It’s hard not to look at the names being mentioned around the top end of the game and think: is that the level we’re trying to get back to? Isak and Wirtz feel like the sort of players who change the temperature of a team. If they’re not quite “world class” in everyone’s eyes, they’re close enough that it becomes a pointless argument.

And that’s the point really. Liverpool don’t need 11 superstars, but we do need the side to have a couple of genuine difference-makers who turn half-chances into proper moments. Some of the new signings might get there. Ekitike, for one, looks like the type you’d back to grow into it. Loads of potential, and you can see why people are patient.

Slow starts don’t have to become labels

The frustration is that not everyone has hit the ground running. But a slow start isn’t a life sentence. Football’s full of players who needed time to settle into the pace, the expectations, the noise, and then suddenly it clicks.

It also didn’t help that their bedding-in period seemed to line up with parts of the old guard underperforming. There were exceptions, of course, but when senior players aren’t setting the tone, it’s a rough environment for new lads to find their feet. You end up with a team that looks disjointed and everyone gets judged in isolation. That’s rarely fair.

Missing TAA is about more than one position

I said last season you don’t lose a player like TAA and not miss what he gives you offensively. That’s not just about assists or set pieces, it’s about how quickly you can move the ball from safe areas into dangerous ones. He speeds the whole game up for you.

Without that, the need for creativity and dynamism from deeper becomes glaring. You can carry plenty of quality in the front line, but if the supply is slow or predictable, it all gets a bit samey. Truth is, we need a centre-half who can see a pass and a proper deep-lying midfielder who gets us going forward quicker, and who can put his foot in as well. A bit of steel with a bit of imagination.

Slot’s call, and the reality of one window

Whether Arne Slot sees the same solutions is another matter. Managers don’t all build the same way, and what looks obvious from the stands might not be the priority on the training pitch. But it’s also fair to say he’s had backing in the market, whatever you think of how quickly it’s paid off.

And even with a big spend, it was always unlikely every need would be sorted in a single window. That’s how squads end up lopsided. The job now is getting the blend right, getting the new lads firing, and making sure the team has enough craft from the base to feed everything else.

Written by Rigsby: 11 January 2026

Tags: transfers efl