The transfer window can be unpredictable. Sometimes, a club might do minimal work and thus are forgotten about. Other times, clubs might be in and out and no one is too concerned about any business being done. Finally, there are the big spending clubs. They will splash the cash for the players they desire. When fans see news headlines, they are both excited and annoyed; depending on who they support.
Liverpool have definitely been the latter. They splurged a butt load on several players and various people have questioned how they can spend so much.
A week on from that dramatic win on Tyneside (against Newcastle), the Liverpool faithful got their wish as Alexander Isak finally sealed a British-record £125 million ($169m) move on deadline day.
It was an eye-watering sum of money in a summer in which the Premier League champions have flexed their financial muscles more than any club in the world. Midfielder, Florian Wirtz, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in a £100m deal back in June that could rise to £116m with add-ons, has barely kicked a ball in anger and yet has already been usurped as the club's record signing. Liverpool's total expenditure this summer sits at around £450m, inclusive of add-ons.
In a landscape where clubs live and die by their compliance with financial rules, both domestically (profit and sustainability rules or PSR) and in Europe (Financial Fair Play); there will understandably be confusion in some quarters about Liverpool's ability to spend so freely this summer.
It might appear that Liverpool have strayed from their traditional policy of spending cautiously. However, years of shrewd financial planning have enabled the club to really take the handbrake off this summer.
"The explanation for Liverpool being able to go so big on Alexander Isak and in the transfer market in general this summer, is pretty simple," Dave Powell, chief business of football writer for Reach PLC, said. "Not only have they built themselves up to a point where revenues are among the biggest in world football, they have also arrived at a summer where they can effectively player trade."
"They knew they could come into this summer on the back of a strong 2024-25, when they bagged not far short of £90m from the Champions League when including matchday revenue, and picked up extra funds from winning the Premier League. It will be a bumper year for the Reds and one where they likely swing back into the black. Revenues are expected to top £700m for the very first time."
While the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have been active across the past two transfer windows, Liverpool's only incoming last summer was forward, Federico Chiesa, for an initial fee of £10m. In each of the previous two summers, Liverpool opted against pursuing expensive alternatives after missing out on their top midfield targets (Moisés Caicedo in 2023 and Martín Zubimendi in 2024). That patience, it seems, has now been rewarded.
"Premier League clubs can lose £105m over a three-year period, with allowable deductions for investment in infrastructure, the academy, the women's team and community initiatives," Powell explained. "The period from 2021-22 to 2023-24 saw the Reds post a profit of £7m, a loss of £9m and a loss of £57m for the last three years. In terms of allowable deductions over that period, the club had £33m, £35m and £39m; that means that the club had a positive PSR position of £48m, which when added to the allowed £105m means they had headroom of £153m. They had absolutely no worries."
"Given that we are now in the 2025-26 cycle for PSR, the Reds could lose more than £200m and still be compliant. They won't do that, and that doesn't take into account player exits which they have made this summer, many of which have been homegrown, which means that the guaranteed sums are pure profit as there is no book value on the accounts to be cleared before accounting profit is realised."
Liverpool's critics will point to the fact that this summer's spending spree is at odds with comments made by former Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, when, ahead of his team's clash with Manchester City in October 2022, he conceded that his team couldn't compete with the financial might of their rivals, who are majority owned by Sheikh Mansour, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates.
"Nobody can compete with City," he said. "You have the best team in the world, and you put in the best striker on the market. No matter what it costs, you just do it. City won't like it, nobody will like it, but you know the answer. What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It's not possible. Not possible."
Klopp also took aim at Newcastle following their takeover by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, claiming that there was "no ceiling" to the club's spending. But almost three years on, those of a Newcastle persuasion would be justified in feeling it is Liverpool, alongside the other traditional "Big Six" sides, whose ceiling is much higher on account of their historic commercial success.
For Liverpool, though, there is a sense that this summer has offered the chance to lay the groundwork for a dynasty. While still abiding by the rules, the Premier League champions have assembled a squad with the quality to challenge for the game's biggest prizes not just this season, but for the foreseeable future.
For perhaps the first time ever, Liverpool have "won" the transfer window. With the exception of Crystal Palace defender, Marc Guéhi, whose £35m transfer collapsed when Palace withdrew from the deal at the 11th hour, they secured all of their top targets, all of whom still have their peak years ahead of them. Isak is 25; Wirtz 22; Hugo Ekitiké 23; Jeremie Frimpong 24 and Milos Kerkez just 21. Defender, Giovanni Leoni, a longer-term prospect, turned 18 in December.
Of course, success in the market doesn't always translate to success on the pitch. Chelsea have famously spent over £2 billion in recent years under the ownership of Todd Boehly but, at times, that has posed more problems than solutions.
Even with all the additions, this Liverpool team is not infallible. Despite winning their opening three games of the season, Slot's side have looked unconvincing at times, particularly on defense and the squad will take time to jell after a summer of such change. Still, Slot has never really subscribed to the idea of Liverpool being underdogs and will be under no illusions about the expectation on his team to deliver this term.
"We are Liverpool, the pressure is always on," he said earlier this month. "Even if we bring 10 players in, or no players in, there is always pressure when you wear a Liverpool shirt."
For Liverpool owners, FSG, who have previously been maligned by some quarters of the fan base for their perceived lack of investment, this summer reaffirms their commitment to the club they briefly considered selling in 2022. Such investment, however, doesn't come without risk.
Let's look at the key departures:
Luis Diaz
Video footage from the reception of his wedding showed Díaz singing and dancing along to "Bella Ciao," a song that Liverpool fans reworked in his honour following his arrival from FC Porto in January 2022. Lyrics charting Díaz's journey from the small Colombian town of Barrancas to the heights of the Premier League could be heard ringing out in stadiums across Europe as the forward established himself as an integral part of the Reds' success under both Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot.
That Díaz chose to incorporate the song into his big day points to the special relationship the player forged with supporters across his 3½ years at Liverpool; a relationship that went from strength to strength last season as the 28-year-old's flair and tenacity helped the club to win a record-tying 20th league title.
With that in mind, it will have been a surprise to many to see the winger sign with Bayern Munich in a deal worth €75 million. Even more surprising is the fact that it was Díaz who pushed for the move, with a source telling ESPN the player was "determined" to leave Anfield this summer.
Díaz enjoyed an extraordinary start to his Liverpool career. The forward was something of a surprise addition to Klopp's squad, with Liverpool moving up their 2022 summer transfer plans after Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign the player earlier that January.
Their decision to hijack Spurs' deal quickly paid dividends as Díaz helped the club to win a domestic cup double and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, where it narrowly lost to Real Madrid. Quickly establishing a reputation for his devastating pace and trickery on the left wing, Díaz became a firm fan favourite.
After sustaining a serious knee injury in October 2022, the forward was forced to spend seven months on the sidelines and, upon his return, struggled to recapture his blistering form. Díaz's struggles were compounded by matters off the pitch in October 2023 when his father, Luis Manuel "Mane" Díaz, was held hostage for almost two weeks by the National Liberation Army in Colombia.
Sources said that, by the summer of 2024, Díaz was eager to leave Merseyside. He liked the idea of a move to La Liga, and his father told Win Sports it was his "dream" to play for Barcelona.
For a while, it looked as if Liverpool were preparing for his exit. Sources said that the club got as far as agreeing to a £75 million deal in principle to sign left winger, Anthony Gordon, from Newcastle United last July, but the deal ultimately collapsed after Newcastle eased their PSR concerns through the transfers of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest, respectively.
With no suitable replacements available, Liverpool fought to keep Díaz at Anfield and it was a decision that was quickly vindicated. The Colombia international delivered his most productive season in a red shirt last season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions and playing the second-most Premier League minutes of any Liverpool forward (behind only Mohamed Salah) as Slot's side romped to the title.
Despite having played such a key role in Liverpool's triumph, it was always likely this summer would be decisive in Díaz' future. With only two years left on his existing contract, the Anfield hierarchy had a big decision to make.
For years, there has been debate over the forward's wage packet, with some reports suggesting he was pocketing a weekly salary of £55,000, a relatively nominal amount for an elite player. While this figure is incorrect, it suggests that the amount is around £140,000-a-week, it's clear there was a significant discrepancy between the player's demands and the salary Liverpool were willing to offer a player who will turn 29 in January.
Darwin Nunez.
The Uruguay striker left the Reds to seal a permanent switch to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. Liverpool struck a deal valued at an initial £46 million ($61.9 million), with the potential to rise to £56 million ($75.3 million) through add-ons, for Nunez's transfer to Saudi Arabia.
The agreement brings to a close Nunez's three-year stint at Anfield, during which the forward netted 40 goals in 143 outings.
In some ways mirroring the career of Joao Felix, Nunez has proven to be something of an enigma. A player who undoubtedly had immense talent but who didn't show it often enough.
That neither player was truly courted by teams in Europe says an awful lot and though Nunez and Felix will earn a pretty penny whilst in the Middle East, spending your supposed peak years as a player in a league that is vastly inferior to many others, despite what Cristiano Ronaldo would have you believe, is a desperate last throw of the dice on a career threatening to peter out.
When Liverpool acquired Nunez in 2022, it was on the back of a season where he'd scored 26 goals in 28 Portuguese league games for Benfica and he'd also provided four assists. Add in another two goals in the League Cup and 28 goals in 29 games makes for even more impressive reading.
However, if the Reds' lauded recruitment team had done their homework properly, they would've seen that the 2021/22 season was clearly a one-off. In the previous campaign, his first at the Portuguese giants, he'd managed just nine goals and nine assists in 36 domestic games (all competitions). Hardly figures to write home about.
It seems that Benfica themselves had been assuaged by Nunez's goalscoring record at Almeria, with 16 goals and three assists in 32 games giving the striker an elite one-in-two goals-per-game average.
That he did so in a Spanish Segunda Division that he was quite obviously too good for seems to have been overlooked.
A first Premier League season at Liverpool saw nine goals scored in 29 games for a reasonable enough one-in-three ratio and that's likely to have been acceptable because the Uruguayan was getting used to the demands of the English top-flight.
There was only a slight improvement to 11 goals in 2023/24, however, and that's arguably when the doubts about his suitability for the team began to creep in.
He had almost as many shots off target (40) as he did on target (46), with 22 more blocked or cleared, a shot conversion rate of just 12.8% and 17 of his 21 headers also missed the target.
27 big chances were missed, the most in a single season in his career, and given that he'd had 204 touches in the opposition box across the campaign - also the most in one season - those were clearly figures of a striker lacking confidence in front of goal.
Even his movement became predictable for the most part and just 40 dribbles was signifcantly down on the previous three league seasons.
Although his passing was a poor 71.6% in the same campaign, it was actually his best return in a league season. To put that into perspective, however, Mo Salah's was 78.3% - the same as Trent Alexander-Arnold - in 23/24 and the Egyptian King was far less profligate in front of goal than his fellow attacker.
When Arne Slot took the reins at Anfield from Jurgen Klopp, there would've been a very real expectation from the playing staff that slates would be wiped clean and the Dutchman would pick his best XI based on his own eyes rather than what had gone before.
Five goals in the league was perhaps understandable given the sporadic nature of his appearances but Nunez himself will have understood that return simply wasn't good enough, even taking his circumstances into account.
Body language is often a visible indicator of mindset, and with Nunez continously looking like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, it seemed that a parting of the ways was becoming more and more inevitable the longer the season progressed.
Harvey Elliot
Right at the end of the transfer window, we saw Harvey Elliott depart for Aston Villa. Although officially a loan deal, it appears the new Villa no. 9 is destined to complete a permanent move for around £35m next summer.
It brings the curtain down on six years at Anfield for the 22-year-old - who won two Premier League titles among other honours during his Anfield tenure.
Elliott established himself a a crowd favourite on Merseyside, despite the relative lack of playing time afforded to him by Arne Slot. He enjoyed only TWO league starts last season - both coming after the title win was wrapped up.
This is a loan deal in name only, yet not a wholly permanent goodbye. Two reported clauses in the agreement have made sure of that and news of both quickly emerged after Elliott’s deadline day move.
Villa’s obligation to buy Elliott is believed to be triggered by just 10 appearances for his new club. When he hits that mark, he’ll become a Villa player in waiting. Next summer, when Villa have a chance to properly account for the fee, it’ll be rubberstamped.
Liverpool have protected themselves, too. "The inclusion of sell-on and buy-back clauses had an impact on the size of the fee the Premier League champions could demand," reports The Athletic.
"The buy-back clause gives Liverpool the security of knowing that if Elliott fulfils his potential, as they expect him to, then his Anfield career can be resumed in the future."
It’s easy to see why Villa fans might be less than thrilled to hear that but it’s a powerful indicator of the level of player they’ve signed after a dreadful start to the season.
Elliott’s attitude this summer will have impressed both clubs and their management. He has allowed his head to rule his heart in leaving the club he supported growing up, knowing that staying there isn’t right for his immediate development at a key moment in his career.
Tactically and stylistically, he suits Villa’s needs. They’ve sold Jacob Ramsey and loaned out Leon Bailey and Elliott offers a different kind of option than Donyell Malen and new signing, Evann Guessand. He could well prove an upgrade on both and a better fit to boot.
Villa’s expectations of their latest addition are high. Elliott led the Young Lions to a trophy over the summer and was excellent, especially in the later rounds. He managed to make contributions in a side that ran away with the league title.
The belief at Villa Park is that he can shine in his own right but could also unlock the abilities of the likes of Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and Matty Cash around him. In this day and age, that would be a bargain at £35m.
In terms of the new signings, each have had a different kind of impact on the team. Out of all of them, I believe that Hugo Ekitike has been the best. In the three games he played for Liverpool, he's scored two goals and assisted one. Those are the kind of stats that a team expects from a striker.
Next would be Jeremie Frimpong. It seems to me that he fits quite well into the Liverpool side. He's put in good performances. It's a shame that he sustained an injury. I'm sure this won't top his momentum. At this point, it's possible that the fans have forgotten about Trent Alexander-Arnold.
I feel like when it comes to Milos Kerkez, I can't really say anything. I haven't seen him play nor have I heard him do anything significant. However, if there's something I have noticed, it's that he's usurped Andy Robertson. This is a clear sign that Arne Slot is ready to move on from him. This was a brave decision; starting right from the offset and not slowly impementing the idea.
At this point, I know it's a bit premature but Florian Wirtz is a flop. As far as I know, he hasn't done anything beneficial. He has neither scored nor assisted any goals. His stats are extremely poor. I guess that he is yet to acclimatise to the English conditions.
It's impossible to say anything regarding Alexander Isak as he hasn't played for Liverpool yet. There's a big expectation on him. If he scores goals, he will be praised. If he doesn't, he will most certainly be ridiculed and Newcastle fans will enjoy every second he fails.
This post is dedicated to Gilad Mensky, who requested a transfer window reaction article. He is also a Liverpool fan.
This felt really weird to do. This is because I'm a Man Utd fan and thus don't really like praising or talking about them in a positive light. Despite the signings, I sense that there are cracks in the team. This is because they've relinquished a two goal cushion on two of the three league matches they've played. It's only a matter of time before their luck runs out.
They have made excellent signings. The next important aspect is to ensure that they gel together well and form an excellent cohesion as fast as possible.