Liverpool's summer transfer priorities: From finally signing a specialist No.6 to finding a Mohamed Salah successor

At this point, it would now be more a surprise if Alexander-Arnold agreed to stay at Anfield. Of the three stars with expiring contracts, he was always the most likely to leave. He may be "the normal lad from Liverpool whose dream came true", but it's been clear for some time that Alexander-Arnold is drawn to the idea of joining his good friend Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid.

After all, he's made no secret of the fact that he wants to become the first right-back to win the Ballon d'Or, and playing at Santiago Bernabeu would undoubtedly help his cause, given just how seriously Florentino Perez & Co. take the prize...

Of course, losing Alexander-Arnold - and for nothing - would represent a devastating sporting and financial blow for Liverpool. He may not be the greatest defender in the world, but he has been utterly integral to the Reds' offensive game for years now, and he was very conspicuous by his absence at Wembley, where poor Jarell Quansah failed dismally to carry anything like the same attacking threat as the injured Alexander-Arnold.

Granted, the very exciting Conor Bradley would have started instead of Quansah had he been fit to play, but his unavailability was an issue in itself. The Northern Irishman has proven his world-class potential against the likes of Madrid this season, but the fact that he’s had four significant spells on the sidelines since the start of last season is a growing cause for concern.

It also has to be said that while Bradley is undoubtedly a more tenacious tackler than Alexander-Arnold and is also good going forward, he doesn't boast anything like the same range of crossing or passing. Then again, what right-back does?

It's highly likely that a lot of Liverpool fans probably won’t fully appreciate Alexander-Arnold’s attributes until he’s gone, because Bradley still needs time to develop and prove that he can play twice a week for an entire season. Even if the 21-year-old is the chosen successor, a worthy understudy will still have to be signed, as Quansah is not up to the task and Joe Gomez has never been more than a stop-gap solution.

At the end of the day, though, unless the Reds land an assist-machine like Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong this summer, the right-hand side is likely to be seriously diminished from an offensive perspective next season.

It was taken as a given that Liverpool would sign a quality centre-back this summer. They may need two, though. The presumption was that Van Dijk would eventually agree a new deal with the club, but speculation is mounting that the captain is now considering moving elsewhere.

The Dutchman's departure would decimate a defence that he's been holding together for years now - because he's not only Liverpool's most accomplished centre-back, he's their undisputed leader. Without him, there's a very real risk that the Reds' brittle backline would completely collapse.

Still, it's likely that there will be some talented centre-backs on the market this summer. Bournemouth have little chance of holding onto Dean Huijsen given how impressively the 19-year-old has performed during his debut season in the Premier League, and he's probably the ideal signing as far as Liverpool concerned - but competition for his services will be intense.

It's also been rumoured that the in-demand Marc Guehi favours a move to Anfield over Stamford Bridge, St. James' Park or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Crystal Palace ace certainly showed at last summer's Euros that he has the talent to thrive at the very highest level.

Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck is another name now being mentioned, though, as Liverpool have long been looking for a left-footed centre-back and the 25-year-old Germany international also fits their age profile.

Ronald Araujo cannot be discounted either. The Uruguayan very nearly left Barcelona during the January transfer window, and although he ended up signing a new contract, the suspicions remains that he only did so to ensure that the Catalans can secure top dollar for Araujo this summer.

Still, while all of these players would undoubtedly represent excellent additions to the Liverpool squad, especially as it's clear that Ibrahima Konate simply cannot be counted upon to deliver on a consistent basis, the hope is that any new arrival will be tasked with playing alongside Van Dijk for a year or two rather than immediately replacing him.

Liverpool fans are not just hoping that Richard Hughes returns to the Vitality Stadium to sign Huijsen this summer; they'd also love to see Bournemouth's former technical director snap up Milos Kerkez too - because the Reds are in dire need of a new left-back.

Andy Robertson has been a tremendous servant for Liverpool, unquestionably one of the finest signings in the club's history, given the prominent role he played during the Jurgen Klopp era after arriving at Anfield from Hull City in 2017 for an initial £8 million ($10m). However, playing full-throttle football for seven seasons clearly took a toll on the 31-year-old Scotland international, whose form has fluctuated wildly this season.

Kerkez, by contrast, has been consistently excellent for Bournemouth and, at just 21, he has the potential to become one of the most exciting full-backs in the Premier League. When one considers that Robertson's current understudy, Kostas Tsimikas, turns 29 in May, everything now points to Liverpool going all-out to sign Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary team-mate this summer.

It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Hughes for the way in which Martin Zubimendi's proposed move to Merseyside broke down. A deal had been agreed with the Spain international and there appeared to be nothing Real Sociedad could do about it, given Liverpool were willing to meet the buy-out clause in Zubimendi's contract. However, the Basques brilliantly managed to convince Zubimendi to perform a dramatic, 11th-hour U-turn by playing on his deep-rooted connection to the club.

Still, the fact that Liverpool didn't have a Plan B didn't reflect well on the Reds' recruitment team and Hughes was ultimately indebted to Slot for sparing him any further criticism from the fanbase by successfully converting Ryan Gravenberch into a No.6. The Bayern Munich flop has been one of the revelations of the season, and the only problem is that Liverpool have become too dependent on the Dutchman.

Salah and Van Dijk are the only Reds to have played more minutes in the Premier League this season than Gravenberch, who has looked utterly exhausted in recent weeks because of the especially demanding nature of his particular role. Slot has unquestionably contributed to his compatriot's fatigue by playing him constantly, but the coach will argue that he had no choice; that Wataru Endo, the only other orthodox defensive midfielder in the squad, isn't anywhere near as good in possession as Gravenberch.

It's imperative, then, Hughes belatedly signs a six, one that Slot sufficiently trusts to be able to give Gravenberch regular breaks next season. The big problem is, though, with Zubimendi seemingly set to join Arsenal instead this summer, Liverpool are likely to find it even tougher to find a worthy alternative.

Consequently, another hybrid midfielder may be acquired, particularly as Slot doesn't have that many options to his liking as it is, with only four players (Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones) presently competing for three slots and, as we discovered this season, that's not good enough for a squad that wants to challenge for both the Premier League and the Champions League on an annual basis.

Liverpool do not lack numbers in and around their forward line, but it's become increasingly evident that Slot trusts some players an awful lot more than others.

During pre-season, Harvey Elliott looked like he might be ideally suited to the No.10 role within the new manager's system - but even though the 21-year-old has once again impressed off the bench, he's still waiting for his first start in the Premier League. The same goes for Chiesa, whose situation is much more bizarre. The Italian's injury issues are well known, but it's been so strange to see him spending so much time on the bench, particularly in recent months, when the first-choice forwards began to struggle/tire.

Chiesa showed what he could do with his late goal against Newcastle, but unless he sees significantly more action in the remaining two months of the season, he will be questioning his long-term future at Anfield - just like Elliott. At the end of the day, if Slot doesn't trust either man, it makes no sense for them to spend another year sitting on the sidelines, meaning a parting of the ways would be best for everyone involved.

Luis Diaz, meanwhile, has had no issue with a lack of minutes, but the Colombian is also a curious case. The former Porto man looked to have added goals to his game during the first half of the season, but his end product has reverted to type since the turn of the year and if a big offer were to arrive for Diaz, it would likely be accepted, as Cody Gakpo has emerged as a better option on the left wing anyway.

The opposite flank requires attention too, of course. Even if Salah stays, Liverpool need to line up a successor as the Egyptian will be 33 at the start of next season. Rodrygo has been repeatedly touted as a possible replacement, but even though he may still be underrated by the wider footballing world, the Brazilian remains very highly valued at Real Madrid and it would take massive money to convince Los Blancos to part company with the 24-year-old.

It feels far more plausible that Liverpool will make a move for someone like Leroy Sane, the versatile Bayern Munich winger who is available on a free transfer. Certainly, in an ideal world, Slot would land an industrious attacker just as comfortable playing in the No.10 role as out wide, to give him the option to field a more creative attacking midfielder than Szoboszlai when the opportunity arises.

It's a sign of just how desperate Liverpool supporters are for the club to buy a new striker this summer that Alexander Isak's polite pat on Arne Slot's shoulder after the Carabao Cup final was interpreted by some as evidence that the Swede is bound for Anfield.

Isak is undoubtedly the kind of world-class No.9 the Reds are crying out for, a mobile and multi-talented attacker blessed with blistering pace who, at 25, definitely still has his best years ahead of him (injuries permitting!). Of course, the same was once said of Darwin Nunez while he was tearing it up at Benfica, but if we've learned anything this season, it's that the Uruguayan is not good enough to lead the line for Liverpool - and never will be.

Diogo Jota, by contrast, unquestionably has the ability, versatility and work-rate to make for a terrific centre-forward for the Reds. Unfortunately, his body continues to betray him to such an extent that it would not be a surprise to see him sold this summer, given he cannot be relied upon to stay fit for an entire campaign and has just not looked like the same dynamic force since returning from his latest injury issue.

Do not be at all surprised, then, if the majority of the money spent during Liverpool's likely summer spending spree goes on a proven and prolific goal-scorer.