Virgil van Dijk had trust that the club would deliver the “big summer” Liverpool needed to build on their Premier League success, and receipts show they did not let him down.
Liverpool’s title triumph in Arne Slot‘s first season was off the back of a quiet summer, which saw only Federico Chiesa added to the squad, with the Dutchman working with what Jurgen Klopp left behind.
It delivered an unexpected title and subsequently a position of strength to build from, which Van Dijk made it clear in no uncertain terms that it “has to be a big summer.”
Speaking in mid-May, the captain said: “It has to be a big summer and I trust the club and the people who make the decisions to do the right thing.
“As champions it is a very difficult task to remain champions but I feel with additions we can make that step up.”
He added: “Let’s see what happens, but I fully trust the decision-makers to do the right things, and let’s see what those right things are.”
Van Dijk will have received assurances over the club’s plans when he signed his two-year extension, and Liverpool more than repaid his faith with a statement summer amounting to £446.2 million.
The British transfer record was broken twice, first with Florian Wirtz (£116m) and then Alexander Isak (£125m), while the outlay for Hugo Ekitike (£79m) was the fourth-most in club history.
Milos Kerkez (£40m), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m), Giorgi Mamardashvili (£29m) and Giovanni Leoni (£26m) bolstered the defence, with Armin Pecsi (£1.5m) and Will Wright (£200,000) additions for the future.
Although the deal for Marc Guehi would ultimately collapse at the last hour, Liverpool made 10 new signings to build the squad in Slot’s image, acknowledging the time to invest was now.
Like any manager would, Slot never disparaged the team he inherited, but he did allude early on that Liverpool could find “one or two extra weapons.”
He said in May, “I think we can find one or two extra weapons that this team doesn’t have. Maybe, maybe by using the transfer market.
“That is what we are trying to achieve. That will only make us stronger. That is what we need because we saw Manchester City spending £200m in the winter transfer window.
“All of them will. Apart from the transfer window, we can also improve certain aspects ourselves.”
The vast changes will require time for it all to come together, but three wins to start the new season offers plenty of promise of what could be with Liverpool’s new weapons in tow.
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