Liverpool Transfer Rumours

25 Jul 2026 20:22:00
Liverpool have made an initial approach to Bournemouth for Rayan. Heard on the grapevine that they seemingly want as much as £75-80m, now that the Cherries would love to get funds for Jamie Leweling and Antonio Silva as the key reinforcements.

25 Jul 2026 21:01:42
A bid for Rayan makes complete sense - played under Iraola, has PL experience, left-footed right winger, still only 19.

25 Jul 2026 20:17:00
Romano claiming Diomande has closed doors on English clubs and agreed to personal terms with Real. Initial bid rejected.

25 Jul 2026 20:47:08
Hope so.

25 Jul 2026 20:12:47
Francisco Conceição is a name to keep an eye on for RW, had previously looked at him before moving to Juventus.

25 Jul 2026 20:50:56
That's strange. I mentioned him on the Discussion page this morning! Good player.

25 Jul 2026 16:00:04
Hi there again,

Update on Akliouche, as I told you earlier, he prefers to go to PSG, but the plan is for him to be the replacement of Kang In Lee who went to Atletico. So he will be a rotation player not necessarily a starter.

For those who try to link his situation with Barcola, quick reminder: Akliouche is left-footed and thus plays as a right wing as he did practically the entire season. Sometimes, towards the end of some games, as a CAM, but never on the left wing.

I don’t want to sound too pessimistic, but for having seen him play, he’s not really what we need right now. Far from being the finished article, lacks pace, physicality and needs major improvements in pressing and defensive runs.

Never really challenged by other players in the squad, only Ligue 1 experience and some twenty European games.

I’m really amazed we are interested in him, and as I told you earlier, we still are. AS Monaco needs to still sell for at least 100M€ this summer for financial reasons. Last summer, City came for him in the last weeks, but didn’t want to pay the 70M€ price tag. Tremendous potential, but major improvements needed; not PL proven, but that’s just my humble opinion.

Cheers,

Red Ronson.

25 Jul 2026 17:14:02
Thank You, RR
He's definitely off my wishlist now.

25 Jul 2026 17:15:45
Cheers, Ronson.

25 Jul 2026 17:29:26
100m for Akliouche? No thanks, I was interested because I thought he'd be a fraction of the prices we're being quoted elsewhere. Similar to Wirtz in a way, he's more of an AM than your classic inverted winger, really, but being utilized out wide, he would be a nice addition to the squad, but not for 100m, or anything close to it.

He's had a couple of good seasons but hasn't blown anyone away.

25 Jul 2026 17:36:24
He's basically a Harvey Elliott Pro Max lol. Not sure if this is the profile we need considering, well, we still have Elliott.

25 Jul 2026 17:57:09
@chewy, They have set a price tag of 50mn euros for him, if I remember correctly. Monaco need 100mn, not that Akliouche will fetch them that alone.

25 Jul 2026 18:37:44
@gm01, Does that mean he has a bigger screen and a better camera? Lol.

25 Jul 2026 19:14:18
If he's got a better camera he should sign for Lens.

25 Jul 2026 19:43:50
He's another one who looks a bit lightweight. May suit other leagues, but not convinced our scouting department are aligned yet with the Iraola brief.

25 Jul 2026 20:05:43
Love it, Liver_la, haha

We should snap him up in a flash. We need to focus.

25 Jul 2026 14:36:48
Hi Diddly Ho,

Vinicius Jr’s team have been contacting the big clubs across Europe.

I don’t expect a move to Liverpool, he’s a player the club haven’t shown any interest in since he moved to Europe.

Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern have held talks - wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t move.

Diddly out.

25 Jul 2026 15:12:01
Will Vini start the dominos falling?

Vini to Arsenal, Diomande to Real, Barcola stays at PSG, Liverpool telling everyone Elliot back is like a new signing?

25 Jul 2026 15:14:13
My money's on his agents using it to try and leverage improved contract terms.

25 Jul 2026 15:15:29
Cheers, Ned. My mate is an Arsenal fan and was relating this rumour to me. Couldn't see him at Arsenal in what is a settled and successful team. I get the feeling this is his team looking for a new contract on better terms. Would you agree?

25 Jul 2026 15:16:43
Top player but way too dramatic for me.

He's 10% FIFA Street - 90% Coronation Street.

25 Jul 2026 15:20:04
Don't want him personally. Cheers for the info, Ned.

25 Jul 2026 15:32:37
Beggars can't be choosers.

25 Jul 2026 15:38:37
Hasn't he got the same agency as Diomande?

His sky high wages and bad attitude are more than enough to give him a very wide swerve!

25 Jul 2026 15:41:58
Agree with Chewy.

25 Jul 2026 15:44:25
I think Chewy is absolutely correct on this one.

25 Jul 2026 15:50:23
Liverpool FC8 - Quality Street - but the toffee penny.

25 Jul 2026 15:57:42
Nevada told us he's not coming so that's good enough for me.

25 Jul 2026 15:58:12
We would have to build another boot room,
to accommodate all the baggage that he comes with.

25 Jul 2026 16:01:11
I for one hope he goes to Arsenal. He does absolutely nothing off the ball, would be lovely watching Arteta try to accommodate him into the team.

25 Jul 2026 16:04:47
Thanks for the info. Wouldn't want him near the club, not a Liverpool player in mentality and teamwork.

25 Jul 2026 16:09:12
He'd be our best player by some distance. If he's available, you do what's needed to get him in.

25 Jul 2026 17:25:53
Vini is talented, but don't think Liverpool can handle a self-centered player like him. He may be the reason we get Barcola. PSG are interested in hoarding all talented wingers; well here is another one.

25 Jul 2026 17:38:12
Maybe a case of new chin, new attitude?

25 Jul 2026 17:46:27
Nice one, Ned.

Not sure how true it is, but the Vini Jr rumours have come about because he doesn't like Mourinho. I can see him ending up in the Prem with either Arsenal or Chelski.

25 Jul 2026 18:26:01
The Fields,
If he ends up a Chelsea he'll need a very wide shirt just to get all the numbers on. (My guess is at least four - maybe 1137).

25 Jul 2026 18:35:23
I've said this many times, Diomande won't come, Barcola won't come, and I don't think any 'major' signing will be made.

Worrying, because once again, we are seeing movements from all the other teams in and around us in the transfer market.

We spent big last season, yes, but the nett spend with the lads leaving was actually very lean, especially as we haven't really put our hands in our pockets too much over a 3 year period.



If we go into the start of the prem without a Salah replacement, a Robbo replacement, a Konate replacement and prob 4-5 more in other positions to assist with competition, we will be a laughing stock, and again shows the lack of support for the new manager!

25 Jul 2026 13:58:01
Arsenal going for Vini 😳 Liverpool won’t finish top 5 at this rate.

25 Jul 2026 14:58:14
Vini to Arsenal and Diomande to Real look to be on. Barcola to Liverpool still very much possible. Think we have to wait for PSG to get Akliouche and one other, maybe Kroupi or Torres. People don't like waiting though, do they?

25 Jul 2026 15:06:02
If Diomande goes to Madrid, which is likely, Barcola is off the table as he'll become a vital part of that PSG team. There's rumours of them moving Doue to midfield to accommodate for it.

25 Jul 2026 15:07:18
We can't play Vini and Isak. Iraola might as well tear up the high press in that case. He'll suit Arsenal's mid block a lot more. Not suited to us.

25 Jul 2026 15:09:43
Why won't Liverpool finish 5th? Because Vini is apparently going to Arsenal. And I thought football was a team game.

25 Jul 2026 15:15:30
Just my opinion, HLFC, we massively underperformed for over a year under Slot, yet still managed a top-5 finish. I've high hopes the players will respond positively playing under the new manager. Should be like a dozen new signings, with everyone motivated again and tactics that get the best out of what we have.

Still believe we have a very good squad. Additions always welcome if they are the right ones and that want to play for us.
Let's all be positive.

25 Jul 2026 15:15:57
Arsenal are already ahead of us, so I don't see how them maybe signing Vini Jr would make us drop further. As it stands, Arsenal haven't improved their team at all and are actually losing a lot of players to injury on top of some of their stars looking seriously fatigued.

Spurs and Chelsea are our only potential rivals who have actually strengthened so far. New managers in and both clubs have actually signed a few half decent players. If we're jealous/fearful of those 2 cluster-ducks though, then the end truly is nigh.

The team that were closest to us (Bournemouth), we've robbed their whole coaching staff.

The team that were just ahead of us (Villa) have lost their best player. Man United no longer have the luxury of 1 game a week. Man City have lost the best manager of the last 40 years. The only other team to breach the top 4 in recent years (Newcastle) have been absolutely ravaged.

Ultimately it's all up in the air right now because the season is still a month away and a lot can change between now and then. If we sign Barcola in the next 7 days, all this negativity will flip to positivity immediately. Fickle.

25 Jul 2026 15:16:22
Sorry, don't like the player, they are welcome to him.

25 Jul 2026 15:16:46
It's all doom and gloom. May as well withdraw from the league this season and just give up.

25 Jul 2026 15:43:32
Arsenal shouldn't be concerning us at the moment.

25 Jul 2026 15:49:42
Iraola has a track record of improving young players. Like others have said, hopefully he can get more out of the newer signings and get some of the younger players to squad players. Would mean we don't need to go mad in the transfer market.

25 Jul 2026 16:08:46
Everyone should keep the faith. We have lots of good people supplying info which is correct at the time. Far too much knee jerk and hindsight the last 4 weeks, keep the faith, support the team and look forward to a new era (100 mill signings or not!)

25 Jul 2026 16:20:17
Are Arsenal planning to play Vini in defence as well. 😂

25 Jul 2026 16:26:26
These accounts are so new, the paint is still wet.

Kids, WUMs or wets.

25 Jul 2026 17:52:11
Best of luck to Vini Jr learning how to do long throw-ins.

25 Jul 2026 20:19:07
I couldn't give a flying f***** about Arsenal.

25 Jul 2026 11:07:39
One hopefully for Carra, Robbo, VG etc,

Seeing a lot of names being thrown around on X as alternatives we should look at should Real Madrid sign Diomande and PSG keep Barcola.

Some new names from Madrid like Endrick, Arda Guler. Some resurfacing such as el mala and Rayan.

Any thoughts on the names or potential
Options if we don't get Barcola or Diomande.

25 Jul 2026 11:27:36
Indykalia and Grizzkhan both just posted on X about Rayan.

25 Jul 2026 12:03:56
A loan with an option to buy Endrick might be appealing.

Signing heavily scouted and linked Rayan, 6 months after he was bought for 25m from our sporting director's ex-club, would be the tin lid on the failure of the recruitment team.

But the way we are behaving in the market is nothing like the self proclamation of best operators in the business.

Yes, there's still time, but it's pretty clear plan A has gone.

We lost our two best wingers, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah, and have no clear plan to replace them other than to keep playing the market like a wangle strank.

25 Jul 2026 12:17:13
Our squad depth is absolutely shocking to be honest, we have 13 or 14 good players and that's it. Bradley, Ekitike & Leoni are part of those 13-14 players too btw. It's appalling.

25 Jul 2026 12:29:12
At this point, I would honestly love us to go for someone unknown talents, dipping into the South American market.

25 Jul 2026 12:49:54
ArneSlotBarber, of the squad that won the league a year ago we still have: Alisson, Jaros, Bradley, Virgil, Gomez, Tsimikas, Mac Allister, Endo, Jones, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Elliott, Gakpo, Rio and Chiesa. That's 16 players right there who are factually good enough to be in a squad that will win Premier League titles.

Are we to believe that none of the others in the squad (Mamardashvili, Woodman, Frimpong, Jacquet, Leoni, Kerkez, Wirtz, Munoz, Ekitike and Isak etc) are good players? That's £540m worth of signings. If there's no good players in there then the last thing we need is the same recruitment team buying more!

I think you're being a drama queen, if I'm dead honest.

You don't need 25 different £50-150m players to win the league. You need a top class starting XI, a handful of good impact subs, and then squad fillers/academy players with good attitudes who are happy playing less than 20 games a season.

People are talking like we need another 7-10 players and I'm sorry but it's just utter nonsense. Honestly, man, we were all buzzing 3 weeks ago and now it's been a bit quiet in terms of transfer, the knives are out again. It's getting silly.

25 Jul 2026 12:51:04
Thinking of Liverpool's current forward line situation...

I feel Liverpool should have signed Bowen for two years, keep the forward line as it is (including Gakpo and Elliot) and signed one or two scouts from Brighton and Bournemouth who keep spotting the players we're now thinking of signing.



Bowen can play RWF and CF for two years whilst we await a long term Salah replacement from the scouts.

25 Jul 2026 13:09:54
MK don't start talking sense - the drama queens don't like it. Oh and the attention seeking trolls simply here to stir up the pot.

Those with wiser more sensible heads will wait patiently and see what happens at the end of the window.

If for one am excited about getting some passion back in our play. Further transfers will be announced soon enough.

25 Jul 2026 13:00:52
Bradley, Gomez, Tsimikas, Endo, Nyoni, Chiesa??? Are you serious? Lol

Not to mention the likes of macca, Jones & elliot & gakpo who half on here don't rate.

When did Endo or Chiesa or Nyoni or Tsimikas or Rio ever show they are "factually" good enough for a title chasing team? Stop insulting others then go on talking absolute gibberish to prove a completely nonsense point. We have 50 players, doesn't mean we have a good balanced squad of 20 players the manager wants.

Otherwise he wouldn't be mentioning it every other interview how light we are and how we need new players.

25 Jul 2026 13:21:06
Mk, the team is badly short of bodies for depth! You're adding players Ekitike, Bradley, Leoni, Endo, etc, all bad injuries.
We've Gomez, Bajetic, Isak, Chiesa, Frimpong, all injury prone.
We've one fit 35 yr cb.
One fit rb.
No rw.
No solid cdm.


We've a young kid on the lw.
We've replaced Robbo with the Greek who couldn't get a game for Roma.

No one is asking for 100m.
Players I'd be happy with 5/6 unknown solid stay fit players because our squad depth is s****. Let's call a spade a spade.

25 Jul 2026 13:22:22
I don't get the hype around Endrick...

25 Jul 2026 13:30:50
Mk, mate, you do this every summer. You talk up the depth of our squad every year and question everyone else's intelligence.

We have history for not filling the glaring gaps in our squad. And those have more than often come back to bite us in the arse. You cannot wash away those facts.



Warm bodies are not the same thing as players with the profiles we need.

We have glaring gaps in the squad if your measure of success is challenging for major honours. If that is not your measure of success, you might want to check the badge on your chest.

25 Jul 2026 13:32:49
More about risk for me, and a larger squad, therefore quantity with potential over quality and the unknown, and I don't just mean sign them and throw them in the under 21's as surplus. I suppose every player is a risk regardless of transfer fee, but it doesn't sit right with me, these crazy transfer fees. I appreciate that when Liverpool approach, the respective clubs have always thrown on a few extra million, but I get the feeling there's some lazy scouting out there.

In saying that, with technology providing instant access regarding a player's ability, it opens up the door for many clubs to have a mooch, so maybe them days of finding a bargain are long gone.

25 Jul 2026 13:39:24
Mk, my knife certainly isn't out, but your positivity regarding our current squad borders on being deluded. 10 of those players you mention from our title winning squad, if I was in charge, I'd get rid of.

None of them would get near Arsenal's or City's squads. We are desperate for quality additions if we are to have any chance of competing. How many is open to debate.

25 Jul 2026 14:04:16
I agree Bowen would be a decent option considering the money being touted for players who in my eyes are unproven.

Go for Rayan next summer if he shows improvement.

25 Jul 2026 14:04:28
Mk, you usually have a lot of sense in your posts, and I agree with your points about people panicking and attacking the club for no signings, but you imply that we are not far off our title-winning team, so here is a challenge for you... From the players you list, can you pick a team of 11 fit players who you believe will compete for the title? I tried, and I think 6 at the most.

There are major gaps, none less than the best version of Salah. Sorry, but we need good players brought in as soon as possible.

25 Jul 2026 14:06:37
Rome, I’m not even being that optimistic. I’ve literally predicted we’ll come 3rd and maybe win a trophy. I’m just not having it that we’re 7-10 players short of a good squad. Well, 11-12 short according to ArneSlotBarber. That’s total crap, and we will not be signing 7+ more players on top of Jacquet and Munoz already joining. Anybody expecting that is just setting themselves up for disappointment.

FPF, you’re right, I do big up our squad every single summer. And, guess what, we’ve not finished below 5th place since 2016. So I’d argue I was right every single time and I’ll be right again. We’ve had some shocking injury crisis in that time period too, and the squad depth always held up. In that time we’ve also won 2 League titles, 1 Champions League, 2 League Cups, 1 FA Cup, 1 Super Cup and 1 Club World Cup. Maybe too many of our fanbase are entitled and don’t appreciate the level of consistency required to finish top 5 for 10 years in a row in the Premier League whilst winning 8 trophies!

I presume you’re all either young kids who don’t remember what it was like pre-Klopp (when we actually did lack squad depth) or you’ve just forgotten where we came from and become arrogant.

Last season these players came 5th despite being half-fit and the tactics being woeful. I don’t think it’s that optimistic or crazy to suggest that virtually the same group would finish 3rd with proper fitness coaching and better tactics.

It’s getting embarrassing this summer. Last time we appointed a new manager we only spent £12m on transfers, we literally still went on and won the league. I’ve seen bad times with crap squads. This is not that and anybody who thinks it is, needs to take a step back and reassess.

25 Jul 2026 14:36:36
NoMoreBoom, I've not said the squad as it is will compete for the title. However, I'd say 4-2-3-1. Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Virgil, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak. I believe that team finishes 3rd. Bradley and Ekitike probably start if they were fit as well.

As I've said repeatedly, I think we need to sign 3 starting quality players: a LW/RW, a CM/DM and a CB/RB. I've not said I'm 100% happy with our squad as it is, because I want us to challenge for the title. I'm just getting wound up by so-called supporters absolutely slating our players. Asking where the evidence is that those 16 players can win a league title? There were a few million people singing in the streets of Liverpool 12 months ago; that's my evidence.



The 10 new signings who cost £540m are the ones with points to prove. They were brought in to replace Kelleher, Trent, Konate, Quansah, Robbo, Morton, Salah, Nunez, Diaz and Jota. By the way though, all 10 of those who've left since we won the league had people questioning if they were good enough. Even Salah, there have been people saying to sell him to Saudi for 2 years now. I do not recall a single player being sold/released who the fans were up in arms about at the time except for Trent. Yet of the 10 we've signed I've seen a lot of people getting excited about the likes of Wirtz, Ekitike, Isak etc. I honestly do not believe people are thinking about our squad situation rationally.

25 Jul 2026 14:27:57
Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of old women around here. Didn't take long for all of the hope and excitement to disappear.

25 Jul 2026 14:30:36
MK, I've seen my share of crap LFC teams too. Been posting on here since it was in black and white and through Ed's Keisuke Honda and Gary Medel fantasies.

Are we an elite club? I'll answer that one for you - yes.

Would an elite club do the following:

1) Bank on Joe Gomez as a senior CB option over the last 6 years (since his patella injury)?
2) Have Wataru Endo as the only defensive midfielder on the books for 3 seasons running?
3) Let two first team starters run their contracts down to join Real Madrid on frees?
4) Have 3 years to replace their star winger, Mo Salah, and still be floundering around with 4 weeks left to the start of the new season?
5) Be preparing to rely on a just turned 20 year old to partner our 35 year old CB, with the depth of an 19 year old coming off an ACL and Joe Gomez (see point 1).

25 Jul 2026 15:01:36
MK, you're a good poster and talk a lot of sense. And as you say this squad hasn't finished lower than 5th since 2016. But through a lot of that time you could put forward an argument that we had the best (or if not top 3) Manager, GK, RB, CB, LB, DM, LW and RW on the planet. Some would put Bobby in that bracket also. And in them 11 seasons, spent largely with all them top players, we won only 2 Championships and 1 European Cup.

Why? Because the squad players simply were nowhere near the starting 11 in terms of quality. The difference at the moment is that we don't have that all time first 11. We have got some fantastic players individually, but as a squad we are nowhere near as strong as Arsenal, City and I would say even Chelsea atm. That's not to say we can't challenge, but we would have to be very lucky with injuries and Cup draws.

25 Jul 2026 15:06:52
GerardsButler, If you mean old woman being very wise, then yeah there's some wise posters here.

25 Jul 2026 15:09:59
@ MK Scouser, everyone saw how the squad struggled last season. And we are minus Salah and Konate now. Yes, changing manager may get the best out of the squad, but to expect him to do miracles with this squad is reaching too much. As Gerrard said in his interview, everyone can see the problem except for the board ... and MK Scouser.

25 Jul 2026 15:11:59
Mk, of the 16 players you listed as "good enough to win titles", only 6 were consistently first choice. 2 have been on loan; Jaros has only 12 Premier League minutes with us, the club doesn't want Elliot and he couldn't even get his game for Villa. 2 are injured; Bradley is extremely injury-prone, just missed half the season due to serious injury, and we still don't know when he'll be back, or for how long. Endo is pushing 34, returning from injury and was a last-minute budget buy from the Klopp era. 2 are kids; Nyoni has had just 20 Premier League minutes. Whilst Rio is a very promising talent, he's too young to rely on and has massive holes in his game. 2, many argue, aren't good enough at all and certainly aren't good enough to get anywhere near the starting 11. If Tsimikas and Jones left tomorrow, nobody would bat an eyelid. Gomez is made of crisps and Chiesa is rustier than nuns bedsprings.

Of the remainder, Frimpong is rubbish, missed half the season with repeat hamstring issues which are likely to flare up again, Ekitike has had a possibly career altering injury and likely won't even be back to 100% this season, Isak broke his leg and despite participating in 20 games produced just 5 G/A (may go down as the biggest flop in history), Leoni's coming back off a serious ACL tear, Jacquet is returning from 4 months off with shoulder surgery, Wirtz has been a complete flop so far and Giorgi is well short of being an adequate Alisson replacement.

Woodman did well in his couple of games and Kerkez was slow to assimilate but looks like he will do well this season.

Now I'm not going to sit here and whinge about it, every team has their woes, but this is the reality of things as they stand, and to look at that squad in its current state and think there's no issues with depth requires looking at things through some of the most heavily rose tinted glasses known to man.

I've not even mentioned the impact of losing Salah and Diaz.

25 Jul 2026 15:32:27
Florian, we didn't win as much as we could have because Pep's Man City were an absolute juggernaut. We were regularly hitting 90+ points and we got to 3 European finals in that 10 year spell only to be beaten by the best CL side in history twice (Real Madrid). You're not appreciating that we fell narrowly short due to the greatness of others. There is no shame in that. It's okay to applaud others. We don't have a good given right to win everything.

FPF,
1) Gomez has been 3rd or 4th choice since then. How long did City hold on to a broken John Stones?
2) We agree on this point, we should've kept Morton or signed a younger DM.
3) This happens all the time to lots of massive clubs. Madrid have done it for years. Mbappe (PSG), Alaba (Bayern), Rudiger (Chelsea), etc. You know Arsenal's record sale is Ox for £35m in 2017? We're nowhere close to the worst at re-sale.


4) Replacing Mo Salah is hard because he's never injured and plays 90 minutes every week. How do you convince a player good enough to replace Salah to come and sit on the bench behind him? Spurs had the same problem with Harry Kane leaving them with no cover when he rolled an ankle. City had the same issue with Rodri leaving them with no adequate cover when he did his ACL. Man United will have the same problem with Bruno F when he leaves. It's very common.
5) Arteta gave a chance to 20 year old Saliba and he turned out to be one of the major turning points in making them competitive. Was Pacho not 21/22 when Enrique put him in PSG's team? Gomez was 21 when Klopp partnered him with Van Dijk and we won the league. I agree we should sign a player who can play RB/CB due to the risks around Bradley, Leoni and Gomez injuries, but I've no problem with Jacquet starting.

25 Jul 2026 15:52:40
Claiming we still have most of our title-winning squad, but leaving out Salah, Diaz, and Trent, is a little like saying we have most of a Ferrari, just not the engine, steering wheel, or tires.



That said, I do also agree with those saying we're actually not as far off from competing again as some others think. A few targeted signings will go a long way to plugging the holes. There's still time.

25 Jul 2026 15:59:37
No, I do appreciate that, MK, but I also stand by what I said in my post. We had the best player, certainly in the league if not the world, in all them positions and I'd have Jurgen right up there with Pep. They were a juggernaut, as you put it, because they had two top players in every position. We didn't. Now, I'm not needing a squad like City's then, but we are a million miles away from it at the moment. Everything Chewy says in his post above is correct (that's twice I've agreed with Chewy today, I need a drink quickly).

Also, MK, you have an awful habit of going full hyperbolic in your posts to prove a point. You do it regularly. Factually, Madrid may be the all time leaders in terms of winning the CL, but that doesn't mean they are the best team every year. They haven't won a trophy in two years, for instance. That night in 2022 it was something like 22 shots to three in our favour and only a Courtois that was inspired (or lucky I can't decide) and Trent switching off stopped us from hammering them m.

25 Jul 2026 16:02:09
Making up stories to support a non-existent point, please show me where I said we need to sign 11-12 players?! Absolute horse rubbish! We need 3 or 4 more quality players, then use the academy. Right now, we will be lucky to finish 4th even with Slot gone.

25 Jul 2026 16:19:57
Chewy, what do you expect from squad players? Let's do Arsenal, shall we.

Kepa is a shocking keeper who was dropped by Chelsea for Sanchez, Meslier was dropped by Leeds 3 times for Darlow, White is never fit and not that good when he is, Mosquera is a slow lump, Timber can't stay fit, Calafiori is also always injured, Lewis-Skelly doesn't know if he's a LB or a CM, Nordgaard is pushing 33, Zubimendi flopped and will probably get homesick soon, Merino turns slower than milk, Martinelli scored 1 goal last season, Madueke can't hit a barn door with a machine gun, Dowman is a child with less than 200 minutes of Prem football, the club don't even want Nwanieri or Nelson, and Jesus is injured more than R9 but has less than 5% of the quality.

This is what squad players are mate. If they didn't have some kind of issue, they wouldn't accept being squad players.

They'd be starting games every week. Arsenal just won the league, and when you break down their squad players, it's very similar to ours! If you have 11 good starters and 3-5 good subs then the rest can afford to be journeyman players. You will not get starting quality players to sit on the bench unless you pay them crazy wages or start dishing out 8 year contracts to secure them for life. Even then they will detonate through lack of game time and end up declining.

ArneSlotBarber, you literally typed that we have 13-14 good players and 3 of them are injured. So you've quite clearly said yourself we're at least 11-12 players short of a good 25 man squad. That's simple maths. Or you're now back tracking and saying that there are a few other good players? Or you think we don't need a full 25 man squad? Which is it. You made a silly comment. Own it. I've made up nothing.

25 Jul 2026 16:30:34
Florian, you're quite simply wrong. I'll prove it. In 22/23 when we nearly won the quad with 92 points but City pipped us to win the league, this was their 2nd XI.
Ortega; Gomez, Akanji, Laporte, Lewis; Phillips, Perrone, Palmer; Grealish, Alvarez, Silva.

You really going to sit there and tell me that made the difference? Ortega is average, Gomez was below average, Akanji was decent, Laporte was injured all season, Lewis was a child, Phillips was overweight, Perrone never got a sniff, Silva is very good, Alvarez is very good, and Grealish was a massive flop.

They had about 3 or 4 decent players on the bench.

It was nothing to do with depth. They won the league because of Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Rodri; Foden, Haaland, Mahrez. It’s always been a myth City have 2 players for every position. They spend a lot of money but they’ve always had small squads under Pep, with multiple academy players like Lewis, Gomez and Palmer making up numbers.

25 Jul 2026 16:35:50
Kepa is grand backup keeper.
Meslier same as Kepa.
Whyte is not crap, good player.
Mosquera deputised really well last season.
Timber is a top player.
Calafiori is a top player.
Lewis-Skelly is proficient in two positions.
Norgaard's younger than Endo.


Zubimendi just won the WC.
Martinelli scored 11 times last season.
Merino just won the WC.
Madueke is a good backup RW.
Dolman is probably looked at by most neutrals as an even bigger talent than Rio.
You're reaching here, MK. 😂

25 Jul 2026 16:38:01
We nearly won the quad in 21/22, MK.

25 Jul 2026 16:43:36
MK, not massively in disagreement and, to be honest, I'd like a rb, cm and rw and I think we should have enough to build on while being almost competitive but last year we were in decline and our top players have either left, got a bit too slow or stepped off. We have significant injuries that may lead to two players not really featuring this season. So we need reinforcements and a couple of starters and time is running out before the league starts.

Let's face it we always want players in for preseason and that has not happened...yet, perhaps that is why so many people are frustrated. I'm calm about it and I am sure there is frantic work going on behind the scenes but I would be worried for us (and the manager) if we do not add soon. So to MK, try and understand the frustration, to everyone else, try and chill and trust the club, to the club.... Get a move on please. 🤷

25 Jul 2026 16:58:09
I'm going to keep this post short. Arsenal's squad is miles better than ours. End of. Full stop. Period.

25 Jul 2026 17:02:04
100% Rome.

25 Jul 2026 17:05:41
Florian Musiala, that’s fair enough if it was 21/22, but I still debunked your argument City had two top players in every position under Pep. They still won the league in 22/23 with that 2nd XI.

As for your spin on those Arsenal players, one of us is definitely reaching! Kepa and Meslier are awful, and you’re lying if you say you’d have either at Liverpool. White played 704 Prem minutes, Timber, good as he is, hasn’t played since March due to a serious ankle injury, Calafiori, good as he is, only played 1708 Prem minutes last season (less than half), Mosquera deputised (exactly my point on what a squad player is), Lewis-Skelly played 698 Prem minutes last season, Zubimendi won the World Cup as much as Munoz won the World Cup, Merino was also a bit part player for Spain, but has his uses, Nordgaard is 1 year younger than Endo, but still only played 101 Prem minutes, Madueke, with his 3 Prem goals, is exactly my point (a good squad player, similar to Chiesa in standard), Martinelli scored 1 Prem goal, so I’m not fussed about him stat padding against cannon fodder in cups, and Dowman is a talented young kid like Rio (again, exactly my point on what a squad player is).



You’ve totally missed my point, I think. I’m not saying Arsenal have a bad squad. I’m pointing out the similarities in what Chewy said about our squad, with what you could say about Arsenal’s squad. All squad players have negative traits, which is why they aren’t regular starters.

How many of those Arsenal squad players would you want to sign? Timber, Calafiori, Merino and Dowman are the only ones I think actually are better than our equivalents (Bradley, Tsimikas, Endo and Chiesa). The rest I don’t see any upgrades, and I’d argue in some cases we have the better back ups.

Now, if you look at the starting XI, Arsenal are much stronger and that’s where we need to focus our effort and attention.

25 Jul 2026 17:36:03
That's fair enough NoMoreBoom, and I'm not trying to be offensive to anyone, I've just lost patience with all the recent negativity and those in front of me today are taking the brunt of it. I understand that we need to do more business. I'm just very passionate about the club and I remember last summer when we lost Jota just weeks after everyone on here was saying we should sell him because he's inconsistent and never fit. Sometimes you don't know what you had until it's gone. I like Woodman, Bradley, Gomez, Leoni, Tsimikas, Endo, Jones, Elliott, Rio, Munoz, Ekitike etc. If any of them had to come in and deputise for 3-5 games I'd have very little concern because the other 9 or 10 players in the team will be good enough to make up for it if we add 2-3 more starting quality players. Not many teams have their best XI out every week for 38 games.

I'm mainly angry at Slot, to be honest. Because when people asked these same posters about these same players 12 months ago, the views were completely different. Slot's total mismanagement and shocking coaching has made our players look a lot worse than they are.



12 months ago, Bradley was better than Trent defensively, so it didn't matter if he left. Leoni was tipped to phase out Konate. Tsimikas was our 'Greek Scouser' who got vital assists from corners in the title race. Endo was the man everyone cheered onto the pitch to see out a game. Jones was a hero for showing passion in the Merseyside derby where others did not. Rio was going to be the next big thing after dazzling in pre-season. Ekitike was so good people were saying we don't even need Isak.

24 months ago, not playing Elliott more was Klopp's biggest regret. Danns was going to be the next academy striker to break through. Gomez was a club legend who never moaned and played anywhere at the back. McConnell was a future star who pocketed Caicedo and Enzo in ET of the League Cup final.

I struggle with the fickle nature of football sometimes. It was a good squad when they won the title. Now we've had a bad season, they're all useless.

25 Jul 2026 17:37:37
Would love to hear what Carra, Robbo's and other trusted ITKs stance is right now after latest Diomande developments. Looks like Fabrizio is all over it, shooting development posts every 2 hours.

Also wondering if Diomande goes to RM we might have a chance to loan Ibrahim Diaz? Can be good for 1 year loan while we work in reinforcements for next season.

25 Jul 2026 17:42:10
You debunked nothing. A more accurate back four would have been Lewis, Akanji, Laporte (who just won the WC, by the way, conceding one goal) and Ake at LB, seeing as Cancelo was first choice there at the start of the season, having moved across from RB before being sold in January. Perrone? You're some chancer, the bloke played a total of 18 Premier League minutes.

Something tells me a bigger name should easily be in there ahead of him that season. 😂 And is a front three of Palmer, Alvarez and Grealish slumming it now? And also, that was probably as weak as City's backup got during them years.

25 Jul 2026 18:02:38
We'll have to move on, Florian, if you're just going to deny the facts. You are welcome to look up the Man City team of 22/23. I did not leave out any players who were there for the full season, except for Scott Carson (GK) and Shea Charles (CB).

Cancelo left in January that season after falling out with Pep.

Ake and Lewis both played more games that season than Cancelo. Stick Cancelo in midfield for Perrone if it makes you feel any better. Either way, Pep had some pretty average squad players in a season where I've just realised they won the treble!

25 Jul 2026 18:29:12
Average alright. Three £100m players in their "back up" front three.

25 Jul 2026 18:56:27
Lol complete nonsense. You need 17-18 good players in a squad, then the rest can be from the academy. Stop typing nonsense to me already, please.

25 Jul 2026 20:06:42
Florian, FPF, Rome, and a few others spot on.

There is some delusion on here from time to time about our squad capabilities. Makes you wonder if some posters actually watch us play.

The likes of Chelsea and Man Utd are investing heavily and improving, and Arsenal and City are strong anyway.

Top four is a risk unless we get more out of last year's team, much more, and do more to fill the gaps.

Iraola has pointed out our weaknesses in virtually every press conference he's done, even then some posters just can't see it.

25 Jul 2026 10:51:28
More info on my earlier post which I apologise was not intended to be cryptic.

Arsenal are now in strong talks for Barcola and Liverpool believe they gave stolen a march and his preference is London.

Mac Allister has also asked the club to consider offers from Spain.

DjimiT

25 Jul 2026 11:36:18
Well, that's depressing. Any good news?

We are Liverpool Football Club, we win some we lose some.

25 Jul 2026 11:38:31
Sorry, Djimi, but not buying that about Arsenal. PSG will just keep him now, Diomande is off the table. They've shown they're not arsed about players running their contracts down, just like they did with Mbappe.

25 Jul 2026 11:39:16
Arsenal are not paying what PSG want for Barcola or they would have got their number one target for a year, Morgan Rogers. Calling BS on that one.

25 Jul 2026 12:14:37
Not sure why people are claiming PSG didn't mind Mbappe running down his contract, that's complete and utter h********, they were absolutely furious about it. People have very short memories.

25 Jul 2026 12:28:34
Absolutely, Chewy, they even threatened to take him to court and all sorts. They were furious, but then they can't complain as Madrid offered them over £100m as I recall in the January, so eff around & find out.

25 Jul 2026 12:40:59
From what I've read Arsenal want Barcola but after a conversation with Arteta and from playing against them in the CL, he doesn't like the way they play. He wants a more explosive way of playing.

25 Jul 2026 15:29:14
Imagine playing under Arteta when you could have the pick of a few more progressive teams and coaches.

Gross.

25 Jul 2026 17:40:16
Time to build the squad from zero. I am fine if Macca and Gakpo leave and we work with what we have as long as we finish in a Champions League spot. Better to wait and be smart in the transfer market, and let Irrola build the squad in his way, rather than getting players who are coming in for money but not for the club.

25 Jul 2026 09:40:19
Hi all,

Liverpool fan here, living in the south of France near Monaco and season ticket holder at the club. First time posting with some updates on Liverpool target Akliouche and Camara.

Akliouche: the price Monaco expects for him is somewhere around 50M€, or north of that price. PSG has agreed personal terms, he prefers to go there but Liverpool is still there and Monaco expects a move from us but the Diomande situation can change things.

Camara: he changed agents recently and that’s why Newcastle shifted towards Bamba. At first they were interested in the Senegal player just like us and a couple of other PL clubs but things became complicated.

Monaco expects somewhere around 40-50M€ for him.

Vanderson & Teze are both targeted by PL clubs and could leave if an interesting offer arrives. At this moment Teze is looked at by many PL clubs, no idea if we are going for him but given that he played RB a lot of matches this last season both in Ligue 1 & UCL, as well as CDM/CM, might be one to watch.

P.S. I don’t pretend to be in the know and I am not interested in that but these are current infos coming from sources within AS Monaco. We will see what happens.

Cheers,

Red Ronson.

25 Jul 2026 10:00:22
Cheers, Red Ronson.

25 Jul 2026 10:08:40
Thanks, good update and info - much appreciated. 👍🏻

25 Jul 2026 10:23:07
I'm beginning to think we should have held on to Mo for another season.

25 Jul 2026 10:24:43
Cheers, Ron, great info there.

25 Jul 2026 10:28:07
Don't get me wrong here, but that post reads really weird. "The Senegal player" sounds like a journalist piece.

Thanks for the info though, Robson.