Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on November 07, 2025 in Kirkby, England.placeholder image
Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on November 07, 2025 in Kirkby, England. | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool spent over £400m in the most recent summer transfer window but need to invest further in the coming years
Liverpool invested heavily in their squad during the summer transfer window with several transfer records broken by the Anfield club as they spent over £400m on new players.
Despite significant spending, they were unable to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi with a £35m deal agreed on deadline day only to collapse hours before the window shut.
An ACL injury to Giovanni Leoni has left Liverpool short at centre-back for the remainder of the season. It remains to be seen if they return to the table for Guehi in January. The England international will be available on a free transfer at the end of the campaign as he is out of contract at Selhurst Park.
Signing Guehi, if a deal gets done before the start of the 2026-27 campaign, will not solve all of Liverpool’s problems at centre-back. Ibrahima Konate is out of contract this summer while Van Dijk has 18 months remaining on his deal.
Liverpool willing to spend big to sign Alessandro Bastoni
Liverpool’s lack of long-terms options in central defence have left the Reds looking to the market for reliable reinforcements. One name who has cropped up is Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.
According to a report from Fichajes, the Reds are “already considering an offer that could be around 100 or 115 million euros to convince Inter.” The 115 million euro sum is worth £101m at the current exchange rate.
The report claims Liverpool are “now evaluating his signing as a cornerstone of their new defensive era” with a possible move coming this January or in the summer. Bastoni is aged 26 and is coming into his prime years. He is under contract until 2028 at Inter so the Italian club will not be in a position to accept offers they feel are below the player’s value.
He has been with Inter since 2017 and has been capped 40 times by Italy.
Former Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini a big fan of Alessandro Bastoni
Speaking about Bastoni’s qualities, former Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini was full of praise for the defender two years ago. The Euro 2020 winner saw the defender’s potential with Bastoni’s status as one of the games top defenders only cemented since Chiellini’s comments in 2023.
Chiellini said: “I know Alessandro well, he is one of the strongest central defenders around and for me, he is among the best in the world. He is a player that Italy will be able to count on for many years, he just needs to continue working and maintaining the desire to improve.”
Liverpool committed Van Dijk to a new two-year contract at the club towards the end of last season but the Reds will need to start planning for life without the imperious Dutchman. And Bastoni could be the man to step in to fill the void whenever the Liverpool captain departs Anfield.
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