Liverpool will have countless players on their shortlist this summer, and new faces will be arriving at the AXA Training Centre, while a few will be saying goodbye.
The Reds have been a shadow of the season before; from lifting the Premier League title to grasping Champions League qualification, it’s certainly been a campaign no one will want to remember. As the targets are set to build in the media, it highlights plenty of areas that the squad need.
One of those is in the midfield, as they have easily been run through throughout the course of the season. Curtis Jones looks like he will be on the chopping block, with Serie A giants Inter Milan showing interest, while Alexis Mac Allister may leave with his contract running down to its final two years, and the Argentinian has looked out of place for much of the season.
In the incoming department, a few names have been discussed, such as Adam Wharton and Lamine Camara.
The Elliot Anderson conundrum
Perhaps an outsider to the previous two names is Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson. The Englishman has been one of the best in the league this year, despite Forest battling against possible relegation. S
Since arriving from Newcastle, he has settled in well and continued his growth. One major roadblock for the Merseyside outfit is that the two teams from Manchester are considered to be ahead in the race, and are both working hard to try and secure a deal for the 23-year-old.
A comment by Anderson earlier this week may have piqued the interest of some Kopites in the thoughts and feelings he’s having ahead of the transfer window. In an interview with Stadium Astro on YouTube, he was asked who his ideal midfield partner would be, as he mentioned a Liverpool legend:
“Wow, I’ll go with Steven Gerrard… I just like the way he played. The energy, his range of passing, and I just think it’d be really nice to play alongside.”
Arne Slot’s side could do with a figure like the scouser in their team at the moment, someone who constantly wanted to win every game, every tackle, every ball and be the hero for his team.
While he’s long into his retirement now, they need figures that can instil belief into a side which is experiencing a turbulent campaign.
While the Forest midfielder may not be able to pull the Reds out of the slump on his own, he would play a part in achieving it.
He has often operated at the heart of the midfield, a similar role to what Ryan Gravenberch plays. The Dutchman has struggled through large parts of the season and has been a bystander on more than one occasion, having failed to match the high bar he set in 2024/25.
He has still shown glimpses of his quality, but those moments have been few and far between in a Liverpool shirt. One of the biggest complaints he’s received is for his lack of defensive actions, the opposite of the Forest midfielder.
Anderson can contribute when his team is on the front foot, in the same way he isn’t afraid of being involved in tackling the opposition.
His ability to find space higher up the field with fantastic passing, while also clearing any necessary danger, has made him one of the most attractive figures in the league this summer for the ‘big’ clubs.
A complicated deal to pull off
Forest knows just how important he is to them and how important he would be to another team in England. They will certainly require a large fee, with some suggesting it could just be below £100 million this summer.
Liverpool knows they need more than one midfielder this summer, while also knowing they don’t have an unlimited budget. Anderson would be a fantastic addition at Anfield, though with fellow rivals already in hot pursuit of a deal, it would be a complicated one to pull off.
ReadLiverpoolFC Verdict
The Verdict: There is no escaping the fact that Liverpool’s engine room needs a complete identity reset this summer. The drop-off from the high-flying consistency of previous campaigns to the passive, easily bypassed midfield we’ve witnessed this year has been jarring. Ryan Gravenberch’s regression and the uncertainty surrounding Alexis Mac Allister’s long-term future mean Richard Hughes and Arne Slot cannot afford to get this window wrong.
Elliot Anderson possesses exactly what the Reds lack: bite, high-intensity defensive output, and the technical quality to progress the ball. His public admiration for Steven Gerrard will naturally get fans dreaming, but the reality of a near-£100m price tag coupled with heavy interest from both Manchester United and Manchester City makes this an incredibly steep uphill battle.
If Liverpool are serious about structural change, they must decide whether to break the bank for a proven Premier League engine or risk falling further behind their rivals.
