Liverpool's Summer Transfer Window: Key Moves and Challenges Ahead
Andoni Iraola is not done with this Liverpool squad. Not yet, and not by a long way.
That is the view of former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who believes Anfield is braced for a frantic finish to the summer window, with “two or three” new faces expected before the deadline.
Liverpool’s rebuild has already started. Jeremy Jacquet finally arrived after signing his pre-contract back in February, with Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo also coming through the door on Merseyside. Fresh blood, new ideas, a different energy.
But the exits have hit just as hard.
Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah have all walked away as free agents. Three pillars of recent Liverpool seasons gone without a fee, and with them a chunk of experience, leadership and goals. No wonder the mood among supporters is a mix of curiosity and concern as the new campaign looms.
Barcola the headline name – but price bites
Most of the noise has centred on Bradley Barcola. Liverpool like the PSG winger, and have done for some time, but the Champions League winners’ valuation has stalled talks. The talent is not in doubt. The fee is.
With that in mind, Ibrahim Mbaye has emerged as a live option, viewed as a more affordable alternative to his French teammate. It is the sort of market Liverpool may need to live in over the next fortnight: ambitious, but not reckless.
Borson expects exactly that kind of activity.
“There's then the clearing,” he told Football Insider, outlining the phase of the window where clubs look to move on fringe players and tidy up their wage bills. “I think you have a sort of clearing situation where the clubs are trying to get rid of their fringe players.
“Liverpool, presumably, are going to start being active in the market. You've got to think they're going to buy two or three players in the last couple of weeks.
“I still think there's a lot of business that's going to get done, but probably on the lower end, the sort of sub-£50million level.”
In other words, expect movement. Lots of it. Just not at the very top of the market.
Pre-season exposes the gaps
If there were any doubts about whether this squad needs more work, pre-season has underlined them.
Defeats to Leeds United and Monaco have stripped away some of the early-summer optimism. Performances have been patchy, the balance of the team still looks off, and the loss of senior figures has left holes that kids and squad players cannot fully plug.
The message is clear: this group is not finished. Not if Liverpool want to compete on multiple fronts.
Who else could go?
Iraola’s job is not just about who comes in. It is also about who stays.
Cody Gakpo has admirers in the Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur monitoring his situation. Whether they firm that interest up remains to be seen, but the link alone is a reminder that Liverpool’s attacking options are being watched closely.
Alexis Mac Allister’s future has also been a talking point. The World Cup winner is central to how Liverpool build play, and any uncertainty around him will not go unnoticed by rivals or by the fanbase.
Then there is Alisson.
Earlier in the summer, the Brazil goalkeeper was widely expected to join Juventus. On paper, a big fee and a fresh start might have made sense weeks ago. Now, with just days left until the new season, the equation has changed. Letting him go at this stage would be a huge gamble, and Borson’s logic applies here too: some clear-outs simply come too late.
So Liverpool stand at a familiar crossroads: a squad in transition, a manager who wants more, a fanbase demanding clarity.
The window is ticking down. The question now is not whether Liverpool will move, but how bold they dare to be in these final, frantic days.
