Liverpool's ability to avoid regression next season is heavily dependent on how many stars they can renew, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all set to leave the club for free at the end of 2024-25 given their contracts expire in the summer.
The trio have been pivotal to their side's push towards the Premier League title, but the Merseysiders would undoubtedly be significantly impacted by their departures.
Lynch claimed that Liverpool's future under boss Arne Slot is almost entirely dependent on the outcome of contract negotiations, telling Sports Mole: "How far of a step backwards they take [depends on] if they do keep Van Dijk and Salah at a minimum. Everything goes back to that. What level of team we are going to see next season hinges on what happens with those contracts.
"Liverpool themselves will say privately that a lot of the transfer decisions hinge on what happens with the contracts as well, so that is an absolutely key aspect of everything that goes on. If they do keep those around, you wouldn't imagine [they would] take too far of a step back."
Some reports have suggested that Alexander-Arnold has decided to join Real Madrid, while others claim that Van Dijk has decided to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Why Liverpool must refresh their attack
Slot could face a summer of upheaval beyond the three stars out of contract, with forwards Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez all linked with exits.
Jota has not scored in any of his last 10 games for the club, Diaz had found the back of the net once in his past 18 outings for the Reds while Nunez has only scored one goal in his most recent 19 games for Liverpool.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch insisted that Slot must be allowed to make upgrades in the offensive line if he is to improve the team, saying: "The forward line - you could say Nunez and Diaz they haven't quite reached the levels that Liverpool had hoped for from both of them. Nunez quite obviously, but again can you find Sadio Mane again, can you find an extra Roberto Firmino?
"That's the job to do and if not, at the bare minimum they have to [find a replacement who is at] Nunez's level, who's at Diaz's level to keep them where they are, but obviously Liverpool want to want to get better."
Nunez and Jota have only scored a combined 10 Premier League goals this term, whereas Salah has scored 27 and registered 17 assists, contributing to 64% of the team's goals.
© Imago
Liverpool must improve in the transfer market to remain competitive
The club's signings in recent windows have not always been successful, as while the midfield rebuild in 2023-24 saw Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch move to Anfield, the team are still reliant on Salah in the final third.
Slot's only addition so far has been Italian winger Federico Chiesa, but the forward has not yet played thirty minutes of Premier League football.
Lynch expressed his hope that Liverpool's recruitment can get back to the level that saw them rise from mid-table obscurity to title challengers under Jurgen Klopp when he told Sports Mole: "The idea is that you've got to absolutely nail these signings and I would say you look at Nunez and Diaz as relatively recent signings and they haven't hit the levels Liverpool hoped they would.
"The aim is that they get back to signing those bona fide world-class stars again. That's the important aspect this summer - the old recruitment staff is now back in place and making the decisions as they did when Jurgen Klopp's first great team was built, so it's now about can they go back to making signings of that standard?
"It feels really important because they're going to have to make a few signings and they're going to have to get a lot of them right, and the hit rates in previous years has been very good [but it has] wobbled a bit in recent years. They've got to get right back up there now and get those right because they're almost trying to build the next great team."
Former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards was appointed by owners Fenway Sports Group as the company's chief executive of football in March 2024, and fans will hope he can spearhead the club through what could be a turbulent summer transfer window.
Lewis Nolan
