The last 12 months have been a whirlwind for Liverpool Football Club; from having to replace their manager for the first time in nine years, to winning the Premier League title, and now dealing with the tragic passing of Diogo Jota.

Having gone into his debut campaign with only a single signing, Arne Slot was able to oversee a continuity of Jurgen Klopp’s style mixed with fundamental elements of his own philosophy. The Reds are now consolidating their place as champions of England with a litany of high-profile signings to bolster the squad. 

Slot now has full rein to mould the team into his image, and the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike have been signed over the summer. Liverpool return to competitive action with a Wembley date against Crystal Palace for the FA Community Shield, and they will be looking to lay down a marker for the 2025/26 season. 

As they gear up to defend their Premier League crown, their fortunes are assessed here.  

The unstoppable red machine

Having won the title in dominant fashion last term, Liverpool continued their good form with five victories from six pre-season games, scoring 20 times. They will now conclude their preparations with a chance to lift silverware in the season’s curtain-raiser against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace on Sunday, 10 August.

At Wembley, they will parade their new signings and a first glimpse at what is to come in a season where they are seen as favourites to retain the league title. 

Amidst an uncharacteristic spending spree that has nearly reached £300million at the time of writing, Liverpool have also been able to generate funds with the departures of Tyler Morton, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher, Nat Phillips, Jarell Quansah and Luis Diaz, totalling a whopping £145m in sales. 

Meanwhile, a deal is imminent for Darwin Nunez’s move to Al Hilal who will pay a fixed fee of £46.2m plus add-ons that could amount to £56.6m. Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa could also be on the move as Liverpool shape up for an exciting campaign. 

They have their eye on one or two more signings, with Alexander Isak heavily linked to the Anfield club before the summer transfer window shuts. Newcastle already rejected an offer of £110m plus add-ons and the Merseysiders will now be required to smash the British transfer record for the second time this summer, given Isak would cost at least £120m.

There have already been some fantastic additions to the Liverpool ranks this summer, but the Swedish striker will make them undisputed favourites for the title.

The record transfer of Florian Wirtz was already seen as a significant coup, not only for the price tag but for his suitability to Slot’s style of play. The German is technically gifted and tactically adept with his link-up play, devastating execution in the final-third, vision, movement, passing and eye for goal.

How to improve a winning team

Wirtz will play a vital role in Liverpool’s forward line given his creativity and ability to glide under pressure, it is also pertinent to note that he has built a nice little understanding with Mohamed Salah during pre-season.  

Wirtz will look to set the tempo of Liverpool’s attacking moves, but a key component of Slot’s philosophy is the work of the full-backs. There, Liverpool have acquired a pairing that can rival any of the best duos across European football.

Kerkez offers raw pace from left-back, something that has been lacking recently with Kostas Tsimikas and the ageing Andy Robertson. His directness will inject some speed going forward and supremacy in one-v-one duels, while his aggressiveness in the defensive phase will help to shut out counterattacks. 

On the opposite flank, Frimpong brings pure acceleration into dangerous attacking positions and enough recovery speed to get back into position. He will provide attacking contributions much like Alexander-Arnold did so famously, but also offers bags of pace to cover his defensive lapses. 

Crucially, Slot will be able to deploy both his full-backs higher up the pitch, with the license to underlap or rotate in the half-space when needed. 

Liverpool have tremendously improved the quality within their ranks and given the manager more tools to effect his ideas. Although the signing of Ekitike was made to bolster the striking department in place of the misfiring Nunez and now-late Jota, Isak’s availability is seen as a market opportunity too good to turn down.

Isak could complete the final piece of the jigsaw in Liverpool’s title charge having scored 23 Premier League goals last season – second only to Salah. The 25-year-old is an elite-level finisher with superb composure in front of goal who can also dribble and create chances for himself.

The Sweden international outperformed his expected goals (20.42) last season and his exquisite movement is a delightful prospect for the Reds faithful. 

Wirtz will be pleased with the quality of centre-forward in front of him, while Salah has someone to share the goalscoring burden with, Ekitike would also be glad to settle in without the spotlight of his transfer fee, albeit in the form of a direct competitor for his position. 

Last season’s top scorers have now assembled the best attack in the country, and rivals are wary of facing the rejuvenated champions. 

Although it’s yet to be seen if their aggressive approach to improving the best team in the league will finally dethrone Manchester City’s era of dominance. Liverpool have shown their willingness to remain the best on and off the pitch 

Par for the course, the target is to overcome all challenges in domestic and European football this term.