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Liverpool’s first summer of the post-Arne Slot era ended not with a statement but with a shrug at Soldier Field, where a much-changed side was beaten 4-2 by Leeds United to close out the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. It was a jarring finish to a trip that had begun promisingly — a 4-2 win over Sunderland in Nashville and a 1-0 defeat of Wrexham at Yankee Stadium — and, as BBC Sport’s Aadam Patel reported from the tour, it left travelling supporters asking a question that would have seemed absurd a year ago: should Liverpool fans be worried?
A new manager and a squad in transition
The backdrop to it all is Andoni Iraola, appointed this summer after Slot was dismissed for scraping Champions League qualification while Arsenal claimed the title. The Nashville win over Sunderland was Iraola’s first match in charge, and the early signs of his high-pressing, aggressive style were encouraging, with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Federico Chiesa alongside contributions from academy hopefuls Kieran Morris and Lewis Koumas.
But pre-season is as much about who is missing as who is playing. Iraola took a 31-man squad across the Atlantic that included six injured players — goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni, midfielders Stefan Bajcetic and Wataru Endo, and forward Hugo Ekitike, who is not expected back until the new year. Virgil van Dijk and Alisson only linked up in the second week, while Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz joined late. That patchwork explains the 4-2 collapse against Leeds, but it does not fully soothe the underlying anxiety.
The departures that changed the spine
The real source of unease is who has left. Mohamed Salah, the defining figure of the modern Liverpool era, has departed on a free transfer. Andy Robertson, a cornerstone of the full-back play that reshaped the club under Jurgen Klopp, is gone. Ibrahima Konate walked away when his contract lapsed after a year of stalled negotiations, ending a five-year stay that spanned 183 appearances. In a single window, Liverpool have lost a talismanic goalscorer, a first-choice left-back and a first-choice centre-back — the spine of the side.
Against those exits, the incomings look thin. Liverpool have completed two signings: winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna, who is not expected to start immediately, and £60m centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes — a deal actually agreed back in February and framed as a long-term successor to Van Dijk rather than a solution for this season. Slot had earmarked two wingers and a right-back before his exit, and Iraola inherited the same shopping list. With Ekitike sidelined and Salah gone, the search for a top-class wide man is now urgent, with PSG’s Bradley Barcola among those heavily linked. As Patel noted, a squad this stretched cannot afford a slow August in the market.
What it means going forward
Context matters here. Pre-season results are notoriously poor predictors — Liverpool have lost tour games before and gone on to win trophies, and Iraola’s system is one that traditionally takes weeks of drilling before it clicks. The Sunderland performance hinted at what the manager wants, and the returns of Van Dijk, Alisson, Isak, Wirtz and Gravenberch will transform the look of the first XI once the competitive season begins.
Yet the concern is legitimate rather than reactionary. This is a club absorbing a managerial change, the loss of its greatest attacking asset, and a defensive rebuild all at once — and doing so with a window that, so far, has produced one clear first-team addition. The margin for error at the top of the Premier League is unforgiving, and Arsenal’s title win last season proved how quickly Liverpool can be overtaken.
The verdict, then, is measured. There is genuine reason for optimism in Iraola and in the talent still on the books, but the worry is not manufactured. Liverpool’s summer will ultimately be judged not on a friendly in Chicago but on whether the recruitment team can land the winger and right-back the squad plainly needs before the window shuts. Until then, the unease that followed the tour party home is entirely understandable.
**Sources:** [Liverpool FC — 2026 pre-season squad](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverpool-name-initial-31-player-squad-usa-pre-season-tour) · [101 Great Goals — Iraola’s first game](https://www.101greatgoals.com/football/premier-league/premier-league-pre-season-liverpool-sunderland-spurs-leeds/) · [Sports Mole — Liverpool 2026 transfers](https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/liverpool/transfer-talk/feature/liverpool-summer-transfers-all-confirmed-ins-and-outs-for-2026_599112.html) · [Yahoo Sports — Liverpool 2026 preseason](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/liverpool-preseason-schedule-results-2026-060002792.html)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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