Liverpool's Summer of Change: Departures and New Beginnings
Anfield faces a summer of goodbyes and hard questions. The kind that define a new era before a ball is even kicked.
Arne Slot, or whoever ultimately leads Liverpool into the next chapter, will inherit a squad heavy on history but suddenly light on proven Premier League title winners. Andy Robertson, a symbol of the Klopp revolution at full-back, has said his emotional farewell. Mohamed Salah, the ‘Egyptian King’ and the club’s 257-goal phenomenon, is preparing to walk away from Merseyside and test himself elsewhere.
Those departures alone would shake the foundations. They are not alone.
Ibrahima Konate is drifting towards free agency. In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister have all found their names dragged into exit talk. Even Alisson, the Brazilian goalkeeper who has been a pillar of the modern Liverpool, has not escaped the rumour mill.
This is not a gentle refresh. It is a potential rebuild.
At the heart of it all sits the gaping hole Salah will leave on that right flank. Four Golden Boots. Relentless numbers. Relentless responsibility. Liverpool cannot simply replace that with a like-for-like clone; those do not exist. The question is whether they try to buy a ready-made star now or accept a short-term compromise while waiting for the right long-term fit.
Names are already in circulation. Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise. Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Players with the kind of profile that excites a fanbase and drains a transfer budget.
John Arne Riise, speaking exclusively to GOAL in association with ToonieBet, knows what a major rebuild feels like at a club that expects to compete for everything. He hears the same signals from Slot’s early comments.
“If you look at Arne Slot's interviews a few times now, he speaks about there's some changes to be done with the football club for next season,” Riise said. “I think some players will go and I think they're going to get some players.”
Liverpool spent heavily last season to reshape the midfield. That spree has consequences now.
“They went big last season, didn't they? Spent so much money. How much more money do they have to spend big?” Riise asked.
The implication is clear: this might not be a summer of scattergun spending. The club may have to lean on last year’s signings to kick on, to improve “step by step” rather than through another dramatic overhaul.
Those marquee wide options, Olise and Kvaratskhelia, would transform any attack. Riise is under no illusions about their quality.
“Those players you mentioned, it would have been unbelievable to sign for Liverpool,” he admitted, before circling back to the reality of budgets and fit. The club cannot simply chase names; it has to find players who truly suit Slot’s system.
Behind that tactical debate sits a more uncomfortable truth. Some of those already at Anfield have not done enough.
“There's changes to be done, needing to be done, because there's some players this season that have been way off form,” Riise said. “I think it's when you're too confident in your position. I don't think they put the work in that they should have, some of the players. And you can see the performance hasn't been up to the standard either.”
Managers tend to carry the blame when standards slip. Riise pushed back on that familiar narrative.
“Everybody blames the manager but us players, we know ourselves when we haven't been good enough and there's some players who need to step up for next season.”
Amid the uncertainty, one bright spark has cut through the gloom. Rio Ngumoha, still only 17, ended the 2025-26 campaign with two senior goals and a reputation as Liverpool’s next great hope. In a summer dominated by Salah’s exit, it is tempting to fast-track the teenager into that vacant right-wing role and call it evolution.
Riise urged caution.
“I think he needs to stay at Liverpool and he needs to get a great pre-season for next season,” he said. That is the first step: keep him in-house, keep him learning, keep him close.
Game time will follow.
“He will get more starting time next season but he's only 17 and his body won't handle playing week in, week out. Plus, he will go up and down in performances because he's young. It's just normal.”
This is the reality of youth development. Talent is obvious. Consistency takes years.
“So for me, he's not a starting XI regular yet because he needs time,” Riise continued. “But he will start a lot more games next season. He will play longer games as well to get his fitness up but he won't be able to replace Mo Salah as a starter. We need someone else to come in and fill that role and do the job that Mo Salah has done.”
That is the crux of Liverpool’s summer.
A legendary forward line is breaking apart. Senior figures are moving on. A new coach must impose his ideas while a new hierarchy decides how hard to push financially. Somewhere in the middle, a 17-year-old prodigy tries to grow without being crushed by expectation.
Liverpool have navigated big transitions before. This one feels different. This time, there is no Salah safety net.
