With just over a couple of months remaining in the season, thoughts will soon be turning to the summer transfer window. For Liverpool, it looks as though it could be a busy one.
Although Arne Slot’s side looks to have the Premier League title in the bag, and it could secure the first part of a double today in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, there are still some obvious areas to address in the squad. What’s more, the Reds could be left with a massive hole to fill should three of their biggest names depart.
The futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah are still to be decided, but as things stand, all three will leave the club for nothing when their contracts expire at the end of the season.
Van Dijk has this week admitted he still has “no idea” what will happen to him, so Liverpool needs to have a plan in place to potentially replace their stars. Reports suggest there may already be a three-man shortlist in place to step into the Liverpool captain’s shoes, and one of the players listed may even be on the verge of making the move to Anfield.
According to Mirror Football, Liverpool is poised to win the race for Marc Guehi’s signature. Anfield is said to be the England international’s preferred destination, and a deal is expected to be finalized in the summer, despite some potential last-minute interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham.
Guehi is not the only name to have been linked with a move to Liverpool ahead of the summer, and even with 10 games to play before the season comes to a close, we can already start to plan what Slot’s team for next season might look like.
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Giorgi Mamardashvili is of course already confirmed to be making the switch to Anfield from Valencia, having completed his deal last summer. However, as long as Alisson Becker – arguably the best goalkeeper in the world – is still at Liverpool, he should remain No.1, so barring any move away for the Brazilian, he remains in goal.
A move to Real Madrid looks as though it may well be in the pipeline for Alexander-Arnold, so with him moving on, Conor Bradley gets his chance at right-back, with Ibrahima Konate partnering Guehi as he replaces the outgoing Van Dijk in this scenario. At left-back, with The Athletic reporting that Bournemouth is open to selling Milos Kerkez for the right price, the Hungarian hopefully makes the move to Merseyside to become Andy Robertson’s heir.
The midfield takes on a very familiar look, with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai retaining their spots, although Liverpool does need to make sure it bolsters its engine room in the summer to take some of the workload off the trio.
Although Salah remains in the same boat as Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold right now, the Egyptian’s departure is a concept too grim to think about for most fans, so hopefully Liverpool manages to convince him to stay. If it does, then he’ll take his usual spot on the right, with Cody Gakpo on the opposite flank.
That just leaves the striker, and there’s no doubt Liverpool needs an upgrade in that position. With suggestions that the Reds’ interest in Julian Alvarez could be renewed this summer, and Darwin Nunez being touted as a possible makeweight in a transfer, the Argentine could well be the man to lead the line next season – it certainly feels like a longshot, but it would leave Slot with an exciting line-up, even with Van Dijk’s departure.
Liverpool’s possible line-up next season: Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Guehi, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Alvarez.