What is the objective for Liverpool next season? Arne Slot has already suggested that he expects to compete for the Premier League title but is principally seeking to enhance and tinker away at some blemishes in a highly talented Anfield squad.
Liverpool are in an exciting position but they are not without their weaknesses. Slot is facing some pressing concerns that will need redressing, such as the profligacy of Darwin Nunez, the incessant injuries that have picked at fortunes for several years, the ongoing need for a long-term No. 6, the thinness in defence.
Sorting out the central defence is something that FSG must turn to sooner rather than later but recent reports are actually linking Liverpool to a wide defender – but in fairness, it could be a corker of a signing.
Liverpool eyeing new defender
As per Football Insider, Liverpool have set their sights on signing Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri as Slot looks to bolster his backline.
The Algerian ace – who has the same agent as Nunez and Diogo Jota – would be signed to provide competition to Andy Robertson, so sealing a deal would only materialise with the sale of Kostas Tsimikas, who has been linked with a move away recently.
Journalist Abdel Hamed has claimed that the 23-year-old is set to depart Molineux this summer, and now Liverpool must ensure they are at the front of the pack – though will FSG sanction the likely £60m outlay to snap him up?
Why Rayan Ait-Nouri would be perfect for Liverpool
Robertson has been a stalwart for Liverpool, completing 297 appearances since signing from Hull City for £10m in 2017, winning silverware in barrels and passing his way into the lead as the top assist-maker (for defenders) in Premier League history, with 59.
But the 30-year-old Scot has faced criticism over the past few years – perhaps unjustly, but still. With Slot now assuming Jurgen Klopp's place in the dugout, the shift in system could be an opportune time for a player like Ait-Nouri to arrive and ruffle some feathers.
Especially considering he was hailed as "one of the Premier League’s best players in 2024" by Sky Sky Sports' Dougie Critchley, having played an instrumental role in Gary O'Neil's side's surprising season away from relegation trouble.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 20% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 14% for pass completion, the top 2% for successful take-ons and the top 14% for tackles per 90.
Such a dynamically spread skill set only comments effusively on Ait-Nouri's quality and how he would fare in Slot's high-energy, high-output system.
He might even prove to be the perfect partner down the left flank for Anthony Gordon, should the England international wind up at Anfield at some point over the next two months.
Imagine Ait-Nouri & Anthony Gordon
Newcastle canvassed a proposal Liverpool's way at the end of June, offering Gordon's signature in a cash-plus-player offer that would have seen Jarell Quansah head toward St. James' Park.
It was unacceptable. FSG likely turned their nose away, vexed by the audacity of trying to pluck one of Kirkby's finest away at the maiden stage of his career. Nonetheless, the interest remains.
Indeed, it's also been reported recently that Liverpool are prepared to move back in for Gordon and could launch a bid toward the later stage of the window.
Newcastle's 2023/24 Player of the Season was in fine fettle last year, scoring 12 goals and supplying 11 assists from left wing as he wreaked havoc through his ball-carrying style of play, driving forwards with frightening constancy.
Robertson is an excellent left-back but given the heavy energy that's needed for the success of Slot's brand, Ait-Nouri may well be a better pick, particularly alongside a talent like Gordon, averaging 1.9 dribbles per game (with a 61% success rate) to Robertson's 0.2 per game (29% success) in the top flight last year.
Matches played
35
Matches started
34
Goals
11
Assists
10
Big chances created
16
Pass completion
82%
Shots taken per game
2.3
Key passes per game
1.6
Tackles per game
1.6
Ball recoveries per game
3.6
Dribbles per game
1.5
Duels won per game
5.3
Gordon, moreover, created 16 big chances in the Premier League last season – Luis Diaz, for reference, created only five – and given Ait-Nouri is frequently overlapping and seeking to strike on goal, this truly could be a partnership for the ages.
Whether Liverpool manage to sign both talents this summer (or indeed either) remains to be seen, but one thing's for certain, Liverpool must pull no punches in strengthening their side at the dawn of a new era, one which could yet carry all the silver of the chapter recently finished.
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ByAngus Sinclair Jul 8, 2024