Arne Slot makes summer spending vow as Liverpool boss admits frustration - 'People don't notice'

Arne Slot

To the untrained eye, the summer of 2025 marked a significant shift in the thinking at executive level at Liverpool.

It started in June, with the capture of Florian Wirtz, who joined for a club-record fee of £116m from Bayer Leverkusen.

That agreement, even at the base level of £100m, was still £25m more than what was paid for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018, who was at the time still the most expensive transfer of all time on Merseyside.

The £85m agreed for Darwin Nunez in the summer of 2022 was never paid in full due to the add-ons that were not triggered before the Uruguayan moved to Saudi Arabia last year.

After Wirtz, who was signed a few weeks after his good friend Jeremie Frimpong at £29m, came Milos Kerkez at £40m and Hugo Ekitike, who completed his £79m switch from Eintracht Frankfurt in July before immediately flying to meet his new colleagues in Hong Kong.

Giorgi Mamardashvili, who agreed to join the previous summer, formally ratified his £29m switch from Valencia earlier in the summer before Giovanni Leoni's £26m transfer from Parma was confirmed on the night the Reds began their title defence at home to Bournemouth on August 15.

Last, but by no means least, was the jaw-dropping, British-record purchase of Alexander Isak, who ended an acrimonious summer with Newcastle United by departing on transfer deadline day for £125m.

It completed a remarkable haul for the champions, whose summer-long work took them to more than £450m spent, inclusive of add-ons.

Liverpool, though, have always disputed the apparent change in stance and the club remains, as mandated by owners Fenway Sports Group, run under a strict policy of self-sustainability.

The enormous expenditure in the transfer window was down, in part, to record levels of revenue and the fact that the previous summer saw a profit turned with just Federico Chiesasigned at £10m.

That £450m figure, one which has been regularly mentioned in criticism of performances and results, also doesn't take into context what was quite the turnover in playing staff.

That, Arne Slot admits, is something that quietly irks him when it comes to the discussion of his team's fortunes.

Slot said.

"It’s a model of sustainability,"

"That’s why everyone talks about £450m but that’s why we had to recoup £300m.

“So that’s our model and I am not frustrated about that. Maybe I am little bit frustrated that too many people don’t notice what our model is.”

"They are talking about £450m but it’s £300m recoup. I am totally not frustrated as that’s the model I stepped in to and I even embrace it. It’s a good model to have for any club.

"I am frustrated that sometimes people don’t notice it but we were able to achieve a lot of good things since this ownership is here with this model of sustainability.

"That’s the signings we have made. We have only made signings this season that are of that level. So, yes, I think there is much more to come.

“That is where we are and what we are. Future signings will always be or should be of a sustainable level."

While Slot may feel he is within his rights to push back on the net-spend argument, the £300m figure is not quite what Liverpool were able to raise for their outgoings last year.

The departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold(£10m, Real Madrid), Luis Diaz (£65m, Bayern Munich), Nunez (£56m, Al Hilal), Caoimhin Kelleher (£18m, Brentford), Jarell Quansah(£35m, Bayer Leverkusen), Ben Gannon-Doak(£25m, Bournemouth), Nat Phillips (£3m, West Brom) and Tyler Morton (£15m, Lyon) means the Reds raised, once more inclusive of add-ons, a total of £227m.

It's possible that Slot includes the £35m agreement for Harvey Elliott to join Aston Villa into his sums when he talks about the summer spending but the midfielder, according to his own manager Unai Emery, looks almost certain not to make that arrangement permanent.

Liverpool have, however, raised over £300m in sales since the Dutchman arrived alongside sporting director Richard Hughes in the summer of 2024, which may explain the head coach's phrasing somewhat.

Even adjusting for net spend, the Reds' summer was still, by some distance, the biggest in their history, and with some gaps in their squad still glaring, it's looking another big period of player trading is drawing nearer for Slot, Hughes and the club's owners, FSG.

Slot adds: "In terms of sustainability what I mean is you don’t spend more than you have. And if you have that model it’s smart to bring in young players who you can develop and use for years.

"If you have a different model you can just spend whatever you want and do whatever you want. If the money just comes, then you can look at a different profile from what we are looking at.

“That’s why this club has always taken the profiles we are taking. And that is sustainability but the main thing I mean about sustainability is that we spend what we have.

"We won the league last season so probably made a bit of profit.

“So we sold for £300m and bought £450m. But £250m we haven’t used yet. Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong only a little bit and Giovanni Leoni not at all. That is the reality."

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