Liverpool do not expect to be busy during the winter transfer window in January. While fans are demanding signings to light a fire under their title charge, the club do not believe they need reinforcements to sustain their title challenge in the second half of the season. However, the story is going to be very different next summer and the Reds are expecting a major overhaul of their squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Liverpool want to hold on to the trio of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk but let’s be realistic. The chances of all three lining up in the eleven on the opening day of the season are minimal. At least one or maybe two of the three could be out of the door on a free transfer next summer.
The smart money is on Van Dijk staying and maybe the club find a compromise to hold on to Mohamed Salah. It is now easy to assume that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be lost to the glitz, glamour and riches of Real Madrid at the end of the season. Replacing the defender would be some task given he is more than a right-back in the team.
Liverpool are also expected to sign at least one centre-back and a defensive midfielder and departures from other areas of the squad are also likely to lead to more signings.
Richard Hughes and his recruitment team will be working tirelessly over the next few months to identify top targets and get to work on those deals but here are five players who I think the club could sign in the next summer transfer window. Strap in!
Martin Zubimendi
Zubimendi will continue to make such Liverpool listicles until he moves to Anfield or joins another club. The Reds wanted him last summer and they rated him so highly that the club didn’t think there was a credible alternative in the market once the Spaniard decided against leaving Real Sociedad. There are murmurs of the move in January but let’s be real – if he was reluctant to leave last summer, there is no reason to suggest that he will consider moving on from Real Sociedad in the middle of the season.
Can you name the team Liverpool sold these players to?
However, a move next summer is very much on since he would have given one more season to La Real and would deserve a big-money transfer to a top club. Arsenal and Manchester City are also interested in the Spaniard but Liverpool almost convinced him last year and who would not want to join the newly-minted Premier League champions next summer?
Marc Guehi
Van Dijk is expected to sign a new contract and extend his stay at the club beyond the end of the season. However, Liverpool are in the market for centre-backs and what better way to replace the club captain while he is still at Anfield? Liverpool are aware that they need a successor to Van Dijk soon even if he stays and there is no better English defender available in the market than Marc Guehi. Newcastle wanted him last summer and their four failed bids showed how highly he is rated in the game.
He is almost certain to leave Crystal Palace in the summer and deserves a move to a club right at the top of the game. A move to Liverpool should appeal to the England defender even if Newcastle decide to rekindle their interest at the end of the season. Will he be expensive? Yes but so was Van Dijk and look how that turned out!
Milos Kerkez
There is too much noise around a probable left-back reshuffle in the Liverpool squad in the summer. The club are insistent that Andy Robertson is very much part of their plans and the club are set to offer him a new deal at the end of the season. However, Liverpool are actively seeking a long-term replacement for him and Kerkez’s name has regularly emerged as the player they want. It is easy to see why the Reds want him. The Hungarian has been hugely impressive in a very good Bournemouth team and was a Richard Hughes signing at Dean Court. The Liverpool sporting director knows the player and his camp and if Liverpool push to sign him it is easy to predict that the left-back would be keen to move to Anfield over other options.
Omar Marmoush
At this point if Omar Marmoush doesn’t end up at Liverpool next summer, a lot of Liverpool and Egyptian fans will be disappointed. He has already been anointed the successor to Mohamed Salah in Egypt and some have backed him to become better than the Liverpool star. While that would be a tall order, Marmoush has been in a rich vein of form this season and is almost certain to leave Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. There is far too much noise about Liverpool wanting to sign him to ignore and it seems the forward is already sold on joining the Merseyside giants. While Liverpool may need to sell a forward before they can sign the Egyptian, Marmoush seems destined for Merseyside ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Florian Wirtz
Okay, alright this might be my fantasy pick but who said every name on this list would be a realistic target? Liverpool are interested in him and yes, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid want him and yes, his price could breach the £100m mark but what a deliciously ambitious signing he would be! Wirtz is widely considered one of the best young attacking midfielders in the world and what’s one thing the Liverpool team are missing from their midfield? Some spark in the middle of the park. Arne Slot has already said that Dominik Szoboszlai will need to improve his attacking numbers to justify continue playing as the number 10 in the team. Is it a stretch to suggest that Liverpool could look for an upgrade on the Hungarian next summer? The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder will be an expensive upgrade but would the newly minted Premier League champions deserve anything less?
