Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher has put forward a theory as to why his old club have not yet signed any new players this summer.
Liverpool are the only Premier League club yet to make a signing since the end of the 2023-24 season.
However, they have hired a new manager, with Arne Slot replacing Jurgen Klopp on June 1.
Slot’s appointment coincided with Richard Hughes arriving as sporting director, after Michael Edwards returned to Anfield as chief executive of football in March.
New boss Slot has previously claimed that Liverpool’s lack of action during the current transfer window is partly due to him wanting to take time to assess his current squad.
New Liverpool manager Arne Slot is still waiting to make his first signing since joining the club
Ex-Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher pictured at Anfield during Sky’s live coverage on Sunday
But Carragher reckons it could also be because Liverpool are thinking more long-term.
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of Liverpool’s home game against Brentford on Sunday, Carragher said: ‘In the past under Jurgen Klopp, they always worked 12 months in advance. They were always thinking, not about this window, it was the next window.
So they [Hughes and Edwards] have come in late, they’ve had to bed a manager in, they’ve obviously got this problem in terms of the contracts that they have to fix (with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all now in the final 12 months of their deals).
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‘But the reason I don’t think that Liverpool are buying players right now is they’re probably already thinking about next summer.
‘That might sound ridiculous, but Liverpool in the last five to 10 years haven’t panicked in the transfer market and I love that about Liverpool.
‘Do they need reinforcements in certain positions? Yeah. The squad is big enough but do they need quality to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal? Yes. But when you perform badly in the transfer market or make bad signings, that can knock you back as a club two or three seasons.
‘There’s a word Richard Hughes used when he did his first press conference with the manager, and he said, “We’ll be opportunistic in the transfer market”. Now I think there are players out there who they’d like, they may not be able to get, but if something comes up, they’d be ready to go.’
Liverpool are widely expected to make Giorgi Mamardashvili their first signing of the summer, although the 23-year-old goalkeeper is unlikely to be a starter for the Reds this season. Indeed, he is likely to be loaned out following his arrival from Valencia.
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes pictured back in July during a press conference
Giorgi Mamardashvili is likely to join Liverpool from Valencia before being loaned elsewhere
Carragher continued: ‘Now it looks like there’s a goalkeeper from Valencia, the Georgian No 1, for next season… and I think between now and the deadline (on August 30), I don’t think Liverpool will be putting bids in left, right and centre for all players all around Europe.
‘But there will be two or three players who they’ve got an eye on, and they’ll be looking at the situations of those clubs, and can they be opportunistic, as the sporting director said.’
