Liverpool left itself light of numbers last year and can't afford to repeat the same mistake this time around as Arne Slot looks to get back on track during a big summer
21:52, 29 May 2026
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot after his side was beaten in the Champions League by PSG.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot after his side was beaten in the Champions League by PSG.(Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Quality, normally, is valued over quantity. This summer, though, Liverpool needs both.
Arne Slot's roster was desperately short at times this season, with key deficiencies holding it back. And while the likes of Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni will legitimately be like new signings when they return and are at full tilt again, more additions are going to be needed in the transfer market.
News that Ibrahima Konate is set to depart — and without bringing in a transfer fee too — only further increases the need for Liverpool to have a perfect summer on all fronts, and the pressure is on.
As things stand, with Konate set to follow Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson out of the exit door for nothing, that is three experienced players who are leaving. The latest suggestions, at least, are that Alisson Becker will stay.
Kostas Tsimikas will return from AS Roma and he can plug the gap at left-back, at least for a season, until his Liverpool contract expires, but the other areas of the team are lacking.
Jeremy Jacquet, the highly rated young center-back from Rennes, is coming in for a fee that could reach $83 million (£60 million) including add-ons.
But he and Leoni have only played a relatively small number of senior games between them, and neither has appeared in the Premier League yet. Expecting them to fill the Konate gap would be a big ask.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot will start next season under high pressure
Liverpool manager Arne Slot will start next season under high pressure(Image: Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Joe Gomez is another option at the back, but he admitted recently he isn't sure what the future holds. The 28-year-old might have left in each of the last two summers, and even if he stays, he might be needed at right-back.
An exact date for Conor Bradley to return from a long-term injury is yet to be revealed and even when he comes back, he might need some time and patience. Jeremie Frimpong, meanwhile, is yet to fully convince.
In midfield, there is interest in Curtis Jones, who only has a year left on his contract. Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile, has had a poor season by his own standards and no talks have been held regarding an extension for him.
There is an argument to say that Liverpool's midfield needs another body even before anyone leaves (though Trey Nyoni might step up and play more regularly soon), while in attack, things are even lighter.
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Liverpool currently has only Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa as senior wide options, with Rio Ngumoha still developing. Isak is the only fit number nine, with Hugo Ekitike out for the long term, and Florian Wirtz likely to be deployed as a number 10.
Signing at least two forwards is therefore a must, and there is a good chance that Chiesa could move on. The Italian has barely featured in two years under Arne Slot and hasn't proven to have the pace to be able to excel in England.
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The Reds needed at least two attackers and a midfielder already. Should anyone else leave — which seems likely — then they will need to be replaced on top of that.
After failing to come to an agreement with Konate, the shopping list has grown by one. Quite simply, Liverpool cannot afford to leave itself short ahead of a season when the pressure to hit the ground running is already on.