It has been one long hangover for Liverpool since the drunken highs of their Premier League winning campaign under Arne Slot.
The Dutch coach bagged the biggest English prize in football in his first season, but then his side fell off a cliff in his second.
The ownership felt they needed to part ways at the end of a season in which they limped over the line for Champions League qualification and lost a good part of the Anfield faithful.
Andoni Iraola, who had an excellent three years at Bournemouth where he lifted the club through an arithmetic progression from 15th to 6th and a European spot, was brought in to tidy up the mess at Anfield.
“When I came here, the owners told me everything is not perfect,” Iraola made clear at his unveiling. “They said we would have some challenges. We would have to replace important players leaving. We have some injuries. But we are here to solve these kinds of problems.”
So far, to heap onto the pains of last season, Liverpool have lost three important leaders in Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate. Academy graduate and Scouser Curtis Jones has also completed a move to Inter Milan.
Their arrivals so far have been limited to Spain winger Victor Munoz, Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.
ALSO READ: What will Ronald Araujo bring to Liverpool?
The wings were billed as the high priority for transfer business this summer, with the club needing to replace Salah, and not having replaced Luis Diaz for that matter.
Putting in the work 💪 pic.twitter.com/aLSonkpFQi
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 20, 2026
Salah’s poor form last season removed a major source of goals, which showed how vulnerable Liverpool were. There was no proper backup in the squad and their season was derailed. His departure this summer makes an even bigger case for recruitment.
Yet only Munoz has come in, and the club have been locked in a saga involving Paris Saint-Germain wingers all summer. The two clubs are wide apart in their valuation of Bradley Barcola, whom PSG are only willing to sell for a fee in the region of £150m.
Ibrahim Mbaye was considered a more attainable target, yet there has been little in the way of developments on him either.
Liverpool showed they were pivoting towards alternatives as news broke this week they had put in a £50m offer for Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh. It was rejected. A second offer of £60m on Friday was equally turned down.
ALSO READ: Is Minteh an underwhelming replacement for Salah at Liverpool?
It is one piece of business the club have to complete before the deadline closes.
“We will definitely sign some players,” a positive Iraola said in his press conference before the season opener at Newcastle.
“Some deals you have to wait until the end. But the end is the important picture, the one we will have on 1 September, because it is true that we are still quite thin.”
In the centre of attack, Hugo Ekitike is expected to miss several months after having surgery on a foot injury, but perhaps a fit and firing Alexander Isak could ensure he is not too missed.
Until a new right winger is signed, the 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha could be used on the right despite primarily operating on the left. Jacquet will likely be paired with Virgil van Dijk in central defence, and the club will hope he gets up to speed quickly in his first season in the Premier League.
It is far from an ideal situation, but Iraola has a reputation of building a squad with limited resources. Perhaps his touch of stardust can deliver a good season for the Reds.
