Last summer saw Liverpool undertake a record-breaking transfer campaign.
In order to improve the quality of the Premier League championship team in the 2024/25 season, sporting director Richard Hughes is prepared to spend 450 million pounds on new players.
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Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz signed deals with British labels, and several other players joined the ranks. To be fair, the transfer spending spree so far looks hit and miss – with many new players struggling either with form or fitness.
Here we assess the impact of new signings in last summer’s transfer attack.
10 Armin Pecsi – £1.5m from Puskás Akadémia
Hungarian goalkeeper Page was one of three goalkeepers signed by Liverpool last summer and looks to be one of the goalkeepers of the future. The 20-year-old has made two first-team substitute appearances but his minutes have come in the Premier League’s second tier.
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However, his performance there has not been the best and he may need to spend some time away from the base on loan at some stage.
9 Will Wright – £200,000 from Salford City
Liverpool beat Arsenal to win the race for the highly valuable 17-year-old. The former Salford striker has gone straight into Liverpool’s Premier League second team and is regarded as one of the rising stars of English football.
We’ll have to wait to truly assess his impact, but injuries have hampered his time at the club so far.
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8 Freddie Woodman – from Preston North End
The 28-year-old goalkeeper was a useful player arrived on a free transfer from Preston this summer. He has made just one first-team appearance so far – a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
Despite this, he remains a reliable third option behind Alisson Becker and Georgi Mamardashvili.
7 Giovanni Leoni – £26m from Parma
It’s cruel for Leoni to be so low on the list – but we can all be encouraged that he will be a firm favorite for the first team in the coming years. The 18-year-old arrives at Anfield as one of the most highly-rated young centre-backs in the world.
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He cost £26m but suffered a torn ACL on his debut, scuppering his chances of success in his first season. He needs to be patient and should develop well over time.
6 Alexander Isaac – £125m from Newcastle
Higher expectations were placed on Isak after he joined from Newcastle for £125m. He looked out of form during his time with Liverpool and was outshone in front of goal by Hugo Ekitic.
He really needs to improve his output and improve his abilities – otherwise he risks being considered a costly failure. Hopefully that doesn’t happen and he can find his groove soon.
5 Milos Kerkez – £40m from Bournemouth
This is another transfer that initially looked like a slam dunk but hasn’t quite panned out so far.
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Kolquez, 22, is largely preferred over Andy Robertson but has yet to make a clear improvement against the Scot.
The £40m signing from Bournemouth was supposed to be Liverpool’s starting left-back for the next decade, but the jury is still out on a different version of the player from Bournemouth.
4 Jeremie Frimpong – £29.5m from Bayer Leverkusen
Frimpong became an attractive target due to his low price tag of £29.5m and his versatility. Capable of playing at right-back, right midfield and right wing, the Dutchman could be a real problem solver for Arne Slott.
There is no doubt that the 25-year-old will eventually be snapped up by Richard Hughes in time, but he has been unlucky with injuries so far.
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He got off to a good start by scoring in the Community Shield, but we’re still waiting to see the former Bayer Leverkusen star at his best.
3 Giorgi Mamardashvili – £25m from Valencia
The goalkeeper will serve as a long-term replacement for Alisson Becker, who has already made first-team appearances due to the Brazilian’s injury.
However, it would be generous to say that the Georgians’ performance so far has been anything but “okay.” The 25-year-old has just one win in five Premier League games and is yet to win over all the fans. He’s another guy who has a lot of work to do to live up to the standards set by his predecessor.
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2 Florian Wirtz – £100m from Bayer Leverkusen (rising to £116m)
A £116m price tag puts heavy pressure on Florian Wirtz – whose goals and assists record should now be even better. In his defence, he has come into a Liverpool team that is in transition and has not yet been able to create a unique identity for himself.
Arne Slot has used him in a number of different positions and the German has been unable to maintain any consistency in the No.10 position.
The former Bayer Leverkusen standout has had flashes of brilliance – but for this money we shouldn’t be looking for hints of his talent – which should be self-evident at this stage.
© Anfield Observer
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1 Hugo Ekitike – £69m from Eintracht Frankfurt
The £69m striker is miles ahead of other new arrivals. He made an impact in the frontcourt when Isak was sidelined with injury earlier this season and has stepped up again in recent weeks amid the wrath of Mo Salah.
Liverpool held out for the Frenchman last summer in what now looks like a rare transfer triumph. Ejitek forced himself ahead of Isak in the pecking order and was the only new signing to perform better than the players who left in the previous transfer period.
He will soon become France’s number one striker and £69m looks like a bargain.
