Journalist: Only two of the players Liverpool signed last summer have ‘justified’ their transfers

James Pearce has claimed that only two of the players who Liverpool signed during a £446m shopping spree last summer have ‘really justified’ the club’s faith thus far.

The Reds threw caution to the wind in the transfer window a few months ago, with Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni and club-record purchase Alexander Isak all joining Arne Slot’s squad.

However, the collective impact of the new arrivals hasn’t met initial expectations, with LFC going from Premier League title glory 12 months ago to a fight to merely qualify for the Champions League, even with England guaranteed at least five participants.

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Pearce claims only two summer signings have justified Liverpool’s faith

In an article for The Athletic reflecting on Liverpool’s defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, Pearce wrote that ‘question marks remain against so many of last summer’s signings’, who he discussed in turn.

He opined: ‘Florian Wirtz failed to step up in either of the legs against PSG. It’s not his fault that he cost a fee rising to £116m, but with that kind of price tag comes big expectations that he’s not even close to meeting. He was massively outshone by Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.

‘Jeremie Frimpong struggled in the first half to such an extent that he was hooked off at the break, and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose kicking especially is a big concern, continues to look a big downgrade on Alisson.

‘With Giovanni Leoni injured and Isak floundering either side of his fitness issues, only Milos Kerkez and Ekitike have really justified the faith Liverpool showed when they embarked on last year’s record-breaking spending spree.’

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How have the summer 2025 signings performed for Liverpool?

The French striker has been a definite success, with his 17 goals making him our top scorer for the season (sadly he won’t add to that tally after suffering a serious injury last night), while the Hungarian left-back has grown into a solid presence in the team after a shaky start to his Anfield career.

What of the other five names mentioned by Pearce (we’re including Mamardashvili as, despite being signed in 2024, this is his first campaign with the Reds)? Is the reporter’s verdict on those players warranted or overly harsh?

Frimpong has provided a lively presence along the right flank in between his all too frequent injury problems, although last night was one of his poorest games for Liverpool before he was substituted at half-time.

Leoni is exempt from judgement as he only made one (impressive) appearance before suffering a cruel ACL injury – hopefully he can return from that heartbreaking setback stronger than before.

Mamardashvili has pulled off some fine saves in his LFC outings so far and is a very good goalkeeper in his own right, but he’s yet to show that he seems capable of reaching the same world-class standards as Alisson.

Wirtz has shown flashes of brilliance in a Liverpool shirt and his quality is undoubted, but he’s been worrying ineffective in recent games, and a return of six goals in 44 games isn’t enough for a playmaker of his capabilities.

Isak’s output has also been way short of what would’ve been expected for his transfer fee, although fitness problems and a serious injury have prevented him from making a prolonged impact at Anfield so far, so we wouldn’t write him off as an expensive flop just yet.

We don’t doubt that Slot has some excellent players in his squad, but collectively they have underperformed to a massive degree this season, and most of the summer 2025 signings still have plenty to prove in a red shirt. Hopefully in time they’ll all turn out to be worthwhile investments.

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