Klopp’s £35m deal is Liverpool’s biggest debt since Nunez

It’s not entirely true that Liverpool’s season depends on success in the Champions League, but defeat to Galatasaray next week will certainly increase the pressure on Arne Slott’s back.

Even with Liverpool’s rich history and the unpredictability that knock-out football brings, I have little confidence in the Reds’ ability to go all the way in Europe’s premium continental competition.

Additionally, Liverpool will travel to the Etihad Stadium after the March international break to face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals, which will also pose a difficult challenge.

While Slots has its challenges ahead of the business months of the campaign, FSG are inevitably looking to the summer, with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes looking to clear some dead wood while bringing in new superstars.

Players Liverpool need to sell this summer

Liverpool need to reset this summer. This season, many players in the slot team have not played to their potential, and peripheral players like Federico Chiesa are on the verge of leaving.

What that means for Mohamed Salah, who has struggled on the right wing this season, remains to be seen, especially considering the need for a winger on the left.

However, Alexis Mac Allister’s future is likely to be a bigger topic of discussion. Almost three years into his Liverpool career, his latest third game is incredible, a far cry from the world-class level of seasons one and two.

The 27-year-old was widely hailed as a ‘superstar’ by pundit Joe Cole and others for his role as slot’s reliable midfield lieutenant, but Mac Allister has been one of the most disappointing parts of this term’s stuttering Red Machine, declining across physical, technical and creative metrics.

It remains to be seen whether the Argentina international will be a Liverpool player next season, but his contract expires in 2027 and he has already said he is in no rush to extend his time on Merseyside.

Just a few months ago, losing Mac Allister at the height of his career was unthinkable, but much has changed since Liverpool won the Premier League title.

Liverpool know when to let go of big names, such as Darwin Nunez, who left last summer in favor of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, but another mainstay in the slot is also at risk of leaving in the coming months.

Liverpool must get rid of new signing Darwin Nunez

Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica in 2022 for an initial transfer fee of £64 million, joining manager Jurgen Klopp with high expectations and being tipped to be Roberto Firmino’s long-term successor.

That didn’t work out, but he is now doing business in Saudi Arabia. Nuñez missed too many chances and often looked at the odds in Klopp and Slot’s attacking structure. £35m Ibrahima Konate is unlikely to suffer a similar fate, but the centre-half is likely to leave Liverpool this summer, with many dissatisfied with his performance in the slot system.

Nunez and Konate are hardly similar players, but Konate, like the Uruguayan striker, is one of the most talented members of Liverpool’s first team and his Liverpool career could end if he is unable to eradicate the flaws in his game.

The France international centre-back’s contract expires at the end of the season, and FSG have been seeking a contract extension, but with no success, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich among others showing interest.

Liverpool need a centre-back, but letting the 26-year-old leave may not be the worst thing in the world. After all, he has been one of the worst performers at Anfield this season, making numerous mistakes throughout the season. In this respect, he is, according to Reds writer Eddie Gibbs, “Liverpool’s most worrying fault line”.

The recent purple patch has helped steady the ship, but old habits die hard and Konate reverted to his error-filled old ways during the recent Champions League defeat to Galatasaray.

With Giovanni Leoni looking to return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of the new season, and Liverpool agreeing a £60m deal with Rennes to sign summer-arriving wonder centre-back talent Jeremy Jacquet, the possibility of Konate leaving (in exchange for a new big contract) doesn’t seem too detrimental.

Konate’s error-filled performance echoes Nuñez’s debauchery in the final third. These two aren’t that different. Konate has given so much to Liverpool, but it may be time for him to step back and give Liverpool something new.