Liverpool are not resting on their laurels after they won the Premier League in Arne Slot's first season as the manager in the 2024/25 campaign.
The Dutch head coach arrived from Feyenoord last summer to replace Jurgen Klopp in the dugout at Anfield and clinched the top-flight trophy at the first time of asking.
Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool
Despite that incredible achievement, Slot and his staff are looking to bolster the squad with reinforcements to achieve even more success, hopefully across multiple competitions, next season.
One star who is reportedly on the club's radar is Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who was recently the subject of a £105m bid by the Premier League champions, as per Sky Sports.
It now remains to be seen whether or not the Reds can get a deal over the line for the Germany international in the weeks to come during the summer transfer window.
Liverpool have, however, already completed and announced a move for Jeremie Frimpong from the Bundesliga club, and he may not be the only full-back to arrive at Anfield this summer.
What Jeremie Frimpong could bring to Liverpool
Firstly, the Reds have already found their replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has completed a transfer to Real Madrid on a permanent basis, in the form of Frimpong.
Liverpool reportedly paid a fairly modest fee of £29.5m, thanks to his release clause, to sign the Netherlands international, which makes him a fairly cost-effective replacement for Trent this summer.
Frimpong-Liverpool-Premier-League-Leverkusen
In terms of his style of play, Frimpong is a very front-footed and attack-minded 'defender' who will want to be on the last line and make runs to impact games from an offensive perspective.
The 24-year-old star primarily played as a wing-back for Leverkusen down the right and could push on very high and wide for Liverpool, which would suit Mohamed Salah well, as he likes to drift infield onto his favoured left foot to score and create goals.
|Jeremie Frimpong's form for Bayer Leverkusen (all comps)|
|Season|Appearances|Goals|Assists|
|---|
|24/25|48|5|9|
|23/24|47|14|10|
|22/23|48|9|10|
|21/22|34|2|8|
|Stats via Sofascore|
As you can see in the table above, Frimpong delivered goals and assists at an impressive rate, for a wing-back, for the majority of his time with the German side, which shows that he could bring goals and assists to the Liverpool team next season.
This could also provide Salah with more room to work with, because opposition full-backs may have to pay extra close attention to Frimpong's runs, possibly creating space for the winger to receive the ball with fewer defenders on him.
Frimpong, however, may not be the only full-back to arrive at Anfield in the coming weeks, as Liverpool are reportedly eyeing up a left-back from the Premier League.
Liverpool set to bid for Premier League defender
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Liverpool are interested in a deal to sign Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez during the summer transfer window.
The reporter claims that the Premier League champions are set to make a formal bid to sign the Hungary international in the coming days, as they look to bolster their options at left-back.
Jacobs does not reveal how much the bid from Liverpool is set to be worth, but does claim that Bournemouth are looking for a fee of at least £40m to allow their star defender to move on from the Vitality Stadium.
The journalist also states that the 21-year-old Premier League star has 'already agreed to the move' to Anfield, which means that there would not be any issues on personal terms if the Reds were able to agree a deal with the Cherries in the coming days.
AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez
If Liverpool do wrap up a transfer to bring Kerkez over to Merseyside this summer, then it could be a repeat of their Sadio Mane masterclass back in 2016.
Why Milos Kerkez could be Sadio Mane 2.0
The club reportedly paid a fairly modest fee of £36m to sign the Senegal international from Southampton after the 2015/16 campaign, in which the forward had produced 11 goals and six assists to lead his side to European football.
Mane went on to score 120 goals and provide 46 assists in 269 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions during his career at Anfield, winning the Champions League and the Premier League during that time.
This shows that Liverpool hit the jackpot with the exciting attacker because they snapped up a star who was shining for a team punching above their weight in the Premier League, and he was able to adapt to a team that wanted to win trophies year-on-year.
Bournemouth finished ninth in the top-flight, just shy of a spot in Europe for next season, and Kerkez played a significant role in their achievement of finishing in the top half with his impressive performances in the left-back position for Andoni Iraola's side.
24/25 Premier League Milos Kerkez Andy Robertson
Appearances 38 33
Goals 2 0
Assists 5 1
Big chances created 8 7
Tackles + interceptions per game 2.6 1.8
Dribbled past per game 0.4x 0.6x
Duel success rate 54% 48%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Hungarian star outperformed Andy Robertson with his work in and out of possession during the Premier League season, by offering more as a scorer and a creator, whilst also being more effective defensively.
These statistics suggest that Kerkez has the quality to make an instant impact at Anfield as an upgrade on Slot's current left-back option, which is another reason why he could be a repeat of Mane, who became an instant star with his goals and assists on the wing.
As Izzy Christiansen said in the clip above, the "machine" is only 21 and is not close to reaching his peak, which means that Liverpool would also be paying for the potential that he has to get even better.
Like Mane, who joined at the age of 24, Kerkez would arrive at Anfield with time on his side to be a key player for the Reds for many more years to come, which is yet another reason why he could be a fantastic signing after the Frimpong deal for the opposite flank.
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