When Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool at the end of the 2026/27 season, it really will feel like the final vestiges of the Jurgen Klopp era have been cleared out.
It will be a poignant day, but whether Liverpool are in a celebratory mood will surely boil down to the coming month, to FSG’s success in stocking Andoni Iraola‘s squad with further signings.
At the moment, the Reds are a little threadbare. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have arrived, but they are both young stars with a lot to prove. Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konate have all left on free transfers.
There is a marked lack of seniority about this Liverpool team, and a solution is needed, with Van Dijk entering the twilight stage of his Premier League career, while the Reds need to try and close the gap on champions Arsenal.
Where Liverpool still need to strengthen
Everywhere? All jokes aside, Liverpool are lacking across a number of key areas. Jacquet, 20, has not played throughout pre-season as he recovers from injury, while Joe Gomez is sidelined.
This emphasises the problems plaguing Liverpool at centre-back. Van Dijk is only just back after a post-World Cup break, and he will find a real lack of quality around him next year, with 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni reaching the final stages of convalescence after a long-term knee injury.
Though Dominik Szoboszlai is in line to cement himself as Liverpool’s vice-captain for the campaign ahead, Van Dijk remains the unmovable leader at the top of the tree.
The Netherlands skipper is now 35 years old. He’s still boss, but it’s understandable and undeniable that his influence and sharpness should start to wane. He needs more support, and right now, Liverpool don’t seem ready to pull the trigger on a defensive signing.
However, Van Dijk is transcendental. His impact reaches far beyond positional parameters. And given that Liverpool have issues in midfield and attack, it’s clear that Iraola needs a Van Dijk-like signing to boost his new system.
It doesn’t look like Liverpool are going to complete a marquee transfer at the back, but that’s not to say one or two mega-money purchases won’t be made in the coming weeks.
Liverpool ready to complete Van Dijk-esque signing
Liverpool could be in a spot of both if they fail to get the right signings through the door before the end of the transfer window. Liverpool might struggle to get a centre-half of Van Dijk’s calibre through the gates right now, but they could mimic his influence up front.
Indeed, as per transfer reporter Ben Jacobs, Liverpool are confident that they will beat rivals Arsenal to Bradley Barcola’s signature this summer, with the Paris Saint-Germain star rejecting a contract extension in the French capital.
PSG’s price tag could prove prohibitive, having yet to budge on their extortionate £145m valuation, but FSG believe they can get this one over the line ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Timing is everything here, and Liverpool intend to get Barcola as their leading target. If Liverpool agree a fee with PSG, Barcola wants to join. Liverpool’s starting point will be €100m (£87m). There’s probably some scope to go a little bit higher.
On the point of the Gunners’ potential rival interest, Jacobs also added: “If it is Arsenal versus Liverpool both with agreements with PSG, then my information is that Barcola is leaning towards Liverpool.”
Aged 23, Barcola has won back-to-back Champions League titles with PSG, one of Luis Enrique’s principal attacking threats and proving unstoppable when carrying the ball forward.
As with Van Dijk way back when, Liverpool may need to break the bank to get him over to Anfield, but it would be a signing that could move worlds and revive Liverpool as title contenders. The Dutch defender signed from Southampton for a record-breaking £75m fee in January 2018, and it wasn’t until then that Klopp’s outfit started moving toward a generational level.
|
PSG Top Scorers (24/25 – 25/26) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Apps |
Goals |
|
Ousmane Dembele |
93 |
55 |
|
Bradley Barcola |
113 |
34 |
|
Goncalo Ramos |
91 |
31 |
|
Desire Doue |
102 |
29 |
|
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia |
80 |
27 |
In fact, there is a further similarity to consider. Liverpool were rebuffed in their bid to sign the Saints star the previous summer, but they ultimately prevailed. Likewise, Liverpool sniffed around for PSG’s Les Bleus winger last year, only to receive a stiff rejection.
Whether Liverpool manage to get this one over the line remains to be seen, but there’s no question that Barcola has the quality to take centre-stage for Iraola’s Liverpool next season, supercharging a frontline who have lost Mohamed Salah and lacked any degree of dynamism and a world-class cutting edge last year.
Barcola is the real deal. He has been riding the crest of a wave with PSG and France over the past couple of years, and now, could grow into a talisman for a team such as Liverpool, should they beat Arsenal and Mikel Arteta to his signature.
Barcola might not be able to defend with the same panache as Van Dijk, but he could be a game-changing signing for the Reds, fixing Liverpool’s frontline and driving them back into the title-chasing ascendancy.
Let’s hope the Gunners don’t get there first.