The six Liverpool stars that could depart on a free transfer next summer, including wonderkid and 86-time international
Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces huge decisions on the future of six players, including one he’s just signed
Liverpool are preparing for their second full season under Arne Slot and while the bulk of the summer was centred around new signings, since the start of the month attention has started to turn towards potential departures.
During the most recent transfer window, Slot allowed the likes of Jarell Quansah, Caoimhín Kelleher and Nat Phillips all to depart, but the biggest story was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave his boyhood club on a free transfer after agreeing a transfer to Real Madrid.
The England international is believed to have turned down a number of different opportunities to extend his stay after prolonged interest from Xabi Alonso’s side, although the one slight silver lining from that one is that Madrid paid a small fee believed to be around £8.6m to bring the player to the Bernabeu around a month ahead of schedule so he could be a part of the Club World Cup.
Contract situations were the talk of the city for large chunks of last season, as both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk eventually opted to remain with the club after their title heroics, but it now seems that many of Slot’s press conferences are likely to be centred around player’s contracts again with the bulk of the attention being centred around Ibrahima Konate amid interest from Real Madrid.
Liverpool supporters will hope that history doesn’t repeat itself in the case of the Frenchman, particularly after a failed move for Marc Guehi on deadline day. But who else is at risk of departing Anfield on a free next summer? Here’s the latest.
The six Liverpool stars that could depart for free next summer
Ibrahima Konate is in the final season of his five-year-contract at Anfield and faces an uncertain future at the club after reportedly turning down more than one different offer to extend his stay. The French international remains a key starter this season but is able to sign a pre-contract agreement with another European club by January if a fresh deal isn’t agreed.
Elsewhere, another high-profile star at risk of departure is Andrew Robertson. The 86-time Scottish international is arguably one of the club’s all-time great left-backs but has recently dropped down the pecking order after the arrival of youngster Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth. Defender Rhys Williams also faces an uncertain future along with Trey Nyoni, an 18-year-old youngster with six appearances, but none in the Premier League.
Nyoni has high hopes of making an impact similar to 17-year-old sensation Rio Ngumoha, who netted the winner against Newcastle United. Ngumoha has been the talk of the town throughout pre-season and has lived up to the hype in the early weeks of the campaign. However, he too is only contracted until the summer of 2026, although an extension is likely.
Slot completed 10 first team signings in total and put the bulk of his new additions on long-term contracts. The exception to that rule is ex-Preston goalkeeper Freddie Woodman. He was signed on a free but has only been given a one-year deal, although that contract does include the option of an extension if he wishes to remain third choice by Alisson Becker and youngster Giorgi Mamardashvili in the long run.
Who else is likely to depart next summer?
Kostas Tsimikas has joined AS Roma on a season-long loan and is unlikely to return to the first team squad after falling behind Milos Kerkez and Andrew Robertson. The same applies for Harvey Elliott after his move to Aston Villa on a season-long loan.
His deal features an option to buy, believed to be around £35m and is likely to be activated by Unai Emery’s side after they get over their recent PSR hurdles.
Vítězslav Jaroš, Harvey Davies, Owen Beck, Isaac Mabaya, Luca Stephenson, Lewis Koumas, James Balagizi and James McConnell have all agreed to spend the season on loan and will have to do really well at their new clubs to prove to Slot that they are capable of breaking into an extremely well-oiled team.