LIVERPOOL CONFIDENTIAL: Why two stars are in line for transfer clear-out (but it’s not Diogo Jota or Federico Chiesa), injury updates and the loanee ready for Arne Slot’s team

It promises to be a summer of change at Liverpool – especially in the forward line.

They say you learn more about yourself in times of hardship and after defeats by Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle last week, Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes will know exactly what they need to do in the upcoming transfer window.

One thing is glaringly obvious: strengthen the forward line.

Several of the current attacking options are facing an uncertain future, including Darwin Nunez who has interest from Saudi Arabia and also Luis Diaz.

Barcelona are one of the clubs keeping tabs on Diaz, as they have done for some time, and Confidential understands they will definitely look to strengthen their front three this summer.

Nico Williams, Spain’s Euro 2024 sensation who plays for Athletic Bilbao, is seen as the frontrunner and this is a more straightforward deal given his £48.7million release clause. He is happy to move on after giving Bilbao an extra year.

But Diaz is certainly a contender for Barca, too, with the Catalan club close to Jorge Mendes who played a role in the Colombian’s move to Liverpool in 2022. Super-agent Mendes has close ties to Barca top brass Deco and Joan Laporta, which could help any deal for Diaz.

The La Liga giants are gradually getting stronger financially but they need to find the money to give Lamine Yamal a new deal this summer, so there won’t be the funds for a huge offer. It is not clear at this point whether Liverpool would sanction any deal, anyway.

As for Nunez, the Saudi Pro League have not been put off by Liverpool’s reluctance to sell the Uruguayan in January and they are said to be planning a big investment across the board in 2025. Atletico Madrid have also been cited as keen on Nunez in foreign reports.

Diogo Jota’s injury record is a concern and his recent form only adds to that but, at this stage, there is nothing to suggest the Portugal forward is looking towards the exit door. Federico Chiesa, likewise, has had a frustrating campaign but seems to be enjoying life on Merseyside.

As for incomings, it is still early days – but Liverpool are doing their due diligence on a number of targets.

Alexander Isak is the name that will not go away but the price-tag will be eye-watering and Newcastle’s hand will be significantly stronger if they get into the Champions League.

Mail Sport reported earlier this week that Barcelona have also kept an eye on the Swede and have sent scouts to watch him play.

Wolves are anticipating a bidding war for Matheus Cunha this summer and Confidential believes he has a release clause in his contract worth around £62m. Many top clubs are monitoring the Brazil forward who has scored 15 goals in a relatively weak team this season.

Brighton are keen to drum up interest in their own Brazilian, Joao Pedro, and his name has floated around as one who could move on this summer – but there is nothing to suggest Liverpool would be one of the interested parties at this stage.

As we did for left backs last week, Confidential asked data experts PLAIER to list five complete forwards for the Reds to sign. Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt topped that list with the 22-year-old having scored 19 goals and notched eight assists this season.

PLAIER is leading the AI revolution within football to help sides make better informed decisions on and off the pitch.

The PLAIER database is on the same level as NASA’s super-computer and the query also returned these names when asked to identify ones for the future: Luciano Rodríguez, 21, EC Bahia; Jhon Duran, 21, Al Nassr; Georges Mikautadze, 24, Lyon; Nick Woltemade, 23, VfB Stuttgart.

Reds to bank healthy sum for returning to Champions League

Liverpool will bank at least £47.3million from taking part in this season’s Champions League – nearly double what they got for being in the Europa League last season.

The Reds fell to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 last week but thanks to topping the league phase they have banked a healthy sum.

Just for taking part, teams get £15.65m – plus £1.8m for each match win. Liverpool had seven wins and one defeat in the eight league-phase games.

Aside from that, finishing top of that phase banked the Anfield club £8.3m with an extra £1.7m as a bonus for ending in the top eight of the 36-team league.

There are 666 equal shares of £230,000 for where teams finish in the league. The team who finish top get 36 shares, second 35, and so on all the way down to Swiss side Young Boys, who finished bottom and received just one share. Better than a kick in the teeth!

Round of 16 qualification banks Liverpool around £9.25m.

On top of all that, there is the slightly confusing ‘value pillar’ – a combination of payments based on a 10-year club coefficient ranking and the broadcast revenue share of all participating countries.

The value pillar has a total prize pot of £717m which is divided between clubs. Countries are ranked on their broadcasters’ contribution to media revenue and clubs are then ranked based on their performances in the past five seasons and given a number between one and 36.

Liverpool are currently fourth in the UEFA club coefficient ranking, behind Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich – so despite their premature exit they will be hoping to bank a significant fee on top of the money they are guaranteed for taking part and topping the league.

(Note: all figures have been converted from euros to pounds sterling).

When will Alexander-Arnold be fit?

Trent Alexander-Arnold is hoping to play again at some point in April after suffering an ankle injury against Paris Saint-Germain last week that ruled him out of the Carabao Cup final.

There is still no definite timescale on the vice-captain’s return but Confidential understands the injury will not sideline him for the remainder of the season.

Liverpool do not play until April 2 so at least two weeks of his recovery will not see him miss games, which is fortunate timing.

The right back is hopeful that his injury will rule him out for a matter of weeks rather than months, which would see him make a return at some point in mid-April.

And how about Elliott?

Harvey Elliott was spotted limping on to the team bus on Sunday night after a horrific challenge down the back of his leg from Joelinton in stoppage time of the Carabao Cup final.

It prompted worries that Elliott, who registered a nice assist for Federico Chiesa in the final and also scored against Paris Saint-Germain recently, could be poised for more time on the treatment table.

But the 21-year-old is set to train for England Under 21s at St George’s Park today ahead of the game against France on Friday.

A relief for the young midfielder who is surely knocking on the door of Arne Slot to start some more matches after several bright cameos off the bench.

Cherries and others want Kelleher

Bournemouth are among the clubs keen on signing Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher this summer – with teams in Europe also keeping tabs.

The Irish goalkeeper could have played his last game for the Reds after starting the Carabao Cup final. He does not usually feature in the league, though if the title is wrapped up early he could be given some minutes by Slot.

And it feels like he is a certainty to move on this summer, having previously gone on record with his desire to be a No 1 and Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili set to join the club from Valencia.

The Cherries have previously been keen on Liverpool winger Ben Doak, too, and the Liverpool sporting director, Richard Hughes, joined from Bournemouth and retains close ties with the south coast club.

Left back Milos Kerkez is one on Liverpool’s list for the summer while forward Antoine Semenyo is also well-liked by top clubs in the Premier League.

At this stage they are just monitoring the situation of Kelleher. Liverpool quoted clubs around £25million last summer and turned down approaches from Nottingham Forest that were less than satisfactory in terms of the money on offer.

Kelleher’s wages would not be a huge problem for Bournemouth, though his current contract sees him earn bonuses based on appearances.

Loan watch: is Bajcetic ready for Slot’s team?

Stefan Bajcetic has been compared to Sergio Busquets on loan at Las Palmas – just two months after ending a difficult stint with Red Bull Salzburg.

The 20-year-old has quickly become a fan favourite for his ‘pure talent’ and ‘exceptional attitude’ as the La Liga club look to avoid relegation.

It marks a strong turnaround from his apparent struggles in Salzburg, where he only completed one full 90 minutes. Jurgen Klopp’s former assistant, Pep Lijnders, was sacked as the Austrian heavyweights faltered.

Many fans are wondering what the future holds for the midfielder after an injury ruled him out for most of last season, and his time with Salzburg left a lot of question marks.

‘Bajcetic couldn’t even come close to reaching his potential,’ Aleksandar Andonov, head of sports at SALZBURG24, tells Confidential. ‘A closer look at his performances suggested that he wasn’t playing with full effort and wasn’t fully committed to the club on the field.’

Damning words indeed, especially for a star who was courted by Barcelona in the past. Liverpool recalled the Spaniard in January and flung him out to the Canary Islands, where fans and the media give glowing reviews to Confidential.

One fan purrs: ‘Stefan definitely stands out from others. You can see his pure talent almost all the time. He is our star and every Las Palmas supporter would love to have him here for as long as possible.’

Meanwhile, local journalist Manuel Garcia says: ‘He reminds me of Sergio Busquets, because of how he drives the ball and how he moves around the field.’

Now, hold on a moment. After just seven games, any such comparison should be taken with a spoonful of salt.

And the stellar form of Antony at Real Betis, after his plight at Manchester United, serves as a reminder that thriving abroad does not necessarily equal Premier League success.

But the early indications are that Bajcetic is showing the defensive grit that defined his impact at Anfield before his injury. Few players in La Liga have made more tackles, blocks, interceptions and aerial wins than him per 90 minutes since he arrived.

A reminder as well of Slot’s words in August on Bajcetic. ‘I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player and he could become a very important player for us, but only if he gets playing time now,’ said the Liverpool head coach.

‘It’s a smart decision, at least in our opinion, to let him go somewhere, where he will hopefully play a lot of games. Then for next season, we’ll have a player. If he fulfils his potential, he could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.’

Let’s see what the future holds.

Chiesa shows his worth… and he WILL get a medal

A few reports recently suggested Federico Chiesa is in a ‘race against time’ to play enough games to warrant a Premier League medal, should Liverpool win the title.

Premier League guidelines previously suggested every player who has featured in five or more league games was guaranteed a medal… but they were altered in recent years to ensure 40 medals are dished out to the league winners – and they can hand them out as they see fit.

In 2017-18 when Manchester City won the title, for example, Pep Guardiola made sure to substitute highly rated teenagers Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz on enough times so they would get medals.

But with 40 available to Liverpool, Confidential believes Chiesa should not have any problem getting his hands on one. He has played just 25 league minutes in what has been a frustrating first season on Merseyside pockmarked by injuries and poor fitness.

And while we are on the topic of Chiesa, that was a fine cameo on Sunday. His finish was the sort of prolific fox-in-the-box play that Liverpool have been crying out for in recent weeks. He ran around with passion and energy, too.

With Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota in poor form, surely Chiesa deserves a run in the team.

His cameos in January, particularly off the bench at Brentford, were pleasing – but he had hardly been seen between then and the final minutes of the Carabao Cup final. It could soon be time to unleash Italy’s Euro 2020 winner.

Virgil’s French fancy?

It was interesting to observe Virgil van Dijk in close conversation with Paris Saint-Germain top brass Luis Campos and Nasser Al Khelaifi at Anfield last week.

The French club insisted the conversation was completely spontaneous and just a chat about the game – nothing to do with his future or any negotiations about Van Dijk’s unresolved contract situation.

That was obvious and expected. If PSG wanted Van Dijk, why would they be so public about it?

Production firm pitches to do adidas launch

Zut Media are among the production companies pitching to Liverpool to help launch their new adidas kits this summer.

The two parties have worked together before in 2020-21 when Zut produced a campaign around the theme of Walk On, driving content as a rallying call to everyone associated with the club to commit to a forward-facing belief in the future.

Liverpool commissioned Zut to produce a video that told the story of the club’s Premier League title success in 2020 and how ambition is part of the club’s DNA.

‘We created a video that looked back on years of achievement and celebrated a world-class manager and team,’ said Zut on their website.

‘But it didn’t just look back, it also needed to be future-thinking, inspirational and optimistic. Addressing and standing tall in the face of the challenges ahead.

‘We used a visually striking illustration and cell animation style, which allowed us to switch between the past, present and future, in the same style.

‘We worked on this project during the height of the pandemic so player appearance was difficult, but the use of animation overcame this. The result was an anthemic video that was dramatic in tone, building to a crescendo.’

Now, the company are pitching to work together again ahead of Liverpool officially launching their new adidas kits and merchandise in August.

Liverpool won a trophy this week after all!

A Champions League exit and a Carabao Cup final disappointment, but Liverpool did win a trophy this week.

The club’s grounds team has been honoured for the elite upkeep of all club pitches including Anfield and St Helens Stadium, where the women’s team play.

The grounds team has been named professional football grounds team (elite) of the year, for incredible turf management across the 339,500 square metres they survey.

Recent milestones include the installation of a hybrid carpet pitch at St Helens Stadium, just four weeks before the first Women’s Super League fixture, and replacing Anfield’s old pitch with a new hybrid surface in only three weeks, ready for the 2023-24 Premier League season.

After hosting over 250,000 fans at Anfield across five unforgettable concert nights in 2024, the team once again demonstrated their precision and speed, by reinstalling a pristine hybrid pitch in record time, ensuring the turf was completely match proof.

Hats off to the stadium’s operations team led by Paul Cuttill and also a shout out to the robotic lawn mowers who oversee most of the turf – they have cut mowing emissions by 97 per cent!

Mixed zone diaries

Curtis Jones spent around 20 minutes chatting to Anthony Gordon in the Wembley corridors after the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.

The pair know each other well from England duty – both seniors and Under 21s – but one cannot help thinking that Gordon, who was offered to Liverpool last summer, would improve this team.

No signs at this stage that any resurrection of that mooted move will happen in the future, but it was a classy touch from Jones to get over the annoyance of losing the final to congratulate his good pal Gordon and have a lengthy chin-wag.

Meanwhile, the integrity and openness of Slot in the aftermath of the defeat on Sunday should be noted. Most managers would have wanted to get in and out of their press conference in a flash but the Dutchman was happy to engage in tactical debates.

When a Dutch journalist, the author of a book about Slot’s time at Feyenoord, was not selected to ask a question, the Liverpool head coach made sure to point to him and allow the point, rather than just get up and leave at the end of the press conference. Fair play.

Hinds incident treated as isolated

The Taylor Hinds incident is being regarded as a one-off by the club and has not caused Liverpool to increase security measures at their women’s games, Confidential understands.

Hinds, the women’s team vice-captain, was subjected to ‘sexually inappropriate’ comments from a spectator during their FA Cup win at Arsenal earlier this month.

The incident occurred while Hinds was receiving treatment on the pitch, and the alleged perpetrator was subsequently removed from the stadium by the stewarding team at Borehamwood.

Confidential has been told that the club did not increase their security presence at their fixture against Manchester United on Friday night because they are treating the incident as isolated.

Barnes to the rescue

Liverpool great John Barnes was able to help out former England team-mate Stuart Pearce following the latter’s recent health scare by taking on an after-dinner speaking engagement the legendary defender was unable to fulfil.

Fans who had booked to see Pearce in Coventry on March 7 were granted An Audience with John Barnes about his life and times with the Reds.

Barnes was also set to replace Pearce at his gig in Huddersfield last Friday but the player dubbed ‘Psycho’ during his time as a hard-man player had recovered so well he was able to take the stage himself.

Among his stories for the audience was the curious episode of playing ex-Liverpool goalkeeper David James up front when he was manager of Manchester City.

Pearce was recently taken ill on a transatlantic flight from Las Vegas with the plane stopping in Canada so he could receive hospital treatment. He has since, thankfully, made a great recovery.

Anfield coach puts pen to paper

Liverpool goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte, one of Slot’s recruits last summer, has this week released another academic paper.

Titled ‘the value for opposed and unopposed practice’, it argues that repetition in football coaching is overvalued.

You can read it HERE. 

Red Riddle

Welcome back to Red Riddle.

Last week I asked you to name the first scorer of the Nike era at Liverpool, with the club to change kit suppliers from August, and the answer was… Takumi Minamino in the 2020 Community Shield.

And for a bonus point, the final scorer of the New Balance era at Anfield was Sadio Mane, in a 3-1 win at Newcastle from behind to cap the title-winning season. I wonder who will be the final goalscorer of the Nike years and whether that will also be a title-winning day!

This week, something a bit different… five Italians have scored in the League Cup (Carabao Cup) final. Who are they? Hint: two have or currently do play for Liverpool.