The Times rule out two potential Liverpool signings

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With just one week remaining before the transfer window closes on September 1, Liverpool could benefit significantly from one or two strategic signings to maximize their championship prospects for the 2025-26 season.

Despite already spending over £300 million this summer, gaps remain in the squad that Arne Slot would not rather have before the season gets underway proper.

Liverpool’s squad depth in defence remains concerningly thin.

The club has already addressed this partially by signing 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni from Parma for £26 million, but relying heavily on a teenager for crucial backup represents a significant risk.

Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi remains the primary target, with Palace valuing him at over £40 million despite having just one year remaining on his contract.

Guehi’s acquisition would provide immediate first-team quality and crucial depth and is thought to be a market opportunity too good to miss out on by the Anfield hierarchy.

While Liverpool have made significant forward investments with Hugo Ekitike’s £69 million signing, attacking depth has also been flagged.

The Reds sold Nunez to Al Hilal for £56.6 million in August, while Diaz completed a £65.5 million move to Bayern Munich in July, generating over £120 million in revenue but leaving gaps in their forward line.

The departures were primarily player-driven, with both forwards pushing for moves after becoming frustrated with their roles at Anfield.

Nunez had requested a transfer as early as January 2025 but Liverpool rejected Saudi interest to prioritize their title push.

Diaz similarly expressed his desire to leave after contract extension talks broke down, with Bayern ultimately meeting Liverpool’s valuation.

But according to Paul Joyce of the Times, it seems that Liverpool have been so impressed with Rio Ngumoha during pre-season that attacking reinforcements aside from Isak are not priority.

The Merseyside journalist has reported that Liverpool were so impressed by Rio Ngumoha’s standout performances in pre-season that they prefer to focus on developing him through their pathway rather than pursue signings like Bradley Barcola or Malick Fofana.

When Arne Slot was quizzed on his attacking depth in his pre-Newcastle United press conference, the Dutchman said:

“It depends how you want to look at it

If you want to add Florian Wirtz as an attacking option then you can make it five, so yeah, we’ve sold Darwin and brought in Hugo.”

“Lucho [Díaz] has gone, you can maybe see Florian as a replacement for that.”

“And, yes, we all know what happened to Diogo.”

“If you look at it like this, maybe we haven’t [got enough] but Jeremie Frimpong, when he is fit, is definitely an option to play as a winger as well, so then we end up at six forwards.”

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