09 Jun 2026 08:10:09
To all the ITKs.
Which midfielders are most likely to join the club as it stands, who have we made contact with or spoken to the agents of?
Wharton would not be in my top 5 potential targets personally, I would choose 1 or 2 of the below before him.
Sangare
Sadiki
Camara
Stiller
Kone (Would have been Ederson before Utd got him for £35m)
Any chances any of the above will join?
09 Jun 2026 09:11:01
A lot of rumours are pointing towards Alex Scott. It's not clear yet if that's just lazy journalism because we appointed Iraola though.
09 Jun 2026 09:19:12
Scott and Sangare/Camara for me.
Presuming Elliot, Endo, Jones and Macca all leave.
Stiller next on the list then.
Wharton would be last on my list too. Not what we need now as good as he is.
09 Jun 2026 10:44:54
I get why people don't rate Wharton that much but for me he's a very good, very progressive midfielder.
He's a lot more mobile than he actually looks, technically he's very good, his vision and passing is excellent, and he's young enough to be molded into what we want from him. The price and Palace are a bit of an issue, but he's definitely somebody I think would improve our squad, and, although it does always sound quite disrespectful to say things like this, I think we need more English players in the first team squad.
He's also very well thought of in the professional football community and coming through at Blackburn he was a very stand out player and often played levels way above his age bracket.
I personally think he would be a very good signing for us, one that after a few years we'd be very surprised with.
09 Jun 2026 10:56:39
Assuming Endo, Elliot Jones, and MacAlister go, then I would like us to replace them with Sangare, Camara, Scott, and Yirenkyi.
Iraola needs midfielders with big engines and a bit of agro.
09 Jun 2026 11:03:33
GBB86, It's not necessarily about Wharton's perceived ability, it's whether he's the right type of player at this time. Last summer, there was a lot of activity around attackers, resulting in the defence being overlooked despite us screaming out for at least another CB.
We cannot afford to make the same mistake; fix the holes in the roof before deciding which decorative tiles to put on it!
09 Jun 2026 11:14:10
Isn't Harvey much similar to Scott and a bit younger with some potential still?
09 Jun 2026 11:39:58
While Alex Scott is a good player, he is a no8. We have one 8 in Gravy who will just give a massive contract to, and one no8 in Szobo that we are trying to tie down to a big deal. Plus we have Trey Nyoni that should be ready to step up his first team game time now.
I am not really seeing the vision with Scott here unless one of those is sold.
If Macca and Curtis are to be sold (still hope Curtis stays), I would be looking at one of Sangare/Camara and one of Wharton/Stiller.
09 Jun 2026 12:11:43
Marma, yeah I fully understand that, but we don't even know how we're going to set up and play tactically yet, in real terms.
We don't actually know what peg for what hole yet, and I feel, regardless of us wanting a midfield destroyer as fans, I just don't think that profile fits with fast, expansive, back to front football we're hopefully going to see.
Yes, it's been a staple of successful midfields in the past, but I feel the game has changed so much that the profile of such a player has changed and might not really exist any longer to what we'd previously compare against.
But hey ho, that's me and my thoughts. Be interesting to see what, who and how it all unfolds.
09 Jun 2026 12:26:29
Red-JC, Harvey Elliott and Alex Scott are nothing alike mate. Elliott is a no.10 in the Odegaard or Ozil mould, whereas Scott is more of an no.8/10 hybrid in the Szboszlai or Lallana mould.
Scott is a hard running and aggressive box to box midfielder; a perfect replacement for Mac Allister (who allegedly is looking to leave) in an Iraola team. Scott's a physical player who can press extremely well. I'd honestly see him as someone who could dovetail with Szoboszlai, getting forward to overload the opposition defence, then working back quickly when possession is lost to help the team defend. They'd be a formidable duo in my opinion alternating between the no.8 and no.10 positions, but they would still need a dedicated no.6 sat behind them though to give them that freedom.
I'd imagine Iraola might want to assess McConnell, Endo, Gravenberch and Bajcetic before signing a new no.6 but that could be tricky with Grav and Endo at the World Cup. I personally would like Lamine Camara to come in to be that player. Where that would leave an extremely overpaid Gravenberch though, is quite the conundrum, because he's probably our 3rd highest paid player behind Virgil and Isak now. You can't pay him (a reported) £280k/week to be sat on the bench, but also if Iraola doesn't fancy him as a no.6, he just isn't a no.8. He flopped there in 23/24 under Klopp and he flopped there in 25/26 under Slot. His only good season for us was as the no.6 in 24/25.
For me, Wirtz should be in the front 3. I simply don't see him as a midfielder in an Iraola team, as he's not strong enough to go man-to-man in midfield. So Scott coming in to replace Mac Allister would be my preference. If Slot had stayed, I wanted Wharton, but with Slot going that transfer now makes zero sense because Wharton is miles off being mobile enough to play in an Iraola side. Iraola takes many of his philosophies from Bielsa (who was his coach for 3 years) but with a slight twist. Bielsa went man-to-man to the literal sense where you'd follow your assigned man wherever he went, whereas Iraola plays a zonal-man-to-man press where you man-mark whoever comes into your assigned zone. Wharton simply cannot do that as he's not strong or mobile enough. Wirtz has the mobility, but is also too weak hence why I think he'll play LW or RW.
It will be very interesting to see what approach we take now in midfield. Iraola is so different to Slot and physicality, speed and energy are a trademark of his sides, especially in midfield. Szoboszlai is going to thrive for sure.
09 Jun 2026 12:34:20
I wouldn't say there's been anything substantial that we are signing Scott, so may not happen.
I don't think like Wharton to be honest, and with the right coaching and in a better team, he will improve.
I would rather we signed Anderson of Forrest, but it doesn't look like we are in the mix for him, which seems odd as he's exactly what we need in the middle.
09 Jun 2026 13:01:33
GBB, Absolutely a lot is up in the air until AI gets a hold of the players and can assess how they fit into the system. This will be a big season for Grav and Szobo regarding which player role they will need to adopt.
09 Jun 2026 17:26:31
Diomande
Trincao
Zaire Emery (if we sell Macca)
Sangare
CB and RB.
09 Jun 2026 18:33:45
I definitely see Alex Scott as an 8/10 I love his positive passing. Really fires the ball at team mates as he's already on the move to get into space for the return pass. It also baffles me why we haven't moved for Anderson. Smashing player with a huge engine covers every blade of grass and very humble lad. Wharton is a decent player but I'd like love Scott as are engine room. Slightly different positions and like everybody says who knows how we set up.
I just want some news. Come on LFC Get a move on.