Liverpool’s ambitious transfer strategy signals intent to dominate Premier League once again

The English Premier League is now just a couple of weeks away from resuming after an intermission. Teams have been busy reinforcing their player personnel before the 2025/26 chapter.

Liverpool was the protagonist of last season’s story as Arne Slot grabbed the baton seamlessly from his predecessor Jürgen Klopp. Dutchman Slot steered Liverpool to just their second national title in the Premier League era (from 1992). 

In so doing, Slot joined an exclusive club of managers who won the Premier League during their debut seasons in the English top flight. This is an honour he shares with former Chelsea managers Josè Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti — as well as former City boss Manuel Pellegrini. 

Title defence mode

Judging by the acquisitions that Liverpool have made so far in this transfer window, the club is hungry to retain the league title. In the Premier League era, only four of the seven league winners have managed to defend their title. 

In recent years, City have rewritten history by winning the league title a record four consecutive times. Based on how much the club’s hierarchy have backed Slot in the transfer market before the new season, it appears the Reds are intent on carving out their own path of dominance from this and beyond.

The Reds have signed some exciting players so far — splurging almost £300-million (about R7-billion). Headlining this uncharacteristic spending spree by the usually frugal Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group is former Bayer Leverkusen forward and German international Florian Wirtz.

The playmaker is someone who would improve any team, especially with his sharp eye for goals and his ability to also assist. Hence Liverpool splashed a reported £116-million on the attacking midfielder, who scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists in 45 matches across competitions for Leverkusen.  

“I will improve my own personal level and physical levels because everyone knows that in Liverpool the players are machines — really strong and really physical. But I see this also as an opportunity for me to get better… I just thought this was the right place for me,” Wirtz said of his move.

“People say I’m a creative player. I hope I can bring this creativity to the team and also the joy on the pitch. I’ll try to make assists, goals and run for the team defensively. I hope I can just make the team one step better,” the German added.

Fortify the team

Not content with luring Wirtz away from 2024 German champions, the Reds have also recruited Leverkusen’s Dutch fullback Jeremie Frimpong. Hungarian Milos Kerkez has been recruited from Bournemouth to offer options at left back, while striker Hugo Ekitike has joined the Reds from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite this unprecedented spending by the Merseyside club, the Reds are linked to more transfer activity before the transfer window closes. The reigning English champions are heavily linked with Newcastle United’s Swedish striker Alexander Isak.

The sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for a fee in the region of £66-million has bolstered Liverpool’s odds of potentially landing one of the Premier League’s best strikers, although it will be difficult to persuade the Magpies to part ways with their best player.

“Last season was already tough. But if you look at what all the Premier League teams are doing, the league is even going to get stronger than last season. We need to be ready for that — that’s where my full focus is at the moment. We are making steps forward,” Slot said.

Balancing the books

Questions have been asked in relation to how Liverpool have been able to spend so much money in a single transfer window — despite the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

A number of factors have contributed towards the Reds being able to move the way they have in the transfer market. For one, the team did not make any major signings across the previous two transfer windows.

The Reds only signed Italian Federico Chiesa for £10-million as their rivals splurged extensively, only to fall short in the race for Premier League honours. Not to mention that Liverpool also bagged a windfall of £84-million in the revamped European Champions League, despite their last-16 exit.

This amount was a result of them winning seven of their eight matches in the league phase, which led to the Reds being the most successful team in the first round.

Of course, even though Liverpool have spent so much in this window, they will not pay any of those transfer fees up front. Instead, they will come in instalments. This allows teams further room to manoeuvre — in addition to the profit and sustainability rules allowing for losses of up to £105-million over a three-year period.

Red target

The Reds have not been the only big spenders in this window. London sides Chelsea and Arsenal have shown their ambitions to challenge Liverpool with their own spending sprees. 

Chelsea has continued its aggressive transfer policy under their American owners, splurging almost £200-million in this window. Key signings include Brazilian forward João Pedro and former Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.

Meanwhile the Gunners, probably fed up with finishing runners-up as they have done for the past three seasons, have also invested heavily in players.

Acquisitions such as Viktor Gyökeres (who scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for previous club Sporting) Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke. A potential deal for Viktor Gyokeres could increase this figure further.

With the transfer window set to slam shut on 1 September, more moves are expected. If Liverpool do end up acquiring Isak, it will probably be for a record fee — beating the current Premier League record, which is held by Wirtz after his move to England. DM