Managing Liverpool as Marc Guehi signs and Alexander Isak makes transfer U-turn

Liverpool have been one of the busiest teams in the transfer window this season and do not seem set to temper their spending after £186million deals for Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. A £79m move for Hugo Ekitike is now close to completion, and there remains interest in a number of other players. Here is how Express Sport would manage their next few weeks...

Goalkeeper and defence

Liverpool have a strong contingency of goalkeeping talent that will likely remain in place for at least the next few years. Alisson is showing no signs of slowing down as the Reds' No. 1, and will be backed up by Giorgi Mamardashvili next season. Liverpool have also acquired Freddie Woodman as a third-choice option.

Across the back four, there are far more pressing questions for Arne Slot and the Liverpool hierarchy to answer. Only three senior centre-backs are on the club's books, and one of them, Ibrahima Konate has been linked with an exit. Konate has only one year remaining on his contract.

Liverpool need reinforcements in that position regardless of Konate's future. Marc Guehi is their top target, but it seems unlikely that the Reds will be willing to meet Palace's valuation of around £40m when they could sign the England international for free in 12 months' time. They will need the Eagles to bring down that figure, which could happen with some patience later in the window. Slot may also be tempted to hijack Chelsea's move for countryman Jorrel Hato, who could be Virgil van Dijk's long-term replacement.

Midfield

Liverpool's midfield looks sorted for the new season, barring any departures. Florian Wirtz's arrival at Anfield is the major deal of the window so far, having been signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m.

Ryan Gravenberch excelled in a deeper midfield position last season and potentially played a role in Liverpool deciding to move on from Martin Zubimendi, the major target of last summer, who has joined Arsenal instead. The Reds have instead prioritised improving their defence and attack.

That may change if there is a big-money departure, though. Harvey Elliott's confession that he could explore his options if he is not promised game time suggests that the 21-year-old could leave. Liverpool may want to invest any money received for Elliott into a defensive midfielder to compete with Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

Forwards

Hugo Ekitike is now widely expected to join Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt in a move worth around £79m. Slot will hope that the centre-forward can share the goal-scoring burden with Mohamed Salah, who exclusively shouldered most of that responsibility last term.

However, there could be an interesting twist in the market if Alexander Isak decides to leave Newcastle. Could Liverpool U-turn on their decision to move on to other targets? They would surely need to sanction significant sales before agreeing a deal with Newcastle, but a front line of Ekitike, Salah and Isak would be immense if Slot can build a fluid system.