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Pressure now on free-spending Liverpool to win everything
It's a good time to be a Liverpool fan.
The Reds are the reigning Premier League champions and are at the top of the standings at the international break, having won all three of their league matches so far.
And now, the summer transfer window has closed and Liverpool have come out of the frenzy even better than they were before, with their top two targets now calling Anfield home along with several other promising newcomers.
It has come at a considerable cost, of course — not only have Liverpool spent the most amount of money this summer on transfer fees out of all Premier League sides, they are the top-spending club in the world thanks to several high-profile acquisitions.
Most of that money was spent on two players, with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak each costing well over £100 million in transfer fees alone for Arne Slot's side. But the chequebook didn't just open for those two mega-signings, as Liverpool made another five eight-figure acquisitions since the window opened in June, spending an estimated £420 million on 10 incoming players.
And that's without the collapsed deadline day deal for Marc Guehi that would have cost the Reds another £35 million.
While it's an unfathomable amount of money for a single window, Liverpool did offset those massive costs with sales of nearly £200 million as stalwarts like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez all moved on from the club.
However, many will simply look at the transfer fees that were spent on incoming players and believe that Liverpool are in win now mode — and they would be correct. Teams don't spend that kind of cash to build towards a future payoff, Chelsea notwithstanding.
Liverpool have opened up the bank vault not only to maintain their status as the top dog in England, but also with an eye to winning the Champions League and more. This isn't a slow-burning strategy, it's simply a mammoth club doing what they need to do to maintain domestic superiority while also conquering frontiers outside of their nation's borders.
There was a period last season, when it became apparent that Liverpool would be favoured to win the Premier League, that talks of a quadruple dominated the narrative. In early January, Slot's men were nearly finished storming through the brand new league phase of the Champions League and were still alive in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. It seemed as though Liverpool could not lose, and they were seen as favourites to win everything.
It didn't happen, of course. They did top the UCL league phase, only to fall at the next hurdle to eventual champions PSG. They rotated their squad heavily for the fourth round of the FA Cup and fell to Plymouth Argyle. And they made it all the way to the Carabao Cup final only to lose to Newcastle United.
However, they did claim the Premier League title by a whopping 10 points in a season when they weren't really expected to challenge for the crown under new manager Slot.
That the Dutch gaffer was able to take over from Jurgen Klopp and immediately lead Liverpool to their 20th league title was both a pleasant surprise for the club's ownership and also the impetus for this summer's spending spree. With so many big-money, targeted reinforcements, things can only go up from here, right?
What's interesting is that, during Klopp's time in charge at Anfield, the beloved manager was extremely outspoken about the sharp rise in spending by big clubs in Europe and his concern that Liverpool wouldn't be able to keep up. Klopp famously spent many of his press conferences bemoaning the fact that clubs such as Manchester City and Newcastle can "do what they want financially" without any concerns for their balance sheet, while other massive clubs like Liverpool could not.
"Nobody can compete with City in that you have the best team in the world and you put in the best striker on the market," Klopp remarked when Erling Haaland joined the Sky Blues in 2022. "No matter what it costs, you just do it.
"I know, City will not like it, nobody will like it when you ask the question, but you know the answer ... we cannot act like them. It's impossible."
Just three years on and Liverpool have done exactly what Klopp said they couldn't. They outspent everybody and, in £130 million man Isak, they added the best striker on the market.
Staying at the top of the Premier League costs a lot, and Liverpool have shown that having even higher aspirations requires spending previously unheard of.
But while Slot and his staff will be thrilled to have landed almost all of their targets this summer, that £420 million price tag immediately puts a target on their backs. Not only was every other side in England already angling for their spot at the top, but now Liverpool have made a very clear statement of intent to the whole of Europe.
To justify the kind of money that they have parted with — an amount that would have made Klopp blush — Liverpool now have to win multiple trophies over several years. Simply winning the league will not cut it any longer, now Liverpool have set themselves up to be a dynasty that competes for everything.
Another Champions League title is a must over the next two years, as is multiple domestic cups. And a lucrative spot in the next FIFA Club World Cup? Pretty much required at this point.
The days of focusing on one competition over another are over for the time being, as Liverpool must win as many tirophies as possible over the next few years.
Will they do it? Only time will tell.
How to watch the Premier League in Canada
Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season on DAZN.
With Fubo Sports on DAZN, Canadians can catch Premier League action as well as Serie A. Additionally, DAZN is the home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Bundesliga and more.
For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.
