Grading Liverpool’s 2025 Summer Transfer Window

Liverpool spent more than any other club in world football across the summer as they smashed Premier League records.

Liverpool’s shrewd business in previous years served them well this summer. / Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Few Liverpool supporters could have predicted quite such an extravagant summer transfer window.

Liverpool were destined to splurge in the market after penny-pinching last summer as they looked to reinforce a Premier League title-winning squad, but the scale of their spending has stunned even the most optimistic of fans.

The Reds have splashed a Premier League record £446.5 million ($600.2 million) and while they offset much of their spending through player sales, expectations are now sky high as they look to defend their title. Silverware is essential after an extraordinary spree.

Many have already hailed Liverpool as the winners of the summer window, but just how impressive has the club’s business been?

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Best Signing: Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak is destined to succeed at Liverpool. / X / Liverpool.

Alexander Isak’s journey to Anfield was littered with barriers. Newcastle United were unsurprisingly desperate to keep their prized asset and were quick to rebuff Liverpool’s approaches for the Swedish sharpshooter, who decided to strike in an attempt to force through a transfer. The 25-year-old’s tactics were not pretty, but they were effective.

Isaak secured his record £125 million move to Liverpool on deadline day to bring a protracted saga to a close, with the Reds celebrating the arrival of one of the world’s best centre forwards. Their new No.9 has scored 52 times across the last two seasons on Tyneside as he’s blossomed into an unstoppable force due to his effortless blend of speed, physicality and accuracy. Even Virgil van Dijk has regularly come out second best in duels with the towering striker.

Hugo Ekitiké has made a lightning fast start to life on Merseyside following his £79 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt and while he’s an astonishing talent with enormous potential, Isak is an immediate upgrade on the Frenchman. Liverpool won’t need to dip into the centre-forward market for some time.

Having secured his status as one of the Premier League’s best, there can be no denying that Isak is the signing of the summer—and not just for Liverpool.

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Biggest Surprise: Giovanni Leoni

Giovanni Leoni isn’t a name many Liverpool fans knew before the summer. / X/Liverpool

Liverpool have not made many ‘surprise’ signings this summer. Full back reinforcements were expected, as were new faces in the forward line. However, the £26 million move for centre back Giovanni Leoni did catch several off guard.

Only Serie A aficionados were fully aware of Leoni’s talent and immense potential, the 18-year-old having made an enormous impression during just 30 senior appearances at Padova, Sampdoria and then Parma. To splash such a sizeable fee on a defender with such little experience is undoubtedly a gamble.

Those with an intimate knowledge of Italian football have high hopes for Leoni, but he wasn’t necessarily the centre back Liverpool supporters expected to sign this summer.

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Statement Signing: Florian Wirtz

Florian Wirtz was Liverpool’s record signing before Isak’s move. / IMAGO/Propaganda Photo

Isak and Florian Wirtz could both justifiably stake their claim for statement signing of Liverpool’s window, but the latter’s decision to ignore Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City in favour of joining the Reds sent a strong message. Teaming up with the Premier League champions was always the 22-year-old’s priority.

The fact that Wirtz was so bullish on trading Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool sent a statement in itself and the club’s decision to splash a then club record £116 million on his signature was another indicator of their intentions heading into the 2025–26 campaign.

Liverpool have rarely bought ready-made superstars in recent years but acquiring Wirtz saw them drift from their typical transfer model and breach the £100 million mark for the first time. The Reds want to dominate under Arne Slot and such signings are a statement of that intent.

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Biggest Outgoing Transfer: Luis Díaz

Luis Díaz left Liverpool for Munich this summer. / Marcel Engelbrecht - firo sportphoto/Getty Images

Luis Díaz was both Liverpool’s most expensive and notable departure of the summer. The Colombian had been integral to their title push, scoring 13 times and registering five assists in the Premier League. He discovered a ruthless streak to support Mohamed Salah’s relentless output.

But Díaz is now 28 years old and had just two years left on his Liverpool contract, with no apparent intention to extend his time on Merseyside. To help fund their summer spending, the Reds decided to cash in on one of their brightest attacking talents.

Selling Díaz didn’t come as a complete surprise but it was a risk. Replacing the winger’s goal contributions would not be straightforward and Liverpool didn’t sign a ready-made replacement before the deadline. Slot has put his faith in Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha to carry the load between them—with Ekitiké and Isak potentially chipping in on the left flank, too.

Whether Liverpool will miss Díaz this term remains to be seen, but eight goals from their opening three Premier League matches suggests they might not.

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Overall Grade

Arne Slot will be happy with Liverpool’s spending spree. / Michael Steele/Getty Images

Liverpool have spent an unprecedented amount in Slot’s second summer at the helm but they have undoubtedly enjoyed an exceptional window. They have added depth in key positions that required strengthening and have immediately upgraded their first-team options, recruiting some of the world’s best talents in the process.

Have they overspent? Perhaps. But they have managed to recoup significant funds through the sales of first-teamers, peripheral figures and academy graduates. In the end, Liverpool didn’t even finish the window with the highest net spend—that award going to Arsenal.

Isak, Wirtz and Ekitiké ensure Liverpool have added to one of the most feared attacks on the planet, while Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong should be the club’s fullbacks for years to come. Even the lower profile additions of Giorgi Mamardashvili and Leoni are impressive pieces of business.

Liverpool’s extravagant summer has been an overwhelming success.

Overall Grade: A

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Liverpool 2025–26 Incomings

Player	Joined From	Fee
Alexander Isak	Newcastle United	£125 million
Florian Wirtz	Bayer Leverkusen	£116 million
Hugo Ekitiké	Eintracht Frankfurt	£79 million
Milos Kerkez	Bournemouth	£40 million
Jeremie Frimpong	Bayer Leverkusen	£29.5 million
Giorgi Mamardashvili	Valencia	£29 million
Giovanni Leoni	Parma	£26 million
Ármin Pécsi	Puskás Akadémia	£1.5 million
Will Wright	Salford City	£200,000
Freddie Woodman	Preston North End	Free

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Liverpool 2025–26 Outgoings

Player	Club Joined	Fee
Luis Díaz	Bayern Munich	£65.5 million
Darwin Núñez	Al Hilal	£46.2 million
Jarell Quansah	Bayer Leverkusen	£35 million
Ben Doak	Bournemouth	£25 million
Caoimhín Kelleher	Brentford	£18 million
Tyler Morton	Lyon	£15 million
Trent Alexander-Arnold	Real Madrid	£8.4 million
Nat Phillips	West Bromwich Albion	£3 million
Harvey Elliott	Aston Villa	Loan
Kostas Tsimikas	Roma	Loan
Vítězslav Jaroš	Ajax	Loan
Harvey Davies	Crawley Town	Loan
Lewis Koumas	Birmingham City	Loan
Luca Stephenson	Dundee United	Loan
Owen Beck	Derby County	Loan
Isaac Mabaya	Wigan Athletic	Loan
James Balagizi	Forest Green Rovers	Loan

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