Liverpool start talks to sign £70m “superstar”

There are several reasons for the regression of this Liverpool team in 2025/26. Sure, Arne Slot has failed to get the same sort of tune out of his Reds side as last season and deserves criticism for that.

However, Mohamed Salah has not been at the races in his final Anfield campaign, while Alexander Isak has barely kicked a ball due to various injury issues.

So much was expected of this season after the transfer window they had, not just welcoming Isak but also signing Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.

Yet, very rarely does the team who win the window go on to set the world alight. It’s an odd curse.

So, here’s hoping for a Liverpool point of view that next term is better. One of the top priorities is to sign a Salah replacement but the midfield is also an ever growing problem.

Liverpool could sign big-money midfielder from the Premier League

While Yan Diomande would appear to be the first choice to replace Salah on the right-hand side of Slot’s attack, Adam Wharton is one of the priorities in the middle of the park.

Reports last month suggested that the Reds were already in advanced talks to bring the Crystal Palace midfielder to Merseyside. That trail, however, has gone cold in recent weeks.

Wharton is a phenomenal talent and it is widely expected he will leave Selhurst Park this month amid interest from Manchester United too.

Another Premier League midfielder on Liverpool’s radar is West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes who is due to leave the London Stadium irrespective of whether Nuno Santo’s side escape relegation.

According to TEAMtalk this weekend, the Anfield outfit are one of a number of teams who have opened initial talks with the Hammers regarding Fernandes.

They note that Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have all lodged ‘enquiries’ about his situation in recent weeks. They will, however also face competition from Champions League finalists PSG.

West Ham have placed a £70m valuation on the Portuguese midfielder’s head so it will not be a cheap deal to complete.

Why Fernandes would be a better signing than Wharton

Wharton is one of the best English midfielders around. Not just that, he’s one of the finest the Premier League has to offer.

Aged 22, his development in the last few years has been nothing short of remarkable. From starring with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, he’s now a force to be reckoned with in the top-flight with Crystal Palace.

He’s one of the most impressive deep-lying midfielders around and would offer a lot to the Liverpool engine room. The way he can evade the press is phenomenal. His passing breaks lines with ease. Indeed, he ranks within the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for through balls, a metric that substantiates the point we’ve just made.

Yet, Fernandes boasts an all-around game that matches perhaps the greatest midfielder in the league right now; Declan Rice.

The pair of them are the definition of ‘ground eaters’. According to the data, the two best players in the Premier League this season in that regard are Rice and Fernandes. No other players have a higher ratio of progressive carry distance to turnover per carry. For those who may be a bit confused by what that means, it’s how much forward ground a player gains via dribbling before losing the ball.

He’s a brilliant carrier and progressor of the ball, but importantly, how does he compare to Wharton?

Well, Wharton is a slightly better passer but when it comes to winning duels and evading players through take-ons, Fernandes is streets ahead, living up to that Rice comparison.

He may only complete 0.4 more take-ons per 90 minutes than Wharton but the efficiency and regularity with which he is able to get past a player is remarkable. He’s completing a take-on over 60% of the time. It’s very difficult for anybody to get the ball off him.

For a Liverpool team currently relying on Alexis Mac Allister in a similar position, that should be music to the ears of supporters and Slot. This season, the Argentine is completing just 0.4 take-ons per 90, while his overall success is down at 40%, far below both Wharton and Fernandes.

While both of them would be fantastic signings for the Reds, Fernandes’ ability to progress play should make him the best option here. This is an elite player in the making, a midfielder whom football writer Joost van der Leij believes is already a “superstar“.