Liverpool's grand transfer plan is starting to reveal itself as critical summer period awaits

This week's Blood Red column looks ahead to this summer's transfer window and assesses the importance of qualifying for the Champions League

The beauty of Liverpool clinching the Premier League title in April of last season was that it allowed them to plan better for the months ahead.

According to Arne Slot himself, that the Reds had secured their pre-season ambition with a month to spare enabled him to sit down more with sporting director Richard Hughes to outline what was desired for the upcoming summer transfer window.

“If I look at the way we think about next season and our squad, these are things that are on my mind," Slot said at the time. "I think we can find one or two extra weapons that this team doesn’t have."

As a result, their status as champions - and the riches accompanying a top-spot finish in the world's most lucrative league - helped the club embark on the most ambitious period of player trading in their history, where around £450m was spent and around half of that was recouped.

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Jurgen Klopp used to say it was during the March international break when he was finally able to get around to speaking to fellow Anfield insiders about prospective summer targets, but the problem for Liverpool right now is the uncertainty surrounding their Champions League status.

The next month might bring some clarity on what awaits the Reds, but it's undeniable that missing out will harm recruitment plans.

Football careers are short and while sporting director Hughes may be able to sell the Anfield dream to so many potential recruits later this year, a term outside of the revamped European Cup will undoubtedly count against Liverpool in negotiations.

That being said, the eye-watering outlay of 2025 is starting to bear real fruit, which bodes well for a club heading into a summer where major squad surgery might once more be required. The Slot-Hughes regime is improving its reputation by the week when it comes to acquisitions.

Fifteen-goal Hugo Ekitike has been the pick of the bunch. The France international is expected to finish his maiden campaign at Anfield as the club's first top scorer not named Mohamed Salah since Philippe Coutinho's haul of 14 nine years ago.

Liverpool feel their No.22 has all the tools to become one of the finest multi-functional forwards in European football and an exciting first term with the Reds has hinted at that potential at times.

Florian Wirtz has steadily grasped the velocity of the English game and has generally been excellent since late November. Much more is expected of the £116m playmaker but it has been a good few months for the Germany international, who appears ready to embrace more responsibility for the Reds during the final few months of the term.

Wirtz has been one of the most consistent performers during a run that has seen the Reds lose just twice in 19 games and the attacking midfielder's form deservedly earned him the club's player of the month award for January.

Milos Kerkez looks a different player to the rash full-back who appeared overawed at the start of his Liverpool journey and Jeremie Frimpong, in between frustrating injury lay-offs, has added an extra dimension to the right side of Slot's team with his searing pace and willingness to drive at the opposition.

Teenage defender Giovanni Leoni cannot be judged yet as he recovers from an ACL injury and back-up goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will be entrusted to lead the club out of the Alisson Becker era in the coming years.

Alexander Isak, of course, remains the odd one out, but the £125m striker has three years of sterling service at Newcastle - 54 goals in total - as evidence to back up why he will eventually make the grade at Liverpool, once he recovers from what has been a fitness-blighted and injury-plagued campaign.

The wisdom of spending a mind-blowing total of £320m on just three players can be debated at length considering the club allowed as many as seven players who made ten or more league appearances to leave, however.

But Liverpool's track record under Hughes and Slot proves they have an ambitious recruitment department determined to target the best in class. This is why Champions League qualification remains critical to the future at Anfield.

Liverpool's grand plan for the summer of 2025 is starting to reveal itself but the club can't afford to let the second part of that - this coming summer - be cut off from the Champions League bounty.

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