The Arne Slot era could begin with two high-profile deals Liverpool are pursuing.
Liverpool have started training for the pre-season. Coach Arne Slot has also arrived in England to officially embark on a new challenge and there will be many problems for this man to solve.
For now, midfielder Thiago Alcantara has decided to retire. The 33-year-old star will leave Liverpool after the 2023/2024 season ends. This leaves a huge gap in midfield, a position that was already heavily damaged last season.
Neves is a promising midfielder of Portuguese football.
To start a new era, Liverpool’s board of directors understands that they need to make a bold move in the transfer market and the 150 million euro plan will give The Kop fans many dreams.
Liverpool are clearly looking to replace the Spanish midfielder, with Portuguese newspaper O Jogo reporting that Liverpool, along with a host of other big clubs, have held talks with Benfica over 19-year-old wonderkid Joao Neves.
He currently has a €120m release clause in his contract, although any interested parties will be keen to negotiate that price, largely because Neves is still young, inexperienced and unlikely to make it outside of Portugal.
O Jogo revealed that Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and PSG are all interested in Neves. Attempts by Benfica to tie Neves down to a new contract, with a higher salary, have so far failed, which could mean he is ready for a new adventure.
Neves is one of the most progressive young midfielders in Europe at the moment. He has been consistent in the No. 6 role at Benfica. He also had a 90% pass completion rate last season and won 60% of his duels.
In addition to midfielders, Slot will also need to add more personnel in attack. In theory, the trio of Diaz – Salah – Nunez is still top class compared to the Premier League level. However, as Salah is starting to age, they need a younger option to rotate.
Turkish newspaper Milliyet say Liverpool are tracking winger Baris Alper Yilmaz, who recently turned 24 and scored seven goals and provided 12 assists last season for Galatasaray.
Yilmaz competes with Van Dijk at EURO 2024.
After impressing in his homeland, it has been suggested that a number of big clubs including Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Yilmaz this summer.
He currently has a contract with Galatasaray until 2027 and is valued at around 30 million euros.
It will be an interesting race at the negotiating table and we will see how many more new recruits Slot can bring when the summer transfer window closes.
