Jamie Carragher Urges Liverpool to Sign Six Players This Summer | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Summer Rebuild: Why Jamie Carragher Might Be Right About Needing Six Signings

As the Premier League season nears its end, the tone at Anfield is more calculated than celebratory. While Arne Slot has guided Liverpool impressively through his debut season, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher’s latest comments in The Telegraph cut through any lingering sentiment. He suggests Liverpool need “as many as six” new signings this summer—an eyebrow-raising figure not typically associated with a team likely to capture the league title.

“When a team win the league, you anticipate one or two big signings to keep the juggernaut moving,” Carragher stated. “In all honesty, when looking at Slot’s squad, it feels like he may need as many as six before next summer. That is a statement you would expect to make about an underperforming team, or one requiring an overhaul.”

This is no knee-jerk analysis. It’s a sober assessment of a squad that, despite performing on the pitch, is treading water off it. The contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold—Liverpool’s holy trinity of experience, leadership and game-changing talent—are still unresolved. Their potential exits demand more than just plug-and-play replacements. They demand evolution.

Photo: IMAGO

Positional Priorities Signal a New Strategy

Carragher outlines Liverpool’s transfer needs with surgical precision. This isn’t a “wish list”—it’s a strategic roadmap.

“Liverpool need a left-back to compete with Andy Robertson,” he wrote. “Extending the Scottish captain’s Anfield career by reducing the necessity for him to play every game.”

It’s a pragmatic take. At 30, Robertson remains elite but cannot be expected to carry a 50-game workload. Kostas Tsimikas has had flashes, but consistency remains an issue.

Carragher continues, “They need a centre-back to ensure there is no crisis if Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté are unavailable.” Both players have carried heavy burdens this season—Konaté’s injury record in particular suggests depth is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Photo: IMAGO

The midfield? It remains a jigsaw puzzle. “A deep central midfielder so that Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are not as overburdened next season,” Carragher notes. Wataru Endō has been a surprise package but cannot shoulder the entire defensive midfield responsibility alone at 31.

Further up the pitch, Carragher calls for an attacking midfielder “who will score and create more than Dominik Szoboszlai” and a “left winger and centre-forward who can win games as often as Mohamed Salah.”

These aren’t critiques as much as they are challenges. Szoboszlai has shown flashes, but consistency in front of goal must improve. Replacing Salah’s production—32 goals and 22 assists this season—is bordering on the impossible, but Liverpool must try.

Financial Flexibility vs Transfer Reality

With a net spend of just £45 million last summer, Liverpool have some room to manoeuvre within Financial Fair Play limits. But Carragher correctly anticipates that key departures will be required to fund a full-scale rebuild.

Names such as Darwin Núñez and Caoimhin Kelleher are being floated as potential sales. Núñez, despite his industry and movement, has yet to convince as a clinical finisher. Kelleher, meanwhile, deserves regular first-team football, and his stock has never been higher.

Photo: IMAGO

Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes have the framework—now comes the delicate balancing act of player retention, smart recruitment, and making bold, even ruthless decisions.

Liverpool’s Future Hinges on Decisive Action

Carragher’s concerns are rooted in realism, not pessimism. This Liverpool side is not in disrepair, but it is in transition. Slot’s early success has bought time and trust—but expectations at Anfield don’t allow for second seasons without silverware or progress.

With the Premier League likely returning to Merseyside, the temptation may be to tinker rather than transform. Carragher’s warning is a reminder that standing still, especially in the Premier League, is simply not an option.

“Reinforcements are required independent of whether the big three out-of-contract stars stay,” he explains.

Photo: IMAGO

Liverpool must embrace change now—not because they’re in decline, but because they must protect their trajectory. Slot’s reign will be judged not just on style or sentiment, but sustainability.

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

For Liverpool fans, Carragher’s assessment might seem harsh at first glance—especially with the title potentially returning to Anfield. But scratch beneath the surface, and his logic is hard to fault.

The notion of needing six signings isn’t about panic—it’s about planning. If Salah leaves, and Van Dijk or Trent follow suit, we aren’t just replacing talent—we’re replacing culture. These players are Liverpool in the Klopp era. Their departures would mark the end of a golden age and the start of a Slot-centric rebuild.

And while fans might scoff at the idea of replacing Szoboszlai or selling Núñez, Carragher’s criticism is measured. It’s about depth, durability, and delivering when it counts. These next few months—before pre-season in Asia—will define how Slot’s Liverpool looks in his sophomore year. The names may change, but the expectations won’t.

Supporters should welcome Carragher’s clarity here. It’s a rallying cry: be ambitious, not nostalgic. Because sentimentality won’t win you another Premier League title. Smart signings, structured change, and decisive leadership just might.