Explained: Are Liverpool Stronger or Just Different After Their Summer of Change?

Liverpool enters the 2025/26 season as defending champions with a revamped squad and high expectations for manager Arne Slot. Key signings like Frimpong, Kerkez, Wirtz, and Ekitike address tactical needs.

As the 2025/26 season draws near, Liverpool face a familiar challenge: living up to their billing as genuine title favorites. Yet, there’s a markedly new vibe around Anfield — both in the boardroom and on the pitch. The summer brought sweeping changes that go beyond a shuffled team sheet; there’s fresh intent coming from the club’s decision-makers. The high-profile (and emotionally charged) transfer of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid could have destabilized the squad. Instead, Liverpool have pressed forward with purpose, led with confidence by the now well-established partnership of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes. Once the subject of skepticism, their work has now subdued even the loudest doubters in the FSG camp.

Liverpool head into the new campaign as defending champions, all while expectations for Arne Slot have soared far beyond those of the so-called “transition coach.” The big question now: are Liverpool ready to enter a period of true dominance, or is this just the next phase in a longer resurgence?

Slot’s Second Act: Honing a Winning Formula

Claiming the Premier League title in his debut year was an extraordinary introduction for Arne Slot, who quickly won over both fans and pundits with his tactical sharpness and ability to restore balance to the team. Last season’s success wasn’t just about grit or flair — it was about rediscovering that uniquely cohesive Liverpool identity. While Alexander-Arnold's departure cut deep for supporters, it’s proved more of a tactical tweak than a crisis. Rather than looking for an identical replacement, the club have recalibrated the right-hand side by bringing in Jeremie Frimpong. Frimpong isn’t the same creative fulcrum, but his pace, width, and defensive tenacity promise to unlock new dimensions for Salah and the rest of Liverpool’s attack.

On the opposite flank, Milos Kerkez injects much-needed energy and vertical threat — precisely what the exhausted left side lacked late last season. Further upfield, the prodigious Florian Wirtz arrives as the creative brain in advanced areas, while Hugo Ekitike adds a different sort of presence up front, giving Slot tactical variety he previously lacked. Importantly, all these signings were secured early, giving them weeks to bed in before the season starts — a deliberate strategy by Edwards and Hughes after several years of playing catch-up in the transfer window.

Meanwhile, the leadership core around Salah and Van Dijk remains strong, with contract extensions ensuring continuity through transition. Slot doesn’t need to rebuild — he gets to evolve a title-winning unit, adding subtlety to the structure that served him so well.

Isak and Guehi: Final Touches or Building for the Future?

Liverpool’s remaining transfer business looks minimal but meaningful. Up front, Newcastle’s Alexander Isak is the top target. Word is the Swedish striker is eager to join, with the deal hinging on Newcastle securing his replacement (likely aided by Darwin Nunez’s proposed move to Al Hilal). Slot sees Isak as the ideal leader for a dynamic front line featuring Salah, Wirtz, and Ekitike — a group combining intelligence, speed, and ruthless finishing.

At the back, attention has turned to Marc Guehi, now approaching the final year of his Palace contract. With Konaté’s future up in the air and Joe Gomez potentially shuffled to a rotation role, Guéhi brings assured defending and leadership skills, alongside valuable Premier League experience.

One possible gap remains: a specialist defensive midfielder. If Wataru Endō’s minutes need to be managed carefully, this could become urgent — especially since Ryan Gravenberch, for all his promise, isn’t a pure anchor. The club may yet act if preseason reveals weaknesses.

What marks this summer is not just the scale of recruitment but the smarts behind it. Edwards and Hughes are investing in a squad ready for both today’s test and tomorrow’s demands, prioritizing youth, adaptability, and high ceilings over big names.

The Contenders Circle: City Recharged, Arsenal All-In, Liverpool Ready

Competition at the summit looks as intense as ever. Manchester City — stung by last season’s outcome and in what may be Guardiola’s swan song — are sure to respond with urgency, aiming for one final title before potential off-field sanctions loom. Arsenal, meanwhile, are facing a campaign where results must finally match enormous investment, or Mikel Arteta’s project could dissolve.

Yet Liverpool start from a position of unusual strength: they’re not just defending champions, but have retained core leadership, strengthened every department, and, crucially, given their new players time to gel. There’s some risk that so much change could cause early stutters, but the blend of planning and autonomy now underpinning Slot’s tenure should allow for a fast start.

The Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace will offer the first gauge of this newly engineered Liverpool side. But from boardroom to touchline, the sense at Anfield is clear: the Reds aren’t outsiders or upstarts any longer.

They are the benchmark. And everyone else knows it.