Having already signed Alexis Mac Allister this summer, in a dream world Liverpool would like to still sign two more midfielders and a left-sided centre-back.
However, having seen the World Cup winner arrive for a fee in the region of £35m within two weeks of the Premier League season finishing, there remains no sight of the Reds’ second signing of the summer as things stand.
That doesn’t mean Liverpool have fallen asleep at the wheel, far from it. Patience was always going to be required with a number of their shortlisted players of interest currently competing in the Under-21s European Championships in Romania and Georgia.
Meanwhile, with the Reds not due back for pre-season until July 8, they still have three weeks to go until their first pre-season friendly and over six weeks until their Premier League opener away at Chelsea. In other words, there is plenty of time to conclude business, with the fact that Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton, Burnley, and Chelsea are the only other English top-flight clubs to have spent significant fees on senior deals that weren't just signing an on-loan player permanently supporting such a fact.
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As a result, Mac Allister remains a rare major incoming signing in the Premier League, after the domestic summer transfer window officially opened on June 14. For the record, the international market doesn’t open until July 1.
With Academy graduate Leighton Clarkson still the only permanent outgoing at Anfield also, it is set to be a busy couple of months on the transfer front for Liverpool, with this summer likely to be their busiest window since the close-season prior to their 2018/19 Champions League-winning campaign.
There are limits on what the Reds can do, however, as demonstrated by their decision to withdraw from the race to sign long-standing target Jude Bellingham back in April
“The way this club is led is by not splashing the money and having a look at if it works out or not,” Jurgen Klopp warned in February. “Our transfers always have to be on point. So that makes it really tricky where we cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club.”
Consequently, Liverpool are spinning plates as they continue to weigh up their options, with Premier League and UEFA rules also limiting their incoming activity as they look to name a senior 25-man squad. So with one summer signing through the door, how is the Reds squad currently looking heading into 2023/24?
Not possessing enough homegrown players, Liverpool were unable to name a full 25-man squad last season. With James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain exiting at the end of their contracts, that remains a concern.
Yet, as things stand, Liverpool actually currently possess 25 senior players that would need to be registered next season as a result of a number of youngsters no longer classifying as ‘Under-21s’ players. But while Curtis Jones will be used to bolster such quotas, it would be a surprise if Rhys Williams, who is likely to depart on loan with Aberdeen leading the chase, Paul Glatzel, who is out of contract but has been offered a new deal, or either Sepp van den Berg or Vitezslav Jaros, who have also been tipped to depart, were selected next season.
If we’re feeling ruthless and remove the aforementioned quartet, either permanently or on loan, it leaves Liverpool with 21 senior players. From such a total, six would be homegrown, though Nat Phillips and Caomhin Kelleher could also depart.
Admittedly, Klopp has insisted it would take an ‘extraordinary offer’ for the Reds to even consider cashing in on Kelleher this summer. As a result, if we take the German at face-value regarding the Irishman but assume Phillips will be sold, Liverpool would boast five homegrown players and need to sign a further three if they wished to name a full 25-man squad, with the club not allowed to select more than 17 non-homegrown players.
When it comes to overseas players, Mac Allister’s arrival takes the Reds’ quota to 15 out of the maximum total of 17 permitted. However, the out of contract Adrian, who Klopp revealed he expects to pen new terms and has been offered a new deal is included on such a list.
Liverpool currently have room for two further overseas signings as a result, though senior outgoings would open up space for new arrivals further.
While Liverpool’s Premier League squad is rather straightforward as a result, things are a little bit more complicated when it comes to European competition. This is because of UEFA rules regarding the need for club-trained players, with clubs not permitted more than four association-trained players within their eight ‘local’ nominees on List A, as well which Reds players under the age of 21 actually qualify to be registered on ‘List B’
If Kelleher stays put (or any of Williams, Glatzel, and Jaros for that matter), then Liverpool boast the required four club-trained players, with Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Jones occupying the other three required places. But without that fourth qualifying player, the Reds will be limited to naming a maximum 24-man squad in this season’s Europa League.
Meanwhile, Klopp currently boasts four association-trained players in his squad courtesy of captain Jordan Henderson, Phillips, Van den Berg, and Fabio Carvalho. Despite still being 20, the former Fulham youngster, who is expected to leave on loan this summer, is not eligible to be registered as an Under-21s player on ‘List B’ as he hasn’t completed two seasons at Anfield.
If we assume that both Phillips, Van den Berg, and Carvalho all leave this summer, then Liverpool again have room for three homegrown signings. However, with clubs allowed more than four club-trained players, any of the aforementioned leftover Academy graduates could occupy such berths if still on the books.
While Mac Allister’s arrival leaves the Reds with 15 overseas players for Premier League action, such a total currently stands at 16 for Europe. This is because Ben Doak, having only joined the club last summer, doesn't qualify for a place on ‘List B’ despite being under the age of 21. As a result, he could find himself ineligible for Europa League action next season, depending on the rest of Liverpool’s summer business.
There is room for the youngster to be registered as things stand, but such places could have been filled by senior arrivals by the time the transfer window closes on September 1 if the Reds are successful in their pursuit of two further midfielders and a left-sided centre-back.
Of course, even if the Reds aren’t able to name a full 25-man squad after they complete their summer transfer business, they won’t be left short. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Stefan Bajcetic, Bobby Clark, Kaide Gordon, Tyler Morton, and Conor Bradley all qualify as Under-21s players and will be named on ‘List B’ for Europa League action if kept in Klopp’s first team squad.
But if we assume that the majority of Liverpool’s senior squad stay put, with Carvalho, Phillips, Williams, and Van den Berg the only departures along with younger fringe players, then the Reds have five places left to fill to name a maximum 25-man squad. If they wish to select Doak in Europe, that number drops to four.
Having withdrawn interest in Bellingham, and set to miss out on Mason Mount, it remains to be seen if Liverpool will pursue any further homegrown talents this summer.
If they do, they have enough leeway to strengthen accordingly in midfield, centre-back, and any other position they choose, with a maximum of five spaces (including three homegrown slots) currently free in their squad. But if they don’t, they will only have room for a maximum two more new arrivals after Mac Allister, over the age of 21, without additional senior exits.
Admittedly, the likes of rumoured targets Ryan Gravenberch, Gabri Veiga, and Romeo Lavia would not need to be registered for Premier League action if signed, as they would be classed as Under-21s players. But there would still need to be space left for them in Europe, in line with the same rules that could deny Doak opportunities, so it is hardly a loop-hole they can benefit from.
If we take Klopp in the literalist of terms, he wasn’t wrong when he said that Liverpool “cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club.” And that's before we even consider the darkest depths of the financial side for the Reds, after snapping up the World Cup winner for a cut-price fee that looks even more of a bargain when placed next to Bellingham and Mount.
Mac Allister is the first player through the door at Anfield this summer, but there is plenty more Liverpool plate-spinning that still needs to be done before Klopp’s squad for 2023/24 will be complete.
