Four Things Liverpool Must Do to Avoid More Misery Next Season

Liverpool’s dismal campaign is nearing its conclusion and huge changes are required next season.

Disappointment has followed Liverpool closely this season. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images.

The gloom has been almost non-stop for Liverpool this season.

Originally projected to saunter to another Premier League title and compete for the Champions League crown before a ball was kicked, the Reds have fallen disastrously short of expectations. They will end the season without silverware, scrambling for re-entry into the Champions League and with resentment building within an increasingly frustrated fanbase.

Few have avoided the firing line this term. Arne Slot has been intensely scrutinized, sporting director Richard Hughes has faced staunch criticism following a record-breaking summer transfer window, while Liverpool’s band of underperforming players have also shouldered their fair share of blame. The only positive for supporters is that an abysmal campaign is nearly at its end.

Liverpool now face the unenviable assignment of turning such fortunes around, ensuring an upturn in performances and results for 2026–27. To achieve that ambition, major changes are required.

Here are four things Liverpool must do to cauterize the bleeding and redeem themselves next term.

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Part Ways With Arne Slot

Faith in Arne Slot is at an all-time low. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Unfortunately for Slot, the buck stops with him. Goodwill after a Premier League title-winning debut season has entirely dissipated among supporters, replaced by toxicity and anger at the Dutchman’s handling of an utterly woeful campaign. A reset is required for Liverpool to move forward.

Slot has not been aided by recruitment which left his team disjointed and unbalanced, but the 47-yeaar-old’s decision making has come under justifiable fire. Questionable team selections and substitutions, an inability to get the best from new signings, worryingly labored performances and an unacceptable 17 defeats across all competitions to date mean there is nowhere to hide.

Even during last season’s success, many argued that Slot was simply the beneficiary of inheriting Jürgen Klopp’s well-organized and readymade squad. While such claims are extremely harsh, Slot’s failure to create a new team in his own image since then certainly provides fuel for his doubters. Realistically, Liverpool have been underperforming since spring 2025, and the ex-Feyenoord boss has been unable to do more than paper over the growing cracks.

A change on the sideline could reinvigorate the Reds, regardless of whether or not Liverpool executives are genuinely considering an alteration. Xabi Alonso’s presence as a free agent will only intensify speculation over a change of direction, and the former Reds midfielder could provide the catalyst for an upturn in performances and mood on Merseyside.

Having floundered in all four competitions and set a raft of unwanted records this season, Slot’s position appears increasingly untenable.

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Recruit in Key Positions

Mohamed Salah is among those who must be replaced. | Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Despite Slot’s mistakes across the term, he’s been hamstrung by last summer’s decisions in the transfer market. Liverpool strayed from their long tried and tested strategy to break the Premier League transfer record twice, splashing out just over $600 million on a host of fresh faces—few of whom have lived up to their reputation since arriving.

Surgery is required once again this summer after Liverpool’s enormous spend left them with gaping holes across the squad. The center of defense is in desperate need of reinforcement, even after signing Jérémy Jacquet in the winter, and another defensive midfielder is absolutely essential come the end of the season to help the Reds combat a leaking backline.

Wide forwards must also be brought to Anfield, one required to be Mohamed Salah’s long-term heir and at least another needed to help remedy Liverpool’s creative issues, and Andy Robertson’s confirmed exit means another left back will need to be signed to compete with Milos Kerkez.

With other first-teamers expected to depart, further investment will be needed to compensate, but whether Hughes will be the man overseeing another summer window remains to be seen. Either way, the Reds must be more strict when conducting their business than they were last year.

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Sanction Exits for Fringe Players

There is little chance of Federico Chiesa staying at Liverpool this summer. | Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

After Liverpool’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain, Slot admitted players needed to be sold to recoup funds for another rebuild. The Reds discarded many of their fringe players last summer to facilitate their eye-watering spend, leaving them short of valuable assets to sell this time.

Still, Liverpool must be ruthless in trimming the squad. Departures of Salah and Robertson will free up salary room—especially the former, who is currently earning $543,000 per week. The possible exit of Ibrahima Konaté on a free transfer could give the Reds even more wiggle room.

The likes of Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo should be sold regardless of whether Slot holds the keys next season. It might also be time for Liverpool to finally part with injury-prone Joe Gomez—although a lack of homegrown talent could force them to retain the versatile defender.

Despite signing a new contract last August, Cody Gakpo’s poor form could come into consideration as Liverpool seek to raise transfer funds, while question marks remain over whether Curtis Jones, 26 next season, will realistically ever reach his potential.

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Rediscover Intensity

Liverpool have lost their physical edge. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images.

In Liverpool’s glory years under Klopp, they were renowned for intensity. The German’s gegenpressing philosophy was the cornerstone of a team as industrious as it was talented, smothering opponents at every opportunity and going for the jugular when the chance presented.

Slot’s entrance saw the Reds transition to a more controlled, less gung-ho approach, and that shift has made Liverpool easier to play against. They are regularly outrun and outfought by their adversaries, while a tendency to slow the tempo when ahead in matches has resulted in plenty of surrendered points throughout the season.

Whether it’s Slot, Alonso or someone else entirely in the Anfield driving seat next season, Liverpool must recapture their former identity. Increasing intensity levels is essential to a change in fortune and summer business must be conducted with that alteration in mind.

Liverpool’s current approach is simply too ineffective. To thrive in England and on the continent, they must play with greater ferocity next season.

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