DREAM LIVERPOOL TRANSFER TARGET 2024-2025 SEASON

Xavi Simon to Liverpool

Xavi Simons to Arsenal: How €85m Liverpool transfer can make DREAM deal become a reality

Despite the Gunners scouting Simons, their expectations of being able to sign the former Barcelona youth have been low. He is, after all, expected to return to Parc des Princes to become Kylian Mbappe’s heir when the forward departs for Real Madrid at the end of his contract in June.

But the situation may not be so simple – and that plays into the hands of Arsenal.

The Telegraph reports that PSG and Barcelona are fighting over the signature of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz. It is a race that the Emirates club should be backing the Ligue 1 outfit in.

Playing style: Simons compared to Diaz

Arne Slot has a penchant for a particular kind of player. Liverpool has already been linked with plenty of transfer moves that would fit the Dutchman’s brief.

Arne Slot’s ‘obsession’ could lead Liverpool to certain transfer targets.

Arne Slot looks set to become the new Liverpool manager. Once in place, planning for next season can really kick into gear.

That’s not to say Liverpool won’t have been drawing up provisional transfer plans already. The return of Michael Edwards to the FSG setup signalled a shift in power, one which was in many ways inevitable once a central figure like Jürgen Klopp stepped aside.

Edwards has already appointed Richard Hughes as the new sporting director, and it’s thought that former loans manager David Woodfine will return to Liverpool as his assistant. Between them, they will hold significant sway over the club’s recruitment choices, with Slot having to, er, slide into that structure if he gets the job.

But nobody wants an adversarial model, and Slot’s preferences will undoubtedly feed into the transfer process. And The Athletic is in little doubt about what those preferences are. They reported that he “loves wingers” and regularly asked Feyenoord’s recruitment department to keep signing wide players for his team.

It’s been noted elsewhere that Slot loves goals from cut-backs, which feeds further into this narrative. He’d be inheriting a pretty exciting crop of Liverpool talent in this respect, with Luis Díaz an archetypal winger, Mohamed Salah one of the best to do it in the last decade, Cody Gakpo having thrived out wide in the Netherlands, and Darwin Núñez still searching for his best role.

But amid question marks over the future of at least some of those players, could Slot seek to bolster the front line further? It’s surely a possibility, and we’ve already seen transfer links to a number of players who would feed his obsession with wingers.

Bruno Guimaraes addresses speculation over future

Bruno Guimaraes has responded to speculation over his future at Newcastle, insisting he is happy at the club.

The midfielder has been linked with Liverpool, among a host of other clubs, amid suggestions Newcastle may have to sell to fall in line with the Premier League’s FFP rules. Speaking to TNT Sports (via the Daily Mail) about his future, Guimaraes said:

Rodrygo of Madrid

Surely the pick of the bunch, Rodrygo would shoot straight up alongside Díaz in the ‘classic winger’ category. Not afraid of take-ons and with pace to burn, the Real Madrid star would be a welcome addition to almost any side.

The main question is one of availability. But Cadena Ser suggests that the expected arrival of Kylian Mbappé could provide an opportunity, with Liverpool having established ‘contact’ to sound out that possibility.

It could take as much as $108m (£86m/€100m) to get him out, assuming he’s even open to leaving. But it would be a statement transfer for the man who loves wingers.

Nico Williams

Staying in La Liga, this transfer window is surely the one where Nico Williams gets his move. In an Athletic Club side once dominated by his brother, he has firmly established his own credentials.

Equally comfortable on either flank, Williams has enjoyed his most productive campaign when it comes to goal contributions. Three goals and five assists came in the Copa del Rey, which Athletic won to end a long trophy drought.