There will be a new name and destination in the record books when Florian Wirtz completes his mega-money move to Liverpool. The Reds reached an agreement with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in a move that will see the 22-year-old join the Premier League champions for £116 million.
Arne Slot will be hoping that his side can reach a new level in their top-flight title defence after defying the pre-season expectations to beat Arsenal and Manchester City to the crown. Jeremie Frimpong has already entered the fray while the Reds remain in talks over a deal to sign Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
Liverpool will learn their path to successfully defending their title when the Premier League fixtures are released on Wednesday (June 18) while the transfer window reopens on Monday before the players reconvene for pre-season in early July.
What the Liverpool starting 11 will look like when the new season gets underway in August remains to be seen but it will already be without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Caoimhin Kelleher.
The England international was unveiled as a Real Madrid player on Thursday while Kelleher completed his move to Brentford - edging one step closer to becoming a first-choice shot-stopper in the Premier League.
Frimpong signed a five-year deal after his £29.5m release clause was triggered to seal his move from Bundesliga.
The Dutchman will reunite with former team-mate Wirtz, pending a medical as he gears up to make the record-breaking move to the Premier League.
The 22-year-old has capabilities of playing in the number ten role, attacking midfield or as a second striker but played the majority of his minutes in that position behind the striker.
His arrival will pose questions over where he will fit into the structure and what changes to Slot's system will be made.
There remains speculation and question marks over players in the forward line within Liverpool's.
Darwin Nunez's future looks precarious with Saudi Pro League sides circling after their initial interest in January was rebuffed. Reports suggest he favours a move within Europe, with Napoli and Atletico Madrid mooted, but the coming months pose an interesting prospect for the current Liverpool record arrival who has been reportedly valued at around £70m.
Luis Diaz has also been the topic of speculation over an Anfield departure after reports of interest from Barcelona and the Middle East.
There have been rumours, too, suggesting that Liverpool could turn their attention to striker Hugo Ekitike but a move for the Eintracht Frankfurt star will reportedly be dependent on sales.
The Bundesliga side want around £85m (€100m) for the France under-21 international but Chelsea and Manchester United are also rumoured to be interested.
The 22-year-old would be a good option to have due to his age and impressive injury record in the last three seasons.
Slot faces selection decisions in attacking areas after becoming heavily reliant on Mohamed Salah. Diogo Jota's involvement in the first-team this season was plagued by injury leading to uncertainty over his future with the Reds hoping to spread their goalscoring output for their title defence.
Cody Gakpo's stay at Anfield hasn't been without speculation, either. The former PSV Eindhoven captain was the topic of purported interest from Bayern Munich as the German giants moved to their alternatives after losing out on Wirtz to Liverpool.
The rumour mill has also churned out fresh reports surrounding Liverpool and Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.
Gordon was a player of interest last summer when the Magpies faced sanctions from the Premier League for breaching their Profit and Sustainability Rules. However, the North East club retained his services after managing to find other solutions to their predicament.
Isak has been the subject of scrutiny with report of interest from Arsenal, while Liverpool have been linked with a move and even some outlets suggesting that the Reds are favourites. But any move for the Sweden international would likely see Liverpool spend in excess of the £116m outlay for Wirtz.
Like Jota, Isak has had his injury issues and that may spark some trepidation about spending an eye-watering amount on the forward despite his Premier League-proven qualities.
Liverpool do need to make a fresh attacking signing and it could be a case of a like-for-like with Nunez going in the opposite direction. With the arrival of Wirtz, there needs to be a dynamism within the Reds' players as well as being multi-faceted in order to make changes depending on how the complexion of the game is going.
Dream Liverpool line-up with Wirtz signing: Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Gakpo, Wirtz, Salah, Ekitike.
