Curtis Jones should be sold. Liverpool are right to back their judgement and avoid sleepwalking towards another player leaving for nothing next summer. In truth, this decision should have come a year ago, when two years remained on his contract and Liverpool held far greater leverage.

That is why the Alexis Mac Allister situation matters so much. Either secure him on a new deal now or make a hard decision while the club still controls the terms. Liverpool have been too passive in these situations, and it remains one of the strongest reasons I have so little faith in Richard Hughes.

Too often, Liverpool allow the calendar to become their enemy. Contracts run down, leverage disappears and suddenly a decision that should have been straightforward becomes complicated. Jones may still bring in a respectable fee, but the optimal moment to sell was last summer.

Trey Nyoni is a different conversation, and an exciting one.

The idea that he must somehow replace Curtis Jones’ entire workload is misleading. Jones played around 2,850 minutes last season, but 824 came outside midfield and 71 in the Community Shield. The relevant midfield figure is closer to 1,955 minutes.

Liverpool’s thinking appears to be far more measured, around 1,000 of those minutes could fall to Nyoni, with James McConnell taking roughly 500 and Wataru Endo helping more in the cups.

That is a sensible development pathway for a 19 year old who has looked composed, progressive and fearless in possession.

Nyoni has something Liverpool’s midfield can use. He wants the ball under pressure, trusts his technique and looks capable of moving possession through lines rather than simply circulating it safely. Iraola has already spoken positively about that quality, and this summer has offered genuine evidence that Nyoni is becoming ready for a larger role.

There should still be some restraint. A thousand minutes is one thing. Asking him to become a pillar of the midfield because the recruitment department failed to act is another entirely.

Liverpool still need more.

A defensively minded midfielder in the Lamine Camara mould remains necessary. Liverpool lack a player whose instincts naturally lean towards protecting space, winning duels and giving the midfield a stronger defensive platform.

I will also keep championing Adam Wharton because Liverpool still lack an elite progressive passer from deeper areas. Wharton sees passes early, breaks lines and gives a midfield structure from possession that Liverpool do not currently possess in abundance.

Chema Andrés would also be intelligent recruitment, even if Liverpool secured him now and loaned him back to Stuttgart for the season. That is the sort of forward planning elite clubs should be pursuing, identifying the player before the market becomes crowded and the price becomes prohibitive.

Liverpool can believe in Nyoni while still strengthening the midfield around him. Those ideas belong together.

Doing nothing in midfield this summer would leave Liverpool wide open and Iraola short. For Hughes, that would rank among the most negligent decisions of his Liverpool tenure.

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When I first wrote about Jeff Bezos and Liverpool, I suggested we might be witnessing the beginning of the end for Fenway Sports Group.

When the investment became reality, I returned to the subject because the scale of the consortium made the long term possibilities impossible to ignore.

Now we know considerably more.

And frankly, this is moving faster than I expected.

The original suggestion was that 1892 Holdings, the consortium led by Amit Bhatia and involving Jeff Bezos, the Saverin family and the Mittal Family Trusts, had purchased somewhere between 30% and one third of Liverpool.

The reality is considerably more significant.

The figure is reportedly around 38%.

More importantly, the agreement contains an option allowing 1892 Holdings to purchase a controlling stake in Liverpool within the next 12 months. It is an option, not an obligation, and there is no guarantee it will ever be exercised.

That distinction matters.

So does the existence of the option.

I have tried throughout this story to separate what we know from what I think. What we now know makes my original suspicion increasingly difficult to dismiss.

FSG may remain Liverpool’s owners for years.

But the road towards a change of control now exists.

It is written into the deal.

FSG Succession Is No Longer Merely Hypothetical

When the original investment discussions emerged, there were perfectly reasonable arguments against reading too much into them.

FSG had sold minority stakes before.

Dynasty Equity bought around 3% of Liverpool in 2023. RedBird Capital Partners had previously invested in FSG itself.

Minority investment is normal business.

38% cent feels different.

An option to acquire control feels very different.

FSG currently retain majority ownership and operational control. Liverpool’s official position remains that 1892 Holdings will work alongside FSG and the club’s leadership to identify opportunities for long term growth.

Nobody should pretend John W Henry has sold Liverpool when he plainly hasn’t.

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It has been a poor summer for transfers.

There is no point dressing it up. Liverpool have not done the business most of us expected, certainly not to the extent required after losing important players and heading into a new season with obvious gaps still sitting there in the squad.

There is time yet. There is also still hope those gaps will be filled.

Whatever happens from here, we will be across it in the way we always are, written coverage on the website, reaction and debate across social media, audio podcasts, live shows and increasingly, YouTube.

For now though, with Newcastle United waiting on Sunday, I find myself thinking about one of the players Liverpool did bring in.

Jeremy Jacquet has fascinated me for a while.

I have spent a fair amount of time going back through his early years, watching whatever footage I could find from Rennes, Clermont and the French youth sides, trying to understand why Liverpool were prepared to commit £60m to him at such a young age.

The clues were always there.

There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about the way he defends. He reads danger early, covers ground frighteningly quickly and seems comfortable when asked to defend enormous spaces.

Put the ball in the air and he attacks it. Run at him and those long legs eat up the ground. Give him possession and he has the composure to play rather than simply clear his lines.

Those who watched him develop have spoken about his intelligence, maturity and ability to understand situations remarkably quickly. That part really interests me.

Physical gifts can carry a defender a long way. Judgement can carry him much further.

I was already excited about Jacquet before Sunday.

After 45 minutes against Como, that excitement feels rather better founded.

Nobody should pretend a pre season half guarantees anything. There will be mistakes. There will be difficult afternoons. There will be lessons delivered by Premier League forwards who have made careers out of punishing hesitation.

Still, you could see the outline of the player Liverpool believe they have bought.

Strong, quick, aggressive, calm with the ball, decisive without it.

Even the manner in which he recovered possession and immediately looked to play felt important. It was not frantic defending. It was controlled defending.

Now comes the really intriguing part, watching him learn alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool may have bought their centre back for the future.

Sunday suggested the future could arrive rather sooner than expected.

EPL Index Is Back On YouTube

Away from the transfer noise and preparations for Newcastle, this has also been a big week behind the scenes for us.

After bringing Anfield Index properly to YouTube around 18 months ago, we felt the start of a new Premier League season was the right time to do the same with EPL Index.

EPL Index has always been our home for wider football coverage and we want the YouTube channel to become an extension of that.

Nothing is changing for listeners who prefer audio.

All of our EPL Index shows will continue to be available as audio podcasts, including Dave Hendrick’s Two Footed Podcast. The move into YouTube is about adding another way to watch, listen and get involved.

The initial schedule is deliberately focused rather than enormous, but there should still be plenty to get stuck into.

Tadiwa Chankira will bring A Tad Predictable twice per week.

Nina Kauser and Ben Pescod will host Final Whistle every Sunday.

Mo Chatra will take Money Talks beyond Liverpool and into the wider Premier League financial landscape.

Dave Davis will host an expanded version of Newsround, covering football far beyond Merseyside.

Then we have Lola and Scarlet Katz Roberts, the wonderfully feisty twins behind Goal Difference, bringing their own take on the Premier League.

We are also building some formats specifically for YouTube.

Fan Focus will be one of those, a live, interactive panel show where the audience becomes part of the conversation. We are aiming to have that running at least two nights per week.

The idea is simple. More football, more voices, more debate, more interaction.

Anfield Extra Gives Us Somewhere For Everything Else

Last week we also launched Anfield Extra on YouTube.

As Anfield Index has grown on the platform, we have increasingly found ourselves with more video content than we can sensibly fit onto the main channel.

Anfield Index Extra gives that content a proper home.

Extra podcast cuts, additional interviews, analysis and videos that might otherwise disappear because of the sheer volume of material being produced can now live there without overwhelming the main Anfield Index feed.

If you enjoy what we produce, please subscribe to both EPL Index and Anfield Extra.

For a small independent fan media company, those subscriptions genuinely make a difference.

Our Biggest Technology Project Yet

There is another major project taking place behind the scenes.

Work is well underway on the completely rebuilt Anfield Index website and our new Android and Apple apps.

This is comfortably the biggest technology revamp our small independent fan media company has ever undertaken.

It is a huge project, touching virtually every part of the Anfield Index experience, and we will be sharing much more about it over the coming weeks.

I cannot wait for people to start using some of the new features.

One of the additions I am particularly excited about concerns video.

AI:Pro subscribers will be able to access our video content directly through the website and apps with zero ads.

No YouTube adverts interrupting the conversation, no cuts to accommodate advertising, just the content.

AI:Pro remains available from only £4.99 per month, and it remains the best way to directly support everything we are trying to build while getting access to all of our content without cuts or ads.

We are still independent.

We aren’t an extension of LFC’s club media arm.

We are still fan media.

We are also trying to build something considerably bigger and better than what we had before.

There is plenty more to come.

As ever, we would love to hear your thoughts, whether that is about the new channels, the new technology, the shows you want to see or what you think we should be doing differently.

And after months dominated by transfers, rumours, finances and endless speculation, I cannot wait to get back to talking about what actually happens on the pitch.

Newcastle on Sunday.

Jacquet potentially alongside Van Dijk.

A new season.

Finally, some football.

It’s finally happening. Liverpool are running towards the final hurdle and are just steps away from landing a player they have wanted not just all summer, not just for the last 12 months but for the best part of over three years. 

Ever since he emerged on the scene at Lyon Bradley Barcola has been a player highly regarded by Liverpool’s scouting department. 

When Jurgen Klopp wanted to add more depth to his attack in 2023, Barcola was considered as a potential option to provide a back-up option in attack. 

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Trying not to get too excited about Jeremy Jacquet after 45 minutes of a pre-season friendly, yet that was some introduction.

There was an authority about him that caught the eye immediately. Strong in the challenge, quick across the ground, calm when Como tried to turn him, comfortable enough on the ball to play his way out of pressure. Then, naturally, he goes and scores in front of the Kop.

He’s 21, there will be difficult afternoons ahead, and Newcastle next Sunday will provide an altogether sterner examination. Still, you could see exactly why Liverpool were prepared to invest so heavily in him. The raw materials are obvious. Pace, strength, composure, anticipation. Playing alongside Virgil van Dijk should only accelerate his education.

Jeremie Frimpong deserves plenty of praise too. That was comfortably his most convincing performance at right back in a Liverpool shirt. His attacking qualities have never been in doubt, today there was far more substance defensively as well. Recovery pace, aggression, one vital intervention inside his own area, and the assist for Cody Gakpo’s opener. If Iraola can draw that level from him consistently, the conversation around right back changes considerably.

Gakpo was sharp, Ronald Araujo looked assured, and there was plenty to like.

There are still warning lights. Liverpool faded again after half time and surrendered too much territory. Better teams will punish that.

For tonight, though, Jacquet is the one I keep coming back to.

Forty five minutes.

Far too early.

And yet, wow.

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There are three areas of this Liverpool squad that I find particularly interesting as we head towards the new season. Ronald Araújo has arrived on loan from Barcelona, Ibrahim Mbaye is a young winger I would absolutely like Liverpool to sign, and the possible midfield combination of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz raises some genuine questions.

None of those discussions is particularly straightforward.

Araújo has barely played enough football over the past two years to make completely confident predictions. Mbaye is only 18 and has played fewer than 1,000 senior minutes. Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Wirtz are all extremely talented footballers.

The numbers, however, give us something tangible to work with.

Ronald Araújo Offers Liverpool Plenty of Upside

Araújo is a difficult player to assess because the first caveat is his lack of football over the past couple of seasons. Whatever anybody thinks of him as Barcelona captain or as a player, he has not accumulated the minutes you would ideally want when analysing somebody.

Physically, though, there is plenty there.

At 192 centimetres, he brings the sort of stature I always want to see in a centre half. His defensive metrics also show a player who, when at his best, can be extremely dominant.

His aerial duels ranked in the 97th percentile, his ground duels in the 95th percentile and his aerial duels won in the 90th percentile. His overall defending was also around the 96th percentile.

Those are very strong numbers. As the above image suggests, he is above average in aerial duels.

Some metrics are considerably lower, including box clearances, but context matters. Araújo has been playing for Barcelona, a side expected to have large amounts of possession. He therefore gets fewer opportunities to perform certain defensive actions.

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When I wrote my previous piece on Liverpool’s ownership situation, my central argument was relatively simple.

I believed we might be witnessing the beginning of the end for Fenway Sports Group at Liverpool.

Not an imminent sale. Not John W Henry packing his bags tomorrow. Not some grand conspiracy being played out behind closed doors in Boston.

I simply felt that a substantial minority investment could eventually be remembered as the first meaningful step in an orderly transition away from FSG.

At that point, Jeff Bezos had been approached about joining a consortium led by Amit Bhatia. There were questions about valuations, percentages and whether anything would happen at all.

Less than three weeks later, the landscape looks rather different.

The latest reporting suggests a consortium led by Bhatia, and now including Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is closing in on acquiring roughly one-third of Liverpool Football Club. An announcement could reportedly arrive within days.

The proposed transaction values Liverpool at around $6 billion.

That matters.

So does the size of the stake.

So do the people apparently assembling behind it.

I was cautious about declaring this the beginning of an FSG exit when I wrote previously. I remain cautious now because we simply do not know FSG’s intentions.

But I am more convinced than I was then that something significant is happening.

You do not casually assemble this collection of money, influence and experience to buy around 30% of one of world football’s greatest institutions.

And Liverpool supporters are entitled to ask where all of this eventually leads.

Bezos, Bhatia and Saverin Change the Scale of Liverpool Investment

Jeff Bezos inevitably gets the headlines.

That is understandable. His fortune is estimated at more than $280 billion. Numbers at that level almost cease to mean anything to normal people.

But focusing solely on Bezos risks missing what is actually being constructed.

Eduardo Saverin brings another estimated fortune of around $33 billion. He also brings previous interest in football ownership, having been part of a consortium involved in the unsuccessful attempt to buy Chelsea in 2022.

Amit Bhatia brings something different again.

He spent nearly two decades involved with Queens Park Rangers and has genuine experience inside English football. He is also married to Vanisha Mittal, daughter of Lakshmi Mittal.

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I am almost smiling ear to ear about the latest development surrounding Liverpool, FSG and the consortium featuring Jeff Bezos.

I see it absolutely as a positive development.

The reports are suggesting that we could see a sale of slightly over the 30 per cent that had been touted in recent weeks, potentially around a third of Liverpool Football Club. Forbes has also reported that a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, including Jeff Bezos and Facebook co founder Eduardo Saverin, is nearing a deal to acquire roughly one third of Liverpool.

If the new consortium owns around 33 per cent, Dynasty Equity owns approximately 3 per cent, that would leave around 64 per cent sitting with FSG.

That immediately makes this a hugely significant development.

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I couldn’t care less that Liverpool lost 2-3 to Monaco. It’s pre-season. The score will be forgotten before Monday morning.

What matters is what the game revealed.

For 45 minutes Liverpool looked quick, aggressive and dangerous. Alexander Isak wanted the ball constantly, Florian Wirtz kept finding pockets where good footballers cause damage, Cody Gakpo looked sharp, and there was a purpose to the attacking play that had been missing far too often last season.

There’s a very good football team in there.

The problem is how quickly it disappears.

Once the changes came, Liverpool lost authority, creativity and threat. The second half became flat, disjointed and increasingly vulnerable. That concerns me far more than any friendly defeat because it exposed the distance between Liverpool’s best players and the options underneath them.

A Premier League season doesn’t allow you to pick your best eleven every week. Injuries arrive. Form disappears. Suspensions come. Champions League nights demand rotation. That is where squads are judged.

Isak and Wirtz can transform this attack if they stay fit. Iraola looks capable of getting far more from both. Yet Liverpool cannot build a season around hoping the first-choice players are always available.

There are three weeks left in this transfer window.

Richard Hughes must use them properly.

Liverpool need more quality, more reliability and more genuine first-team options. Fail to do that and a top-four challenge could become far harder than it needs to be.

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There is a temptation whenever Liverpool make a signing to immediately decide whether it is good or bad. Social media has become a courtroom where verdicts arrive before evidence. Ronald Araujo hasn’t even landed on Merseyside yet, and he has already been labelled everything from the answer to Liverpool’s defensive problems to another Arthur Melo waiting to happen.

I find myself somewhere in the middle.

If Araujo completes his move to Anfield, he will have my full support from the first whistle. Every player who wears the Liver bird deserves that. I hope he succeeds. I hope Andoni Iraola helps him rediscover the form that once made him one of Europe’s most coveted defenders. I hope Liverpool have unearthed another bargain that leaves us all looking foolish for doubting it.

I also think this transfer is a damning reflection of where Liverpool’s recruitment has drifted over the past year.

Those two opinions are not contradictory. In fact, they sit comfortably alongside one another.

Too much of the discussion has centred on Ronald Araujo. The far bigger story is why Liverpool have found themselves needing Ronald Araujo in the first place.

Recruitment Has Become Reactive Instead of Ruthless

For years Liverpool were admired because they rarely looked surprised.

They anticipated problems before everyone else spotted them. Replacements were identified long before departures became inevitable. Difficult decisions were taken early, allowing the club to move from one cycle into the next with barely a wobble. It was not luck. It was planning.

That reputation feels increasingly like history.

Mohamed Salah’s contract was ripped up months ago. Whether Liverpool ultimately decided Bradley Barcola was the ideal successor or preferred somebody else hardly matters. His replacement should already have been identified and pursued with conviction. Instead, Liverpool remain locked in negotiations with the season approaching.

The same applies at the back.

Nobody woke up one morning to discover Ibrahima Konate was leaving. Contract discussions had dragged on for months. Liverpool knew the risks. They knew the possibility existed that one of the finest defenders in Europe would depart without a replacement standing ready.

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So, Liverpool are looking to pull off something brilliant. By all accounts Richard Hughes is attempting to complete a double deal with Paris Saint Germain to secure both Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye.

For many supporters, Barcola will be a familiar figure. But what about Mbaye? Just why are Liverpool so keen to sign the Senegalese international.

He’s only 18-years-old but already has over 40 senior appearances under his belt for Paris Saint Germain’s first-team.

In terms of his profile the things that stands out about him first and foremost is the fact that he is a right-winger by trade and Liverpool desperately need someone who can play that position following Mo Salah’s departure.

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Yesterday I wrote about Liverpool’s attack and plenty of people asked why I was overlooking the defence and midfield. I wasn’t. I simply believe every part of this squad deserves the same ruthless examination, and midfield begins with Alexis Mac Allister.

This isn’t about disrespecting a wonderful footballer. Mac Allister has been outstanding for Liverpool. He helped deliver the Premier League title, brought intelligence, composure and grit to the midfield, and for long spells he elevated those around him. He’s earned every ovation.

Football, though, has little time for sentiment.

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What matters now is whether Alexis Mac Allister fits the football Andoni Iraola wants Liverpool to play over the next four or five years. With no new contract discussions taking place, it seems Liverpool have already decided. And for me, the answer is increasingly no. The demands are changing, the intensity is rising, and Liverpool need midfielders capable of sustaining relentless pressure for 90 minutes. Mac Allister looked a yard short too often last season, whether through fatigue, circumstance or simple wear and tear. Explanations exist, but they don’t alter the reality.

With 2 years remaining on his contract, Liverpool still hold a valuable asset. This feels like the right moment to cash in if the right offer arrives. La Liga appears the obvious destination, with Atletico Madrid frequently mentioned, where his technical quality could flourish in a slightly slower paced environment.

Liverpool cannot stand still. Curtis Jones also looks destined to depart, and that opens the door for genuine renewal. Adam Wharton has the authority and intelligence to anchor this midfield for years, while Lamine Camara brings the energy and athleticism this side increasingly requires. Keep an eye on Chema Andrés too. The interest feels genuine and a buy now, loan back arrangement could be exactly the sort of forward planning that successful clubs make.

Great teams evolve before decline forces their hand. Liverpool have reached that crossroads in midfield. If difficult decisions are made now, they won’t ever diminish what Alexis Mac Allister achieved. They will simply acknowledge that football never stops moving, and neither should Liverpool.

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I’ve not been shy in criticising Richard Hughes this summer, nor should I have been.

Liverpool’s transfer window has tested the patience of even the most optimistic supporter. While rivals strengthened and speculation surrounded virtually every position in Andoni Iraola’s squad, Liverpool seemed trapped in an endless cycle of rumours, dead ends and silence. From the outside, it felt painfully slow. It looked as though Liverpool had spent weeks watching opportunities disappear while supporters were asked to trust a process that offered precious little visible evidence of progress.

Perhaps that judgement has been too simplistic.

If the reports linking Liverpool with both Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye are accurate, then maybe Hughes has not been standing still at all. Maybe he has simply been working on a far more ambitious solution than many of us imagined. There is still an enormous amount of work required before this squad resembles one capable of challenging on every front, particularly in defence and midfield, but today I am happy to leave those conversations until tomorrow. Because if Liverpool genuinely believe they can bring both Barcola and Mbaye to Anfield, then suddenly the picture changes completely.

Liverpool Need Both Barcola and Mbaye

The important word is both.

Not one.

Not whichever remains available if the other proves impossible.

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Jordan Henderson joining Chelsea has reignited a debate that, for me, was already over. If people believe this move is the moment his Liverpool legacy became tarnished, I think they’ve arrived several years late.

That happened the day he chose Saudi Arabia.

For a player who had spoken so publicly in support of the LGBTQ+ community, the contradiction was impossible to ignore. It didn’t erase everything he achieved at Liverpool, but it changed how many supporters viewed the man behind the armband. Chelsea feels more like garnish than the main course.

I made my peace with Henderson a long time ago. I never thought he was a great footballer, despite the endless attempts to elevate him into that conversation. Equally, those who dismiss him as average are rewriting history. You don’t captain Liverpool through the greatest period of the modern era by accident. Dalglish wanted him, Rodgers trusted him, Klopp trusted him, Southgate trusted him, Tuchel trusted him, and now it’s Alonso’s turn; countless managers and coaches valued him. They all saw qualities that many supporters never fully appreciated.

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Reading his autobiography a few years ago, only reinforced something I already suspected. Henderson has always been fiercely self driven. That relentless belief carried him from a player Liverpool nearly sold to one who lifted every major trophy. It also explains every decision he has made since Klopp told him he would no longer be a guaranteed starter. Saudi Arabia, Ajax, Brentford, Chelsea, each move speaks to a man determined to squeeze every last drop from his career.

Footballers are mercenaries far more often than supporters care to admit. Henderson is no different. A two year Chelsea contract at 36 was never getting turned down.

His Liverpool legacy remains significant. Whilst laughable to me, Liverpool supporters had already acknowledged that by voting him 25th amongst the club’s greatest ever players and showing a round of appreciation he deserved at Anfield only a few months ago. His reputation became more complicated years ago. Chelsea has not rewritten his Liverpool story, it’s simply added another chapter to a book whose most controversial pages were already written.

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Liverpool's quest for attacking options has sparked considerable discussion around two players: Bradley Barcola and Rayan. Analysing their profiles reveals that while they offer different approaches to enhancing the attack, both align well with the style of football Liverpool seems to be aiming for.

My view has remained consistent with Bradley Barcola. He is a player who can elevate the team's level. That is the important question when you are looking at potential signings: Does the player improve your first team, does he raise the standard of the squad, and does he give you qualities you currently do not have?

For me, Barcola answers those questions.

Liverpool already have quality attacking players, but football clubs are always looking for ways to improve the first team and strengthen the options around it. Adding a player of Barcola’s profile means competition increases, standards improve, and the squad gains another player capable of making a difference in the final third.

Barcola brings elite attacking numbers

The first thing that stands out when you analyse Bradley Barcola is how many of his attacking metrics sit at an elite level.

One of his most impressive numbers is his receiving ability. He ranks in the 94th percentile for receiving, which tells you that when the ball is played into him, whether that is a through ball or a pass into space, he is extremely effective at controlling it and immediately becoming a threat, as the graphic below displays.

That is a key quality for an inside forward. Barcola is not simply a player who stays wide and waits for the ball. He moves into dangerous areas, he participates in attacks, and he can operate across the frontline. Most of his minutes have come from the left, but he has also played on the right, and he often moves into central areas when the game develops.

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It’s becoming increasingly more likely that Liverpool will have to say farewell to Curtis Jones this summer.

There’s a clear desire from the player’s side to want to move on from his boyhood club and establish himself as a regular starter elsewhere.

Inter Milan are interested, and they represent an ideal opportunity for Jones to try himself in a slower-paced league that is more suited to his style of play.

It’s a real shame that things have ended in this way. As a scouse academy product, you want to keep those players around for as long as possible. There’s no denying Jones could be an extremely valuable player for Andoni Iraola’s side, even as a starter, however if a player wants to move on there’s nothing you can do.

The only question then becomes, what now? How will Liverpool replace him?

Well, Trey Nyoni is making a good case for himself in pre-season. There are obviously the murmurs about Adam Wharton.

But I’ve decided to take a look at three under the radar candidates, who could be ideal Jones replacements.

Victor Froholdt

The Danish midfielder is becoming one of the most valuable young midfielders playing outside of Europe’s top five leagues.

Iraola’s football is known all about pressing with intensity and covering a lot of distances. Froholdt does exactly that. He is quick and he presses with a lot of intensity. Take a look at this CIES table of distances covered per 90 minutes by U20 players and see how the Danish midfielder ranks in third place.

Froholdt is a proper box-to-box midfielder who will just run up and down the pitch and he can make an impact in the final third. Think of him as a prime Jordan Henderson type midfielder.

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You never want Liverpool to lose a football match, friendly or otherwise. Defeat should always sting, because standards are built on refusing to accept it. Yet there are matches when the scoreline performs a public service, and this 4-2 collapse against Leeds felt like one of them.

For 45 minutes there was plenty to enjoy. Frimpong finally looked like the player Liverpool thought they were buying. Wirtz and Isak offered glimpses of a partnership that could become genuinely special. Trey Nyoni carried himself with the assurance of someone who believes he belongs, and increasingly looks right.

Then came the second half, and with it the harshest reminder yet that potential doesn’t defend long throws, track runners or survive sustained pressure.

I nearly fell off my chair before kick off when LFCTV described Liverpool’s squad as looking “strong”. Strong? With a defence held together by academy prospects, makeshift solutions and hope? Nobody should be saying that with a straight face.

The collapse didn’t create Liverpool’s weaknesses, it simply exposed them. Centre back remains an urgent priority. Right back needs reinforcing. Midfield still lacks the balance required when the intensity rises.

Curtis Jones looked like a player whose mind is elsewhere, while Gravenberch, who remains lazy off the ball, showed the rust of a first outing. Neither imposed themselves when Liverpool needed leadership.

Before anyone reaches for the panic button, remember this. Most of the players involved in that dreadful second half are unlikely to start the Premier League opener.

But if anyone inside the club still believed this squad was complete, Chicago should have cured them of that illusion. Better to learn an uncomfortable truth in August than pay for it in October.

Over to you Richard.

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I will admit it straight away. There was absolutely no chance I was staying up until 2.30am for a pre season friendly. That is well beyond my bedtime on a school night. Instead, the alarm went off at 6am, the coffee was poured and Liverpool’s 1,0 victory over Wrexham became breakfast viewing.

Having watched it back in full, one thing quickly became clear. The result was almost irrelevant.

This was never going to be a classic. The surface made sure of that. It looked slow, heavy and uneven, draining any rhythm from the game before either side had the opportunity to establish one. Every attack felt laboured, every passing move required an extra touch, and neither team was ever likely to produce flowing football in those conditions.

That does not mean the game lacked value.

Youngsters Continue to Answer Questions

Pre season is rarely about performances in isolation. It is about identifying who is adapting to new demands, who looks comfortable stepping up and who is beginning to convince the manager that they deserve to stay around the first team.

For me, Trey Nyoni once again enhanced his growing reputation.

There is a calmness to everything he does that belies his age. He constantly shows for the ball, he rarely looks rushed and he already appears to understand exactly what Andoni Iraola wants from his midfielders. Progressive passing, intelligent positioning and composure under pressure all stood out again.

Alongside him, Ifeanyi Ndukwe continued to impress. There is an authority to his defending that you simply cannot teach. His physical presence immediately catches the eye, but it is his composure that leaves the stronger impression.

Luke Chambers deserves similar praise. His versatility alone gives him value, but his defensive display and quality in possession suggested there is much more to him than simply being someone who can cover two positions.

Perspective Needed Around Ngumoha

Rio Ngumoha will probably dominate the post match debate.

Some supporters felt his experiment on the right wing simply did not work. Others were encouraged that Liverpool are already exploring ways of broadening his game should Bradley Barcola arrive and reshape the attacking options.

The truth probably sits somewhere in the middle.

It certainly was not Ngumoha’s sharpest display. Operating from the right looked less natural and he was often crowded out by defenders. Even so, writing off the experiment after 45 minutes feels premature. Young players only become complete footballers by being exposed to unfamiliar situations and different tactical demands.

He still produced the decisive moment. Yes, the finish took a significant deflection, but he placed himself in the position to make something happen.

Development has never been a straight line.

Szoboszlai Sets the Standard

If one player looked comfortably above the level of the occasion, it was Dominik Szoboszlai.

His intensity never dipped, his pressing remained relentless and his quality on the ball continually lifted Liverpool whenever the game threatened to drift. Even in a match filled with academy players and unfamiliar combinations, he looked like the footballer setting the tempo and the standards around him.

Those are qualities every successful side needs, particularly during periods of transition.

Forget the Score, Watch the Progress

Pre season always encourages overreaction.

One outstanding performance becomes proof that someone should start the opening Premier League match. One quiet outing suddenly becomes evidence that another player has no future.

I prefer looking for patterns.

Liverpool looked more organised without the ball than they did in their opening friendly. The pressing already appears more coordinated. Several academy players continue to demonstrate they belong around the first team environment, and there remains plenty of quality still to return over the coming days.

It was hardly a memorable spectacle and nobody will be replaying this match for entertainment.

As an early checkpoint in Andoni Iraola’s evolution of this Liverpool side, however, it offered enough encouragement to make that 6am alarm feel worthwhile.

When the first reports emerged suggesting Liverpool could spend somewhere close to £100 million on Bradley Barcola, my immediate reaction was probably the same as thousands of other supporters.

Absolutely not.

It felt ridiculous. It felt excessive. More than anything, it felt like another reminder that football’s transfer market has drifted so far away from reality that supporters are now expected to accept nine figure fees as though they are perfectly ordinary. There was a time when those sums were reserved for generational talents at the absolute peak of their powers. Now they are increasingly attached to players still approaching their best years.

The more I thought about it, however, the more I realised my initial reaction had very little to do with Bradley Barcola.

It was about the market itself.

Football’s New Reality

I hate what football’s transfer market has become.

That is probably not a fashionable opinion in an era where every transfer window seems determined to shatter another financial ceiling. Every summer another record falls, another eye watering fee becomes normalised and another generation of supporters grows accustomed to numbers that would once have dominated headlines for months. We watched £30 million become £50 million, then £80 million, and now the conversation casually begins around £100 million whenever one of Europe’s brightest young attackers becomes available.

It is difficult not to feel that football has lost its sense of proportion.

For clubs fortunate enough to possess unlimited wealth, perhaps those figures barely register. For supporters, however, they remain staggering. They represent sums that most people will never truly comprehend, and there is nothing unreasonable about feeling uncomfortable when a single footballer carries a valuation that would once have purchased an entire squad.

I still feel that discomfort.

If somebody asked me whether any player should cost £100 million, my answer would almost certainly be no. Football has created an economy that often feels detached from common sense, fuelled by television money, state ownership, commercial growth and a relentless inflation that shows no signs of slowing. In an ideal world, the market would look very different.

The problem is that Liverpool do not recruit players in an ideal world.

They recruit within the market that actually exists.

That distinction is important because too many transfer debates become trapped in nostalgia. We remember Liverpool assembling one of the greatest attacking trios English football has ever seen without spending astronomical sums on every individual. We remember identifying players before everyone else appreciated quite how good they were. Intelligent recruitment became part of the club’s identity, allowing Liverpool to compete with wealthier rivals through smarter decision making rather than greater spending.

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Speaking in his press conference in Chicago Andoni Iraola made it clear Liverpool are lacking depth in the defensive department, particularly on the right side.

With an injury to Conor Bradley, the departure of Ibrahima Konate and a very fragile Joe Gomez on top of a Jeremie Frimpong, who it is moot whether or not he is seen as a right-back at this stage, Liverpool need a reinforcement in that area.

Iraola alluded to the solution being a hybrid profile. Someone who can cover both the centre-back and right-back roles – a successor to Gomez – so to speak.

We’ve decided to take a look at a few players who fit that criteria and who could be on Liverpool’s radar.

Josh Acheampong Could Be Liverpool’s Next Chelsea Success Story

Two years ago, the Chelsea defender was already on Liverpool’s radar. At the time, Acheampong decided to extend his contract with the Blues but now there’s a serious possibility he could be moving on.

Chelsea are reinforcing in both the right-back and right-sided centre-back department by moving to sign Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra.

This given Chelsea’s depth in both departments does free up a move for Acheampong. He’s 20-years-old and he is ready to play regularly in the Premier League.

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