Arne Slot knows that Liverpool needs to improve next season and there are two obvious places to start with ensuring that happens, with a deal for Jeremy Jacquet already wrapped up
04:00, 28 May 2026
Arne Slot looks on before Liverpool vs Brentford in the Premier League.
Arne Slot looks on before Liverpool vs Brentford in the Premier League.(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
"I'll be ready." Those were the words of incoming Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet this week, with the player on the way back from a shoulder injury.
Signed for the substantial fee of up to $83 million (£60 million) including add-ons, it should not be forgotten that a big summer for Liverpool has already begun. The deal for the Frenchman, with Chelsea beaten to his signature, was wrapped up in January, and its importance shouldn't be understated.
Jacquet is regarded as a major talent. At 20, he is a regular senior starter in Ligue 1 for a Rennes team renowned for generating world-class talents, including PSG forward Desire Doue, who he played alongside in the same youth team.
Clearly, much more is required for Liverpool. Adding at least one forward — and more likely two — is vital to inject some more quality and speed into the final third.
Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola have both frequently been mentioned in recent weeks, and the former, in particular, has the kind of explosive pace that can beat a man and create space for a shot or a cross.
In midfield, if Curtis Jones or anyone else moves on, there will be a need to replace them, and there is already a major lack of physicality in the center, where Liverpool has been too soft for months.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during a training session.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during a training session.(Image: Nikki Dyer - Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
One area that Liverpool has struggled in this season has been defensive depth, though. Virgil van Dijk played every Premier League minute and Ibrahima Konate, at times, was incredibly shaky.
Kostas Tsimikas replacing Andy Robertson and Konate penning a new deal though — assuming he does so — will ensure that department looks well set.
There are questions at right-back, where Conor Bradley is coming back from a long-term injury and Jeremie Frimpong has sometimes failed to convince, but Joe Gomez can play there as well.
Further upfield, it is reasonable to suggest that Alexander Isak, given that he has played so little and looked fit so infrequently, will be like a new signing if he can get himself properly up to speed in the next couple of months.
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Likewise, the returning Giovanni Leoni has made only one appearance for Liverpool to date, in which he sustained the serious knee injury from which he is currently recovering.
Both of those players — who cost a combined $203 million (£151 million) — will make a big difference when they are available again. In conjunction with Jacquet, that is a good starting point from which the rest of the summer can be built on.
Sign two additional forwards and a midfielder with fresh energy and legs, and Liverpool will look very different. In that scenario, the roster would be substantially better, with the rest of the business dictated by who leaves.