Liverpool could sign a four-time Champions League winner for free to solve four issues - opinion

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Liverpool, despite their £450m spend in 2025, have a number of issues to address in the upcoming transfer window, and David Alaba could help solve several of them.The Austrian is currently under contract with Real Madrid until the end of June, 2026, but as Fabrizio Romano reported this month, he is expected to leave Los Blancos for free once that deal expires.Liverpool can already agree a pre-contract with the player, given they play outside of Spain, and it may be something they wish to explore due to his versatility and vast experience. With Arne Slot expected to stay, will Liverpool challenge for the Premier League next season?

Or will it be another difficult campaign? 😬 Photo Credit: Getty Images/Carl Recine David Alaba would add versatility and experience to LiverpoolThis summer will see Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson bring their Liverpool careers to a close.Alisson could leave for Juventus as well, which would mean the Reds’ core senior leadership group is heavily depleted.Virgil van Dijk would be the only natural leader aged 30 or over left, so as well as signing quality, the Reds do need to add some more experience to their side.Alaba, now 33, could offer that, having played over 500 games at the very top of the game for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid while spending many years as Austria’s captain.Away from his vast experience, which has seen him pick up four Champions League trophies, the defender is incredibly versatile.His natural position is left-back, so that would obviously mean he could come in to replace Robertson as the backup to Milos Kerkez.But he has made 225 appearances as a centre-back as well, another area Liverpool are lacking experience in outside of Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni will be available next season, but both are still raw talents who will need time to adapt to the Premier League.Elsewhere, Liverpool could lose three midfielders this summer and need fresh bodies in the centre of the park, which Alaba can be, having played 80 games through the middle during his career.The only drawback with his potential free-agent addition is that the 33-year-old has had a few injury problems in recent years, including picking up a couple of calf problems in 2025/26.However, he would not be signed to play 40+ games a season, but would instead be used as a vastly experienced backup option who can provide cover in three positions while helping mentor the younger stars like Jacquet and Kerkez.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox