Liverpool's Title Challenge Depends on Transfer Domino Effect
Liverpool’s next title charge may depend on a transfer domino that starts 1,000 miles away, in Manchester and Madrid.
This is what the new era at Anfield looks like now. No Jürgen Klopp. No Mohamed Salah. No Arne Slot. Andoni Iraola in the dugout. A fanbase that has gone from expecting title parades to demanding a reset that actually delivers one.
The objective has not changed. Liverpool exist to compete for the Premier League. When they don’t, something is broken.
A new Liverpool, still short in the middle
Last season exposed plenty of those cracks. Slot’s decision to overhaul the team’s structure left Liverpool unrecognisable from the side that had once swarmed and suffocated opponents. The tactical shift never truly clicked, and the attack suffered badly.
Salah and Cody Gakpo, two of the club’s most dangerous weapons, found themselves on the fringes of games, their strengths dulled by a system that did not suit them. Both endured some of their poorest campaigns in a Liverpool shirt. Now Salah has gone, and with Iraola tasked with re-energising the side, the rebuild moves into a sharper, more ruthless phase.
The squad still has quality. It does not yet have enough of the right kind of quality in midfield.
On paper, a trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch should be a match for almost anyone. In reality, only Szoboszlai truly hit his level across the 2025-26 season. Mac Allister flickered rather than dictated. Gravenberch, despite blossoming later into one of the league’s standout defensive midfielders in 2024-25, had previously fallen short of what Liverpool needed from a player in that role.
That inconsistency is exactly why Liverpool keep circling the same problem: they need another midfielder of the highest calibre, one who can anchor a title challenge rather than just decorate it.
The Rodri chain reaction
Enter Eduardo Camavinga. Or rather, enter a scenario in which Manchester City help Liverpool, however unintentionally.
Real Madrid already boast a formidable midfield spine with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde. Camavinga, one of the most gifted and versatile young players in Europe, has often been the one shuffled around to fill gaps. Left-back, deeper midfield, higher up, off the bench. Valuable, yes. Central to the project? Not always.
That imbalance has fuelled speculation over his future.
A report from Ekrem Konur lays out the equation. Chelsea have pushed for Camavinga, but the Frenchman has rejected every approach and, crucially, does not want to leave Madrid. The dynamic only changes if Real Madrid sign Rodri from Manchester City.
If that happens, the picture shifts dramatically. Konur reports that a Rodri arrival would open the door to Camavinga’s departure, with the club actively considering scenarios in which he is among those sold.
For Liverpool, it means this: their best chance of landing the ideal midfielder may depend on City agreeing to lose theirs.
Why Camavinga fits the Anfield blueprint
Liverpool’s internal options are not without promise. Gravenberch eventually grew into a high-level defensive midfielder. Stefan Bajcetic and James McConnell offer potential and energy. Yet this is a club that measures itself against City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich. At that altitude, “potential” is not enough.
To challenge on multiple fronts, Liverpool need at least two elite options for every key position. Injuries, suspensions, dips in form – they are inevitabilities. The question is whether the drop-off from starter to replacement is minimal or brutal.
Camavinga narrows that gap to almost nothing.
He is 23, already tested in Champions League and La Liga battles, and has played across almost every band of the pitch. He can sit as a No 6, press and shuttle as a No 8, cover wide spaces, and still offer the technical security to build play under pressure. That blend of versatility and maturity is precisely what Iraola’s high-intensity, aggressive style demands.
Of all the defensive and central midfielders linked with Liverpool in recent years, Camavinga looks the cleanest fit: young enough to grow with the new project, experienced enough to lead it.
Liverpool know they need another pillar in midfield. Real Madrid may be willing to sell one. Manchester City hold the key by deciding whether to part with Rodri.
If that domino falls, the next phase of Liverpool’s rebuild could be defined not by who left Anfield, but by the Frenchman who walks through its doors.
