The big questions that hang over Liverpool’s forced ‘rebuild’ | OneFootball

The big spender argued he isn’t that big a net spender. The manager who added a £100m playmaker, a £69m striker and a pair of new full-backs still isn’t sure if his squad is stronger than his Premier League-winning version.

Arne Slot succeeded after a summer of inactivity in the market. Now, as Liverpool are setting records in the transfer window, the Dutchman is trying to place his expenditure into context and waiting to see how the class of 2025-26 compare to their immediate predecessors.

Is this an upgrade? “That is something I can only tell you on the first of September, because the window is still three weeks open,” said Slot. And if that contained the possibility of another attacking addition, such as Alexander Isak, Slot insisted that, in both his forward line and the centre of defence, he has ample options if no one else joins.

Amid the hyperbole and frenzy of the cultural obsession with transfers, outgoings can be camouflaged by incomings, and Slot noted: “We’ve also lost starters that have had a big impact on our title-winning season last year.” That, he feels, is not being talked about enough.

Their replacements seem high-calibre players. Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are the major recruits, while Giorgi Mamardashvili’s move from Valencia was agreed last summer. Yet Slot counsels caution. A reason why he has yet to deliver his definitive verdict on whether this squad is better is because of the circumstances.

Can Wirtz adapt from the Bundesliga to the greater intensity of the Premier League, he wonders? Can Kerkez, plucked from Bournemouth, cope with the greater workload? “I cannot tell you now if these players are able to perform at the same level every three days,” said Slot. “And I did know that Luis Diaz was able to do that. So, in terms of talent and the quality we’ve brought in, we see that we have a very good team again. But we have to wait and see; will they stay fit?”

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Florian Wirtz will need to adapt to the greater intensity of the Premier League (Action Images/Reuters)

Diaz brought in some £65m when he joined Bayern Munich. Include Mamardashvili and various add-ons, and Liverpool’s summer spending could already stand at around £300m. Yet when Darwin Nunez’s move to Al Hilal goes through, they will have recouped around £190m. They made a profit from trading last summer. “The net spend of us compared to the other teams is in our favour, if you look at the last two seasons,” said Slot; indeed, Liverpool’s net spend is not the biggest this summer.

And Slot is thinking about what he has lost as well as what he has gained, and not merely on the pitch. A sensitive man is quick to stress that Diogo Jota’s tragic death affects his wife, children and parents the most. “I, we, his family, lost him,” he said. Among other things, Jota was a terrific forward and a Slot favourite. Liverpool will continue to mourn him and pay tribute. He leaves a void.

“Then Darwin might be on the verge of leaving,” added Slot. “Luis Diaz was a definite starter, and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was a definite starter. So normally in the Premier League, teams only buy, and never sell. We do both. Caoimhin Kelleher and Jarell Quansah played quite a lot of minutes, so that makes four regular starters and two players that played a lot [have left].

“It’s quite normal, if Trent is going to go, that we bring in a full-back. If Luis Diaz is going to go, that we bring in maybe Florian Wirtz, who can play as a [No] 10 and as a left winger. It’s quite normal if one attacking option is not there with Diogo, that we bring in Hugo Ekitike. And don’t forget that last season we only sold, we didn’t buy.”

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Luis Diaz’s move to Bayern Munich leaves a hole in Liverpool’s attack (Getty)

Slot’s experience may equip him for a rebuilding job. It was an annual task for him in the past. “In Holland it’s completely normal, because there are levels above Feyenoord or AZ Alkmaar where I worked before,” he explained. “At a club like Liverpool, there’s no level above, so it’s not that common that players leave.”

Indeed, the previous time a first-team regular left for a sizeable fee was when Fabinho joined Al-Ittihad for £40m in 2023. Then there were signs the Brazilian, like Jordan Henderson, was in decline. Not so with Diaz and Alexander-Arnold.

“We lost players in a good phase of their career,” said Slot. “I’m used to that, and it sometimes gives new energy as well, because it was one of our strengths that we kept the team the same, because they were very used to each other.”

Now there is a different dynamic. Liverpool are spending again, but, casting his eye across the division, Slot said so is everyone else. Many nonetheless expect them to retain their title.

“If we are only favourites because we’ve spent a bit, I would see that as weird, because we’ve lost a lot as well,” said Slot. But they have been bolstered by Wirtz and Ekitike, Frimpong and Kerkez. “It’s completely normal that we are one of the favourites, because we won it last season,” accepted Slot. “And we brought in good players, like all the other ones did, by the way.”