Liverpool must act fast this summer: Three signings that could define Arne Slot’s era
Liverpool face one of the most consequential transfer windows in recent memory. Mohamed Salah departs Anfield at the end of the 2025-26 campaign after nine extraordinary years and 257 goals, Andy Robertson walks out of contract, and the midfield carries the unmistakable burden of over-reliance on a select few.
Three players, Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig, Angelo Stiller of VfB Stuttgart, and Alejandro Balde of Barcelona, stand out as the signings Liverpool genuinely must make this summer to arrest a slide that has seen Arne Slot’s side crash to five defeats and sit fifth in the Premier League table after spending close to £450 million just twelve months ago.
1. Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig)
No transfer story this summer generates more heat than this one. Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany confirmed as recently as 21 April that Diomande is now Liverpool’s top target to replace Salah, with the move approved by all decision-makers at the club, and concrete talks ongoing with his representatives at Roc Nation Sports. That is a striking level of institutional buy-in for a 19-year-old who, 18 months ago, was playing for Leganés’ B side in fifth-tier Spanish football.
The numbers tell the story far more eloquently than any hype. Diomande tallied 12 goals and nine assists in 29 appearances in the Bundesliga this season. More revealingly, only a handful of players across the entire German top division carry more combined goals and assists, and most of them play for Bayern Munich.
His percentile rankings border on absurd for someone his age, placing in the 93rd percentile for non-penalty goals, the 89th for assists, and the 92nd for key passes among positional peers. Furthermore, he has recorded 84 successful dribbles this season, making him Europe’s second-best dribbler, ahead of names like Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé.
Now, here is the crux of why Liverpool need to make a move now rather than admire from afar. RB Leipzig are now demanding more than €100 million for the Ivorian, and with Champions League qualification looking realistic, they no longer carry any financial pressure to sell.
PSG have already held meetings with his agent, Manchester United sent scouts to multiple games in January, and Real Madrid are also interested. Diomande himself openly admitted that his father is a Liverpool supporter and that Anfield has always been the old man’s dream destination for him, which is a rare personal affinity that Liverpool’s recruitment team would be foolish not to use. The window for an £87 million deal exists, but it will not stay open for long.
2. Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart)
There is a structural problem sitting right at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield this season, and it does not disappear simply by signing another attacker. Mac Allister and Gravenberch carry far too much of the heavy lifting in central areas, and the squad lacks the kind of composed, ball-recycling presence that sets the tempo from deep. Angelo Stiller, the 25-year-old German international, addresses precisely that gap.
A deep analytical breakdown described Stiller as a midfielder reminiscent of N’Golo Kanté in his ability to suppress opposition attacks, before adding that he dictates the offensive rhythm through intelligent passing once he wins the ball back. Those are not idle comparisons. Stiller posted a pass accuracy of 93.3% in the Bundesliga this season and completed 153 forward passes into dangerous areas.
Last season, he registered four goals and 11 assists across 47 appearances in all competitions, which is a remarkable return for a defensive midfielder operating in a system that rarely asks him to venture forward recklessly.
Liverpool view Stiller as a long-term addition whose traits will help with their high-pressing philosophy, and his arrival would free Gravenberch and Mac Allister to exert greater influence higher up the pitch. The fee sits in the £50–60 million bracket, with Stuttgart reportedly open to offers in that range, a relative bargain given what Liverpool paid for players who failed to deliver this season. Signing him this summer, before clubs like Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Atlético Madrid consolidate their own interest, represents the kind of decisive early move that defines transfer windows.
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3. Alejandro Balde (Barcelona)
Robertson‘s departure is practically confirmed. The Scotland international is out of contract this summer, having acknowledged publicly that he does not know whether he will remain at Anfield next season. Meanwhile, Milos Kerkez, signed last summer from Bournemouth, has not convincingly replicated the form he showed on the south coast, leaving Liverpool genuinely thin and uncertain at left-back.
Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde, 22, offers something rare: a left-back with both the defensive solidity and the attacking instincts that Slot’s system demands of its wide defenders. Football Transfers’ analytical tool gave Balde a Club Fit score of 73 out of 100 for Liverpool, placing the Reds second among all potential suitors, ahead of Manchester United, which scored only 57 in the same assessment.
Reports in Spain indicate that Barcelona no longer regard Balde as untransferable and see any potential sale as a golden opportunity to generate net income from a homegrown player. His estimated transfer value sits at around €60 million, significant but entirely proportionate for a player who could anchor the left side at Anfield for the next seven or eight years.
The deeper argument for Balde is positional. With Tsimikas already out on loan and Robertson heading towards the exit, Liverpool carry no reliable depth whatsoever at left-back heading into 2026-27, particularly with a World Cup summer adding further complications around squad availability. Balde solves the problem cleanly and immediately, with room to grow into an elite Premier League performer.
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Liverpool do not need cosmetic additions this summer; they need structural repair. Diomande replaces irreplaceable quality with future-facing brilliance, Stiller restores balance and control to a midfield that has been stretched too thin, and Balde seals a defensive position that currently looks worryingly exposed. Get these three right, and Arne Slot’s project at Anfield still has every reason to believe in itself.
