Liverpool will enter the 2025-26 Premier League season as reigning champions, but which players will they be relying on to defend their title?
Arne Slot selected his tried and trusted favourite XI for Liverpool’s win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, which clinched them the Premier League title. Alisson Becker was in goal, the defence was Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, in midfield there was Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, while the front three consisted of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo.
Until recently, there were some concerns that Liverpool might have to change up to half of their outfield players next season. But Van Dijk and Salah signed new contracts in April to ease some of those worries.
Now, Liverpool are just awaiting confirmation of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s next step. Beyond that, any additions to their team – and there could be two upgrades in key positions – will be to build on what they already have, rather than what would have been a tricky task of replacing legends.
So, by the end of the summer transfer window, what could Liverpool’s dream 2025-26 lineup look like?
GK – Alisson
Liverpool oversaw a modest first summer transfer window of the Arne Slot era last year, with their biggest signing being Giorgi Mamardashvili – not due to actually join the club until July.
The Georgia goalkeeper has remained at Valencia on loan this season, but he is expected to be reintegrated this summer, while Caoimhin Kelleher looks likely to leave in search of first-team opportunities.
Indeed, Mamardashvili might be about to run into the same problem Kelleher – who otherwise appears capable of being Liverpool’s no.1 – has been dealing with for the past few years.
In Alisson, Liverpool have one of the best goalkeepers in the world. No matter how much Liverpool believe in Mamardashvili for the future, and what the 24-year-old has said about not wanting to sit on the bench, the starting berth is the Brazilian’s to lose.
Alisson has had some injury issues this season, so he might not start every week, but when in shape, he will continue to be the big presence in Liverpool’s goal.
RB – Jeremie Frimpong
Liverpool have had a settled first-choice right-back for a number of years now in the shape of Alexander-Arnold. He has been their regular starter when available since 2018.
But that seems to be about to change, with several sources indicating his move on a free transfer to Real Madrid is all but sealed.
Will the emotion of Liverpool’s title win in front of the Anfield crowd have swayed him at all to change his mind? If not, he will need to be replaced.
That could be by promoting Conor Bradley to a more regular role, but the chances of Liverpool looking for a new signing at right-back are too big to be discounted.
One candidate could be Frimpong, who has thrived for Bayer Leverkusen over the past few years. But there could be big changes over in Germany if Xabi Alonso is poached away by Real Madrid.
Alonso’s departure from Leverkusen could prompt some of their top players to depart as well. In that case, Frimpong could be on the move – especially when he has a €40m release clause.
He is a very attacking right-back – in fact, he’s accustomed to playing as a wing-back ahead of a three-man defence – but Liverpool have been used to having a player in that position more renowned for attacking contributions than defensive ability.
That’s not to say Frimpong and Alexander-Arnold are perfectly similar players; there would have to be a transition phase. But you can see why Frimpong, at 24, would appeal.
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CB – Dean Huijsen
Despite Van Dijk’s contract renewal, Liverpool are likely to be in the market for a new centre-back this summer, especially with the doubts now shifting to what the future holds for Konate.
Konate is entering the final year of his contract and has been linked with a move to his hometown club, Paris Saint-Germain. Therefore, Liverpool are looking at their options for the centre-back role.
They were linked with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, while another player they are in the race for is Bournemouth’s Huijsen.
The race for both players will be busy. Huijsen can be signed via £50m release clause, which has also caught the attention of Chelsea and other suitors.
Liverpool have been named as the favourites for both Guehi and Huijsen by different outlets, but only one is expected to join. It will be fascinating to find out which one – or if there could be a different centre-back signing.
CB – Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk always looked the likeliest of Liverpool’s three players who began the season in the final year of their contracts to sign up for a longer stay.
Liverpool’s captain since the departure of Jordan Henderson in 2023, Van Dijk has enjoyed another standout season at the back.
Liverpool will naturally be thinking about long-term successors for Van Dijk, who turns 34 in July, but how much better will it be for anyone taking on that challenge to learn from the skipper himself?
Furthermore, Van Dijk is believed to be the best-paid defender in Europe courtesy of his new contract, which makes it even safer to assume he’ll be playing just as regularly next season.
🔒💰 The highest-paid defender in Europe.
Will Van Dijk still be worth it over these next two years? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/hMB3gu0CvG
— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) April 17, 2025
LB – Milos Kerkez
Liverpool have known since before the January transfer window that they want to prioritise bringing in a new left-back for next season.
Andy Robertson has suffered from a decline in form this season. Despite how good he was in his prime, Liverpool are unlikely to be happy with him being their first choice next season.
TEAMtalk has been reporting since September that Bournemouth’s Kerkez is a player on their radar and he has worked his way increasingly up the shortlist.
Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, was at Bournemouth when they brought Kerkez to the Premier League. There’s competition for his next step, but everything is pointing towards the Reds winning the race at the moment.
Kerkez is expected to cost somewhere in the region of £45m. At the age of 21, he would be a long-term investment for Liverpool.
CM – Ryan Gravenberch
Liverpool wanted to sign Martin Zubimendi last summer, but couldn’t persuade the midfielder to leave his boyhood club, Real Sociedad.
Instead of signing an alternative, Slot showed more faith in Gravenberch, who only started 12 Premier League games in his debut season under Jurgen Klopp. By the end of Liverpool’s 12th Premier League game this season, Gravenberch hadn’t missed a minute.
And on the day Liverpool clinched the title on matchday 34, the Dutchman could still say he’d started every league game of the season, matched only by Van Dijk and Salah.
It’s hard to think of a player who’s improved more for Liverpool this season. Now, Gravenberch is pivotal. Replacing him after the season he’s had would be unfair.
CM – Alexis Mac Allister
It was abundantly clear early on that Mac Allister was a fantastic signing for Liverpool, costing an initial £35m to bring in from Brighton.
The Argentina international made a quicker impression than Gravenberch, but Slot has now found the system that gets the best out of both of them.
As part of a double pivot, compared to the lone holding role he was being asked to play by Klopp in 2023-24, Mac Allister can run the show.
Mac Allister’s father has confirmed the 26-year-old is ‘very happy’ at Liverpool, despite his admissions in December that he’d be open to playing in LaLiga one day.
Thus, with a contract until 2028, we can expect to see Mac Allister at the heart of Liverpool’s system again next season.
AM – Dominik Szoboszlai
There has been some scrutiny on Szoboszlai’s output at times over the first two seasons of his Liverpool career, but he has come out strongly from the second.
The attacking midfielder might not get as many goals and assists as your average no.10, but the work he does for the team is starting to get noticed.
Szoboszlai has played a significant part in Liverpool’s success, with his work rate high up the pitch being fundamental.
There were times earlier in the season when it might have been thought that Liverpool could go for an upgrade in his position, but that won’t be an immediate priority now.
RW – Mohamed Salah
Just imagine if they’d have had to replace him. Liverpool now have two more years of Salah to look forward to and it’s impossible to imagine him being anything other than a starter if he even performs at half of the level he has this season.
Salah has surpassed 50 goal contributions in all competitions this season, producing one of the most legendary individual seasons ever seen in the Premier League.
Thanks to his new deal, Salah remains Liverpool’s best-paid player, so they will be hoping to get similar returns from his form on the pitch next season.
Some observers, such as Jamie Carragher, have urged Liverpool to revitalise their attack with more support for Salah, so it will be fascinating to see who he’s linking up with at Anfield in 2025-26.
CF – Hugo Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike is a summer target for LIverpool
One of the most pressing positions that Liverpool could upgrade is at centre-forward. Darwin Nunez has endured a challenging third season with the club and may be running out of time to stay in the project.
Sources have told TEAMtalk that a move to the Saudi Pro League could be on the cards for Nunez, who would have to be replaced given that Diogo Jota will also potentially be available for transfer.
The absolute dream for Liverpool, like so many other clubs, would be to bring in Alexander Isak from Newcastle United. But the Magpies are confident of locking Isak in, giving him a huge price tag as they close in on Champions League qualification for themselves.
Thus, Liverpool will be scouring the market for other options. Another potential candidate that sources have told TEAMtalk about is Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.
Ekitike has enjoyed the best season of his career so far in the Bundesliga at the age of 22. Liverpool could now capitalise on his potential with a long-term deal.
He might be a bit of a gamble, given he’s only had two seasons with double figures of goals, but he seems to be on an upwards trajectory and Liverpool could well be envisaging a bright future with him up front.
LW – Cody Gakpo
While a new striker seems to be a prerequisite need for Liverpool, the left-wing spot can be the cause for a bit more debate.
In the current squad, Gakpo and Luis Diaz are of a similar level. The former has had more opportunities to play on the wing this season than the latter, some of whose gametime has also come up front.
Gakpo has credited his revival in form to being deployed in his preferred position, since it was sometimes him who had to operate more centrally last season.
Could Liverpool find an upgrade for him? They were linked with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January before he went from Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain, which might be a clue that they think they could.
But, similarly to Szoboszlai earlier, Gakpo has improved this season and can feel like he has earned his place in Liverpool’s long-term plans.
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