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What Liverpool’s line-up could look like next season if transfer rumours prove true - but will Salah stay?
This is going to be a huge summer for Liverpool – barring something going spectacularly wrong, it will all start with champagne, but before too long the celebrations will be over and a squad rebuild will begin.
The Reds face the prospect of losing Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer while winger Luis Díaz is among players reported to be on the shopping list of other clubs – all of which means that a massive overhaul could be in order.
With that in mind, we’ve looked through some of the (many) rumours concerning the players who could be at Anfield next season and put together a plausible starting XI for Arne Slot’s side at the start of 2025/26 – featuring no fewer than six new signings and £538m worth of talent.
All change at the back
GK: Giorgio Mamardashvili (£29m); LB: Milos Kerkez (£45m); CB: Virgil van Dijk (£75m), Nico Schlotterbeck (£42m); RB: Jeremie Frimpong (£35m)
As you can see, we’re predicting a raft of changes in the back line. First up, Georgian star Giorgio Mamardashvili will arrive to try and claim Alisson’s starting place in the line-up, and we’re projecting a future in which Liverpool try to cash in on their more experienced Brazilian ‘keeper – Saudi Arabian sides have reportedly been interested, and the club may need the money to finance a wider rebuild.
We’re also beginning to believe that Alexander-Arnold really will join Real Madrid on a free – which would be a devastating blow, but at least Jeremie Frimpong is a (relatively) affordable like-for-like replacement. With Andrew Robertson starting to show a few signs of wear and tear, we’re also listening to the stories linking Liverpool with a bid for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez. The prices listed for them are taken from transfer columns but may well be off the mark, of course.
In the heart of the defence, we think Virgil van Dijk will stay, at least, but we suspect that the club will still try to find a long-term replacement – Nico Schlotterbeck, from Borussia Dortmund, is the latest name to be linked, but far from the only one.
Search for a defensive midfielder goes on
CM: Alexis Mac Allister (£35m), Ryan Gravenberch (£34m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m)
The one part of the pitch we don’t expect significant changes in – Liverpool have good options across most of the midfield and with so many pressing needs liable to crop up elsewhere, we think that FSG might prefer to keep their powder dry here to save money.
Not that Slot won’t want a defensive midfielder, with the club’s bizarre ongoing failure to successfully replace Fabinho liable to stretch on into a third year – not that Alexis Mac Allister hasn’t done a fine job filling in, but he must miss the Brighton days when he was a roaming number ten.
In a perfect world, they would find someone to fill the void left by Fabinho and the failed big for Martín Zubimendi last summer, but this may be an area which is addressed later. One way the need for a midfielder could become more urgent is if Harvey Elliott, oddly underutilised this season, pushes for a move away. Depth could then become an issue.
The Darwin age is over… but will Salah stay?
LW: Kenan Yildiz (£75m); RW: Mohamed Salah (£43m); CF: Benjamin Šeško (£65m).
Let’s start by saying that we are no more certain than anybody else as to what Mohamed Salah wants to do this summer, but one thing we have noted is that talk of a move to Saudi Arabia is slowly dying down a little, including from the Saudi end – not that it can’t be rekindled very suddenly. The Saudi Pro League often swoops for players when it’s least expected, after all.
In our version of the future, the Egyptian stays for another year. That could prove to be a fantasy, but it’s far from impossible and not many clubs will have the clout (or cash) to lure him away – but new faces are still required, with Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez liable to leave.
We think reports that Liverpool want Alexander Isak are simply over-ambitious, but they do look likely to be in the bidding for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško, said to be available for around £65m – and we’re also choosing to believe the relatively persistent link between Liverpool and Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz, although we do think the reported valuation of £75m is more than he will actually cost.
Of course, if Salah does leave then Liverpool will be left needing yet another forward and all bets are off as to who they could go for – the rumour mill hasn’t thrown many right wingers up recently, which is another reason we’re wondering if Salah might stay. If Liverpool thought he was going, you’d expect them to be doing more scouting, talking to more agents, and generating more buzz. But we’ll see…