Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has confessed that the Reds are feeling the absence of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez after a summer of upheaval at Anfield. The Premier League champions splashed out £450million on 10 fresh faces during the transfer window. They also raked in roughly £225m from player sales, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Diaz, and Nunez.
The South American pair have made an immediate impact at their new clubs - Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal - following transfers valued at £65.5m and £56.5m respectively. Diaz scored the winning goal on his debut in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against VfB Stuttgart before netting a goal and setting up two more on his Bundesliga debut. Meanwhile, Nunez found the back of the net for Al-Hilal in his second match against Al-Qadsiah.
Both players played pivotal roles in Liverpool's Premier League success last season. Liverpool spent heavily to strengthen their attack in the summer, bringing in Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike in deals amounting to £320m.
Isak could make his Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, while Wirtz is off to a slow start at Anfield, with his only goal contribution coming in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace. Ekitike has already made a name for himself, scoring three goals and providing an assist in his first five appearances.
Despite sitting atop the Premier League table with four wins from four matches, Arne Slot's side have struggled to hit top gear, needing dramatic late strikes to clinch victory in each fixture thus far.
Alisson has acknowledged the team must raise their standards and are feeling the loss of crucial stars like Diaz and Nunez as their fresh recruits continue adapting. "All the players who left were important," he confessed to ESPN's SportCenter.
"Lucho, Darwin, they all made a difference for us with goals or their playing, fighting, defending. They had good energy, and we miss them. The ones who arrived are stars, they're doing very well with their contributions, they have a lot of quality.
"It's clear we want to improve because we need to; we have many competitions to play." Alisson isn't the sole Liverpool star to concede it will require patience for the Reds to find their rhythm following such a hectic transfer window.
His comments mirror those made by Mohamed Salah earlier this month. "The players are adapting to our system," the Egyptian star told Sky Sports after netting a last-gasp winner against Burnley on Sunday.
"We had a few new players in the starting line-up. It takes time to adapt their game to our game. We try to make them comfortable in a game. Alex [Isak] also came last week and he's going to be in the team. We try to find the balance."
Salah has previously admitted that it will take time to build a rapport with Liverpool's new attacking players, and he is still adjusting to playing alongside the likes of Ekitike. Speaking to Men In Blazers, he said: "So far, I didn't figure the connections out yet," referring to his relationships with Darwin (Nunez), Lucho (Diaz) and other forwards like Diogo (Jota).
"I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well, but with Hugo, he's still new. Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need it in the space.
"We try to figure that out, through the training sessions or like the videos. The manager shows us. So I will figure it out soon because also it's going to help my game to grow as well."
In other news, Alisson has given an injury update on Alexis Mac Allister after the Argentine was substituted due to an ankle injury during the Burnley match, insisting there was 'nothing wrong' with the midfielder.
"He's a very strong man," he said. "Nothing's wrong with him, he was just in a bit of pain. I think he's fine."