Today’s Liverpool news sees club hero Steven Gerrard weigh in on transfers as Jurgen Klopp addresses fans
Steven Gerrard has had his say on Liverpool’s transfer business (Image: 2026 Chris Brunskill/Fantasista)
Liverpool’s difficulties this campaign have been extensively chronicled. The Reds’ extraordinary foray into the transfer market last summer was meant to herald a new period of supremacy, yet those aspirations have not come to fruition.
Their eye-watering £450million outlay secured some of the most sought-after players in global football. From Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak both arriving for record sums to Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike also joining, Arne Slot appeared to have struck gold when it came to recruiting tomorrow’s stars.
As it transpired, bedding in players can require time, as can reconstructing a squad that comfortably claimed the Premier League title last term. Liverpool are now confronting another summer of upheaval with Slot’s future uncertain and numerous players connected with a switch to Anfield.
READ MORE: Liverpool on ‘red alert’ as Real Madrid transfer talks set to begin after blame laid outREAD MORE: Liverpool fan group planning matchday protest at rising ticket prices – ‘We’ll make them listen’
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated LFC Facebook page
Today’s developments see club legend Steven Gerrard identify his preferred transfer target for the club this summer, while former manager Jurgen Klopp has spoken to supporters.
Gerrard’s favoured transfer
While Gerrard has championed the Reds to acquire Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise this summer, the Champions League-winning icon reckons the club should pursue the re-signing of club favourite Luis Diaz.
Diaz departed Liverpool last summer, signing for Bayern for £65m. The Colombian has impressed in the Bundesliga this season, particularly against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday evening, during which he helped the Germans secure a 2-1 advantage heading into the second leg.
“All day long,” he responded when asked on TNT Sports if he fancied seeing Olise at Liverpool. “But the problem is, why would he leave Bayern Munich? Big club, they’re challenging for the big honours, probably the strongest Bayern Munich team we’ve seen for a while.
“He’s about to take the World Cup by storm come the summer, he looks like a really happy kid, settled… I don’t think he’s going anywhere. But yes, I would love him at Liverpool, and you know what? I wouldn’t mind Diaz back as well.”
Luis Diaz has been in fine form for Bayern this season(Image: Oscar J. Barroso/Getty Images)
Gerrard also addressed the topic on talkSPORT, discussing how the club can replace Mo Salah, who is expected to depart at the end of the campaign. He said: “I think the concern, if you’re trying to replace Salah, in terms of like, for like, I think there’s very few out there that you can go and grab,” he said.
“Olise would be one, I would say, but I don’t think he’d be available, but from experience, being around Liverpool as a player, and also since I’ve left, Liverpool’s recruitment team will have different options, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll look for a like-for-like.
“When we had to replace [Sadio] Mane, for example, we went for Diaz, who’s slightly different, or when [Luis] Suarez has left, they’ve had different types of options to try and replace the players.”
Klopp’s verdict
Klopp has expressed his gratitude to Liverpool supporters for their backing throughout his nine years at Anfield. The legendary German reflected on his remarkable tenure at the club during an appearance on That Peter Crouch podcast.
The former Reds manager was at the helm for nearly a decade before his departure in May 2024, and claimed every major honour available to the club, including a first league championship in 30 years in 2020 and the club’s sixth Champions League triumph in 2019.
The head of global soccer at Red Bull was recently given a hero’s welcome upon his return to Anfield to oversee a Liverpool Legends fixture against his former side, Borussia Dortmund. Speaking to former Liverpool forward Crouch, Klopp said: “I mean we had a good time and nobody, I mean it, nobody has to say thank you to me or whatever and I hear it quite often.
Jurgen Klopp was speaking on Peter Crouch’s podcast(Image: That Peter Crouch podcast)
“Because I have to say thank you for the exact same reasons. I do it all the time when I see people: ‘Oh thank you, for supporting us over the years.’ So it is just what we needed was what we experienced and it just was our life. We tried to do absolutely everything to be as successful as possible and it worked sometimes, sometimes it didn’t.
“We failed big, we failed in moments and the thing is this is what I always wanted, when I am old, looking back and having a smile on my face. Nobody can think back to these nine years without a smile on their face because it was just great. Everything about it, how connected we were.
“So I understand 100% why people are happy when they see me because I stand for this period. And I am as happy as they are when I see them because they stand for this period.”
Buy Blood Red, our monthly Liverpool FC print publication for just £3.50 by clicking here