Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and Reds' sporting director Richard Hughes(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The aggressive nature of Liverpool's dealings in the transfer window so far this summer may have come as a surprise to some.

The Reds have already sealed four incomings so far, with Jeremie Frimpong, Armin Pecsi and Giorgi Mamardashvilli joined by the blockbuster deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

It means a sum of roughly £160m has already been spent, with another £16m in add-ons that could make Wirtz's transfer a British record deal.



Quite the show of ambition from the Premier League champions.

In truth, it shouldn't come as much of a shock to see the Reds so active in the transfer market.

With just Federico Chiesa signed last summer and FSG's self-sustaining model ensuring the club isn't hampered by the PSR restrictions that have beset other clubs, Liverpool have the means to attack this window with intent.

READ MORE:Full confirmed list of Liverpool summer transfers as two players face medicals and £35m deal agreedREAD MORE:Liverpool defender undergoing medical ahead of permanent transfer

And with several areas of the squad that are in need of additions, Liverpool are determined to build out from a position of strength.

What may have come as a surprise, however, is that the Reds have sanctioned the £35m exit of Jarell Quansah, with the centre-back to set to move to Bayer Leverkusen in a separate deal to those that brought Frimpong and Wirtz to Anfield.

Indeed, the 22-year-old may have struggled for minutes under Arne Slot after being substituted during the opening game of last season against Ipswich Town, but he was consistently fit and available when others in Liverpool's defence suffered from various injury problems throughout the campaign.

Article continues below

And having signed a new deal for the Reds in October after making great strides in 2023/24, the young man from Warrington still had a huge upside.

Yet scratch below the surface of the deal and the reality is that Liverpool may have pulled off another masterstroke in an already eye-catching summer.

Because the ECHO understands that the agreement struck between Leverkusen and Liverpool could include a buyback clause that would essentially protect the Reds should Quansah go on to fulfil the potential he undoubtedly has.

And that clause would make any deal more palatable to Liverpool as they look to bank the £35m fee - which is seen as pure profit for PSR purposes when player trading - and reinvest into an area in which they have been searching for a young player with potential for the past several years, with deals for Leny Yoro, Levi Colwill and Dean Huijsen all previously considered.

With Bild reporting from Germany that the clause translates roughly to £51m and that it will last throughout the entirety of Quansah's contract at Leverkusen, it represents a really clever piece of business for the selling club.

It's the latest in a long line of intelligent clauses used by Liverpool in their transfer dealings under the direction of Michael Edwards.

Richard Hughes is now in charge of recruitment at Anfield, with Edwards working for owners FSG, but it was under the latter that the Reds would gain a reputation for the use of clauses to their advantage in the transfer market.

Sell-on clauses were commonplace when Liverpool were negotiating the exits of their younger talents, with the Reds making £9m from one such agreement when Dominic Solanke moved from Bournemouth to Tottenham Hotspur last summer.

Buybacks were also included in the Solanke deal, as well as transfers for Rhian Brewster to Sheffield United and Jordon Ibe to Bournemouth.

Add this to the benchmarking process Liverpool would use when negotiating outgoing fees and it explains why the Reds were able to bank large amounts for players such as the three aforementioned players and others.

And it's that attention to detail that has made Liverpool one of the most admired clubs in the way they go about their recruitment.

But there is perhaps one example of a transfer clause that stands out in making Edwards the cult-like figure that he became when working as sporting director at Liverpool.

When negotiating the £142m exit of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona - already a huge fee in of itself - Edwards was able to get the Catalan club to agree that they couldn't buy any of Liverpool's players over the next two years unless they paid an £89m premium.

Considering the Reds would win the Champions League inside the next 18 months and that agreement was clearly a masterstroke - and almost unheard of among football supporters.

Article continues below

If Hughes is singing from the same hymn sheet then Liverpool fans know their club is in good hands when operating in the transfer market.

And that's just as well, because, with a £40m deal for Milos Kerkez now in place, the Reds aren't slowing down any time soon.


For more news relating to Spurs, visit our sister site Spurs Latest Live.