It shouldn’t come as any great surprise to fans that Liverpool are always happy to opt for patience in the transfer market when the need calls for it.
The Merseysiders weren’t deterred by a deal for then-Southampton star Virgil van Dijk collapsing in the 2017 summer transfer window. No other alternative would do, and that decision continues to pay dividends today.
Now, it seems that sporting director Richard Hughes and his recruitment team are prepared to hit pause again in order to observe the landscape.
David Ornstein confirms Liverpool set to slow down
To be clear: Liverpool have not finished engaging with the summer window.
However, David Ornstein now reports for The Athletic that the Reds are ‘likely’ to now sit back and ‘observe market developments’ ahead of the signing of Milos Kerkez.
“Their admiration for forwards such as Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike is well documented but there is nothing significant in motion at present.
“Liverpool have conducted impressive early work this summer — recruiting Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and agreeing a deal for Milos Kerkez — but that activity is likely to be followed by a pause while they observe market developments.
“Whether or not a direct replacement is acquired for Nunez — whose minutes have been limited anyway — buying Wirtz has already changed the attacking dynamic available to head coach Arne Slot, with multiple options and combinations at his disposal.”
This follows deals already completed for Giorgi Mamardashvili (pre-arranged in the prior summer window), Jeremie Frimpong, Armin Pecsi, Florian Wirtz, and, soon, Milos Kerkez.
We can understand the thought process behind this tactic. Further deals look potentially complex, and Liverpool may also wish to first encourage some sales.
The potential arrival of Alexander Isak – assuming we can manage to persuade Newcastle to sell – will first require the exit of Darwin Nunez.
Marc Guehi, likewise, is understood to be of interest, but we won’t deal with Crystal Palace if the club demands a high fee for a player with a year left on his contract.
How can we rate Liverpool’s transfer business so far?
It would feel a little harsh to rate Liverpool’s window at anything below an 8/10 after having completed the signing of the summer in Florian Wirtz.
But let’s be as objective as humanly possible here. The club needed to replace now Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold and reinforce the left-back position – these were the two minimum targets.
Both look set to be accomplished with aplomb early in the summer window.
That said, we can’t help but feel Liverpool could get a firmer, early grip on the Premier League title with some strong acquisitions at centre-back and in the forward line.
Isak seems like a bit of a pipe dream at this stage. Newcastle have Champions League football and are under no PSR-related pressure to sell.
If that situation were to change, however, our window could very well reach a point of objective perfection.
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