“That sums up this season a lot,” said Arne Slot. It is a sentiment he has started to voice often, particularly in the context of injuries. On Saturday, though, he felt the emblematic element was that Alexander Isak’s first Premier League goal for Liverpool at home came at the end of April. Even Nordi Mukiele and Axel Disasi had struck for Liverpool in the top flight on Merseyside before Isak, albeit not deliberately.
“It is quite an understatement to say he’s had a tough year,” said captain Virgil van Dijk. “The injuries he had and the timing of it has been bad.” True, though neither Liverpool nor Isak are blameless in that. He made the decision to go on strike at Newcastle, they made the choice to spend £125m on an injury-prone striker who had not had a pre-season. When injuries and ineffectual performances followed from a semi-fit forward, it was not misfortune alone.
Isak can be the face of failure in recruitment. Liverpool were the supposed to be the smartest buyers around, the men with a plan. They spent £450m last summer and have gone from first to fifth. They may have averted further damage – not least to their income – with the combination of their three consecutive league wins and Chelsea’s meltdown positioning them to return to the Champions League.
But, as Slot suggested, Saturday was the sort of occasion that Liverpool expected to happen rather earlier. Isak and Florian Wirtz scored in the same game, which could offer optimism for the future. “That was always the plan,” added Van Dijk. “These two particular players have been brought to the club to make an impact.” There has never been a more expensive double act on a Premier League scoresheet than the £125m man and the one who could cost £116m.
But they have not had the desired impact. Isak’s debut year has been awful, Wirtz’s underwhelming. A goal apiece does not alter fundamental questions about the configuration of the side or the strategy behind their arrivals. Slot does not need to find a way to accommodate both Hugo Ekitike and Isak on the pitch for several months, with the Frenchman sidelined by his achilles injury, but there are few signs he has an ideal solution.
Nor, seemingly, is there an answer to the conundrum of Wirtz. Play him as a No 10, as Slot did at the start of the season and again on Saturday, and Liverpool can look too open; Palace had an xG of 2.20 at Anfield. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s outstanding player this season, Dominik Szoboszlai, can be at his best in that role. The sense is that Liverpool need three midfielders, including the Hungarian, for solidity.
All of which can reflect badly on Slot. And yet the architects of the biggest spending spree in Premier League history are more culpable. Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards paid out record amounts, and yet left gaps in the squad which have become glaringly apparent this season.
They paid over the odds for Isak and Wirtz. If the German may yet justify his fee, Manchester City got the magical Rayan Cherki for a third of the price. Liverpool should not have signed the Swede at all.
Meanwhile, recruiting two new full-backs was required, with Trent Alexander-Arnold going and Andy Robertson entering the autumn of his career. But, while Milos Kerkez has improved after an unconvincing start, he has lost his place to the veteran in the run-in. Slot’s lack of trust in Jeremie Frimpong was evident when, for the second consecutive week, he came on as a right winger, with midfielder Curtis Jones carrying on at right-back.
Liverpool were unlucky that Giovanni Leoni was injured on his debut. They can feel that Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose arrival was arranged in 2024, has been a decent deputy to Alisson. Freddie Woodman, the third-choice signed on a free transfer, did well against Palace. But of those bought, only Ekitike can be classed as a success now.
Meanwhile, the sight of Palace underlined one of the fundamental errors the Liverpool brains trust made. While they signed Isak on deadline day, they missed out of Marc Guehi. They had dawdled amid their interest in the Palace captain, tried to play a game of brinkmanship on deadline day and it backfired. At £35m, Guehi would have delivered value for money; he would have reduced the burden on Van Dijk and enabled Slot to omit Ibrahima Konate when his form faltered. Guehi instead joined City, has been one of the finest defenders in the division this season and may win the title.
And even if Liverpool had sold the same players – largely, it should be said, for what seemed excellent prices – including Jarell Quansah, there was a second seismic mistake. Liverpool may have underestimated the importance of Luis Diaz, though £65.5m felt as much as they could get for a 28-year-old. But by signing two specialist strikers, rather than one who was equally or more adept as a winger, became a still greater miscalculation when Mohamed Salah accelerated into decline, Cody Gakpo’s goals dried up and it became apparent Liverpool’s wide players struggled to beat a man.
Salah’s imminent departure underlines the need for another overhaul at Anfield this summer. It could be costly. And it comes when Liverpool’s powerbrokers spent £450m last year, much of it on Isak and Wirtz.
