Liverpool find themselves in the trappings of a developing saga when it comes to Andy Robertson and Atletico Madrid, who are ready to offer a low transfer fee.

Though deemed unlikely heading into the summer, late last week it emerged that not only was Robertson attracting interest from Atletico, but that he could be open to the move.

It comes with Liverpool close to signing a new left-back in Milos Kerkez and the Scot, who enters the final year of his deal this summer, expected to drop down the pecking order.

Arne Slot would seemingly prefer to keep Robertson as experienced competition for Kerkez, but Atletico appear to be beginning a familiar process.

With their interest now known, the Times‘ Paul Joyce is among those to have now been briefed on a possible alternative target.

That would be Lucas Digne, who like Robertson is also 31 and will see his contract at Aston Villa expire in 2026, and Diego Simeone “likes his ability to attack and defend.”

While it is normal for clubs to draw up a shortlist of targets for any position, the cynical view is that Digne’s name has been brought up to coax the fire around Liverpool and Robertson.

As Robertson is claimed to be willing to make the move to Madrid this could be an attempt to build pressure on the club to allow him to leave.

Joyce also reports that Atletico are “looking to pay as little as €5 million (£4.3m) should matters progress.”

Liverpool fans should be familiar with similar lowball offers for fellow PLG clients Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold before him.

Before Henderson’s transfer to Al-Ettifaq in 2023 and Alexander-Arnold’s pre-Club World Cup switch to Real Madrid this summer, it was widely reported that the club would even be asked to waive a fee in order to facilitate a move.

Both times, Liverpool held firm, securing £12 million for Henderson’s ill-advised move to Saudi Arabia and £10 million to release Alexander-Arnold from his contract a month early.

Whether that will be the case with Robertson and Atletico remains to be seen, as it is arguably a very different situation with the left-back.

There could be a sense of honouring the player’s commitment to the club over the eight years since his £8 million move from Hull and his desire to continue as a first-choice starter, which he would find himself at Atletico.

Liverpool signing Kerkez could push things forward with regards Robertson, with the Hungarian’s father confirming on Monday that it was “basically a done deal.”

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Alexander Isak has been described as Liverpool’s “dream target” in a busy summer transfer window that is set to continue with a move for a new No. 9.

After imminent deals for Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez go through, Liverpool are expected to train their sights on a signing a new centre-forward.

This could come later in the window, with many moving pieces in play, including Darwin Nunez who is attracting interest from Napoli, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and clubs in Saudi Arabia.

It could also be that Liverpool wait for the right player to become available, with Isak their “dream target since day one.”

That is according to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, writing on Threads, though he insisted that “it remains complicated” when it comes to a possible deal with Newcastle.

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‘Complicated’ is not ‘impossible’, of course, but there are a number of factors to consider including Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League and therefore being in a stronger position to demand as much as £150 million.

Isak is still tied to a contract until 2028 and the club are seeking to extend that further with an improved deal to reflect his status.

But that the Swede was also mentioned by the Mail‘s Lewis Steele and the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle on Monday suggests there is no resignation from Merseyside that a transfer cannot be engineered.

“The noise that I’ve got is that they are not done and they will go for a No. 9,” Steele said on YouTube.

On Isak, he added: “As far as we’re aware his agents, his people, have probably already spoken to Liverpool a number of times, as well as a couple of other clubs as well.

“It seems very tricky, and I’m not going to say I’ve got a sneaky feeling on it like I did with Florian Wirtz, but the noise is always there.

“It’s not going away, but there’s nothing to suggest Liverpool are ready to step up their pursuit of him just yet – or at any point this summer – but it’s one to maybe pencil in for a later date.”

If Isak is not available this summer and Liverpool are not minded to wait another year to sign a leading No. 9, their likely target appears to be Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.

The Reds are not alone in their interest, with Chelsea widely reported as admirers and The Athletic‘s Sebastian Stafford-Bloor writing on Tuesday that Man United had enquired into the Frenchman’s availability.

But there have been muted claims that Anfield would be Ekitike’s preferred destination, and on YouTube, Romano named him as a “concrete target for Liverpool.”

He explained: “Liverpool already spoke to the agents of the player at the end of May, they are in regular contact, so for sure Ekitike remains a player on Liverpool’s list.”

RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez are two other No. 9s linked, though the latter is thought to be an unlikely signing.

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Milos Kerkez has confirmed his Liverpool transfer is close, during an interview in his native Serbia alongside his father, who said it was “basically a done deal.”

Kerkez is a Hungary international but was born in Serbia, and during his post-season downtime the left-back took part in an interview with the Super Indirektno podcast.

Joined by his father, Sebastijan, the 21-year-old discussed his career so far and what is to come – namely a proposed £45 million move to Liverpool.

“For us, Liverpool is the only option, we are not going anywhere else and we will not talk to other clubs,” Kerkez Sr said, per Blic.

“Personal terms have been agreed, we just need to sort out some details, but that is basically a done deal.”

Kerkez’s father – clearly an outspoken character – praised the role of Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, who also signed him for Bournemouth in 2023.

“Richard Hughes brought us to Bournemouth. If he had said we were going to India, we would have gone to India,” he said.

The Liverpool target himself spoke of his fondness for Anfield as an away ground and later posed with a flag with the Liverbird on it and signed a Liverpool shirt.

Kerkez signing a LFC shirt?? pic.twitter.com/VQXwQ6SRrG

— LFC Photos (@lfcphts) June 16, 2025

It continues a remarkably open approach to the transfer from Kerkez and his family, with the Hungarian particularly active on social media when it comes to stories of his expected move.

Talks between Liverpool and Bournemouth are set to advance this week after the south-coast club announced the signing of new left-back Adrien Truffert from Rennes on Monday.

While Kerkez is valued at £45 million the suggestion is that Hughes will be able to drive that price down during amicable talks with his former club.

The young full-back is long since reported to have agreed personal terms with the club and is in line to replace Andy Robertson as Arne Slot‘s new first choice.

That could have ramifications on Robertson’s possible switch to Atletico Madrid, with the Spanish club pursuing a deal for a player who emerged as the best left-back in the world in the years after his 2017 move to Liverpool but is now declining at 31.

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Darwin Nunez was everything this exciting, energetic, modern-day Liverpool team needed… until he wasn’t. One goal in his final 20 appearances underlines the need for an exit this summer.

If there has ever been a more lovable rogue in a Liverpool shirt, you’d be hard-pressed to name them.

There’s a player in there, no doubt, but at this point now we collectively accept that Nunez, who turns 26 this month, is not morphing into a world-beating striker who plunders 30 or more goals per season and terrifies defenders into considerations of premature retirement.

Started: 17 (All competitions)
On as a substitute: 30
Goals: 7
Assists: 5
Overall Season Rating: 5.2

This season felt like the one. An inch-perfect audition shot for the master of chaos himself to bear the first fruits of a player entering transformation territory – leaning into a couple of seasons of banked Premier League experience and cashing in handsomely.

Nunez up until the start of the most recent campaign had simply screamed raw potential.

His physicality and dynamism combined with youthful risk-taking and appetite for the impossible was just endorphin overload for many Reds, myself very much included. It felt almost impossible that this Uruguayan maverick would not come good.

And that’s not to say Nunez isn’t an impressive footballer, he is, but a £85 million Liverpool centre-forward who can be counted upon to lead the club to domestic and European glories he is not, and this realisation does smart in many ways.

The arrival of Arne Slot, unproven in English football and largely doubted across Europe due to perceived inexperience, should have stoked the fire in Nunez’s belly. The incoming boss needed goals and commitment to the cause, ideally both immediately.

So, as the season frittered on and Nunez amassed gradually more and more bench minutes, along with cameos of missed sitters, it was clear to see a trust issue had come into play.

Nunez is a confidence player and it’s credit to Liverpool’s No.9 that he remained battle-hardened until the very last, particularly given the levels of abuse aimed in his direction online.

But the lack of confidence as a result of not becoming a first name on the manager’s weekly team sheet cast the most impactful blow.

It could be seen in the latter months of the season, as the Reds struggled to ease the goal-scoring burden placed upon Mo Salah.

With Diogo Jota injury-free for the first time in a long stretch and yet still struggling to find the back of the net, Nunez ultimately failed to step up to the plate and take his chance.

Ending the season with just one goal in your last 20 appearances simply will not cut the mustard. A profligate striker is one soon seeking another club, at this level anyway.

It can be debated and disputed as to why Nunez’s seemingly limitless trajectory at Anfield flatlined so dramatically, but one consideration has to be that the player has ultimately discovered his ceiling.

And, now arriving at the mid-twenties age point, this theory checks out. If we remove the rose-tinted glasses and observe it plainly, Nunez is no longer a rough diamond footballer but instead a centre forward with considerable Premier League experience and leads the line for his country.

That his returns aren’t greater for Liverpool at this stage in his career suggests the level around him has exceeded his own abilities.

You and I, the mere mortals, will never know what it feels like to join an elite level of footballers and feel as though you can grow into and thrive within the surroundings.

For Nunez, this juncture seems to have passed. The shadow cast by Salah is a long one and spending your time in it cannot be easy.

As much as Nunez has worked hard to enhance the opportunities of the Egyptian King (a new record was set between the pair back in late 2023) he has now fallen victim to a talent paradox, in that alongside Salah and arguably Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, Nunez has observed a level of operating that isn’t within his capabilities.

The broad-shouldered, imposing unit of a striker which visited Anfield with Benfica back in April 2022 was not the same Nunez we see now. That player was a solo spearhead of a team which relied upon his level to raise them up.

Those of us in attendance at that fixture saw an assassin of a striker, raw yet desperate to provoke havoc and find the back of the net, which he did along with a world-class chip over Alisson being disallowed for offside – a familiar theme, even then.

Nunez flourished that evening in a team destined to be the underdog. He wore the champion of the people cloak proudly and understandably made a lot of Benfica fans happy when banking such a huge fee for the club.

But at Anfield, though he is held in dear regard by the Kop, the perennial have-a-go-hero role doesn’t exactly exist, not when it comes to the first-choice marksman.

It feels like the departure of Nunez will likely arrive towards the end of the transfer window, as Liverpool court interest and drive hard negotiations to recoup as much of the original outlay as possible.

When that day does arrive, it will be an emotional parting of ways for a striker who will be well received on any future potential Anfield returns.

A sale is all but a given, purely due to how Liverpool operate. Bold and highly expensive plans are already in motion this summer and a balancing of the books act is always how things chime inside FSG towers.

As of last month, the CIES football observatory included Nunez in their list of the top 100 most valuable footballers in the global game, estimating a current market value holding steady around the £50m-£60m region.

It comes as little surprise then that the Reds appear to be favourably drumming up Saudi Arabian interest, in order to keep this estimation in a healthy state of further inflation.

It would be remiss to suggest Nunez would leave Anfield feeling content and satisfied with his overall body of personal contributions, though some moments do shine through as golden.

The Brentford brace, a heady atmosphere of nerves and tension shattered in the space of minutes. The sequencing with Salah away at Arsenal to earn a vital point, the cut inside and sumptuous, curling finish at home against Bournemouth; like something straight out of a Fernando Torres playbook.

It’s been a disappointing season for Nunez, and not the way many of us envisaged his Liverpool career would end, but time waits for no man in football and sentiment has minor sway in proceedings.

Still, Nunez will leave as a Premier League champion, medal slung around the neck and with a burning point to prove. Wherever he goes next, Liverpool’s major what-could-have-been player will be strongly rooted for.

Best moment: Grabbing the match by the scruff of the neck and Brentford and winning a seemingly doomed game on his own.

Worst moment: A glaring, open goal miss against Aston Villa back in February as the Reds dropped points and a fleeting sign of nerves crept in.

Role next season: Almost certain to depart into the sunset but will have hopefully banked a tidy return fee for the Reds.

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Florian Wirtz‘s move to Liverpool could be confirmed this week, becoming the most expensive signing in English football history ahead of Moises Caicedo.

The Reds missed out on Caicedo in 2023, with the Ecuadorian preferring Chelsea, signing for a whopping £115 million.

With Wirtz now set to join Liverpool in a deal eventually worth £116 million, the Blues midfielder has reacted positively to the news, in quotes shared by the Liverpool Echo.

“I didn’t know Liverpool were going to pay that,” Caicedo said. “It’s good, it’s good.”

“Yeah he’s a great player. I think everybody watching [can see] how he plays, he’s a very good player.

“So I’m happy to hear he’s [coming] to the Premier League.”

Speaking of Wirtz…

• Similarly, Milos Kerkez‘s switch to Liverpool will also reportedly be agreed this week, with the Reds on fire currently!

This Is Anfield have spoken to La Liga commentator Rob Palmer to get the lowdown on rumoured Liverpool target Julian Alvarez:

“I don’t think there are a lot of negatives.

“All of his strengths are his strengths; he’s not lightning quick but he’s quick; he isn’t dominant in the air but he scores a lot of headers, I think I’m right in saying; he shoots and scores with both feet.

“To play for Atletico, you have to be a pressing striker. You go back to the old days and Ian Rush was always Liverpool’s best defender because that’s where the line of defence started, up front, so he’s that kind of player.

“The only negative for me is that his price might be out of the range that they have in the budget.”

• Bournemouth have signed defender Adrien Truffert from Rennes in a £14.4 million deal, paving the way for Kerkez to join Liverpool

• Speaking of United, they have reportedly held initial talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over the signing of Liverpool-linked striker Hugo Ekitike (Sky Sports)

• Barcelona are thought to be the favourites to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, with the Spaniard linked with the Reds in the past (Sky Germany)

• Here’s one you didn’t see coming! Gareth Bale is reportedly in talks to front a US-based group’s potential takeover of Plymouth (Telegraph)

On this day in 2004, Rafa Benitez was named Liverpool’s new manager, replacing the departed Gerard Houllier.

The Spaniard won the Champions League in his first season at Anfield, immediately gaining legendary status, and he came close to Premier League glory in 2008/09.

In the end, Benitez’s time at Liverpool reached a natural conclusion in 2010, following six excellent years there, but he turned the Reds into a genuine European force.

He still spends some time living in the city to this day, remaining a popular figure among supporters.

Meanwhile, on this day in 1967, Jurgen Klopp was born, so Happy Birthday to him!

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All Red Video will showcase a brand-new Liverpool FC original docuseries entitled ‘Alisson: My Story’, with a three-part series released this month.

Alisson is the focus of a new in-house docuseries, with the first of three episodes launching on June 20, offering supporters a look behind the scenes with Alisson.

The exclusive docuseries follows the keeper throughout last season’s Premier League winning campaign, with special interviews from his family in Brazil, who share stories of how he started to how he made it to No. 1 for both club and country.

• You can sign up to watch ‘Alisson: My Story’ on All Red Video here

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It also includes interviews with former Liverpool teammate Bobby Firmino, legendary Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, former manager Jurgen Klopp, current head coach Arne Slot and captain Virgil van Dijk.

‘Alisson: My Story’ is available from June 20 to stream exclusively on the new All Red Video which launched in May and replaced LFCTV GO.

• Episode One – June 20, midday (BST)

Starts with a look at family life at home with the Beckers featuring his wife Natalia and three children – Helena, Matteo and Rafael.

Followed by a trip to Brazil to meet his mum, brother and grandparents who talk about his early life.

• Episode Two – June 23, midday

Begins with a look at his spell at AS Roma which included a trip to Anfield for a Champions League game. It was that night and that experience of the Kop that convinced him to move to Merseyside the following summer.

This episode features Klopp and Van Dijk, with personal stories from his wife Natalia.

• Sign up to watch ‘Alisson: My Story’ on All Red Video here

• Episode Three – June 26, midday

The series concludes with Ali, his family, former coaches and friends, Brazil legends and Liverpool teammates celebrating his Anfield success.

With unheard stories of Madrid, of the party on the parade bus, and of the march to Liverpool’s 2020 league title. Ali opens up, in heartbreaking fashion, about the passing of his father before reliving his West Brom goal.

It finishes with Slot, who talks about the impact Ali had on the 2024/25 season and a look inside the Becker household on the morning of the Tottenham game, just as Ali is preparing to leave and bring home title number 20.

All Red Video is available on web, the All Red Video mobile apps (Apple and Android) and through a selection of TV apps – Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

An All Red Full or Video membership is required to watch. Find out more here on how to sign up and get access to all of LFC’s exclusive documentaries, match highlights and interviews.

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