Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith has tipped Liverpool to have a 'busy' end to the transfer window, noting the 'concern' about the lack of business conducted by the Reds so far this summer.
Three signings so far
After sacking Arne Slot and replacing him with Andoni Iraola, the 20-time champions pulled off a shock £34.5m swoop for Osasuna winger Victor Munoz to add to the £60m deal for Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet originally agreed in January. Since then, Liverpool saw top transfer target Yan Diomade join Real Madrid, while their attempts to sign another top-class wide player, Bradley Barcola, are being held up by Paris Saint-Germain's demands.
The Reds have brought in Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan from Barcelona to help ease Iraola's availability issues in defence, but with just over a week until the new Premier League season begins, there is a feeling among the fanbase that more signings are needed before the window closes on September 1.
Smith's assessment
Asked by the ECHO what he has made of Liverpool's transfer dealings so far, and if there are any areas he feels they are lacking, Smith said: "I think there's a lot of concern up there about the transfer activity - i.e. there not being enough. But there's still some time. I'm sure Iraola coming in, he would have had his thoughts on what the squad needs. He's a very conscientious manager with attention to detail. It's just whether they can get that quality in."
"There's talk about (Alexis) Mac Allister leaving, so the midfield's looking a bit short, as is the attack at the moment. And there's questions with (Ibrahima) Konate going. There's question marks all over the pitch, really, with Liverpool. So I think it needs to be a busy last few days in this transfer window."
Replacing Mohamed Salah
While Munoz, an unused member of Spain's World Cup-winning squad, is expected to make an impact this season, the Reds are looking to bolster their attack further following the departure of Mohamed Salah, who scored 257 goals in 442 appearances across nine decorated seasons at Anfield. Asked how the Reds can go about replacing the Egyptian, Smith suggests it will have to be a team effort.
The former Arsenal and England striker, who twice won the First Division Golden Boot award, said: "I think it's more a question of everybody chipping in. (Alexander) Isak can score a lot of goals. Florian Wirtz has been talking this week about his second season and how much he's looking forward to it now. He knows what it's about. (Hugo) Ekitike, when he comes back, Mac Allister still, all these players... (Cody) Gakpo. I think everybody's got to chip in in order to make up that shortfall of losing Mo Salah."
Title push not ruled out
Liverpool won the Premier League under Slot in 2024-25, but within a year he had lost his job after his side limped to a fifth-placed finish last time out. Now under the control of former Bournemouth boss Iraola, Smith is not ruling the Reds out of making a title push in 2026-27.
Speaking to the ECHO via BestBettingSites.co.uk, Smith said: "You can never say never with these things. Get off to a good start and the players buy into what Iraola wants, and they build up a bit of momentum. Who knows? They've still got very good players there. And he's clearly a very good manager. So it'll really be interesting to see whether he can replicate that Bournemouth style with those Liverpool players, and that's really going to be something to watch."
The Reds kick-off their campaign away to Newcastle United on Sunday, August 23.
