The 2024 summer transfer window has nearly reached August, meaning that Liverpool have little over a month to wrap up their business at the start of the Arne Slot era.
Of course, in order to 'wrap deals up', initial signings need to be made first. Over 40 days into the market, Liverpool have yet to dip their toes into the summer's frenzied transfer activity despite falling short in the Premier League title race last season, also losing to eventual champions Manchester United and Atalanta in the FA Cup and Europa League respectively.
This might feel concerning but Anfield chiefs have done all they can to ease the mounting trepidation, with new sporting director Richard Hughes stating: “I would see a quiet July and perhaps a crescendo in August.”
Slot is currently working on his first-team squad, bringing his ideas into a coherent vision and inculcating his methods into a club operating with the muscle-memory movements forged from Jurgen Klopp's long reign.
Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah are all entering the final year of their contracts, so sorting these quandaries takes a sizeable degree of precedence, understandably.
Liverpool transfer news
According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Liverpool are interested in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers' Pedro Neto this summer and have even been in contact with the winger's representatives.
Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in signing the £60m-rated Portuguese, and while Wolves's 2023 selling spree has put them in a comfortable PSR-related position, Neto has long been regarded as the player who may well be sold this summer.
The 24-year-old has had his injury woes over the past several seasons but was superb when on the pitch under Gary O'Neil last year, and he might just prove to be the perfect addition to enhance Liverpool's flanks.
What Pedro Neto would bring to Liverpool
Wolves signed Neto from Lazio in an £8m double swoop with Bruno Jordao in 2019, snapping him up as a 19-year-old prospect who had only earned five appearances for the Italian club.
Fast earning himself the reputation as one of the Premier League's most exciting up-and-comers, Neto has amassed 135 appearances for the Old Gold, scoring 14 goals and supplying a further 24 assists.
How interesting that last season, despite being plagued by injuries, he notched 14 of those 38 goal contributions. Described as an "incredibly talented and physically very gifted player" not two months into the 2023/24 campaign by O'Neil, he positively burst into life.
Finishing the campaign with three goals and 11 assists across just 24 outings, the £50k-per-week star impressed during his time on the field but admittedly spent two significant spells on the sidelines with hamstring injuries.
Still, his potency despite such niggling issues bears testament to his elite-level skillset, ranking among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across the past year for assists and the top 6% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
Matches played
20
Matches started
18
Goals
2
Assists
9
Pass completion
83%
Big chances created
7
Shots per game
1.8
Key passes per game
1.9
Ball recoveries per game
4.0
Dribbles per game
1.9
Duels won per game
3.5
He played all across the frontline, and while Neto has often been viewed as a left-sided forward in the past, O'Neil's decision to shift him onto the alternate flank paid dividends, for the Portugal international hit the finest vein of creative form of his career to date – with Jamie Carragher even hailing him as a "superstar".
Given that he is also left-footed, this could open up a realm of opportunity for new levels of goalscoring success down the line, especially when placed in a Liverpool team bearing immense playmaking properties across the park, with the Reds' 103 big chances created last season the most in the Premier League.
Liverpool need to seriously consider launching a bid, especially when considering the success that's been borne from the £45m deal to sign Diogo Jota from Molineux in 2020.
Jota, like Neto, is afflicted by injuries with too much consistency but he's one of the deadliest finishers in the game, scoring 15 times for the Reds last year despite only starting 19 matches across all competitions. Neto has been Wolves' prized forward since his countryman's transfer and he could now follow suit.
Why, he might even have the skills to succeed the aforementioned Salah. Okay, he's not blessed with the same predatory instinct that has seen the Egyptian king plunder 211 goals from 349 appearances, but his efforts in the Midlands suggest that he has what it takes to succeed at a powerhouse such as Liverpool, should fitness prevail.
Why Pedro Neto could replace Mohamed Salah
The pointers suggest that Salah will see out the final year of his £350k-per-week contract before departing on a free transfer next summer, abdicating his Anfield throne.
Many fans will probably view this as detrimental, but Salah will not last forever and, given that he will be on the cusp of his 33rd birthday, it might be the right time to part ways.
FSG will hope to be one step ahead of the curve concerning Salah's departure, so bringing in a proven Premier League right winger such as Neto to serve as the 32-year-old's foil ahead of a prospective step-up to the No. 1 spot on the wing could be the perfect move to increase the club's depth and dynamism.
Of course, the inexorable wheel of time has yet to slow down the Egypt captain's clinical brilliance, ranking among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals and the top 3% for assists per 90, as per FBref.
But he was among the culprits for Liverpool's startling nosedive in form toward the end of the campaign, proving to be uncharacteristically wasteful and going missing in decisive matches.
Neto might not unleash the kind of scoring numbers that Salah has invariably produced under Klopp's leadership, season on season, but he's an immense talent who would be stepping into a new Anfield era.
Slot is not Klopp and is tinkering away to create some tactical tweaks that could have a lasting effect. Neto has his prime years ahead of him and he must now follow in Jota's footsteps to the red half of Merseyside.
Liverpool could land Jones upgrade with swoop for £60m PL star
The Reds have been linked with an interest in the Premier League maestro this summer.
ByDan EmeryJul 25, 2024