Liverpool may need to shift transfer strategy this summer after what Arsenal have done

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The ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent Paul Gorst assesses a potential shift in transfer strategy for the club this summerHaving headed into the summer as Premier League champions, it was decided by sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Arne Slot that the upcoming transfer window would be characterised by ambition.Liverpool, as kings of the land for a 20th time, would look to cement their status with the biggest spending spree in their history.A deal to bring in the jewel of Germany was already in the pipeline in Florian Wirtz, while Alexander Isak, widely regarded as one of the very best centre-forward in the land, was also earmarked.Plans had long been established to make Milos Kerkez the club's long-term successor to Andy Robertson at left-back and Giorgi Mamardashvili's agreement to join from Valencia, struck the previous year, was viewed as a deal to future-proof their goalkeeping department., post-Alisson Becker.Jeremie Frimpong was the best solution to the problem created by Trent Alexander-Arnold's decision to defect to Real Madrid and in Giovanni Leoni, the club ended what was a three-summer pursuit of a young defender with enormous potential to become a mainstay of the first team.In Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool believed they had signed a player with the potential to become one of Europe's best frontmen and that opinion has been given further credence by a 15-goal campaign to date.In the case of Wirtz and Isak in particular, the Reds prioritised blue-ribbon deals and were happy to fork out around £240m as a result. The agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for the former, at £79m, meant the champions spent £320m on just three players.It was a major renovation of their forward line that will, in theory, hold them in good stead for the coming years, but if the summer's unprecedented outlay of around £440m was a strategy of targeting the players Liverpool's recruitment team viewed as the No.1 option for what they needed, could this coming window see a shift in strategy?To redress the balance, Liverpool raised around half of the money spent on outgoings but that figure includes a £35m agreement with Aston Villa for Harvey Elliott, which looks increasingly unlikely as the campaign goes on.Players like Tyler Morton, Caoimhin Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Jarell Quansah were all given the transfers they were seeking, while Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez were also moved on alongside Ben Doak.Only Diaz and Alexander-Arnold can lay claim to being regulars last season as the Reds swept to the title by 10 points, and with a month to spare, but Nunez made 30 league appearances in total before he joined Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.The individual campaigns of the new arrivals who have been largely free of injury - Kerkez, Wirtz, Ekitike - have all shown enough to prove the club have not regressed when it comes to getting it right in the transfer market but injuries to Frimpong and most significantly, Isak has left both awaiting what feels like the real start of their careers on Merseyside.In time, there is enough evidence mounting to show why Liverpool were so determined to break the bank for their summer recruits last year.

But with so many players on the fringes with uncertain futures, could the Reds adopt a policy that sees them focus more on beefing up what looks like a threadbare squad presently?Last summer, Arsenal spent a net sum of £262.7m compared to Liverpool's bottom line of around £236m, which doesn't include the loan agreements for either Elliott or Piero Hincapie, whose permanent transfer from Bayer Leverkusen will cost £45m.It's a surprising statistic given the focus on the title winners' eye-watering summer, compared to the relative quiet around their rivals' dealings.Perhaps the spotlight is on Liverpool because their signings were big-ticket and high-profile, whereas Arsenal's three biggest arrivals of a seven-man window ranged between £56m (Martin Zubimendi) and £67.5m (Eberechi Eze), who would only be the fourth most expensive arrival had he joined the Reds last year.That being said, Arsenal's plan for last season seemed focused on building out the squad at Mikel Arteta's disposal whereas Liverpool deliberately targeted better players for the starting XI, regardless of who was shipped out in the process.Only Viktor Gyokores and Zubimendi have been regulars from the summer arrivals at the Emirates. Meanwhile, Ekitike, Kerkez and Wirtz have all featured heavily.

Isak and Frimpong would also have had prominent roles had injuries not intervened.This summer, the Reds might adopt a stance similar to the Gunners' as they move into what is widely accepted as the second phase of the transition towards their next great team.So, do the decision makers at Anfield look to bulk up their squad this coming summer as opposed to spending more on fewer players?