Integrating almost half a team usually takes time, which may cost Arne Slot’s side important points in the title race
F
lorian Wirtz! Hugo Ekitiké! Milos Kerkez! Jérémie Frimpong! And soon, possibly, Alexander Isak! It’s vital, Bob Paisley always said, to build from a position of strength, and Liverpool this summer have certainly done that.
If Isak does join, Liverpool’s transfer spending this summer will be approaching £400m, which would be the second-highest figure paid by any club in a single transfer window (behind only Chelsea in summer 2023) – the lack of signings last summer coupled with some canny sales has given them significant profitability and sustainability rules headroom.
If there is a giddiness on Merseyside at the prospect, it’s understandable. Liverpool suddenly have a range of attacking options the like of which no Premier League club has had since perhaps the early days of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. If pre-season games are anything to go by, it would seem there will be a shift from the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid of last season to something more overtly 4-2-3-1, with Mohamed Salah, Wirtz and Cody Gakpo operating behind a centre-forward – at the moment Ekitiké but maybe later Isak.
