Liverpool FC - Transfer news, results, fixtures, video and audio (2024)

The Anfield Wrap's Neil Atkinson has spoken to BBC Radio Merseyside about Arne Slot, who did his first interview as Liverpool boss on Wednesday.

"What I liked was all the stuff about building on what's already there and building on last year's achievements.

"It would have been easier for Slot to say: 'It will take something special to match Jurgen Klopp.' Instead, the language was very much: 'Last season happened and we take it from there and we look to improve.'

"That's they way I look at last season. Its time for this Liverpool side to evolve a little bit and I believe the sky is the limit for them.

"That doesn't make me think that Slot will be perfect and it will take him time to get used to English football. But the tone is not one of consolidation, it's one of improvement and growth and that's the most important thing."

Listen to more of Atkinson's thoughts on Slot here, external

Liverpool aim to beat Chelsea and Manchester United to the signing of French winger Michael Olise, 22, from Crystal Palace. (Football Transfers), external

Athletic Bilbao's Spain winger Nico Williams, 21, continues to hold out for a move to Barcelona, despite having talks with Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Newcastle United. (HITC), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Arne Slot has said he has spoken to some of Liverpool's players since his appointment as head coach, including captain Virgil van Dijk, but is happy to allow much of his squad to concentrate on their commitments with their countries.

A large group of Reds players are participating at major international tournaments this summer.

In his first interview with club media, external since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, Slot said: "I've reached out to a few of them - all of them after Jurgen left, because I thought that was really important to be fair to Jurgen and to the players.

"They had to end the season and I don't think I would be really happy if my successor would have called players before I left the club.

"Then I think it's normal to start with the captain, which is Virgil [van Dijk] - which is an easy one for me because we could speak Dutch.

"I called a few others, but not many of them because most of them are playing at the Euros, and some others are at the Copa America.

"The best way is to keep a certain distance but also be interested in them as well, and hope most of them - especially the Dutch - will still be as long as possible away so they will reach the final.

"Then afterwards I will get to meet them and I think that's a better way of getting to know each other than by phone or Zoom meetings."

New Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed three backroom staff who will join him at Anfield.

The Dutchman will bring Sipke Hulshoff as his assistant coach, who he worked alongside at Feyenoord since 2022.

Hulshoff also additionally served as Ronald Koeman's assistant with the Netherlands before stepping down from the position earlier this year.

Joining Slot and Hulshoff at the club is Ruben Peeters, who will take on the role of lead physical performance coach, and Fabian Otte, who comes to Merseyside as head of first-team goalkeeper coaching.

Otte is part of the United States coaching staff at the Copa America and will start his role after that tournament.

Slot told the Liverpool website: "We are going to use hopefully the best of both worlds to implement a few things from us and to use the knowledge that is inside this club already because of the nine years Jurgen [Klopp] and his staff worked here."

New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says his preferred style of play - and that of many coaches around Europe - has been "inspired" by the rivalry between his predecessor Jurgen Klopp's Reds and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in recent seasons.

Slot has given his first interview to club media following his departure from Feyenoord to succeed Klopp at Anfield.

The Dutchman said: "This has been an era where everybody looked at the Barcelona side of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi and the rivalry there was with Real Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo being there.

"When that came to an end, the new rivalry in European football came because of Jurgen - he managed Liverpool and Pep Guardiola managed Manchester City. For everyone who loves football, it was a fantastic era to watch the both of them getting the best out of each other."

Asked if there are similarities in style between himself and Klopp, Slot added: "I think there are and I think that's also one of the reasons why I came in.

"When something has been successful, a certain way of playing, you would like to extend this or to go on with this. This is probably one of the reasons they came to me as well.

"It is my style but I think it is the style of many modern coaches at the moment. We were all a bit inspired because of the rivalry between City and Liverpool.

"At a big club, where I worked at Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play; to have the ball a lot and to have a lot of energy."

The fixtures for the new Premier League season are out and we asked you for your predictions on where Liverpool will be after 10 games.

Here is a selection of your comments:

Josh: I reckon we'll get off to a great start. I'd say all of those games are winnable and maximum points is what we need for the first 10 games. I'd hope Liverpool can start the season perfectly, let's just hope the new gaffer settles in in time.

Carl: Liverpool will be in transition potentially, but I expect to see somewhere in the region of 20-22 points from the first 10 games.

Jocelyne: Taking away blind optimism, I can see six wins, three draws and a defeat from the opening 10 games and 21 points from the first 30 would be a very good start. Across the season, it would be about 80 points, or around third or fourth based on last year. Add in a cup run and/or a decent show in Europe and you have to think that's a good first season for Slot.

Zak: A couple of difficult fixtures from October but, in all honesty, we should be able to win each game before that. If we can clear 20 points from the first 10 games then I'll see that as a good start.

James: With the favourable start to the season, I would hope to be in the top three as a minimum. I don't expect a massive drop-off from last year, regardless of a new manager or slight change in tactics or formation.

Liverpool will get their 2024-25 season under way against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday, 17 August.

It will be the fifth time in the past six seasons that the Reds begin their Premier League campaign with a match against a newly promoted side (W3 D1 previously).

They are unbeaten on the opening weekend in their past 11 seasons (W8 D3). However, new boss Arne Slot will be hoping for a better start than Brendan Rodgers' first game in charge, which saw them lose 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion in 2012-13 - the most recent time Liverpool lost their opening match.

Now the fixtures for the new Premier League season are out, it is time to start looking ahead to your club's 2024-25 campaign and all the key matches.

So, where do you think Liverpool will be after the first 10 games?

Let us know here, external

So Liverpool's first game after the departure of Jurgen Klopp will be an early kick-off.

The Reds travel to Portman Road at 12:30 BST on Saturday, 17 August to face promoted Ipswich Town in their 2024-25 Premier League opener.

Klopp, who left the Reds in May after winning seven major trophies across almost nine years at the club, was vocal about his dislike for the slot and criticised how often his team were allocated the Saturday lunchtime start.

As recently as April he described the scheduling as "absolutely insane" and "a crime", before saying he will no longer be watching TNT Sports who have the rights to broadcast the time slot.

Of the 331 Premier League matches that Klopp took charge of at Liverpool, 13.6% were given an early kick-off time - a higher percentage than any other club during his time in England.

Now, new manager Arne Slot will be thrust into the debate for his maiden game in English football.

Expect questions on whether he agrees with his predecessor's views.

Data from Opta has looked at the difficulty of every team's first five fixtures of the new Premier League season.

According to their numbers, Brentford and West Ham have the joint-toughest start to the season, closely followed by Ipswich and Arsenal.

Brentford take on four of the "big six" in their start to the season, while West Ham's first three home games all come against sides that will be competing in Europe in the coming months.

By Opta's measurement, Liverpool manager Arne Slot and his side have the easiest start to the season, with four of their first five fixtures coming against sides that finished either in the bottom half of the table last season, or have been recently promoted.

Newcastle are said to have the second-easiest start to the season, with Tottenham the only side from last season's top half on their schedule for the first five games.

Liverpool's Premier League fixtures for the 2024-25 season have arrived and if you haven't seen them yet you can find them here.

The Reds have early home games against Brentford and Nottingham Forest, they travel to local rivals Everton on the weekend of 7 December and come up against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the end of August, while they host champions Manchester City in November.

On Boxing Day it's set to be Leicester City at Anfield, while the return Merseyside derby against the Toffees is scheduled for the beginning of April.

Arne Slot's side end with games against Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Fixtures for the Premier League opening weekend have been released.

The 2024-25 season will begin at Old Trafford with Manchester United welcoming Fulham.

Ipswich Town's 22 years away from the top flight will come to an end with a visit from Arne Slot's Liverpool, while fellow newly promoted sides Southampton and Leicester will visit Newcastle and welcome Tottenham respectively.

Elsewhere, champions Manchester City will begin their quest for a fifth Premier League title in a row by travelling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in Enzo Maresca's first game in charge.

The games will take place between 16-19 August.

Liverpool will begin their 2024-25 Premier League campaign against promoted Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

The match will take place on Saturday, 17 August at 12:30 BST.

You can find all of Liverpool's fixtures here

The 2024-25 Premier League fixtures are being released on Tuesday at 09:00 BST - and you will see them on the BBC Sport website and app as soon as they are announced.

What should you look out for?

By chief football news reporter Simon Stone

Matches around European games

This will be even more keenly assessed than usual given the four clubs in the Champions League and two in the Europa League will have eight first-phase games rather than six. Long trips before or after European games do not go down well with managers.

Matches around internationals

There are international breaks in September, October, November and March. In Europe, the first three of those are for Nations League fixtures. World Cup qualifiers in Europe start in March 2025, though in South America and Asia they are being played in all four windows.

England managers tend not to be keen on blockbuster league matches immediately before a break and club bosses are equally unhappy at having to play key matches after them when so many players get back on Thursday or Friday.

Festive fixtures

To allow for a mid-August start, there will not be a winter break this season. The Premier League has assured clubs they will not be asked to play twice in less than 60 hours at any point over Christmas and New Year. That rules out any club playing on 26 December also having a game on 28 December. There will be no Christmas Eve fixture in the 2024-25 season.

As the FA Cup third round has been moved from its traditional home on the first weekend of January to the second, it does seem there will be four rounds of fixtures over the festive period - starting on 21 December and ending on 5 January.

New managers

Four Premier League clubs already have new managers - Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), Arne Slot (Liverpool) and Julen Lopetegui (West Ham) - with a fifth to come at Leicester. So that's a new era beginning at 25% of clubs before a ball has been kicked. Russell Martin will take charge of a top-flight game for the first time after Southampton's promotion.

Gareth Southgate's choice of a midfield partner for Declan Rice was one of the hot topics in the build-up to England's campaign getting under way.

The manager decided to go with the positive attacking option of Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, despite having Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo and the impressive Crystal Palace player Adam Wharton in his ranks.

Alexander-Arnold's outstanding range of passing gives England an added dimension, while his ability at set-pieces can be a world-class weapon.

The questions still surround whether he can operate in this role against opponents of the highest class at international level. Southgate has made his choice so it is very likely we will find out later in Euro 2024 if England progress.

There were moments when Alexander-Arnold's unfamiliarity in the position was exposed, especially when he conceded possession and Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic shot inches wide in the closing moments of the first half.

A full-back for Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold also showed moments of the peerless, raking passing that is his stock in trade.

It is such creative ability that Southgate is counting on as England start their quest to win a first major men's trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Read more from Phil on the five key England talking points

Liverpool have had a 50m euro (£42m) offer for 18-year-old Lille and France defender Leny Yoro rejected. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Liverpool are interested in signing Lille centre-back Leny Yoro but there is a belief that Real Madrid are the favourites to sign the 18-year-old.

Manchester United and Paris St-Germain have also been linked with the French player, whose deal with the Ligue 1 side will reportedly run out in summer 2025.

Lille president Olivier Letang has said, external Yoro will be allowed to leave the club this summer because of his contract situation.

Yoro helped Lille finish fourth in the French top flight last season, making 32 appearances and scoring two goals.

He made 44 outings in all competitions for Lille, who reached the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League before being knocked out on penalties by Aston Villa.

Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr want to make Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk the highest-paid defender in the world. (Marca), external

Liverpool and Manchester United are both pursuing 18-year-old Lille centre-back Leny Yoro, but Real Madrid are also interested. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

If you could only buy one, sell one, and loan out one player at Liverpool, who would you pick?

That was the question we asked you to answer, with the transfer window set to open on Friday.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Fraser: Buy: Ederson from Atalanta - we need another defensive midfielder to supplement Endo. Sell: Luis Diaz - a controversial decision because I like him and he is a very good dribbler, but he hasn't been consistent. Loan: Fabio Carvalho - he could do with one more loan spell.

Ethan: Buy: Ollie Watkins; also, we should be improving our midfield by moving Trent Alexander-Arnold in there and getting Lutsharel Geertruida to come with Arne Slot. Sell: Darwin Nunez - but I really like him, and I don't want to sell him, so I would maybe loan him. Loan: Caoimhin Kelleher.

Brett: Buy: Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa. Sell: Mohamed Salah. Loan: Ben Doak to a top Championship team. This is going to be a season of transition for Liverpool, but it would give Slot a big budget next season.

Harps: Buy: Eberechi Eze - he would be good but he might be over-priced, especially if he has a good Euros. Sell: Mohamed Salah - it is time to cash in on him, like we did with Philippe Coutinho. Loan: Caoimhin Kelleher - I would prefer this to selling him, if it would be possible.

Sonny: Buy: Aurelien Tchouameni from Real Madrid - this would give Arne Slot the best chance of success in the coming seasons. Sell: Luis Diaz - as sad as it is, he is the best player that we could get by without and he could bring in a lot of money. Loan: Ryan Gravenberch - he didn't get enough game time last season and I fear he will get less next season.