Gabriele MarcottiCloseGabriele MarcottiSenior Writer, ESPN FCGabriele Marcotti is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @Marcotti. and

Mark OgdenCloseMark OgdenSenior WriterMark Ogden is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @MarkOgden_.

The 2025-26 campaign ended up being hugely disappointing for Liverpool. After winning the Premier League the previous season, extending the contracts of star free agents Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, and spending more than £440 million to sign half a dozen new players (a whopping £235 million in net terms), they finished over 20 points from the top of the table and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

There are many explanations for this season's underachievement -- injuries, plus the fact that integrating so many potential starters at the same time was always going to be challenging -- but the sense is that Liverpool got a number of things wrong.

Here are some of the questions the Reds will be asking themselves this summer -- and our view on how to answer them.

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We both feel that while many Liverpool fans may have given up on Slot for a number of reasons -- among them style of play, underperformance, and the fact that he can't match the charisma of his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp -- there are plenty of mitigating factors that have more to do with squad construction and transfer activity. (Consider the messy recruitment of Alexander Isak and the Marc Guéhi fiasco on Deadline Day).

We may want to make changes elsewhere, so we think dumping the coach as well would be a step too far. Mark feels there's a lack of credible replacements; Gab thinks there are plenty of viable coaching options, but it's more a case of sorting out things upstairs, at the sporting director/recruitment level, before making a move on the coach, because another summer of radical change at the club (off the pitch) wouldn't be good.

However, neither of us feel he needs a new deal. This is going to be a "prove yourself" campaign for many, including Slot. If he needs a big multi-year deal to have credibility with the players, he's probably not the right guy.

We need a total review here of what went wrong and when and why. Not to be vindictive, but to be accountable and to learn going forward. It goes back to last summer's big departures too: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Díaz. It's not so much about second-guessing -- Alexander-Arnold was poor at Real Madrid; Díaz was exceptional for Bayern Munich -- it's about their replacements and how we judged them.

Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are very different players from Alexander-Arnold, for example ... did we think they could replace them, or were we looking to change our approach?

Florian Wirtz at No. 10 means putting a young, expensive superstar in a role that previously didn't exist in our club. Were we prepared for that? And then, of course, there's the Guéhi deal (and the failure to address the shortage of central defenders in the following window), the massive fee on Isak and Salah's public rebellion last November, which could and should have been handled better, away from the spotlight.

Everybody makes mistakes. We need to figure it out and, if necessary, make changes. Edwards and Hughes have big reputations, but they didn't live up to those reputations last summer. They should be under just as much scrutiny as Slot for the failures of some of the signings.

We think this is where Liverpool need to be a little humble and find a veteran short-term option -- even on loan, if necessary -- because playing half the season with Isak as the only viable center forward is madness.

The profile, we think, has to be a Raúl Jiménez or Jean-Philippe Mateta type. It can also be someone on loan, if necessary, but it can't be somebody whose transfer costs a huge fee or a huge long-term commitment, because we've already committed a ton of money to Isak and Ekitike. Chiesa is likely to leave too -- two Premier League starts in two seasons tell their own story -- so we're definitely short-handed there, with Frimpong the only option (and if he plays on the right wing, of course, he can't be the alternative to Bradley at right back).

The thing is, while we can have a stop-gap at center forward because Ekitike will return, the same isn't true for the right wing and so maybe there, we need to find a tactical solution. Maybe we move Wirtz there and go more 4-3-3? Or maybe it's Dominik Szoboszlai? Or maybe we play Wirtz in the hole behind two forwards (Isak and one of Cody Gakpo or Rio Ngumoha)?

That's to be discussed with Slot, but I'm not sure we can make a big commitment here, especially given we're not sure about Slot long-term.

Again, we're kinda stuck here. Van Dijk turns 35 in July and hasn't had a great season -- there's no reason to even think about a new deal until March or April. We probably need to keep Gomez around for his versatility, especially if Frimpong is going to get more minutes on the wing, but there's no point talking about a new deal until he proves his fitness, though he's still just 29. (There's also the fact that we won't get a fee for his transfer, given his injury record.)

Leoni and (especially) Jacquet are very promising, though both will be new to the league and both are coming off serious injuries, so again we'll need patience. So we have enough in this group to start the season, but if somebody gets hurt, we can't repeat the mistake of last year.

We don't think Liverpool can commit to a new deal for Alisson. He'll always be a club legend, but injuries are catching up with him, he's 33, he has offers elsewhere and we can probably get a decent fee for him while also saving on a year's wages.

Gab is more of a Mamardashvili fan than Mark ("he's not great with his feet") and we both agree we haven't seen the best of him. But given we spent a hefty fee -- as much as €35 million -- he's 25 and has a long-term contract, we feel he deserves a shot at the starting job. That said, Mark wonders if it's worth going back to Caoimhín Kelleher at Brentford and asking if he'd like to return as No. 1. (If that happens, it will likely take twice as much as we got for him when he moved to bring him back).

Endo is a bit different, because he's 33 and a squad player. You obviously don't extend his deal and if someone comes in for him, you can let him go, but you'd need to get around £4 million back for him and that's going to be tough. The others are huge calls. Mac Allister is 27, Szoboszlai and Jones 25. Committing to them -- and committing to starter-tier money -- means deciding they will be regulars past the age of 30. That restricts you somewhat, especially if you end up moving on from Slot to someone who may not rate them.

Here, we differ a bit. Mark reckons extending Szoboszlai is a priority in light of his excellent season, whereas Mac Allister "seems to have aged 10 years in the last 12 months" and "can no longer get around the pitch" and should be moved on. Gab would rather wait on Szoboszlai and make a decision once we know how next season unfolds. Liverpool haven't rushed into contract extensions in the past, and it's generally worked out for them; more importantly, we'll have a better sense of whether Slot is going to stick around.

If Mac Allister has a big World Cup and there's interest, you move on and, given his residual amortization is only around £20 million, you should have no problem getting back a decent fee. Jones is worth keeping if you think you can get good minutes out of him. The temptation to move him because he's home-grown and therefore any transfer fee would be pure profit is going to be big. But unless there's a very serious offer -- or he wants to leave -- we're inclined to keep him.

Tsimikas had a rough time at Roma, but given the more pressing priorities at this club, Andy Robertson's departure and the fact he's a free agent in June, it's best to bring him back as cover for Milos Kerkez, rather than spending money on another left back you've not worked with previously.

Elliott wasted a year of his career on loan at Villa and judging from what happened before, Slot doesn't rate much. Repairing the relationship won't be easy, but there's no point having him go on loan again, and you won't get much of a fee for a guy who started one league game last year. Maybe the best thing to do is to get him and Slot together and have them realize that it's in everyone's interest to give it another go, at least for 2026-27.

Morale is down at Liverpool and after last summer's spending, there isn't that much wiggle room either. Even if there was, given the uncertainty with the recruitment and Slot himself beyond next season, it doesn't make sense to have another huge summer of change.

The biggest priority is a proper answer for the right wing, following Salah's exit, and whether you need to make a signing there or can find an in-house solution, whether by changing the formation or moving an existing regular out wide (Szoboszlai, Wirtz or Frimpong). Most likely you'd want to add in that role -- ideally someone who can also play up front when needed, given Ekitike's injury. Adding a reserve center forward on the cheap makes sense and if one or more of the midfielders in the squad moves on, you'll want to pick up somebody there too.

There is a lot of talent in this side, but a ton of questions too beyond the starting XI. It feels like you're heading towards a transition year, where you assess and, hopefully, develop what you have (Slot included) rather than challenging for big silverware straight away. But if there' s going to be a shake-up in the recruitment department, as seems inevitable, maybe it's best -- until you get some direction again -- to work with what you have.

Source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48812059/liverpool-keep-dump-slots-future-rebuilding-midfield-more