We’re just one week away from the closure of the switch window, and Liverpool are primed to do extra enterprise after their thrilling summer season of spending.
Alexander Isak, anybody? He is the dream, that is for certain, however Newcastle United have taken hardball to the following degree and are blocking the Sweden striker’s departure, even after he has exhausted nearly each effort in getting the transfer accomplished.
Liverpool want one other ahead, even after welcoming Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz to the fold, however Arne Slot will, by and enormous, be delighted along with his outfit’s exercise after successful the Premier League with such confidence final yr.
A deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi additionally stays within the pipeline, however Liverpool may be set to dump one or two extra first-teamers earlier than the tip of the month.
Who might nonetheless depart Liverpool
Harvey Elliott was anticipated to go away Liverpool because the 2024/25 marketing campaign wound down, however he nonetheless stays a part of Slot’s first-team squad.
That may change, although, with RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur concerned with getting a deal accomplished. Mortgage approaches are additionally being thought-about for younger fringe gamers Kaide Gordon and James McConnell. Lewis Koumas joined Birmingham Metropolis on mortgage earlier this week.
Kostas Tsimikas can also be slated for an exit. Liverpool at the moment have three left-backs, in spite of everything. Having signed Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a £40m deal again in June, the Greek defender is understandably surplus to necessities, with Andy Robertson keen to combat for his place over the approaching yr.
Kerkez left loads to be desired on his first Premier League outing for the Reds, however he walked amongst giants on the PFA awards earlier this week, a part of a Workforce of the Yr that included Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Nonetheless, whereas the 21-year-old could also be a bit of over-zealous within the problem, he is received a lot potential, far outstripping Liverpool’s Robertson within the prime flight final time period.
Milos Kerkez vs Andy Robertson within the Prem (24/25) | ||
|---|---|---|
Match Stats (*per sport) | Kerkez | Robertson |
Matches (begins) | 38 (38) | 33 (29) |
Targets | 2 | 0 |
Assists | 5 | 1 |
Touches* | 59.6 | 64.5 |
Go completion | 80% | 88% |
Huge probabilities created | 8 | 7 |
Ball recoveries* | 4.4 | 3.2 |
Dribbles* | 0.6 | 0.2 |
Tackles + interceptions* | 2.6 | 1.8 |
Clearances* | 2.6 | 1.3 |
Floor duels (received)* | 3.3 (61%) | 1.6 (52%) |
Stats through Sofascore | ||
With Liverpool having already bought Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz on the prime of the sector, they want a brand new ahead, and if Isak does show to have a signature past FSG’s attain, Liverpool have discovered an alternate who might assist Kerkez in rising into his pores and skin on Merseyside.
Liverpool step up bid for brand new ahead
In accordance with Soccer Insider, Actual Madrid winger Rodrygo has engaged in talks along with his Brazilian teammate Alisson as he weighs up his choices earlier than the switch deadline.
Rodrygo, 24, is considered the most effective wingers on this planet, however he is fallen out of favour on the Santiago Bernabeu, and Los Blancos could be open to promoting for a determine within the area of €90m (equating to £76m).
Nonetheless, Manchester Metropolis are additionally exhibiting a vested curiosity within the versatile expertise, and possibly have the lead, given Liverpool’s precedence stays with Isak till explicitly knowledgeable by Newcastle that he’s not leaving.
Why Liverpool need Rodrygo
Up till now, Rodrygo has been thought-about one in every of Liverpool’s modern nemeses, for he has plied his craft with Actual Madrid since his 18th yr, and the Spanish giants have been so typically a thorn in Jurgen Klopp’s facet.
Throughout his six years at Actual Madrid, Rodrygo has scored 68 objectives and provided 51 assists, successful two Champions League titles and La Liga 3 times.
Rodrygo is not the strongest ahead, nor does he have the prolific output of somebody like Salah, or Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe at Actual Madrid.
However he is nonetheless an almighty star, endowed with tempo and talent and intelligence that might add a number of dimensions to Slot’s facet. Bringing such qualities to the desk at Anfield, he may very well be the dream left winger to mix with Kerkez.
Rodrygo hasn’t all the time discovered a house on his most well-liked left wing at Actual Madrid, and although he flattered to deceive at instances final yr, he scored six objectives and provided six assists throughout simply 12 video games as a left winger in 2024/25, in comparison with a return of 13 objective involvements from 31 matches on the fitting.
Not solely is Rodrygo prolific when his strongest attributes are accurately utilised, however he is crisp and progressive too, with data-driven platform FBref revealing that he ranks among the many prime 2% of positional friends throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues for go completion and the highest 19% for progressive carries per 90.
Remarked to be “the jewel within the crown” at Madrid by one analyst, the diminutive Brazilian differs from Gakpo, who’s extra economical on the ball, extra targeted on serving as a direct goalscoring risk.
Rodrygo’s motion and link-up play, conversely, lend themselves to a wider scope of duty, and that might guarantee Kerkez hits his stride in a Liverpool shirt this season.
The younger Hungarian actually has the technical aptitude and athleticism to thrive at Liverpool (he is proved his price within the Premier League, hasn’t he?), however Liverpool’s bar is excessive, and also you want the complete gamut to succeed, bringing the whole lot collectively.
Kerkez is such an lively and dynamic power, and has the burners to overlap forward of Rodrygo and widen Liverpool’s attacking choices. This, in flip, allows the Brazilian to arc inwards and strike on objective, as has confirmed to be so efficient when he’s deployed on his most well-liked flank.
