The upcoming 2024–25 Premier League season promises to be one of the most exciting and fascinating, particularly for Liverpool fans, as the Reds embark on a new era.
The end of Jurgen Klopp’s time at Anfield has shaken up the hierarchy of Premier League football and left fans, pundits, and football bettors alike to speculate on what the future holds for the team that finished third in the table, trailing both Manchester City and Arsenal.
The summer is always a time of feverish speculation and a period when football betting fans make their predictions, though given the uncertainty surrounding the new-look Liverpool, finding a better site that allows you to place wagers without a deposit may be a shrewd option for many.
Attention in the early part of the summer has mainly been on Euro 2024, but there has been a constant rumble of transfer speculation throughout, and that will become more intense as July rolls on. So, what can the club’s transfers so far, and their list of reported targets, tell us about how next season might unfold?
The Slot Factor
It could be argued that the most significant transfer of the summer was the one that brought manager Arne Slot to the club, marking one of the most important transitions in the club’s history.
Slot’s record of success at SC Cambuur, AZ Alkmaar, and Feyenoord is almost impeccable, but his style of play owes more to the prevailing orthodoxy of Pep Guardiola than to Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool fans can expect to see intense pressing and high energy, but more emphasis on possession and fewer direct attacks. While that sounds like a plausible shift, it will require changes to a squad that was already in need of a refresh.
Summer Departures
The list of early departures announced before Euro 2024 doesn’t tell us much. After featuring in just one game during the whole of the 2023–24 season, Thiago Alcantara’s retirement was not a huge surprise, nor was the release of injury-troubled Joel Matip.
The departure of 37-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Adrian, who rejected a new contract, was a slight surprise. There have been persistent rumours about Caoimhin Kelleher’s future at the club, and potential offers from Saudi Arabia for Alisson. The only other goalkeeper in the first team squad is Marcelo Pitaluga—yet to start a game for the Reds—whose ill-fated loan spell at St Patrick’s Athletic was cut short after just seven games last season.
Kelleher has two more years left on his contract and Alisson is committed to Anfield until the summer of 2027, so the club are under no pressure to sell, but at least one more Premier-League-ready goalkeeper may be on Arnie Slot’s shopping list this summer.
Trust In Youth
Slot has a reputation as a developer of players, and it is worth noting that seven players aged 23 or under played more than ten games for Feyenoord during the 2023–24 season.
That would be good news for the youngest players in the Liverpool squad, including Bobby Clark, Jarell Quansah, and Conor Bradley, and the focus on youth also appears to be informing much of the summer transfer planning at Anfield, which has a long-term feel to it.
Left-back Andy Robertson has turned 30 and it seems that Slot is not content to rely on 28-year-old Kostas Tsimikas as the main back-up for the Scotland international. Liverpool’s preferred option appears to be 23-year-old Algerian international Rayan Ait-Nouri, who has been building an admirable reputation since joining Wolves three years ago. He won’t come cheap and the fact that the Midlands club has already banked £40 million for Maximilian Kilman and could earn upwards of £60 million from a sale of Pedro Neto means that they will be under no pressure to sell.
Further forward, Slot’s sights appear to be set on a pair of young wingers, though landing both could prove to be a tall order. Athletic Bilbao’s 21-year-old star Nico Williams is one of the most sought-after talents in Europe, with a hefty £46 million release clause, and there is likely to be strong competition for his signature from Barcelona and several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal.
Gordon’s potential switch to Anfield has more concrete evidence behind it, given the talks that took place with Newcastle in June. Nothing came of those discussions, but Gordon is a Liverpool fan and his pace, skill, and youth would appear to fit with Slot’s ethos and playing style.
The Dutch Connection
Given Slot’s knowledge of Dutch football, it would not be a surprise if the club’s recruitment plan involved one or two players from the Netherlands, and there are plenty of options to consider.
One of the most-discussed Dutch players, who has been linked with the Reds for some time is Teun Koopmeiners, who was part of the AZ Alkmaar squad coached by Slot in the 2019–20 season. A versatile player capable of fulfilling the centre-half or defensive-midfield role, he has had another strong season with Atalanta, scoring 15 goals during the campaign, though he was forced to withdraw from the Netherlands’ Euro 24 squad with injury.]
Other options include versatile left-sided defender Jorrel Hato, an Ajax youth academy graduate, who had the distinction of coming on as a replacement for Virgil van Djik in his international debut. Capable of playing at centre-half or left-back, he could potentially take on Joe Gomez’s role in the team, although, at the age of 18, he may be two or three seasons away from that.
One of the most in-demand players from the Netherlands is Jeremie Frimpong, who has been a key player for Bayer Leverkusen in their astonishing Bundesliga success, although the right wing-back is also attracting interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United. And, of course, there’s the Feyenoord link. Winger Igor Paixao, defensive player Lutsharel Geertruida, and midfielder Quinten Timber, all aged 24 or younger, are already well-drilled in Slot’s methods.
Evolution Not Revolution
One final prediction we can make is that Slot’s approach, at least initially, is going to be one of evolution, not revolution. This makes sense for several reasons.
For a start, there are some pressing squad issues and potential departures that will inevitably give the squad a refreshed and changed look, most notably, the question of Mohamed Salah’s status at the club. Dortmund star Donyell Malen and Johan Bakayoko of PSV Eindhoven have both been mentioned as possible replacements, though there is no evidence that Slot wants Salah to move on.
There is little need for Slot to dismantle the whole squad, given the club’s record of success under Klopp, and the signs are that tactical changes will be building on what is already in place.
This will mean, however, that Liverpool fans are going to have to be patient. Replacing an iconic manager who has delivered major success is not an easy task, as Unai Emery and David Moyes have discovered. It will take some time for Slot’s changes in playing style, coaching, and squad composition to bed in, but if the club and fans stay patient, there is every reason to take a positive view of the Slot era.
