Liverpool have work to do if they are to rediscover the balance that saw them lay waste to the Premier League in Arne Slot’s first season at the Anfield helm.
Despite the many changes to the Reds first team over the past few months, it’s perhaps difficult to suggest that Liverpool have made dramatic improvements on last year’s title-winning team, with Mohamed Salah even suggesting that this is so when quizzed on FSG’s summer spending.
That’s not to say sporting director Richard Hughes has overseen a poor transfer window; far from it. It’s simply that Liverpool were coherent and instinctive last season, a fully-gelled team, but have now parted with several important first-teamers and have replaced them with up-and-coming talents.
It’s only natural that a bedding-in period would take place, with the absence of balance and defensive solidity across the first two fixtures of Liverpool’s campaign evidence of that.
But for all the upheaval, Liverpool remain attentive to the market as it draws toward the stretch, with Hughes and Slot in concert over the Reds’ need for depth across the frontline and at the rear.
The latest Liverpool transfer news
Will Liverpool pull it off? Alexander Isak’s inflammatory statement on his future made it clear he wishes to leave Newcastle United and sign for the Premier League champions this summer, but the Magpies have struggled to sign strikers this summer and are publicly stressing he’s going nowhere.
Whatever happens, it’s been an unsavoury saga, but the door remains ajar, with Newcastle desperately scrambling for a new number nine.
But Liverpool need a defender too. While Giovanni Leoni was welcomed to Slot’s squad this month, the 18-year-old centre-half should be eased into the swing of things.
It is Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace who would provide the jewel for Liverpool’s defensive crown. The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Merseyside, with less than a year remaining on his contract.
The outcome of that saga remains unknown, and the same goes for Isak. However, Liverpool do need such a player, and if Newcastle maintain their obstinacy over their talisman’s future, it’s crucial that there’s an alternative option.
Liverpool holding talks for Isak alternative
According to Football Insider, Real Madrid star Rodrygo remains on Liverpool’s radar as they mull over a late-window bid.
The 24-year-old is anticipated to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this month, and his representatives have jetted over to England to hold talks with Liverpool officials over a potential transfer. And the same goes for Manchester City.
Xabi Alonso has made it clear that the Brazil international is not at the fulcrum of his vision in the Spanish capital, but Real Madrid won’t cash in for a cut-price figure, having listed him at a lofty €90m (£76m).
The sale of Diaz to Bayern Munich has left Liverpool light up top, and Rodrygo would be the perfect versatile forward to complete Slot’s frontline.
Why Liverpool want Rodrygo
While there is no question that Liverpool’s priority heading into the closing stages of the summer transfer window is to get Isak garbed in red attire, Rodrygo wouldn’t be a half-bad fallback.
Rodrygo has long starred as a first-team star with Los Blancos, having left his Brazilian homeland for the peerless superpower after he turned 18.
And though the 2024/25 campaign left plenty to be desired for him, Rodrygo has been hailed by his teammate Jude Bellingham as “probably the most talented and most gifted player in the squad.”
His sharpness with both feet and his propensity for equal shares of goals and assists lend themselves to different positional roles, but Slot would typically deploy him on the attacking left flank.
However, for all its control, Slot’s system is anything but rigid. Interchangeability and tenacity are key tenets, and it’s for this reason that Dominik Szoboszlai has played such a central role in the manager’s plans. Szoboszlai, indeed, could prove the perfect partner for Rodrygo at Liverpool, playing from his industrious central role and pushing forward to combine with the South American.
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Mohamed Salah
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Virgil van Dijk
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Dominik Szoboszlai
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Alexis Mac Allister
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Cody Gakpo
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You could say that new recruit Florian Wirtz would be a devastating and dynamic dance player for a prolific wide forward like Rodrygo, and perhaps that is so, but Szoboszlai has proven himself to be an energetic and effective midfield force for Liverpool.
The Hungarian might not be a clinical player, per se, but he’s been hailed by content creator Asim Mahmood as a “machine” with a “seriously elite mentality” since Slot dropped him from ten to more of a box-to-box deployment in the middle of the park.
Data from Sofascore shows that the 24-year-old created three key passes against Crystal Palace and two against Bournemouth in Liverpool’s Premier League opener, winning ten duels across the two fixtures and making a total of ten tackles too.
How does this relate to Rodrygo? Well, the Real Madrid man is known for his commitment and perseverance, winning 56% of his ground duels in La Liga last year (Sofascore).
Form and fluency in the Spanish capital have dwindled for his world-class talent, but he could pick himself up and then some by signing for Liverpool and emulating Szoboszlai in putting 110% effort into his performances.
The £120k-per-week Liverpool star, after all, ranks among the top 15% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for ball recoveries made per 90 and the top 5% for pass completion, via FBref, thus underscoring his crisp and energetic style of play, ensuring Liverpool purr.
Rodrygo would dovetail right into the Anfield running with Szoboszlai pulling strings behind him. His ‘poor’ 2024/25 campaign still yielded 25 goal involvements across all competitions – the same as Diaz – and he was routinely played out of position to accommodate Vinicius Junior.
His clinical touch would be strengthened in a role of greater importance at Liverpool, especially when forming partnerships with selfless, hard-working stars like Szoboszlai.
