Liverpool recruitment drive has already started as Arne Slot hints he'll do what Jurgen Klopp defiantly refused

Liverpool recruitment drive has already started as Arne Slot hints he'll do what Jurgen Klopp defiantly refused

Liverpool look set to win the Premier League this season and will head into a significant summer transfer window from a position of strength

Arne Slot, John Henry and Richard Hughes (Image: Getty Images )

Liverpool might be closing in on the Premier League title, but that won’t stop there from being changes to Arne Slot’s squad this summer. The Reds only need a maximum of 13 points from their remaining eight matches to be crowned champions.

Losing just once in the English top flight, it has been an impressive campaign for Liverpool. But it is made even more eye-catching by the fact that this is Slot’s first season in England after succeeding Jurgen Klopp.

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Following the departure of the Reds’ long-serving manager after a trophy-laden nine years, many predicted that Liverpool would go on to struggle. But Slot’s side have made a mockery of such doubts.

And it is made even more remarkable by the fact that the Dutchman is overseeing an entirely inherited squad. Federico Chiesa was the Reds’ only summer signing, but he has made only three Premier League substitute appearances.

Meanwhile, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Adrian were the only senior departures, leaving when their contracts expired, with the former pair opting to retire and the latter returning to Real Betis on a free transfer.

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Slot has already explained why Liverpool opted to keep their powder dry last summer, admitting he wanted to work with his inherited players before deciding where to improve heading into next season.

"We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team," he said at the end of February. "And I think we've said this many times last season, or last summer, we didn't do a lot [in the summer window] because we - Richard, me and all the other people involved - just wanted to know how these players were working with me, the different manager.

"Now we have a very good idea about that, and I think it's clear to you that I'm not going to tell you which positions we prefer. But it is clear that we've assessed the squad, we've assessed what we think where we can improve, and that's where we try to go for in the summer."

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Jamie Carragher thinks the Reds need six new signings this summer, with the Liverpool legend excited by the prospect of what his former side could be about to become under Slot. Meanwhile, the Premier League’s record goalscorer, Alan Shearer, believes they require at least four new arrivals. Yet such claims are made separate to what happens with the out-of-contract trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

From Liverpool’s current senior ranks, the majority of players have been the subject of transfer speculation at one point or another this season and have question marks against their futures as a result.

Beyond Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Bradley, it would not be a major surprise if any of Slot’s other players departed this summer for a variety of reasons.

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Now of course, Liverpool aren’t going to wave off the best part of 20 senior stars this summer. But despite their champions-elect status, there are obvious areas for improvement, which Slot has already hinted will be addressed.

Consequently, the Reds are about to strengthen from a position of strength. And this is something supporters have actually criticised the club for not doing in recent years.

While Liverpool parted with a club-record £161m in the summer of 2018, bringing in Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alisson Becker and Xherdan Shaqiri off the back losing in the Champions League final to Real Madrid, it was a very different story when once they were crowned champions of Europe 12 months later.

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Again, they brought in four players but this time they spent just an initial £3m. Veteran goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan joined on free transfers and teenage starlets Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg were also snapped at.

Having missed out on the title by a solitary point to Man City in 2018/19, Liverpool were criticised for not strengthening further. Yet Klopp had a defiant response as he kept faith in his current ranks.

"There was never the intention to spend again because of the team we had last year which is a wonderful age group,” he told reporters in August 2019.

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"It’s only in England where you come up with 'now bring in more quality and new faces' and all that stuff at the end of a season.

"Divock Origi has a new contract and all the others have stayed. That is transfer business. I know people smile and even laugh about it, that’s just how it is.

"But keeping a team like this together is not easy. Half the world would like to have these guys. And they (other clubs) don’t throw nuts - they have money as well! It’s like this.

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"We wanted to keep that team together and it means consolidation, pay the bills, play football, go for everything then after the season we can have a look what happened.

"But this team deserves another year together - that’s how it is. So absolutely it’s a bonus just keeping these guys together for another year."

Klopp’s faith was rewarded as his retained squad finished the season as champions. But this would not be the only time he defended his side's restrained incoming business.

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Liverpool were slightly hampered from strengthening again in the summer of 2020 by the Coronavirus pandemic, with a pursuit of Timo Werner well-documented to have been scuppered as a result. But they still managed to part with an initial £72.75m when bringing in Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota.

Yet three new signings is the joint-lowest by a defending champion over the past six years since Manchester City’s dominance started under Pep Guardiola.

Before City’s paltry £23m spend last summer - which was then followed by an £180m outlay in January as their title defence fell apart - the Reds’ own spend was also the lowest total in recent years.

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City’s £23m spend followed a £211m outlay in the summer of 2023 - a record for a reigning Premier League champion. If Liverpool were to bring in six new signings, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they would have to spend more than such a fee. But even if not, they could well break their own £161m record spend from the summer of 2018.

Meanwhile, it could well prove to be the Reds’ busiest summer since Klopp’s first full season in charge back in 2016/17.

That summer, the German brought in six new faces for £65.9m, including Sadio Mane, Gini Wijnaldum and Joel Matip. Since then, Liverpool have never signed more than four players in a summer, with the Reds continuing to be scrutinised outside the club for their limited business.

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Since their last failed title defence in 2020/21, they signed just one player in the summers of 2021 and 2024 (Ibrahima Konate and Chiesa). And while they parted with an initial £77.4m on four players in the summer of 2022, the bulk of that was on club-record signing Darwin Nunez as teenagers Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho also arrived along with the loan signing of Arthur Melo.

The summer of 2023 proved an exception as Liverpool spent an initial £146m when revamping their midfield, bringing in Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Gravenberch. Such recruitment was much needed following a poor campaign which saw Klopp’s men fail to qualify for the Champions League.

This season, such business looks even more inspired as Slot’s men close in on the title. And with a number of positions under question at Anfield, it could now prove to be another pivotal summer.

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With goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili already agreed to be signed in a £29m deal, the Reds could well find themselves in the market for a new right-back, centre-back and left-back, along with multiple attacking additions. There is also an argument for a new holding midfielder to help share the workload with Gravenberch.

Slot has already confirmed he knows what areas he wishes to improve, and in Mamardashvili, the summer recruitment drive has already started.

Liverpool have historically only really invested significantly under FSG when looking to make up ground on their rivals. But now they will be entering unchartered waters as they look to add to their ranks from a position of strength ahead of a likely attempted Premier League title defence.

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It is something transfer-hungry supporters have been calling for for years. Considering squad stability has actually strengthened their title charge this season, only time will tell if such an approach pays off.

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