Mohamed Salah has committed his future to Liverpool, and it appears Virgil van Dijk is set to follow suit. With that in mind, the dream XI for next season is starting to take clearer shape.
Liverpool looked for a while as though it would be thrust into the realms of Football Manager. With Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all set to be out of contract, the challenge for the summer looked as though it might involve ripping out the core of the side and practically starting again.
Alexander-Arnold is still expected to depart for Real Madrid, but replacing one superstar at Anfield is a very different proposition to replacing three. With Salah and Van Dijk both having started every league game this season, their stalwart status will endure into 2025/26, and any changes will happen around them.
So I’m taking a look at what next season’s dream team will look like. I’ll go through from defense to attack.
Defense – Two signings
In the goalkeeping department, Liverpool is already well-stocked. Richard Hughes had a quiet first summer, but one thing he did do was secure a deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will officially join from Valencia this summer.
The Georgian will have a hard time displacing Alisson. But he will likely take over as backup from Caoimhin Kelleher, who may finally be afforded the chance to be first choice somewhere else.
In defense, Van Dijk will continue his effective partnership with Ibrahima Konate. Perhaps Jarell Quansah’s minutes will start to creep up a little — the new contracts cannot stop time, so Liverpool will still need to think about eventual succession plans — but there are no complaints whatsoever with the existing first-choice partnership.
It’s in the full-back areas where we can expect to see some transfer activity. Conor Bradley is on hand if Alexander-Arnold leaves, but there’s definitely a school of thought that Liverpool would need to sign somebody else in order to have adequate cover and competition.
At the premium end of the scale, Jeremie Frimpong would be an exciting buy. Admittedly, he makes Alexander-Arnold look like an out-and-out defender at times, but there’s no arguing with his impact in the final third.
At left-back, Andy Robertson is not expected to leave, but there’s more or less a consensus that he might find himself facing increased competition. He’s actually had a pretty solid run recently, but his offensive output is nowhere near what it once was, and the horror show against Fulham compounded the feeling that a passing of the torch is in the offing.
One of the big names doing the rounds is Milos Kerkez. He has more than a few shades of peak Robertson in his ability to get up and down the pitch, and a transfer would make a lot of sense.
Midfield – One signing
Whether or not the midfield is set without any transfer activity is a point of real contention. On one hand, Ryan Gravenberch has been a revelation, but there is also a sense that he has had to shoulder too much on his own.
It’s also true that Gravenberch thrives against teams that press up high against him, with his ability to drop them via a cute touch or a deft spin. Against teams intent on forcing Liverpool to pick its way through, there’s still a case that Slot could do with more of an orchestrator.
Exactly who that might be is unclear. Last summer, it was Martin Zubimendi or nothing, and he looks bound for Arsenal this time around.
Maybe Slot will be tempted into a reshuffle, moving Mac Allister back to the base of the midfield for certain fixtures and deploying somebody new further up the pitch. If we’re talking dream lineups, it’s impossible to look beyond the hugely exciting Florian Wirtz.
(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
There’s lots of discussion about Lamine Yamal as the next Lionel Messi. But he’s already at Barcelona, so he won’t be going anywhere — the next potential superstar who is genuinely attainable in the transfer market is Wirtz.
That’s not to say he would come cheaply: a figure of $130 million has been mentioned. But if he continues on his present trajectory, that will look cheap before long.
Liverpool would have to beat off all kinds of competition to secure his signature, but it would be a statement signing. Failing that, Rayan Cherki would be a really interesting punt on a similar profile of player, although there are question marks over his consistency and his defensive workrate.
Attack – One signing
There could be a fair amount of churn in Liverpool’s attack this season even with Salah staying put, making his new deal even more important. To varying extents, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota all face somewhat uncertain futures.
It would be a surprise to see all three leave, but it’s hard to work out which departures are most likely. Nunez is probably favorite to make way, with Liverpool surely now ready to draw a line under an expensive risk that has simply not worked.
Even if he were to stay, Liverpool would still need a more reliable number nine to truly lead the attack as Slot puts his own stamp on the squad. And if we’re talking dream options, Alexander Isak is clearly the one.
Personally, I think the chances of that move are almost zero. Newcastle is now backed by owners orders of magnitude richer than even Manchester City — it has no incentive to sell Isak to anybody.
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But if there is even the slightest hint of him being on the market, Liverpool must surely be in that conversation. He has been the best striker in the Premier League this season, and perhaps even the world, with his all-round game a joy to behold.
Fortunately, however, there’s a decent list of possible alternatives. Victor Osimhen would be an intriguing move, after a year of exile in Turkey — that transfer owed more to politics at Napoli than anything else, and he still looks every inch the elite striker.
Then there is Hugo Ekitike, who enhanced his reputation still further with a lovely goal against Spurs yesterday. He would be a shrewd piece of business.
But staying in dreamland, it has to be Isak. He’s the only one who would have stood a chance at replacing Salah’s output — the two of them combining together would spell real trouble for the rest of the league.
Dream Liverpool XI next season: Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch/Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Gakpo, Isak, Salah.
