14 Aug 2026 10:56:20
I must admit, I do find it kinda funny, that many of us thought that once the World Cup concluded that Liverpool would be more active in the transfer market. And, what do we have to show for it, a loanee centre back with an injury history similar to Joe Gomez.
After an entire month, that is all we have managed to accomplish. Life as Hughes must be swell. Spend weeks negotiating, trying to draw the fee down, only to pay what the other club wanted at the very beginning (ala Wirtz, Isak and every other signing). Master negotiator.
Hughes on that Brock Lesnar contract, you know. Turns up occasionally and puts in the minimum work required.
{Ed025's Note - dont forget Munoz..
14 Aug 2026 11:15:46
Hughes should've gone with Arne.
14 Aug 2026 11:18:11
I personally think the quicker they finalise things, the more time the manager has with the players, and to carry out his ideas.
I wonder if LFC are delaying till the end of the window, when there's a mad scramble.
14 Aug 2026 11:30:36
You're probably right, PostKlopp. Negotiations are mostly about who blinks first in the face of demands; even if it comes down to the last minute.
14 Aug 2026 11:37:56
Postklopp, can't imagine why we'd be delaying, it's definitely PSG holding things up, and LFC holding out for fear of losing their man, likely unwilling to commit to any significant other purchases before the biggest one is concluded, if we even have any more definitely planned.
Also, remember, the club doesn't have the same targets many of the fanbase does. I did say at the start of the window I'd be happy enough with, and wouldn't be surprised if we only moved for 2x wingers and a RB, and it's starting to look like that's all we're getting.
14 Aug 2026 11:49:18
I do agree with ya.
Also it's clear we really don't know who they are targeting, as Munoz and Araujo were both out of the blue.
I think 2 will come in late just by their behaviour.
14 Aug 2026 11:52:13
But we're not the only ones who have been negotiating for a play for a while. Barca for Rodri, City for Enzo.
Big transfers take a lot of time, we just need to be patient.
14 Aug 2026 12:06:29
Postklopp, For sure, I think between attempts to plug the leaks and a likely last-minute reshuffling of targets under the guise of Iraola, it was always going to be a bit difficult to predict this summer's targets. 2 wouldn't surprise me, depending on how quickly we can get Barcola done.
14 Aug 2026 12:16:37
That's so not true, Mango, you're making stuff up to suit your agenda against Hughes.
Newcastle spent all summer either saying Isak was not for sale or they wanted £150m. We ended up paying £125m.
Leverkusen were quoting £135m for Wirtz to all bidders. We paid £116m.
On top of that is the payment structures. You can agree a deal, but you also need to agree a payment structure that suits your club. Not many clubs can pay those sums of money all in one go.
I actually admire Hughes' ambition. He is trying to sign the very best players available and going up against the biggest clubs in the world in the process.
It's exactly what Liverpool FC should be doing.
We will always get a smattering of players from the next tier down like Munoz, Frimpong, Kerkez, who we will try to improve but we are identifying a priority position (winger this year) and going after the very best players we can.
That's to be applauded if you ask me. Sure it means we can't address all areas in one window but I'd rather build the squad by signing the very best players over 3 or 4 summers than sign a lot of average players all in one summer.
14 Aug 2026 12:35:56
What's your suggestion Lfcs_Mango? Pay what price the selling team states straight away? So 'fans' like you can then complain why we spent so much money when the player has one bad game.
Most people spend their lives trying to knock off pennies off the price of potatoes and beans, you can't comprehend knocking off 'few million' for a player the other team has no need to sell.
14 Aug 2026 12:50:58
I like that we don't take a scattergun approach to the market.
14 Aug 2026 16:37:50
"The very best players" is subjective tho, isn't it? At the minute, they are the dearest players, that's for sure. They certainly haven't pulled up any trees for Liverpool yet.
Also, without being in negotiations with Newcastle or Leverkusen, you are not going to actually know what's being quoted for the players. What you've done is read an article and took it as gospel.