Liverpool Banter 2

25 Jul 2026 20:54:32
So just say theoretically the door was closed on Diomande and Barcola, what names would be thrown about as possible and good enough alternatives? I’d like to see suggestions besides Rayan as that’s been done to death. Any other suggestions?

25 Jul 2026 22:05:28
Godts
Yildiz
Moleiro.

25 Jul 2026 22:20:05
El Mala.

25 Jul 2026 23:11:28
Maybe El Mala, but not sure how suited he is to the RW. He looks good on the left and through the middle, though, more mobile than Gakpo through the middle.

Maybe Gakpo, Rio, Munoz and El Mala to rotate on the wings. El Mala and Gakpo can offer cover for Isak through the middle.

Elliott, Szobo and Frimpong to offer an option on the right, if absolutely necessary, to manage other players' minutes here and there on a cup game in early rounds.

Then reassess in January.

RW market is not the best, to say the least.

26 Jul 2026 04:52:01
Diaz, Nunez?

25 Jul 2026 21:28:24
Ed033 could you do a poll please.

Would you be annoyed if Yan Diomande didn't move to Liverpool

Yes

No

{Ed033's Note -


Yan Diomande poll

25 Jul 2026 21:57:47
I hope we stay clear, looks more trouble than he is worth.
With the agents he is worth, I think he will be a nightmare. Madrid fit him and his team perfectly.

25 Jul 2026 22:06:01
I don't think this will be close.

25 Jul 2026 23:14:30
I wanted him initially but I'm over it now.

I want Barcola. If that doesn't work, maybe go for El Mala and just go with him, Gakpo, Rio, and Munoz for now.

Not ideal, but there's not a lot of decent options.

25 Jul 2026 18:51:03
People say Slot won the league with Klopp's team, so in theory why can't Iriola do well with Slot's team? Players like Wirtz, Isak, Frimpong, Elliot, Chiesa could thrive under new management.

We also have lots of potential in this youth team. Calvin Ramsay a RB, Keiron Morrison, Sonnie Lambie, Nyoni, Leoni, the new Austrian CB. I trust our new manager to trust in all above players mentioned.

25 Jul 2026 19:35:40
Ramsay is 22, mate.

Looking forward to Iraola working his magic with all players.

25 Jul 2026 19:45:42
Hailstones, people who said that were wrong to say that cos Klopp wasn't there to coach the team, get them prepared and ready to play every game, and was responsible for the day to day running of the squad. Slot did all of that season and gets all the credit, plain and simple.

So what you are now saying makes no sense cos the squad Iraola has now is nowhere near at the level of the squad Slot took over. That is just a fact, so your theory falls flat on that alone.

I'm not gonna get into debunking the rest cos it will be just too painful to read.

Hence, we can all be excited about the season and that's okay, but I propose that we not put unnecessary pressure on Iraola like we didn't put on Slot when he started, and let the man do his job. You know, like we did with Slot, for ex.? If a league challenge/title comes out of that then, we will all be here for that. But before then, let Doni cook and see what that brings.

25 Jul 2026 19:45:59
Ramsay turns 23 in a week. Klopp didn't fancy him, Slot didn't fancy him. He barely got a game at Preston, Wigan, Bolton or Kilmarnock.
I'm all for giving young players a chance, but this lad isn't even a Championship player.

25 Jul 2026 20:01:16
As a man who took Yeovil from National League all the way to Champions League victory in FM24, I can personally vouch for Ramsay's ability, and tell you he is misunderstood and simply needs the right quality of manager.

I believe the matter is settled now.

25 Jul 2026 20:06:08
Klopp didn't win the Premier League with that Klopp team! We can't diminish what Slot did in his first year. I think he became a victim of his own success. Won it with ease, expected to do the same again.

I think he became super complacent and thought he could do the job while going back to visit his family every week. I'm not saying we should have got rid, but I think we have to give him some credit.

25 Jul 2026 20:08:24
Klopp on Ramsay:
"He is an outstanding talent. We scouted him over a lot of games and he did exceptionally well.

"For a young age - the way he plays - he is a real player. He is really involved in everything. He's a real talent and I am really excited about him.

"When he arrived here, he had this issue with the back so he was out. Now I've seen him two or three times training, but it is the first few sessions. Now we know much more about him as a boy.

"He is outstanding, well-educated, friendly - a really good boy. Now we start working, that's it. How it is for all of them in that age group: the sky is the limit.

"The start of his career was really good. Now we had that little interruption, but we are not done. We have to make sure we can work with him as much to give him the best chance of having the best possible career."

(End quote)

5th Element, not sure it's fair to say Klopp didn't fancy him.

Ramsay, unfortunately, broke his leg not long after battling back from a spinal fracture, and by the time he was back fit and sharp again, Slot was the manager. Injuries have devastated Ramsay in his development years, and it's extremely unlikely he'll bounce back to have a career with Liverpool in my opinion. I only shared this because I thought it did Klopp a massive disservice to lump him in with Slot as someone who doesn't even give young players the time of day.

Ramsay will probably play a few games on the tour but he'll need a minor miracle to still be here by the end of August. He was a very good player pre-injury though and was a first team regular up in Scotland by 18 years old.

25 Jul 2026 20:09:51
Olired, Slot doesn't get all the credit, Klopp built that team, took them from scraping 5th to a comfortable 3rd, increasing the points tally by nearly 20 in a single year whilst replacing 8 first-team players during his rebuild. None of whom were anywhere near the quality that Slot got with his transfers at the time.

Klopp deserves huge credit; he laid all the groundwork and left Slot with a team perfectly ready and capable of challenging for a title. Without that, Slot would have won absolutely nothing.

25 Jul 2026 20:13:56
Flight is correct, but I also think, to an extent, so is Hailstones. I think Slot had the league wrapped up within about 6 months in that first season. His tactical tweaks were good, he made good substitutions, and he played a blinder by moving Gravenberch to DM and Diaz to ST. After those first 6 months, though, the days off and lack of fitness started to catch up with us and we fell apart around about February time.

Within a week, we lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle and the PSG tie in the Champions League.

After that, things never recovered. On top of the fitness continually deteriorating, Slot seemed to become obsessed with PSG. Luckily the title was wrapped up in those first 6 months and we could coast home. So whilst I think the baseline fitness from Klopp's time helped initially, Slot's tactical tweaks also made a massive difference.

25 Jul 2026 20:21:29
The style of football will be totally different from Slot's, which was Passing Backwards First, Sideways your Second Pass, Forward pass the Third choice!

Under Iraola, his style of football is: Pass Forward First (Vertical), Sideways Pass your Second choice, and Pass Back the last option!

Shankly, Paisley, Fagan also offered the same advice to their glorious sides.

Look to Pass Forward First all the time, not pass the buck to someone else. They have been doing that in every Iraola triple training sessions from what I've seen.

25 Jul 2026 20:35:17
We thought that Slot was the Paisley to Klopp's Shankly style impact.

I think he ended up as a Joe Fagan. Hugely successful over a short tenure, but undone by off field tragedy.

Slot deserves huge credit for the title. His lack of ego led to him basically sticking with the squad he inherited, and his tweaks worked a treat.

In that first season, don’t forget that we topped the Champs League table, and I think were only beaten twice before claiming the title.



He wasn’t a traffic cop, giving directions - he deserves huge credit for it.

His second season was awful, but the first was great.

He came across as a smart and decent man. He just didn’t have the tools to turn things around.

But I don’t think any other new manager would have won us that title.

So, while we look to the future, let’s not downplay that achievement.

25 Jul 2026 20:59:39
Slot does get all the credit, Chewy, just like any other manager, in any other league that won a title, in the history of football. Last year was the only time in 40 years I have ever, ever heard one manager getting even partial credit for a different manager winning a league. That's how bad it got.

25 Jul 2026 21:00:49
I'm sure that Andoni will have a better idea than any of us IKFAs, so why don't we wait until things play out?

25 Jul 2026 21:40:13
Just worth mentioning, that in the last few 2 years at least of Klopp's time here, it wasn't really his tactics either, it was Ljinders.
So Slot didn't really take over from Klopp, he took over from Pep and made a clear and obvious improvement before it started going south.

25 Jul 2026 21:46:52
MK, I think Ramsey was just very unlucky. I remember being excited at us signing him, for big money from the Scottish league. But, unfortunately, injuries at the cruelest times have killed him. He's hardly played for years now, and he's not alone. Chambers and Deann's are similarly talented, but have had similar bad luck. I still don't agree with the whole criticism of Slot last year for not playing him, but that's not important. The main thing now is the lad can stay injury free and craft a decent career for himself.

I've no doubt he will. On the losing to Newcastle and PSG in a week, fair enough, the Newcastle performance was very poor. But PSG, we were penalty kicks away from beating a team who walked the rest of the tournament, including winning the final 5 nil, even if I will admit they were the better team over the two legs. Because let's face it, nobody wuda cared PSG were better if we'd have got through.

25 Jul 2026 21:49:43
Don't talk sense Westwood.

25 Jul 2026 21:50:05
Can we get a signing done so we don't have to drag Slot back out for something to talk about. 😂

25 Jul 2026 23:21:51
Klopp gets massive credit for leaving the team in a fantastic state. Ready to challenge for a title. That can't be argued against in any way, shape or form. The reason it was the first time you heard of it, Florian, was because it's so rare that a manager actually walks away having undertaken the responsibility of a rebuild and leaving the team in a prime position to challenge for titles.



The entire fanbase, even Slot, recognizes the importance of Klopp's foundations. If you want to ignore it, go right ahead. The fact remains, if it wasn't for Klopp's building and development in the 2 seasons previous, Slot wouldn't have won so much as a raffle.

25 Jul 2026 18:02:38
Hiya lads, hope you are all keeping well? I took back with me a very dodgy bottle of Spanish Brandy for Andoni's inaugural match. Anyone else watching tonight?

25 Jul 2026 18:22:15
I'm staying up for it, Barry. Very excited for the new era to begin.

25 Jul 2026 18:37:41
Awh, Adam, you and me both, mate. 😃

25 Jul 2026 19:14:29
FM, it's on ESPN Unlimited or Stan Sport, mate.

25 Jul 2026 19:45:36
Good man Barry.

25 Jul 2026 19:47:37
Me and my Lad are watching later, looking forward to see what Iraola may bring this coming season.

25 Jul 2026 21:50:39
You lost me at cache Ritchie. 😂

25 Jul 2026 17:24:12
We will win the league this season. There I said it.

And I don't want nay sayers talking about transfers.

I want a "hell ya we will" and chest bumps. And high diving. The odd friendly bottom slap. And then some inappropriate bottom slaps.

Believe! We are doing this thing!!

25 Jul 2026 18:23:15
I've been saying 3rd and cup all week, but if you have any space on your bandwagon, Davey, I'm climbing on!

25 Jul 2026 18:30:18
I'll get aboard that bandwagon for sure.

25 Jul 2026 18:31:21
Pin it up.

25 Jul 2026 19:05:47
Room for one more please, Davey. 😁

25 Jul 2026 19:56:34
Davey, we'll all be here to see it. And boy, would we love it if it happened.

25 Jul 2026 20:04:25
I start every season saying we're going to win the league, so happy to get in that bandwagon with you boys!

25 Jul 2026 21:07:38
"Hell ya we will win it."

I will smack your arse all night, Davey lad 😘 if we do win it.

25 Jul 2026 21:16:51
7/1 Liverpool to win it. Gotta be worth a few quid that.

25 Jul 2026 16:50:30
Let the games begin, my guess is this:
Vinny Jr to PSG
Olise to Madrid
Barcola to Liverpool
Diomande to Liverpool
Gakpo to Bayern.

25 Jul 2026 17:20:04
If my country is saying it, it must be true.

25 Jul 2026 17:20:29
Vinni and Olise are going nowhere.
Diomande to PSG or Real.
Barcola goes to Arsenal if PSG get their man and if they can agree a fee.
Gakpo stays put.

25 Jul 2026 17:21:22
That would be some transfer window merry go round.

25 Jul 2026 17:38:36
Barcola to Liverpool I can see happening. Diomande to Madrid feels likely now. Gakpo to Dortmund or Bayern maybe? Olise's going nowhere. Vini Jr to run down his contract and move to PSG or Arsenal in 2027, I reckon.

25 Jul 2026 17:26:12
Brother whatever you are taking you need to stop asap because the hallucinations are Very strong

25 Jul 2026 18:56:04
No way Vini leaves for nothing next year. Madrid will sell if he doesn't renew.

He's too valuable to them to leave on a free. And will cost a big fee to replace.

25 Jul 2026 19:04:27
Barcola, I hope goes to Arsenal. Will be a blessing in disguise.

25 Jul 2026 19:06:51
Vini signs with Real 100% for me. This is all just part of the game.

25 Jul 2026 19:17:53
I'd imagine, if Vini leaves on a free it would be an astronomical signing on fee for him.

25 Jul 2026 16:25:08
Eds how do you cope reading some of the stuff you have to on here? I'd be on the bottle every night if I had to do it.

{Ed001's Note - I just remember it could be worse, I could support Everton.}

25 Jul 2026 17:14:13
I'm getting the bottles out later, SA. Our supporters are depressing me with their negativity. If you went into a coma in 2009 and woke up to read this site the last 2 days, you'd think you'd only been out a year. It reads as though Hodgson has just been appointed and we've signed Poulsen, Konchesky, Jovanovic and Cole to compliment Ngog, Cavalieri, Degen, El Zhar, Aquilani and Kyrgiakos.



We need a Time Machine so we can remind people what a bad squad really looks like.

25 Jul 2026 17:55:50
MK, it's not negativity, it's a concern that Slot has turned us into doubters again

We can win this season if right signings are made at the right time.

Squad is good, but not almost the same which won the title under Slot.

We need improvements in forward positions, and that too real fast, not close to the start of the season.



We need to start the season strong.

Early bad results will spread the real negativity.

Let's hope Isak gets settled and stays injury free, that will be the real boost.

25 Jul 2026 17:55:53
Can't understand the apprehension whatsoever, if Slot was still here, yes undoubtedly, but we have now an exceptional manager who brings a record of 16 PL games unbeaten with an inferior squad to his current one.

He has never had a team of flashy showmen (posers). He is of the same ilk as Shankly, Paisley.

Hard work is the secret, there is no other way to win football games as last year quite clearly proved.

Give the man a chance, he might surprise you! Who are doubters, he won't surprise us, believers! I'm a big believer because the biggest asset his teams have is they play good team football.

25 Jul 2026 18:06:16
MK, I'm not saying we have a bad squad, I'm merely saying it's nowhere good enough to be challenging for the PL and CL. The halcyon days of the Klopp side are coming to an end. We have a CB who's about to play his last season and a keeper who can't stay fit.

In addition to a lack of squad depth, I also think the ability of Iraola getting a tune out of Wirtz and Isak is also pivotal to any potential success.

They were both major disappointments last season. Isak because he was never fit and Wirtz because he never looked anywhere near good enough.

25 Jul 2026 18:19:48
Agreed, Rome, we should be giving Iraola a squad that can compete for the title, and if he falls short we'll still get 2-4. Right now we have a squad that'll maybe finish 4-5 at best, that leaves no margin for error.

25 Jul 2026 18:20:11
Nabeel, nobody's said it's almost the same though? We've changed 10 players from that squad and I've pointed that out on the actual thread you're referencing.

I've only argued against the claim that we only have 13-14 good players. Context is key here, because that doesn't stack up when we still have 16 who have actually already done it. They're factually good enough to be in a 25 man title winning squad, regardless of whether they are starting quality. Good is a relative term. Tsimikas is a good 2nd choice LB, but he'd be a poor 1st choice LB. Does that make sense?

The question I think we should be asking is "are the 10 players we've brought in to replace the 10 who have left an upgrade or at least equals?" I'd argue no. Going after the players who've been here and done it seems ridiculous to me. They've proven they're up to it when the fitness and tactics are right.

For me, it's the replacements we've added to the starting XI with an actual point to prove now.

Frimpong, Wirtz and Isak especially. Everyone else who underperformed can blame bad coaching and back it up with evidence. Those 3 need to actually prove they can hack it at Liverpool because they cost about £280m and I'm not sure they made us better than Trent, Diaz and Nunez did.

Jacquet deserves a chance to prove he can do better than Konate before everyone gets on his back for only being 20 years old. Munoz, I think, replaces Jota as versatile front 3 cover because we didn't really have that in the plans last summer which left us one attacker light (through no fault of anyone). Replacing Salah is the key now. Then we have to replace people who Iraola doesn't want or who don't want to be here. I'm predicting that will only involve a RB and a DM, but I could be completely wrong. He might agree with you all and flog 7-10 players in which case I'll look very silly and you can all laugh at me!

25 Jul 2026 18:30:35
For me, my problem is some posters saying we might as well write off next season already. That gets my goat up.

The transfer window hasn't even closed yet. If it does, and we haven't signed anyone, then yeah, I might feel a bit deflated.

But we have a decent squad and a manager known for improving players. So I'm remaining optimistic. The final whistle hasn't gone yet, everyone. YNWA.

25 Jul 2026 18:30:38
I don't mind the positive posts or the posts with a touch of realism (not negativity). There's a fair bit of work to be done before the season starts and it's difficult to know how much last season's disaster has left its mark.
Big money signings need to step up and stay fit. Our goal machine needs replaced. Realism!

25 Jul 2026 17:14:16
poor Ed025!

{Ed025's Note - woe is me indeed KK.. :)

25 Jul 2026 17:26:57
Hahaha love it Ed, very true. Sorry Ed025. :D.

I agree MK, it's getting me down. Yeah we need work, but we have a good squad. The transfer window isn't closed yet, we have time.

25 Jul 2026 18:46:45
Barcola, Olise, Dembele, Doue, Mbappe. The World Cup has quite clearly shown that posers don't always win. A Spanish team beat them 2-0, an England team put six past them, aggregate score over two games, 8 goals conceded to four scored. Would LFC fans be happy with two of the three Spanish forwards in the WC playing for LFC this season? Oyazarbal CF, Baena LW, probably not. The Spanish manager had no issues as they are WC winners and, more importantly, team players.

The reason France and Argentina lost was because Spain hid the ball!

PSG, in the first world club final, were beaten three goals to nil by a Chelsea team, who never qualified for Europe this season. PSG have won the Champions League twice on the trot, beat Slots LFC and Arsenal on penalties to achieve that, they could on another day have lost those two penalty shoot outs?

25 Jul 2026 20:07:03
The fact that we have some people banking on Gomez, Endo, Ramsey, Bradley, Frimpong, Elliott, Chiesa and Bajcetic along with seamless introductions for kiddies Jacquet and Leoni to make any kind of challenge for honours, beyond top 5, is nothing short of wild!

Anyone would think Iraola is Jesus, never mind Klopp.

25 Jul 2026 19:57:50
Ed01, that is just purgatory.

25 Jul 2026 20:55:43
FPF, Klopp was happy to bank on Gomez, Bradley, Endo and Elliott.

Ramsay and Bajcetic, I think we agree on. Can't see them coming back and forging a career at Liverpool.

Frimpong and Chiesa are clearly talented, but I question if they can handle English football.

Iraola will want to assess them before we make a decision, though, as they're players with big reputations in Germany and Italy.

25 Jul 2026 16:05:05
It's really hard for me to understand why and how the board can allow us not to sign new players as quickly as possible to give the new manager time to integrate with the current squad and get them acclimated to his system.

I get that these things take time but to have this razor thin squad and not bring in obvious needs to me is not doing Iraola any favors at all. There have to be plans and contingencies.

25 Jul 2026 17:07:43
Transfer fever cranking up.

25 Jul 2026 17:17:00
We have had over a year to prepare for Salah's departure. And we have dropped the ball on this front.
We have signed VVD's replacement in Jacques.
We have signed Robbo's replacement in Kerkez.
It's now as important to prepare for Ali's departure next season.

25 Jul 2026 17:22:45
How do you expect us to sign players quickly when we're competing with the likes of PSG, Real, and Arsenal for signatures?

25 Jul 2026 18:28:49
That's one of the definite difficulties with the wingers position, we're looking at the top table this summer, looking at very complex and expensive deals in Barcola and Diomande.

It would be negligent, though, to not have a walk away point, and a contingency plan. I would have thought, for right wing, that could have been Bowen, but for left side the candidates are less obvious, although we've bought Munoz, so arguably the need isn't as high.

There's less of an argument around the RB position. If we're looking for cover, someone like Geertruida, we're really not competing at the top table. Lack of movement doesn't mean we don't do any business there, but it's a valid thing to say we should have done by now.



CDM again, I really don't think we're looking for a top table buy, we're linked time and again with Wharton. He's a good player, many unconvinced he's what we need, but if the transfer teams think he's the one (aside from the troubles of dealing with Palace) you could argue it's a deal that should have been done by now.

I suspect the main issue there is that we're looking to offload first for the midfield slot, and are struggling to get the prices we want for Curtis, Harvey, or even the likes of Macca. It's a really risky strategy to leave that position late in the window as it would involve a tweak in playing style if we bought him, which Iraola needs to be working on sooner rather than later.

25 Jul 2026 19:59:18
Chewy, did you not know that transfers work in real life the same way they happened on the FIFA video game? Hey, level up, man.

25 Jul 2026 20:19:36
Seems like Hughes has forgotten which button finalises the deal, Oli, was it X or A?! Can't remember myself.

25 Jul 2026 14:23:56
We can't go out and buy another 7 players this season, because they will all want to play along with the others we have at the moment. The way to build a team without massive disruption to the team is to build it slowly, integrating the new players into a settled formation. Unfortunately, not all the best players are the hardest working players and Iraola wants hard working players.

I would suggest most of last season's injuries were a lack of physical training during the pre-season and during the season, hence our lack of pressing ability and distance covered.
Give the manager a chance to develop those players we have along with buying a limited number of quality players.

25 Jul 2026 15:02:40
Good post, mate. Our squad is far more suited to Iraola's high intensity approach than Slot's half-arsed impression of Tiki Taka.

25 Jul 2026 15:11:18
RB, CB, DM, LW, RW are needed. And if any other starter goes, they will need replacing.

Some of you seem to want to go backwards to go forwards, when we really should have been building from a position of strength when Klopp left.

Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards (part 2) era has been an absolute shocker. No two ways about it.

25 Jul 2026 15:13:08
Back the manager. Can't not replace the best player we've had since Steven Gerrard. Can't go into the season with Bradley & Frimpong as right backs. Can't pin the defence totally on 35-year-old VVD.

Just back the manager and fix the problems.

25 Jul 2026 15:26:19
Agree with Nunez and MK, however there will be pain in the form of injuries while that resilience is regained after Slot not carrying it through.

This was mentioned indirectly by Milner in a recent interview, in that Klopp's methods created a lot of hamstring issues to begin with, until the boys built that resilience up.

It doesn't happen in a pre season. I expect the same to happen again.

25 Jul 2026 15:42:47
Agree with Pelican, although I think we could probably get a centre back that plays right back and turn 2 signings into one.

25 Jul 2026 15:46:33
They are backing the manager, LFC8. We’ve not even kicked off in our first pre-season game and we’ve already spent £95m.

FPF, £540m spent since Klopp left. I’d argue they are trying very hard to build from a position of strength. Edwards and Hughes have many flaws, but they did give Slot the TOTY left back (Kerkez), the 2nd top scorer in the league (Isak), a player many consider to be a generational talent (Wirtz), a 2-time Bundesliga TOTY right back (Frimpong) and an £80m back up striker (Ekitke).

As much as they screwed up with the Guehi deal and probably wasted £30m on Mamardashvili off the back of one good Euro’s, they put a lot of money down on the table to strengthen the team whilst we were on top.

Iraola’s most important job is to coach the talented players he has inherited because we’ve not seen anything close to the best of those we signed last summer and they didn’t all become bad players overnight.

25 Jul 2026 15:53:35
FPF, did you say that when they bought Isak, Wirtz and Eketike?

25 Jul 2026 15:54:39
Red-Willis, I think we should go all in for Kounde. Excellent RB and a solid CB. Very similar to Jurrien Timber. Barcelona need money and he's allegedly someone they're willing to cash in on. They're desperate to keep hold of the likes of Cubarsi, Pedri, Yamal etc. They also really want Laporte but cannot afford him unless they raise funds.

25 Jul 2026 15:57:49
MK, I think you are right to a point in all the posts you've made since yesterday, but come on, we need at least one, if not two, top class attacking players with blistering pace, an experienced center back who can fill in at right back, and probably a midfielder. Frimpong, I like and I think he can still do good things for us, but he is not a right back in a back 4 and should not start there. As a back up for certain situations, fine.



Yes, they spent a lot of money last year, but as I have always maintained, that was only part of the rebuild, and the second half of that reconstruction is supposed to take place this window. I still feel confident we will get most of it done, but, given how we are all eternally online, the radio silence on the transfers end has everybody nervous (of course I'm not immune to that either).

25 Jul 2026 16:16:54
Kounde would be a very good signing. Arnau Martinez would be a good budget option to do the same.

25 Jul 2026 16:44:52
FloMusiala, ideally I'd like Barcola, Camara and Kounde. I think we will end up with Barcola and Wharton though. I'm not sure what will happen at RB/CB. We have a lot of young players on the tour who can do a job there whilst Bradley and Leoni recover, so I think we'll wait until later in the window to decide.

Iraola will get a good look at everyone on the fringes over the next couple of weeks. Ramsay, Ndiaye and Ndukwe might do enough to convince him. He likes working with younger players.

25 Jul 2026 16:51:40
Did we not buy the young lad from France back in January.

25 Jul 2026 16:54:30
We've spent £95 million this summer to replace players who left on free transfers. We've basically spent £95 million to stand still. You can twist things all you like, but we all have eyes. One fit right back who is really a wing back, one fit striker, a central defender coming off an ACL and a central defender who can't play three games without breaking down.

List all of the names you can think of, Chiesa, Endo, Gomez etc., but once the season starts fully, and fatigue and injuries kick in, we'll have Chiesa starting up front and Szoboszlai at right back, and we'll have to flog Jacquet into the ground because we have no alternative. Iraola may be a good coach but he's not a magician.

25 Jul 2026 17:50:06
Fifth Element, maybe Iraola will make use of some of the u21's that Slot completely ignored? Will Wright and Jayden Danns are both fit strikers as I see it, and Munoz who we've just signed can also play as a striker. As can Chiesa, as you said yourself. So Isak isn't the only fit striker, really. We actually have 5 with Ekitike to return in December.

On RB/CB we agree to at least some extent.

I'd sign Kounde to play RB and cover CB in case Jacquet or Leoni struggle. Iraola might fancy Ndiaye, Ndukwe or Ramsay though. We'll see.

I'm not twisting anything, I'm just pointing out the players we have available when people say we're down to the bare bones because of 3 injuries and 3 players leaving. We need to add quality, not quantity.

25 Jul 2026 17:09:43
Unless at least 3 quality players (centre back, midfielder and winger) are brought in this window, Iraola has been hung out to dry. A right back would be nice too. Unless those players come in, we won't make the Champions League next season. The board got away with not backing Slot in his first season because he still had the nucleus of Klopp's team.

That won't work if they try to do similar with Iraola. There are glaring gaps in the squad, and anyone listing 30+ players and saying we have depth, doesn't understand football.

25 Jul 2026 18:26:55
Ekitike returning in December is a best case scenario, even if that happens, he will have been out for 8 months, it'll take him until February/March to get fully up to speed. Danns is injured again. Chiesa wouldn't start for the majority of Premier League teams.
We clearly need another player who can play as a striker before the season starts.

25 Jul 2026 18:54:40
Barcola is the favourite to sign next and he can play as a centre forward, 5th Element.

By the way, Will Wright has been tipped by many experts on our academy to be the next breakthrough star. He's looking good in pre-season training and he's been physically ready for men's football for a couple of years already.

He's the lad who made his debut for Salford City at 16 years old and then chose Liverpool over pretty much every big club in Europe. He'll get some minutes tonight hopefully.

25 Jul 2026 20:01:11
"Some of you seem to want to go backwards to go forwards, when we really should have been building from a position of strength when Klopp left."


We literally did do that after Klopp left with a league title and a very successful transfer window (by near all accounts) so not sure why you are slating the club for not doing what they actually did.