Should Liverpool's slow summer be a cause for concern?

Instead, everything unravelled. Arsenal swept past them, Arne Slot paid with his job and Andoni Iraola was handed the task of rebuilding confidence as much as rebuilding a squad.

The problem is that, with fewer than four weeks until the new campaign begins, the rebuild still feels unfinished.

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Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz are talented additions. Jacquet, one of France's brightest young centre-backs, looked destined for the top long before Liverpool agreed a deal with Rennes in February, while Spain international Munoz enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign with Osasuna before earning his move to Anfield. Both are sensible signings with significant upside.

But sensible is not the same as sufficient.

Mohamed Salah has departed after defining an era, and Liverpool have yet to recruit a genuine replacement. Munoz is an exciting winger, but asking a 23-year-old arriving from Osasuna to replicate even a fraction of Salah's output would be unfair. The Egyptian consistently delivered goals, creativity and availability on a level few players in football history have matched. Liverpool are not replacing a position. They are replacing an institution.

Central midfield remains another obvious concern. Even before the transfer window opened, a specialist No.6 appeared high on the club's priority list. That need has not disappeared. Iraola's teams thrive on intensity and aggressive pressing, but those principles require a midfielder capable of controlling transitions behind the first wave.

Liverpool possess quality options, yet none quite provide the complete defensive platform many expected the club to pursue this summer. Iraola himself has acknowledged there are gaps that still need addressing before the window closes.

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Then there is the defence. Ibrahima Konate's move to Real Madrid has left a sizeable hole alongside Virgil van Dijk. Jacquet has enormous potential, but he is still only 20 and has fewer than 40 senior league appearances to his name. Throwing him straight into the starting XI from the opening weekend would represent a significant gamble for a player still developing physically and tactically.

Liverpool may believe he is ready, but there is a considerable difference between looking comfortable in Ligue 1 and facing the likes of Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago or Ollie Watkins every other week.

Perhaps Liverpool's hierarchy are simply waiting for the market to move. Elite transfers often accelerate in August as selling clubs soften their demands and dominoes begin to fall elsewhere.

The Reds continue to be linked with wide forwards, including Bradley Barcola and Maghnes Akliouche, while defensive and midfield reinforcements have hardly disappeared from the agenda. Patience is not necessarily negligence.

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Yet patience carries its own risks. Arsenal have strengthened from a position of power. Manchester City rarely stand still for long.

Chelsea continue to spend aggressively, while Manchester United have also been active. Liverpool cannot assume they will simply click into gear once competitive football begins because they did so before. Last season was a reminder that yesterday's strengths do not automatically survive into tomorrow.

There is still time to change the narrative. One marquee forward, an experienced defensive midfielder and another centre-back would leave Liverpool looking considerably healthier before the transfer deadline. Fail to land those reinforcements, though, and the uncomfortable question will become increasingly difficult to ignore.

After one failed title defence, are Liverpool about to begin another season asking too much of too few?

 

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