Liverpool are in fierce negotiations with PSG for superstar winger Bradley Barcola, who was not a starter for the French national team due to the presence of Ballon d’Or contenders Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise but still managed to make a big impact.
While Liverpool do need a top left winger to replace Luis Diaz and start over Cody Gakpo and need star power overall to replace Mohamed Salah, a lot of their biggest needs were on defense last season – a defense that did not get better with the departure of Ibrahima Konate to Real Madrid.
Here are three areas of need for Liverpool to address this summer before the 2026/27 Premier League season starts that are even more pressing than adding Barcola to the attack.
Center back
Virgil van Dijk is still world class, but he can’t play forever. And as Salah taught Liverpool fans, Father Time can catch up pretty quickly to even the best players in the world. And right now, the Reds have no depth and no real proven starter next to Van Dijk. The best options are Joe Gomez and young Giovanni Leoni, who is coming off a serious injury.
Liverpool need to sign a center back at least on the level of Ibrahima Konate, if not higher, given the Frenchman struggled last season. When Liverpool were at their best, they had the top central defenders in the league, an that is not the case right now.
Right back
Jeremie Frimpong is almost more of a winger than a right back, and while Reds fans had high hopes for Conor Bradley after he shut Kylian Mbappe down in 2024 in a Champions League match against Real Madrid, the young fullback has had very little to show to the club after that.
Liverpool have not come close to replacing current Real Madrid starter Trent Alexander-Arnold, and a world class right back would go a long way in helping this team compete for the Premier League title again.
Defensive midfield
It may be controversial to say that Liverpool need a defensive midfielder more than a new left winger like Bradley Barcola, but while Ryan Gravenberch was stellar when Arne Slot won the title in 2024/25 and Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, and even Dominik Szoboszlai are options in the deeper midfield as double pivots, Gravenberch is the only one who can play as a true No. 6.
And even then, Liverpool need a real deep lying tempo setter, playmaker, and ball winner. They need a guy either like Fabinho or like Thiago Alcantara to pair with Gravenberch and give him some help in that regard, because he was overwhelmed badly last season. Liverpool have Florian Wirtz and two great strikers, as well as Cody Gakpo; a stronger spine would go a long way in helping those guys.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.