The Athletic have released their [Top 50 Premier League players](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7518505/2026/08/19/premier-league-best-players-ranking/?unlocked_article_code=1.6lA.hZMe.porL3X5xvzwa&source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share) ahead of the 2026/27 season and Liverpool having seven players inside the top to shows the squad strength that Liverpool do possess
However, the position of a majority of these players show how far Liverpool’s season dropped off from their title winning campaign in 2024/25.
29 Alexis Mac Allister
24 Hugo Ekitike
22 Alisson Becker
21 Alexander Isak
12 Virgil Van Dijk
11 Florian Wirtz
8 Dominik Szoboszlai
Each of these rankings does tell a story of last season and where some of these players have fallen in the eyes of some outside pundits.
Alexis Mac Allister was previously named in the PFA team of the season in 2024-25 and is now considered the seventh best in the Liverpool squad.
Alisson Becker is loved by Liverpool fans and is the second highest rated keeper in the list behind David Raya. His position in this list shows how important it will be for Liverpool to keep the number one fit.
Liverpool’s new signings last year didn’t hit the ground running the way they would have hoped. The best of the three that made this list last year was Hugo Ekitike, who sits the lowest of the three. He will be out for early parts of the season, but show that he may be underestimated on his return. Alexander Isak has been placed 21st, one place behind Ismailla Sarr of Crystal Palace. This rating shows how far the estimations of Isak have fallen and should prove to motivate the striker to get back to his best, now that he is back to full fitness.
Florian Wirtz has been ranked 11th and while he wasn’t at his best last season, but could be crucial to a successful season this year. Wirtz has spoken already about how he hopes to build consistency in his positioning under Andoni Iraola.
Virgil van Dijk at 12th shows that the defender’s powers are potentially on the decline, but the captain is still one of the best in the league. The fact he is the only defender from the club that makes this list is maybe more of a problem for the club, but hopefully be something rectified by the signings of Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo.
Quite correctly, Dominik Szoboszlai has been named as Liverpool’s best player at eighth in the overall ranking. While this is about right, Liverpool fans have been used to having at least one player in these conversations and the lack of World Class players with the departure of Mohamed Salah is something the club do need to address.