Liverpool transfer news latest: Angelo Stiller links assessed as Arne Slot squad building priorities revealed

Liverpool may not be able to give Angelo Stiller the playing time needed to satisfy his demands, Reds transfer expert David Lynch has argued.

The Reds have been tentatively linked with midfielders such as Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton, as well as Stuttgart conductor Stiller, who excels with the ball at his feet.

His passing range would undoubtedly be of benefit to Liverpool, and his ability to progress possession from deep would give the team a different way of entering the final third.

However, Lynch insisted that the 24-year-old would not find it easy to claim a place in the XI, telling Sports Mole: "Liverpool do need to find that progression but while they could add that with Stiller, are we dropping Ryan Gravenberch from the team?

"People will say 'there'll be enough games for both' but there's not because Ryan Gravenberch is not going to want to go from starting 50 games a season to starting 25, and Stiller isn't going to come in and say 'I'm starting 25 games and think that's enough or worthwhile'. Similarly with Adam Walton, who's another player that they definitely like.

"I struggle to see how you justify a high-profile midfield signing and say that they will get enough games even with slightly more rotation. I find that hard to work out. Maybe they'll surprise us and do that regardless, but it doesn't feel like midfield is high up on the list at the moment."

Gravenberch was arguably the best number six in the Premier League last term, so it would be surprising if boss Arne Slot was to take him out of the starting lineup.

Slot's priorities

The Reds have already secured the services of Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, while Milos Kerkez is expected to imminently join the champions from Bournemouth.

Reports also suggest that the club are looking to bring in a striker to replace Darwin Nunez, who is likely to leave the club in the summer amid interest from Napoli and Atletico Madrid.

While Lynch did not rule out reinforcement in midfield, he spoke of his belief that only an exit would make the position more of a priority, when he told Sports Mole: "As things stand at the moment, I don't feel like midfield's going to be an area of focus. I get that feeling at the moment [that it won't be addressed].

"We'll see how things change - there's a lot of the window to go - so things could start to ramp up in midfield, but you don't get the feeling it's a priority. There could be spots opening up. Harvey Elliott, there's a real chance he goes and I think he seems to be more accepting of that idea, so that's a spot that could open up.

"But I spoke to people close to Wataru Endo only a couple of weeks ago, and I don't think he's going to go. He's determined to stay and I did not expect that because I thought he would be more willing to move on and want to play more football but he seems to be happy where he is."

The club have also been linked with Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, and it would be surprising if a high-profile midfielder was sought in addition to other targets considering Liverpool's spending looks set to significantly eclipse £200m.

Are Liverpool taking a risk?

Liverpool managed to win the Premier League title last season with Ryan Gravenberch at the base of midfield, with his ability to carry the ball out of pressure a key reason why the Merseysiders finished first.

The Dutchman is not an expert passer but the team managed to get by in 2024-25 thanks to the presence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has left to join Real Madrid, and his exit has raised concerns that the side could suffer without a specialised passer in the XI.

There are also concerns that asking the same midfield group to play so many games next season could be detrimental, especially as Slot only showed faith in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Gravenberch to start matches, and such a small group could experience burnout in 2025-26.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch expressed his view that new buildup patterns, as well as more rotation, could solve some issues in the middle, saying: "You look at the options and you could easily get more minutes out of Endo next season and possibly should do to protect Ryan Gravenberch.

"Curtis Jones is a great backup to any of the options [in midfield]. If you want to, you could go down the route of Wirtz as a false nine. You can use him as a 10 certainly. You could use him as a 10 in any game - he's that good - but that's an option in midfield you've added there.

"[Slot could use] different buildup patterns - getting Mac Allister in those deeper roles and using his progression because he is quite good at that. I don't think it's been a massive tactic for Liverpool to use him as much in buildup as they could have, but there's ways around it other than signing players."

Gravenberch started the 2024-25 season excellently but arguably slowed down as the campaign progressed, so perhaps deploying Endo more would ensure the former is fresh for key matches.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on links to Angelo Stiller

Written by
Lewis Nolan