club as Jarell Quansah departs from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth around £35m for the Reds.
Quansah was part of the England Under-21 squad that won the Euros with a 3-2 victory over Germany on Saturday and his club team-mates who were both part of the group are also the subject of speculation this summer.
Indeed, Harvey Elliott was named Player of the Tournament after notching five goals for England and while his performances will have done his reputation no harm, the 22-year-old is not guaranteed to be at Liverpool beyond the summer.
Speaking exclusively to the ECHO in April, Elliott made clear he would prefer to stay at the club before admitting that he'd have to make the right decision for the good of his career.
"This is my team, I am committed to them and it's just a situation that is always going to have a lot of talk, I just need to think about what is best for my future, my career and as much as I want it to be here.
"You never know what is going to happen around the corner. If I had it my way, that would be here, I would play each and every game here and stay here for the rest of my career but it all depends on managers, the people above and as I said you don't know what could happen but as far as I am aware I am here, here to stay and this is the club I want to be at.
"Hopefully I am still here to be honest. It is the best place to be, the best club to be at and especially having the fans around us at the moment, I don't think there is a better place to be playing.
"Players go through ups and downs but at the end of the day you have to come out fighting and I think it is within myself to make it happen. So hopefully I can stay here for the rest of my career."
And so it seems that, should another club test the waters with an enquiry, Elliott may well be receptive to a move. If that is the case, what sort of fee could Liverpool expect? The Reds notably benchmark their valuations on other deals elsewhere on the market, so for a player of Elliott's youth and relative experience, upwards of £40m would seem fair.
Another player who impressed at the Euros was Tyler Morton, who was subject to interest from Leverkusen himself last summer before remaining at Anfield for another year. The 22-year-old will certainly be keen on finding a new club this summer, though, and with the Reds failing to find a suitor for around £20m this summer, £15m might be a more realistic ask this time around.
Much of the speculation this summer has focused on the future of Darwin Nunez, who seems almost certain to be sold by Liverpool after struggling to convince Slot last season. Napoli are keen on the Uruguayan and with Saudi interest failing to materialise as things stand, Liverpool may have to accept a lower fee than they'd perhaps hoped for.
Even so, the forward cost the Reds an initial £65m when he joined from Benfica in 2022 and Hughes will be keen to recoup as much of that as possible. A package totalling around £50m feels fair for a player who can be dangerous in front of goal and is young enough to rediscover the form that convinced Liverpool to sign him in the first place.
Federico Chiesa is another forward player who could depart and a move back to Italy seems likely. While he didn't feature under Slot, Liverpool will be confident of improving on the £10m they paid Juventus last summer, with £15m fair for a player of his experience.
The arrival of Kerkez from Bournemouth has put Kostas Tsimikas' future in doubt and the Greek was previously a target for Leeds United. A price-tag of around £10m feels right for a player who has served the club incredibly well for the past five years.
So who else could depart the club this summer? Luis Diaz continues to be subject of intense speculation but the Reds have no intention of facilitating a move. A very high offer might change that stance but for the time being, an Anfield stay looks likely.
Andy Robertson is another who now looks likely to remain on Merseyside after previous interest from Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club have agreed a deal to sign Atalanta's Matteo Ruggeri after being linked with a move for Robertson.
There has been little speculation with regards to Diogo Jota and while Ibrahima Konate has just a year left on his contract, Liverpool remain hopeful a new deal will be signed with the French defender
While all of the above transfers are unlikely to go through, it's clear that Liverpool have huge value in their squad and should Hughes and Slot decide on another assault on the transfer window in the coming weeks, the Reds have the potential to raise around £200m in order to do so. Work to do, indeed.