Liverpool is not the only club making moves in the transfer market this summer. Jürgen Klopp will be watching closely as the likes of Chelsea and Man City spend big.
It was a season to forget and move past as quickly as possible for Liverpool, who failed to finish inside the top four spots for the first time in a campaign that Jürgen Klopp was in charge for the entirety.
But there are lots of other teams that will feel well-placed to improve next season as well. Even those who came ahead of Liverpool failed to properly challenge Manchester City at the top
Pep Guardiola’s side themselves will be relishing the opportunity to go again, almost certainly with a couple of new faces to keep things fresh, and any questions about how Erling Haaland would adapt to English football firmly erased.
Liverpool, however, will be right back up there next season when an important summer has been taken care of in the transfer market, with Alexis Mac Allister just the start. A look around its Premier League rivals reveals why…
Having beaten Inter in the Champions League final and completed the treble, Manchester City is the team to beat next season (and Liverpool is the only side that can compete domestically — unable to bounce back in the top European competition having missed out on the top four spots).
There will be changes at the Etihad Stadium despite Manchester City’s dominance. Mateo Kovačić, according to Fabrizio Romano, has agreed to join from Chelsea, while Le Parisien reports that Guardiola could lose Bernardo Silva to PSG as the French side seeks to replace Lionel Messi
The big question about Mikel Arteta’s side is whether last season was the start of something or whether it was a one-off. Declan Rice is definitely leaving West Ham and The Telegraph reports that Arsenal is pushing ahead with a $116m (£92m/€107m) move
Rice would be an upgrade on Granit Xhaka, who is expected to depart, but there are still question marks over whether Arsenal’s team man-for-man can match Manchester City— or even Liverpool if the Reds get back to their peak.
While there were big steps forward taken by Erik ten Hag’s side last season, Manchester United is not as close to a title challenge as Roy Keane and Gary Neville might like to believe.
The goalkeeper is a big conundrum and Manchester United needs more quality in attack. There are large areas of the squad that are not title-challenging level yet, and Casemiro’s big wages will become an issue at some point if not just yet when he declines
Mason Mount is one option, with Manchester United ahead of Liverpool in that particular race at the moment, according to The Guardian.
Eddie Howe will have as much as $189m (£150m/€175m) to spend this summer, according to The Athletic, with Kieran Tierney and James Maddison among the targets.
Newcastle is well ahead of where it thought it would be in terms of the Saudi project, but qualifying for the Champions League will bring as many challenges as benefits. It will be a big test for the squad next season even with more substantial investment
Manu Koné and Khéphren Thuram, The Athletic reports, are of interest to Newcastle as well as Liverpool.
Tottenham
It might be a bit of a push to call Spurs a rival considering the season Tottenham had under Antonio Conte and then Ryan Mason, but it will be fascinating to see what Ange Postecoglou brings to the Premier League.
It will also be fascinating to see what happens with Harry Kane. Without its talisman, Tottenham will undoubtedly struggle — but without selling Kane, it would run the risk of him leaving on a free in 2024.
Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino is another new manager with a lot of things to achieve with a squad that is as mismatched as it is expensive. The Argentine will make even more new signings to adjust things to his taste, but needs to sell a lot of assets.
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