Analysis 2025/6

AN ARTICLE BY MATTY

Liverpool are back on their perch, alright. They’re certainly acting like it, too. Incredible what winning the league can do for a club’s fortunes, isn’t it? Everybody doesn’t just want to be us, they want to beat us. On the flip side, every player looking for that big move wants to play here, a new frontier that the club hasn’t seen for many, many years. Remember when Thiago made it known he wanted to play here and that was considered a big deal? Now we’ve got the best attacking midfielder in the world telling City and Bayern, the usual suspects when it comes to buying the best talent, to fuck off because he wants to play for Liverpool. Imagine hearing that ten years ago, really. Now the most complete striker in the world, after getting his head turned by Hughes and company when we were moving for my favorite signing Hugo Ekitike, has said “yeah, you know what, getting service from Wirtz for the next five years sounds brilliant, gimme the contract”. We might not even be done after that either. The best English CB, Marc Guehi, might end up signing on as a backup! Truly exciting times to be a Red.

I was going to write an article about the outlook of the team shortly before the passing of Diogo and honestly after that I really wanted to give it time to properly process and heal from that tragedy before going into things. Diogo was an incredible talent and an incredible person, he will surely be missed by all. I’m hopeful that preseason is a decent sign that the club will be even more motivated to win in his honor and memory. The best finisher I’ve seen, a team player through and through. I was thinking all summer that in the midst of all this player movement, Diogo was the perfect squad player. He and Gomez and Endo were fine playing whatever role the club needed, they’d give it their all and they’d usually be pretty damn good. I still notice I haven’t referred to Diogo by his last name since the crash. In a way, he endeared himself to the club and its fans so much that I think it almost feels akin to losing a friend, not just a player you watched week in and week out. Forever our number 20, forever missed.

Given the team’s current needs and who they’ve been linked with in the rumor mill, I see a busy flurry of moves being made to ensure that all parties involved are satisfied and that Liverpool completes the absolute monster of a team that they’ve been constructing this summer. Luis Diaz has seemingly been pushing for a move away all summer, first it was Barcelona and now it’s Bayern. Bayern also probably want their pound of flesh from us because we took the best German player away from their prying eyes. I think Diaz is a fantastic player for the squad, but I also think Gakpo outperformed him last season while being significantly younger than Diaz. He’s a versatile player, his speed is always an asset but his end product has always been lacking. I think if we get the £70 million bid from Bayern that we’ve been holding out for, that’s a smart piece of business for us. Allows us to reinvest in other areas to further strengthen what is already shaping up to be a great team. I do think if Diaz hadn’t agitated for a move away, we’d have been fine with keeping him for another two years before his contract was up.

Beyond Diaz, I think every player we’d likely let go is a player we already planned on selling. This is where Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott, Tyler Morton, Ben Doak (possibly, I do think he has a future with the club if he impresses in preseason), Federico Chiesa (could be kept as I do think he’s an ideal squad player, but if we get a good offer we probably sell), and Kostas Tsimikas (ideal squad player but Robbo’s not going anywhere and Kerkez just signed) raise funds. Could also see a shock sale of Stefan Bajcetic but I think we want to see him healthy in Slot’s system before determining whether or not to sell up. In selling Elliott, I’d make sure of throwing in a buy-back clause like we did for Quansah. Similarly to Quansah, that’s a player that both myself and the club would usually not want to let go of, but he needs game time and he’s blocked by Wirtz and Szoboszlai. Let him develop at Brighton or Dortmund into a star, then we’ll buy him back in a year or two where he can properly kick on and fulfill his dream as the Liverpool starboy he was always destined to be.

I genuinely like Chiesa and Tsimikas as squad players because of their temperament. They’re good depth, they don’t rock the boat by demanding more playing time, and like a few other squad players I like, they’re at an age where they’ll be useful for a while but perhaps a bit too old to get serious money back for them in a potential sale. However, we’re not selling Robertson, a club legend, unless he agitates for a move. I also think the club just don’t trust Chiesa’s fitness whatsoever and think we can make a profit on what we paid for him by sending him back to Italy.

Now that we’ve sorted out the outgoings, let’s briefly talk about the three players I think end up joining the club before exploring how all the new pieces fit together (hint: it’s beautiful). First up, given the breaking news today that he wants to leave Newcastle, Alexander Isak. I always viewed Isak and Ekitike as the ideal striker targets for this summer. I also thought we could only get one of them, it’s insane to think we likely end up with both. I liked Ekitike more because he was younger, cheaper and a better fit for what Slot wants from his striker. Someone who can press like a madman from up top, create plays or finish them, drop deep and link up the play for others or be the target man up top with his size and confidence.

That being said, Alexander Isak might be the upgraded version of that while entering his prime years. And from everything that’s been written, it seems fairly clear he only wants Liverpool. Given Ekitike’s versatile skill set, I can see a lineup working with both of them on the field. Even better, having both of them means that Ekitike’s workload can ramp up sustainably, which is huge for a younger player who’s just played by far the most minutes of his career, while also keeping Isak fresh and fit for an entire season, which is again huge considering the Swede’s injury history. A dynamic partnership that can work in every conceivable way.

Then factor in we’ve got two of the best playmakers in the world with Wirtz and Salah feeding them, plus an emerging superstar in Cody Gakpo cutting in from the left and seemingly scoring at will at times, and this attack, which was already really good, is massively upgraded. I remember upon signing Wirtz that I said we signed a game changer, someone who can flip a game on its head and take complete control. Isak is another one of those, and Ekitike can certainly grow into that as well.

While Isak is obviously the anticipated big signing, two other signings will likely be made so the squad is shored up in key areas. If all those sales that I believe to be planned do indeed go through, we’ll be short of bodies in the attack while already being short in defense. We cannot go into a season with Gomez being the only backup CB, although I do love Gomez as a squad player. Enter Marc Guehi. Liverpool at this time seem to be his only suitor, and Palace already know they have to sell him before his contract expires next summer and he can go to a bigger club for free, where he’d slot right into the starting eleven of most of the big teams. Also very important to mention he’s a homegrown player, which carries a lot of importance with this particular team. Also important to remember that Jeremie Frimpong counts as homegrown because he came through City’s academy but I digress.

Guehi’s game has almost always been smooth as silk. He’s an excellent dribbler, capable of carrying the ball similarly to a former Liverpool CB named Joel Matip. He’s not the tallest player but he wins enough of his aerial duels that it’s not an outright weakness. Still almost 2 meters tall so he’s not a total midget out there. I can easily envision a scenario in which Konate plays Premier League games where physicality and pace are more important while Guehi plays European nights, where calmness and control on the ball is needed more. He’s a stylistic fit for Slot’s system while also providing a nice contrast to who we already have. He can play alongside either Konate or Virgil, which means that there is a viable succession plan in place for when Virgil retires should Guehi sign.

Lastly, if we sell Diaz, Nunez and Chiesa and only bring in Ekitike and Isak, we’d have four established forwards for three spots. Given the versatility of Ekitike, that doesn’t necessarily mean we need two new wingers, but it’s also important to remember that losing Diaz’s pace is an issue. Bringing in a young, pacy winger who doesn’t need to be a starter but can play both flanks so Salah and Gakpo could both get breathers when necessary would be ideal. Enter Malick Fofana.

Again, all of these players I’m mentioning have been extensively linked with Liverpool, which only heightens the chance that these deals could in fact happen. Fofana is a 20-year-old Belgian who plays for Lyon, a fast winger who’s smooth in front of goal and can play either flank. Instead of paying up big for Rodrygo after already splashing major cash on Ekitike and possibly Isak, Fofana offers a cheaper alternative who won’t demand as many minutes and offers similar upside while being more of a team player. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? It’s estimated that Fofana could be available for around £20-30 million, which would be a fair price for a young winger with upside. He scored 11 goals for Lyon this past season, excelling at dribbling past players, sending precise passes to other forwards ahead of him, and ranking highly among wingers with his goal scoring touch. A live-wire option off the bench with the potential to grow into a starter. That’s really all the forward group needs after the expensive overhaul it’s already seen and will likely continue to see.

Having gone into detail at who’s staying and who’s going, as well as who could come in to replace the departures, now let’s take a look at how that squad would play together and the defined roles each player would have. I think Liverpool have meaningfully upgraded at every level of the field already. Giorgi has already impressed me with his shot-stopping ability, if his distribution continues to improve we have a world class successor to Alisson waiting on the bench. Our fullbacks have seen sizable upgrades brought in on both flanks, with searing pace to run up and down the touchline all game long. Having four top quality options also means significant rotation can happen to keep everybody healthy. Crosses from the byline will be much more fruitful this season with target men like Ekitike and possibly Isak to finish those off. The defending of both Frimpong and Kerkez should also be an improvement from an aging Robertson and a lackadaisical Trent. Conor Bradley is also a stud in waiting. Potentially upgrading from Quansah to Guehi is a strong move that means a succession plan at the position is clear regardless of Quansah’s success with Leverkusen. That being said, I have total faith that Quansah will establish himself as a top player in Germany, come home to Liverpool and thrive as quite possibly the replacement for Virgil in two years.

In the midfield, we have the numbers and the quality. Florian Wirtz is the best attacking midfielder in the world, full stop. Having a creative force like Wirtz in the middle should allow goals to flow easily and give us an edge in most European games especially. A total attacking force who can impact the game in so many ways. Having Szoboszlai as his backup is an incredible luxury and also ensures we can close out games with his incredible pressing and dedication to the team. Szoboszlai will definitely get minutes this season and I believe he can impress playing anywhere in the midfield three. Further back I have slight concerns about the depth behind Gravenberch and Mac Allister. Both of them are top tier players, Endo’s a fine squad player and Jones is a tidy player who’s better than given credit for. Realistically, though, can either of them be trusted to challenge the starters or provide similar quality if the starters miss time? I doubt it. I’m hopeful James McConnell or Stefan Bajcetic can develop into an option to further support the depth here.

In the attack, there’s a lot of moving pieces but I think there’s a strong upgrade. We’ve lost everybody not named Gakpo or Salah in this scenario, but we’ve gained two of the best strikers in the world whose skill sets work by themselves or in a pair. In this scenario where Fofana also joins Isak and Ekitike as new signings, your attack is covered with five players who all provide unique skill sets and traits to attack defenses in different ways. Ekitike and Wirtz should dovetail beautifully on the field with their complementing skill sets, and Isak has already put up high goal scoring numbers with less creative talent around him. Having the ability to change how we want to attack is an arrow in the quiver that we didn’t really have last season. The changes at both the fullback positions and at striker mean that we can more easily play through the middle or from the wing. We can pass through teams or cross over them in ways we couldn’t before. There’s a lot of pace and creativity injected into the team, and it’s been done without losing much of the defensive solidity that brought us title 20.

Ultimately if everything goes as it seems to be going right now, I struggle to think how teams could lay a glove on Liverpool this upcoming season. City and Arsenal will surely be better this season, Chelsea look like they’re developing into something good, and Tottenham under Thomas Frank should surprise many people. The depth and quality of the Liverpool squad has been improved immensely though. Having players like Szoboszlai, Robertson, and Ekitike profiling as backups is crazy to me. Every player in the squad if it’s filled out the way we should expect has the potential to be a star or is already a superstar. Either that or they’re squad players like Endo and Gomez who can reliably fill a number of roles. The versatility of the players and the systems we can run excites me. There’s a level of unpredictability with this squad that ensures we can attack and defend in whatever way the opposition presents itself. Meaningful upgrades in just about every position for a team that practically waltzed to a title and narrowly lost to the best team in Europe. Slot should be able to rotate more often this season and keep players fresh so that competition on all fronts can be viable.