Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly is approaching as Arne Slot hopes to see Hugo Ekitike join the squad on Asia tour later this week following medical in London
Liverpool are acclimatising in Asia ahead of their first pre-season friendly against AC Milan on Saturday while their latest sensational transfer nears completion as Hugo Ekitike jets into London for a medical ahead of a £79m move.
Ekitike and his agent Karl Mwalako flew into London yesterday morning and not Liverpool ahead of his £79m transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The France Under-21 forward was set to undergo a medical in the capital before signing his six-year contract and he will then jet out to Asia to join up with Arne Slot’s first team squad on their pre-season tour. And all going well the deal could be completed by Wednesday afternoon.
Ekitike’s signing will take their summer spend to date to almost the £300m mark as the Anfield club look to build a squad capable of retaining the Premier League title but it also means Arne Slot is now expected to bid farewell to a number of players before the campaign gets underway.
READ MORE: Liverpool handed one-off chance to disprove transfer market’s biggest mythREAD MORE: Liverpool’s stance on next transfer as Premier League rivals eye same target
And that should leave Arne Slot very well equipped in their pursuit of a second straight Premier League title with less than three weeks to go before the new campaign kicks off, with talk of a deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi also still lingering.
But an increased amount of attention is now turning to likely departures from Anfield with up to eight players potentially exiting before the transfer window closes.
Here are the transfer whispers from in and around Merseyside.
Potential exits loom
Luiz Diaz’s future remains perhaps most intriguing. Bayern Munich have already a bid of about £60m rejected and the Colombia forward would like to explore an opportunity elsewhere.
And while Liverpool’s stance is that he is not for sale, with Diaz continuing to train with the first team as normal, they are bracing for an improved bid from the Bundesliga champions.
Diaz is understood to be keen to depart because he wants a new contract – but the Reds hierarchy are in no rush to give him one. The belief of the 28-year-old and his agent is that he is underpaid at Anfield, when compared to team-mates of similar standing in the first-team squad.
The club are open to offers for misfit Darwin Nunez, however, after two seasons in which he failed to live up to his £85m fee. Atletico Madrid appear to have quietened their interest with Liverpool keen to hold out for £70mm while Napoli have gone elsewhere, but there remains the potential of a big money switch to Saudi Arabia for the Uruguay international.
England Under-21 midfielder Harvey Elliott, who won player of the tournament at last month’s Euros, is another who likely to depart if the right offer is made having found it difficult to earn sustained minutes last season.
He spoke candidly during the title winning campaign for his desire to play more often and had asked Slot what he needed to do to get a greater look in.
But Liverpool won’t sell him on the cheap. A number of Premier League sides are looking, but none are keen on a £50million price tag.
Several other youngsters could be playing elsewhere this season too.
Defensive midfielder Tyler Morton, 22, has interest from Premier League sides and could move either on loan or a permanent deal. Ben Doak, Luca Stephenson and James McConnell could all be in line for season-long loan moves too.
Guehi competition
Liverpool are not the only interested party in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, with Mirror Football reporting that Tottenham have made it clear they are also in the running. Spurs bid £70m back in January for the centre-back, only to see it rejected by Palace, and are ready to return this summer.
Palace’s hand has been considerably weakened, however, by Guehi entering the final 12 months of his contract. From January he will be free to speak with other clubs ahead of a free agent move next summer and there is no prospect of the England international signing a new contract.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
