It was a quiet summer transfer window at Anfield as new head coach Arne Slot entered the 2024-25 season with almost the same squad that predecessor Jurgen Klopp had at his disposal before ending his nine-year stint at the club.
Joel Matip and Thiago retired from soccer, while Sepp Van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho were both sold to Brentford. Slot did make his first two signings, as Federico Chiesa arrived from Juventus and Giorgi Mamardashvili was signed from Valencia, before being loaned back to La Liga until next summer.
Liverpool has perhaps overperformed given the expected transitional period the club prepared for, with the Reds top of the Premier League and unbeaten in all cup competitions. Slot is now keen to strengthen the squad in January to build on a strong start and target a memorable end to his debut season.
The main issue to solve at Liverpool is internal, with arguably the three leaders in Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold yet to agree to contract extensions. The trio all see their deals expire at the end of this season, but there’s renewed optimism that Liverpool can overcome this obstacle and begin looking forward.
Former CEO offers contract updates
Peter Moore, former CEO at Liverpool, believes that the club is working “feverishly” to secure the contract extensions of Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold. Speaking at Soccerex in Miami, Moore said: “It remains to be seen, but I am old enough to remember Kevin Keegan going to Hamburg and thinking the world was collapsing around us.
“Who is (John) Toshack going to give the ball to? And someone said we’ve got this guy from Celtic…(Kenny) Dalglish. You know, so life goes on. I don’t know what is going to happen, but it is Trent, it’s Mo, it’s Virgil, and it’s hard to imagine any of those leaving Liverpool.
“Ownership. I know ownership (FSG) is working feverishly to get deals done with all three and whether it is all three, two of the three, one of three or none of the three, I don’t know. You look at those players and what I do like is they all seem dedicated right now and there is nobody, particularly those three, that has taken a game off for some reason.
“And they are, even in Trent’s case, they are the senior citizens, and you look at what they offer. So, come January, particularly in Trent’s case, we’ll see what happens, but I know that the owners are talking with their respective agents, I am sure feverishly. But it won’t be cheap.”
Federico Chiesa could leave already
Chiesa may have only joined Liverpool on Aug. 29 for $15 million, but the Italian winger could leave on loan in January with Inter Milan reportedly showing interest. The 27-year-old was purchased for a budget price, and remains in Slot’s plans, but after overcoming serious injury issues, Liverpool is keen for him to get regular minutes.
Back in 2020, Chiesa was seen as the next big thing and Juventus spent $52.5 million on acquiring him from Serie A rivals Fiorentina. However, an ACL injury in 2021 forced him to miss 10 months and it was only last season that his form started to return.
Liverpool took full advantage, knowing that if they could unleash the old Chiesa then they have another top offensive talent without breaking the bank. But due to the competitiveness of the Liverpool squad, Chiesa has barely been given a chance this season.
Therefore, a loan may be explored in January, with Liverpool hoping that regular game time and a full preseason next summer could ensure he is ready for next season. Chiesa is highly experienced in Serie A, and Inter is just one point behind leaders Napoli after 12 games.
