As the Christmas[1] decorations were coming down and most of us were beginning Dry January or a month of money-saving, the big-wigs inside Anfield’s corridors of power were already plotting how to splash the cash with a record-breaking trolley dash.
An accidental rhyme there but everything else was done with intent.
Liverpool[2]’s summer spending spree, of which they have laid down a whopping £446million on eight new arrivals – breaking their own transfer record and the British record twice each – was planned for months… if not years.
Virgil van Dijk let it slip in April, whether by design or not, by telling fans to expect a ‘big summer’. Daily Mail Sport reported that same week that Liverpool had a ‘war chest’ and that ‘around five big-money signings were planned’.
Looking back, we were all wrong. Big summer? No, it was colossal. War chest? Typically, that phrase is used for resources set aside for tough times… this was capitalising from a position of ultimate strength as champions. Five new boys? A bit conservative.
Trawling through the archives, there are very few transfer windows from a specific club that run this one close. Chelsea[3] signing Diego Costa[4] and Cesc Fabregas[5] in 2014 before winning the title was season-defining, while Manchester United[6] had some revolutionary windows under Sir Alex Ferguson[7].
Sporting director Richard Hughes has transformed his reputation among Liverpool fans after a record-breaking summer
Alongside FSG head of football Michael Edwards (middle) and his right-hand man Julian Ward (middle left), the Reds’ recruitment team have presided over an extraordinary window
Manchester City[8] signed David Silva and Yaya Toure in summer 2010 and then bought several long-serving stars in Pep Guardiola’s second summer. Looking abroad, it is tough to beat Real Madrid[9] buying Cristiano Ronaldo[10], Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso[11] and Kaka in 2009.
But at least in this country, Liverpool’s summer 2025 outlay may be the greatest of all time.
There is no guarantee they all work out. But given the Reds’ hit record in the market across the last decade and their data-led recruitment policy, it is fair to assume this transfer window will be era-defining.
The two biggies are Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, two sagas that felt protracted and were nail-biting for fans but they were both only ever realistically heading in one direction. ‘It was always Liverpool’ was the buzz phrase from those deals.
Liverpool had earmarked the forward line as one to improve from just a few months into Arne Slot’s reign. Despite winning the league at a canter, the boss was irked by the fact that so many games were tight and his team very rarely blew opponents away.
None of his centre forward options were prolific enough and the most-used No 9, Luis Diaz, had told the club he wanted to leave. Darwin Nunez had also voiced a desire to depart in January but was asked to stay until the summer. He was not good enough for this level anyway.
Despite the headline figure on outlay, they have recouped £262m in sales and, with all due respect to several talented and passionate stars who have left, Liverpool have upgraded all over the field.
They lost Trent Alexander-Arnold and his exit, especially the loss of his creative output, could be the most felt. But Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, the dictionary definition of ‘modern full backs’, have arrived, the latter giving competition to 31-year-old vice-captain Andy Robertson.
The Premier League champion made the shock acquisition of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the window for a British record fee
Liverpool broke the record for a second time when they completed the signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle on Deadline Day
Full back was a priority area to upgrade and those deals were easy. Daily Mail Sport namechecked Frimpong and Kerkez as potentials at the turn of the year.
Frimpong is now the face of New Balance and his camp are keen to also make him one of the faces of the Premier League.
A new sub keeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, arrived and the club think the Georgia No 1 is an Alisson successor and an upgrade on Caoimhin Kelleher who has struggled so far at Brentford. In 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni, they believe they signed the best young defender on the market.
Hugo Ekitike may not have been a household name before his £79m switch from Eintracht Frankfurt but Liverpool’s data team ranked him alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe when considering No 9s of that age.
When looking at his numbers last term, Liverpool noted he was the standout striker across Europe for everything but goals scored. They believe his strike rate in front of goal will regress to the mean and they would rather invest in a player who is on the up.
He is an all-round forward who has already demonstrated his ability to drop deep and create goals as well as score them, something to delight Slot who grew tired of Nunez’s one-dimensional game at times.
It was noted inside Liverpool upon signing the Frankfurt striker that although Isak was more of a surefire and popular option, Ekitike might end up being just as good if not better. There was confidence, albeit perhaps it was blind optimism, that they could sign both.
French striker Ekitike can also play on the left and it will be interesting to see how both him and Isak play together when the £125m is up to speed given his signing came 100 days since his last competitive outing for club or country – though he may play for Sweden this week.
Milos Kerkez arrived from Bournemouth this summer to compete with Andy Robertson for the starting left-back position
After losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, the Reds move quickly to acquire the services of Jeremie Frimpong
Slot has been a fan of Isak for many years. He first became aware of him when AZ Alkmaar assistant and the Swede was playing in the Dutch league for Willem II, and his admiration grew fonder several years later.
Now head coach at AZ, he confided in friend Marcel Keizer, a manager at this point for Al-Jazira in Abu Dhabi, that he had never felt so ‘hopeless’ in all his years in football after trying to stop Isak and team-mates for Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Liverpool in general have also followed Isak for some years, scouting him when he was in the Swedish top flight. He was a player on their radar when he was at Real Sociedad, Newcastle making a statement with his signature at the time.
That is just what Liverpool have done now – and all summer. Wirtz was perhaps even a bigger statement buy than Isak given his age and the fact that Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were in the chase for the German superstar.
Chelsea, it is believed, enquired about Isak earlier in the window but he only wanted Liverpool. It was the same for Marc Guehi who nearly joined on Deadline Day until Crystal Palace reneged on a promise. The defender was said to be furious and deeply frustrated at his club.
The king of the transfer window was Richard Hughes, the sporting director. Described by sources as ‘cold as ice’ and ‘stubborn in a good way’, the Scotsman held firm in negotiations with him said to ‘bully’ his opposite number into doing everything on Hughes’s terms.
This time last year, Hughes was criticised by fans for a lack of transfer business but, this summer, he has barely had a moment of rest. He spent the 14-hour flight to the pre-season tour of Asia finally replying to friends’ text messages from months ago.
A non-stop hectic period and now he deserves a rest.
Liverpool’s data team ranked Hugo Ekitike alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe when considering No 9s
Arne Slot had to make do with just one addition last term but he is now flush with an array of quality options
Hughes, described by an old colleague as a ‘walking, talking contacts book’, also excelled in selling players.
He put European royalty Barcelona and Real Madrid in their place with deals for Diaz, who he sold to Bayern Munich for £20m more than the Catalan club offered, and Alexander-Arnold, who left for 12x more than the opening bid. ‘Hughes held all the cards, he dominated,’ said a source.
None of this was any surprise to Michael Edwards, the head of football at owners Fenway Sports Group, who was shocked at the fact Hughes was not already at a so-called big club when he hired him to move from Bournemouth to Liverpool.
While Hughes was finalising the Wirtz transfer in mid-June, Edwards and his right-hand man Julian Ward were suited and booted on a day out at Ascot racecourse. The pair, plus assistant sporting director David Woodfine, have played a blinder this summer.
The whole recruitment team knew Isak was the dream signing but the overall priority for the summer was to improve the attacking line with versatile, young forwards who could score goals but be all-rounders, too.
It is understood that AC Milan offered Rafael Leao to Liverpool, while Lyon’s Malick Fofana was also discussed internally. Real Madrid’s Rodrygo was a bit of a non-starter despite rumours, though the Brazilian’s camp were posturing for a move to Merseyside.
Bradley Barcola at Paris Saint-Germain was also floated as a potential signing but the Liverpool hierarchy have full trust in Rio Ngumoha, 17, as a first-team option – so they decided against signing a winger and to go all out for two state-of-the-art strikers.
Internally there is an understanding that next summer will be quieter after this £446m outlay but the goal of the window could be long-term replacements for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk[12]. It will be better to do that in 12 months rather than in two years when their contracts are up.
The goal of next summer’s window will likely be to sign long-term replacements for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk
But Liverpool could not sign another player for two summers and they would be set. The goal of this window, as the powerbrokers discussed in winter recruitment meetings, was to bring five or so new faces to freshen up the squad and give Slot every chance of success.
The default narrative when a team has just won the title is to ask how they can now make a one-off success a dynasty. Most clubs sit on their laurels. Liverpool have done the opposite. After such a spend, the pressure is on… but this summer just may well be era-defining.
References
- ^ Christmas (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Chelsea (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Diego Costa (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Cesc Fabregas (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Manchester United (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Alex Ferguson (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Manchester City (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Real Madrid (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Cristiano Ronaldo (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Xabi Alonso (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Virgil van Dijk (www.dailymail.co.uk)