Ranking Arne Slot’s biggest transfer mistakes as Liverpool sack pressure builds | OneFootball

Despite winning the Premier League title in 2024/25, Liverpool manager Arne Slot is now under a lot of pressure after a poor start to his second season.

Slot was backed in the transfer market and spent £446 million to sign seven new players – the highest ever outlay by a Premier League club in a single window.

But spending a lot of money does not always equate to instant success on the pitch and this season has proved that wholesale changes can actually create problems.

We’ve taken a look at six of the biggest mistakes that the Liverpool manager has made in the transfer market.

6. Buying Milos Kerkez

Andy Robertson faced some criticism for his performances in 2024/25, with the left-back position often seen as the one weak link in Arne Slot’s title-winning team.

We exclusively revealed the news 14 months ago that Liverpool were forward-planning to replace Robertson by bringing Milos Kerkez to Anfield – a transfer which ultimately came to fruition when a £40million deal was struck with Bournemouth over the summer.

The deal felt like a no-brainer after the Hungary international enjoyed a brilliant 2024/25 season and was named in the Premier League Team of the Year.

But he has struggled to adapt to playing for such a big club and currently looks a shadow of the player who was starring for Bournemouth last season.

The 22-year-old has been defensively suspect in his first few months at Anfield and Virgil van Dijk has had to cover for the full-back on the left side, leading to public displays of frustration from the captain.

With hindsight, the move may have come a bit too soon for Kerkez and Liverpool should’ve signed a more ready-made replacement for Robertson.

Milos Kerkez, often maligned by Virgil van Dijk, has struggled in Liverpool colours so far

5. Buying Isak after Ekitike

After Darwin Nunez scored just five Premier League goals in 2024/25, Liverpool went into the summer wanting to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.

But a deal appeared unlikely and they switched their attention to Hugo Ekitike, paying an initial £69million and another £10million in add-ons to secure his signature.

Liverpool started the season with Ekitike as their starting centre forward, with the France international registering three goals and an assist in his first four appearances in all competitions.

Despite his impressive performances, the Reds refused to walk away from Isak and eventually agreed a £125million deal with Newcastle on transfer deadline day.

“In terms of spending the big money on Isak and Ekitike, who were both playing in the same position, both in the same summer, that was a little one where I was scratching my head a little bit,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said.

“When you’ve spent that type of money, and it just becomes one or the other… It doesn’t feel very Liverpool-like to me, or certainly the way we’ve conducted our transfer business in the last few years.”

Slot has since struggled to fit both strikers in the same starting line-up, with Ekitike suffering a dip in form and Isak scoring just one goal in 10 appearances in all competitions.

Admittedly, Liverpool did need to buy two strikers in the summer following the sale of Nunez and the news that Diogo Jota tragically passed away.

But a back-up to Ekitike would’ve made a lot more sense and they didn’t have to spend a British record fee on Isak, who has given Slot a selection headache.

4. Replacing Alexander-Arnold with Frimpong

Slot wanted to keep Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool but was ultimately powerless to prevent his departure after the 27-year-old refused to sign a new contract at Anfield.

It’s a near-impossible job to find another right-back with the unique attributes of Alexander-Arnold, who was among the most creative players in the Premier League.

Jeremie Frimpong was the one tasked with filling the void left by Alexander-Arnold after Liverpool triggered the £29.5million release clause in his Bayer Leverkusen contract.

The Netherlands international was initially heralded as an ideal fit thanks to his attacking output, having registered 30 goals and 44 assists in 190 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

But at Bayer Leverkusen, he played as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 system – a formation that maximises the impact of attacking full-backs and removes part of their defensive responsibilities.

Right-back in a back four is a very different role and it requires far more defensive discipline and positional awareness.

Frimpong doesn’t have those qualities and Liverpool should’ve targeted a natural right-back who could have seamlessly fitted into their back four.

3. Not replacing Luis Diaz

Despite playing a key role in Liverpool’s Premier League title win last season, Diaz was allowed to join Bayern Munich in a deal worth up to £65.5million.

The winger has since registered 12 goals and five assists in 19 appearances in all competitions — more goal involvements than Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo have combined for Liverpool in 2025/26.

Alongside the goal contributions, the Colombia international is also renowned for his incredible work rate and ability to get his team up the pitch.

“Luis Diaz is a massive miss for them,” former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge said. “When we look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, he was arguably the one who set the press in the front three.

“[Dominik] Szoboszlai does that in midfield with the power and dynamism that he has, but Diaz, with how tenacious he was off the ball and tenacious to get the ball back with interceptions as well.

“He brought something to that front line and they are now missing that.”

It could still be argued that Liverpool were right to cash in on a 28-year-old who had just two years left on his contract, but they should’ve then signed a direct replacement.

Aside from 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, Gakpo is currently the only natural left winger at Liverpool and the lack of competition from Diaz has arguably led to a drop off in his performance level this season.

Florian Wirtz and Ekitike have both been deployed on the left wing this season, but it is not their natural position and they both prefer more central roles.

Luis Diaz has joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool

2. Not bolstering the midfield

After taking over at Liverpool in the summer of 2024, Slot identified the midfield as an area he needed to strengthen.

They wanted to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and were willing to trigger his release clause, but he ultimately decided to stay with his boyhood club for another season.

Having missed out on his top target, Slot deserves a lot of credit for finding an in-house solution to their defensive midfield conundrum by using Ryan Gravenberch in a deeper role.

The Netherlands international formed an impressive midfield partnership with Alexis Mac Allister and won the Premier League Young Player of the Year award in 2024/25.

Following their success last season, Liverpool decided not to sign another central midfielder in the summer and watched on as Zubimendi completed a £55.8million move to Arsenal.

They should now be regretting that decision as Zubimendi has become a key player for the Gunners, while the Liverpool midfield has looked lightweight and porous this season.

Opposition managers have started to recognise where the gaps are but if Liverpool had signed a more defensive-minded midfielder in the summer, they would be less susceptible to counter-attacks.

1. Failing to sign Marc Guehi

Liverpool have welcomed several new faces to their squad this year, but it is arguably the one they missed out on which has proved the most noteworthy.

The Reds held an interest in Guehi throughout the summer transfer window but didn’t submit their first official offer to Crystal Palace until August 30.

The two clubs eventually agreed to a £35million deal for the centre-back on deadline day, with Palace also inserting a 10 per cent sell-on clause into the terms.

He passed a medical in London but Palace changed their mind at the 11th hour and pulled the plug on the move after failing to land a replacement for the England international.

If Liverpool hadn’t waited until the final hours of a 12-week-long transfer window before making a bid, Guehi would now be pulling on a red shirt.

“That was a bad mistake [not signing Marc Guehi],” Carragher said. “Liverpool are known as being really smart in the market, not overpaying and really good at selling. That could cost them.”

Liverpool did sign Giovanni Leoni from Parma for a fee of £26million, but the 18-year-old centre-back suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut.

To make matters worse for the Reds, first-choice centre-backs Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have both had huge slumps in form this season.

Guehi, meanwhile, has continued to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s leading centre-backs and is now attracting interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.