Liverpool transfers: Would it be so bad if club didn't sign anyone this summer?

Last summer, it wasn’t a question of whether or not Liverpool would sign someone. It was a question of how many they would be signing. 

The Reds needed to overhaul their entire midfield and the entire world knew that one or two new faces wouldn’t suffice. In the end, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo all moved to Merseyside to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s middle-third options. 

This time around, it isn’t quite clear-cut.

You could make an argument for every area of the team to be strengthened. After all, Adrian has already left the club while reports suggest Caoimhín Kelleher could be looking to leave in search of first-team football. So the Reds could well be in the market for a new goalkeeper. 

At least one centre-back is needed after Joel Matip departed on a free transfer. There’s a case for two to be brought in with Virgil van Dijk now into the final 12 months of his contract. There are concerns over Andrew Robertson’s fitness while Kostas Tsimikas is once again being linked with a move away from the club, thus creating an opportunity for a left-back to be signed. 

At right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is up in the air. If the vice-captain isn’t going to pen a renewal, you could justify bringing in another full-back. 

In midfield, Thiago is no more having retired from football while Endo, despite impressing last season in spells, is definitely not a long-term solution for the Reds. The opinion is that the Reds need a new No6 to replace the Fabinho void within the squad. 

Contracts take priority

New head coach Arne Slot may have the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz to choose from in attack but at least one new face could be brought in. You wouldn’t take much convincing to sanction such a deal either, would you? 

Salah is into the final 12 months of his contract, Diaz is perpetually being linked with a move to Barcelona and Jota is the definition of injury prone. 

If Liverpool signed a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder and an attacker this summer, you wouldn’t be gobsmacked, right? 

But, what if the club don’t sign anyone this summer? 

Before you click off this piece and call me an FSG apologist, give me a chance to explain why a quiet transfer window could well be on the agenda for the Reds. This doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with it either. 

Liverpool have some big decisions to make this summer. Decisions that will shape the short-term and the long-term of the club. 

It starts with the contract situations of key players. Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Salah are all free to leave next summer. New sporting director Richard Hughes needs to figure out what is going on with the influential trio. 

If they’re renewing, it changes what the club need in the short-term. It is much harder to bring in certain players if they know they are likely going to be second string. Extensions for these three would also hit the wage bill and this would give Hughes something else to ponder. How does it shape the financial landscape? How does it limit what the club can and cannot do? 

Knock-on effects of renewal costs

If they’re staying with the club, it allows the recruitment team to focus more on weaker parts of the squad. It also allows more money to be funnelled the way of those positions as opposed to having to be split across multiple areas. 

If, however, they are leaving, it creates a vacuum at the club. Three key players need to be replaced. This costs money. A lot of it. Plans to bring in a second string goalkeeper could be put on the backburner and viewed as a nice-to-have rather than as an essential signing. Likewise, a back-up forward isn’t a necessity when you have to replace Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold. 

It also resets the wage structure with four of the highest earners (if you include Thiago) leaving. Who is now the new benchmark? 

Liverpool's all-or-nothing summer

You can’t really do anything in the transfer market until you know what is going on with those players. You don’t want to waste money you might well need or fill up squad spaces that then impact the team dynamics. 

That is one big consideration for this transfer window. 

Another is the fact Hughes and Slot are still bedding in. The former Feyenoord boss might genuinely want to assess the players properly which is difficult to do during a staggered pre-season due to international tournaments. He might not want to write off a player without giving them a proper chance and this could well delay player recruitment until January. 

The stance could well be that a fresh new system could be just as transformative as a new signing or two in the short-term. And it would allow the Reds to plot their long-term plans. 

It could very much be an all-or-nothing type of summer for Liverpool. Either every position gets a fresh face or none of them do.