Liverpool's Summer Transfer Dilemma: Big Names Departing and Key Decisions Ahead

The clock is ticking. The Premier League returns in less than a week, and while most eyes are drifting towards opening weekend, Liverpool’s summer still feels unfinished.

The window, which opened on June 15, slams shut on September 1 at 11pm. By then, Liverpool must have answered a simple question: are they building to challenge at the top again, or just patching holes?

New head coach Andoni Iraola has been clear enough. This squad needs work.

Big names gone, big decisions looming

The reset started early. Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all walked away on free transfers at the end of last season, joined by Academy products Rhys Williams and James Balagizi. No transfer fee, plenty of experience out the door.

Only one player has actually brought in money so far. Midfielder Luca Stephenson left for Championship newcomers Bolton Wanderers in a £700,000 deal, while Tommy Pilling has headed to Slovakia with MFK Zemplin Michalovce.

The departures might not stop there.

Curtis Jones remains a live target for Inter Milan, with Galatasaray having shown interest earlier in the summer. Liverpool want more than £30m for a midfielder who is out of contract next summer. Harvey Elliott is in the same contract situation, with Sunderland and Leeds United linked.

They are not alone. Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo, Kostas Tsimikas, Stefan Bajcetic, Virgil van Dijk, Calvin Ramsay and Alisson Becker are all into the final 12 months of their current deals. Ramsay and Bajcetic could be allowed to leave on loan, but the rest are expected to form the spine of Iraola’s first Liverpool side.

Talk around Alexis Mac Allister has cooled. He has two years left on his deal and is now back at the AXA Training Centre after the World Cup, and any noise over an exit has faded. Cody Gakpo, long admired by Tottenham Hotspur, remains on their radar, though nothing has moved beyond that.

Beneath the senior squad, the loan machine is whirring. Midfielder James McConnell is close to joining Preston North End in the Championship.

Ifeanyi Ndukwe, the 18-year-old centre-back who impressed in pre-season after a £2.6m move from Austria Vienna, cannot play competitively for Liverpool this season and is attracting loan interest from clubs in Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and France.

Lewis Koumas is expected to draw offers for both loan and permanent deals, having been close to a move to Craig Bellamy’s Burnley before the collapse of Bellamy’s appointment as Wales head coach ended that path.

Keyrol Figueroa is being tracked by several clubs, including Barnsley in League One and Salford City and Shrewsbury Town in League Two. Liverpool also anticipate strong interest in Jayden Danns once he returns to fitness later this month. Young goalkeeper Kornel Misciur, 18, has caught the eye of a number of non-league sides.

Some youngsters have already secured their next step. Armin Pecsi will spend the season at Austrian side TSV Hartberg, midfielder Kyle Kelly has joined Forest Green Rovers in the National League, and defender Amara Nallo is with HJK Helsinki in Finland for the rest of the year.

Defensive rebuild and a blockbuster wide target

For all the outgoings and uncertainty, Liverpool have not stood still.

Victor Munoz arrived in June after the club triggered his £34.5m release clause at Osasuna. Earlier in the year, a £60m deal had been agreed with Rennes for 21-year-old centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, who has now officially completed his move.

Iraola made no secret of his concern over defensive depth. The response was emphatic. Last week Liverpool secured Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan, with an option to buy set at £47m. It is the sort of signing that changes the mood around a back line.

The search now turns higher up the pitch. Liverpool want a winger and have already tested the market at the very top end.

They were willing to go to £86m for 19-year-old Yan Diomande, only to see RB Leipzig hold out for more than £100m and the player’s preference emerge: a move to Paris Saint-Germain and, longer term, Real Madrid.

Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche was explored earlier in the window before he chose PSG. Anthony Gordon was also under consideration before he completed a switch to Barcelona.

The scouting net has been wide. Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Said El Mala of Koln and Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo have all been assessed. One name, though, has pushed to the front of the queue.

Bradley Barcola, currently at PSG, has become Liverpool’s clear priority for the wing. Talks have taken place and Barcola is understood to be keen on the move. The problem is the price. PSG value him at a minimum of £130m, a figure Liverpool would need the French club to soften.

The club remain open to adding both an attacker and a midfielder before the deadline. What they can actually do may hinge on what happens with those unsettled or soon-to-be out-of-contract senior players.

The window is closing. The squad is shifting. And Liverpool, caught between evolution and upheaval, still have a few big calls left to make.