Journalist Ian Doyle has claimed that Liverpool may look ‘lengthy and arduous’ at strengthening one place specifically through the summer season switch window.
Regardless of spending virtually £450m on new signings final yr, a spate of accidents this season has left Arne Slot frightfully in need of senior choices in a couple of key positions – most notably in defence, with a number of midfielders deputising as emergency right-backs.
The Reds have already moved to bolster their backline forward of the 2026/27 marketing campaign by signing Jeremy Jacquet, who’ll arrive from Rennes in the summertime, however there could also be a necessity for additional defensive additions if negotiations over a possible new contract for Ibrahima Konate hit a useless finish.
Liverpool may look ‘lengthy and arduous’ at signing a brand new no.6
In a readers’ Q&A for the Liverpool Echo, Doyle was requested concerning the likelihood of incoming switch exercise within the low season and which positions are most definitely to be focused.
Whereas the journalist indicated that exercise might be contingent on which gamers depart in the summertime, he drew explicit consideration to the necessity for a brand new defensive midfielder.
He acknowledged: ‘The fascinating place is in defensive midfield. There proceed to be rumours of Alexis Mac Allister being of curiosity to Actual Madrid, whereas Wataru Endo didn’t get a lot of a look-in earlier than his harm.
‘With Slot having referenced on Friday the dearth of canopy within the place, I wouldn’t be stunned if Liverpool seemed lengthy and arduous at a significant quantity six arrival. They could want multiple.’
Are Liverpool more likely to signal a defensive midfielder this summer season?
Midfield has been one of many few positions the place Liverpool haven’t been badly affected by accidents this season, and though Endo is now set to be dominated out for a prolonged interval, he has been a sporadic presence within the line-up this season.
Even had he not gotten injured at Sunderland in midweek, it’s believable that the Anfield hierarchy would’ve been considering the addition of a specialist defensive midfielder in the summertime.
While Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister excelled within the midfield engine room final time period, that double act hasn’t been fairly as efficient within the present marketing campaign, and there’s a case to be made for bringing in a real beginning quantity 6 within the mould of a Fabinho.
As Doyle identified, whether or not or not it occurs this yr may depend upon the necessity to handle different positions within the squad, in addition to how far Liverpool’s switch funds will stretch.
Slot prompted alarm amongst some supporters this week when stating that failure to qualify for the Champions League would have an ‘huge impression’ on the membership’s spending energy in the summertime (The Athletic), and the necessary of being in that competitors can’t be overstated.
It’s coming as much as three years since Jurgen Klopp’s full-scale midfield overhaul, which went a great distance in direction of reworking the Reds’ fortunes both facet of the managerial handover. It’s not unthinkable that the place might be addressed within the subsequent switch window, even when to not the identical extent as in 2023.
