Liverpool's Radical Summer Rebuild Begins with Iraola
Liverpool are bracing for one of the most radical summers in their modern history – and the first major pieces of the rebuild are already shifting into place.
Iraola era set to begin
Andoni Iraola is expected to be confirmed as Liverpool’s new manager this week, stepping into the role vacated by Arne Slot and tasked with reshaping a squad that has lost some of its loudest voices and most reliable match-winners.
Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté have all departed, stripping the dressing room of experience, leadership and, in Salah’s case, a guaranteed stream of goals. The void is huge. The response will have to be equally bold.
Behind the scenes, Liverpool have been working as if the starting gun has already sounded.
Jeremy Jacquet is due to arrive on Merseyside this summer, the £60m centre-back signing finally landing after a deal was struck in January. At left-back, the picture is less settled. Milos Kerkez and Kostas Tsimikas are the leading options as the club weigh how to replace Robertson’s influence on that flank.
And then there is the attack.
Diomande gives Liverpool the nod
The search for Salah’s successor has taken Liverpool to RB Leipzig – and to one of Europe’s most coveted young forwards.
French journalist Santi Aouna reports that 19-year-old Yan Diomande has already given the green light to a move to Anfield, as well as to Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of the transfer window’s official opening on June 15. The choice now lies with the clubs, not the player.
For Liverpool, Diomande is the top target to fill the Salah-shaped hole on the right. He has just completed a breakout season in the Bundesliga, posting 13 goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances and earning the “superstar” label in Germany for both his productivity and his fearlessness on the ball.
Leipzig know exactly what they have. One journalist has suggested they value him at up to €120m (£104m), a price tag that underlines how expensive it will be to find the next face of Liverpool’s forward line.
They may have little choice. Hugo Ekitike faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles and is expected to be out until 2027, a brutal setback that strips away another option in attack. Questions also hang over the reliability of club-record signing Alexander Isak’s fitness heading into the 2025–26 season.
The depth chart up front is thin. The quality even thinner. Diomande’s willingness to join does not solve that on its own, but it hands Liverpool a crucial advantage as the race for his signature begins in earnest.
Now it becomes a straight financial fight: Liverpool and PSG trying to find Leipzig’s breaking point.
Liverpool step into United’s territory
The rebuild will not stop at the front line. Central midfield, still a live issue despite last summer’s refresh, is heading for another tug-of-war – this time with Manchester United.
United, newly qualified for the Champions League, have been pushing hardest for West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes. The Portugal international has permission to leave the relegated Irons and is determined to avoid a season in the Championship after emerging as one of their standout performers in the Premier League.
Two straight relegations with Southampton and West Ham would usually stain a player’s reputation. Fernandes has somehow walked away from both campaigns with credit, widely viewed as one of the best players at each club despite being only 21.
Old Trafford has been seen as his likeliest destination, not least because of the lure of linking up with Bruno Fernandes. United have been regarded as frontrunners, the natural landing spot for another Portuguese talent.
Liverpool have stepped across that line.
TEAMtalk report that the Anfield club are “ones to watch” in what is expected to be a fierce contest for his signature. West Ham want £80m for their star man, but the market is already whispering a different number, with offers expected closer to £60m. Arsenal and PSG have also made contact, adding more heat to an already crowded chase.
A summer that will define the next Liverpool
An incoming manager. A dressing room stripped of giants. A £60m defender on the way, a 19-year-old “superstar” winger ready to come if the fee is right, and a midfield battle brewing with Manchester United over one of the Premier League’s brightest young talents.
Liverpool have talked for years about “the next cycle.” This summer, with Iraola at the helm and the transfer market already crackling around Anfield, that cycle stops being a concept and becomes a team sheet.
