THE AUDIT is a new series from Daily Mail Sport assessing the true health of Premier League clubs in the short, medium and long term. Here, we go beneath the surface at Liverpool to review the state of play on and off the pitch at Anfield.
All eyes will be on Anfield this Sunday as Liverpool return to action against Manchester City, their biggest on-pitch rivals over the last decade. But how much of that rivalry, which saw them go toe-to-toe for several league titles, was real?
Neutral fans will likely be wanting Liverpool to win against Public Enemy No1. After two wins and three draws to start the Premier League season, this represents Andoni Iraola’s biggest test yet. A victory over leaders City, wounded by the guilty verdict or not, would represent a true statement.
Win or lose, what is the overall health of the club?
Liverpool face the team who have been their rivals for much of the last decade on Sunday. But how much of those battles with Manchester City can we still see as real?
After two wins and three draws to start the Premier League season, the visit of City represents Andoni Iraola’s biggest test yet
First-team squad: 8/10
There are a few weak areas and there are tasks on new sporting director Julian Ward’s to-do list, for sure, but the first-team squad (and especially the starting XI) is healthy.
Striker Alexander Isak will dictate Liverpool’s fortunes this season. A repeat of last year and it is hard to see Iraola’s men mounting a serious challenge for the top prizes but, with the Swede on form, the possibilities are endless.
He has already matched his goal tally from his injury-hit debut campaign with four strikes, including a brace in the victory at Ipswich and the winner at Bournemouth. Without his upturn in form, things would be looking remarkably less rosy.
Either side of Isak, the wide options look better than last term. When Mohamed Salah’s form dipped, it felt like players were looking around and waiting for someone else to step up as a reliable goalscorer.
Now, there is the in-form Cody Gakpo, who has put a tough season behind him – although he does return from Netherlands duty as an injury doubt. Rio Ngumoha, 18, is always a menace with Iraola trying to shape him into a more versatile forward. That may be a necessity given that almost all of Liverpool’s wide options prefer the left flank to the right.
That includes new signing Victor Munoz, who has settled better than expected with a few shining performances. Oh, and there’s £123million man Bradley Barcola. The France international has not hit the ground running but maybe his time is soon.
There are obvious issues with midfield and a true No6 should be top of the shopping list but Alexis Mac Allister has been a class act so far this season, which is a huge bonus given his form fell off a cliff last year.
At the back, there appeared to be a depth issue going into the summer transfer market: Ibrahima Konate left on a free transfer to Real Madrid despite Liverpool’s best efforts, Virgil van Dijk turned 35 and the other options were young, unproven defenders.
Alexander Isak’s welcome return to form has been crucial, already equalling his tally of four goals from his debut campaign
Cody Gakpo, who was so close to joining City in the summer, is also in fine form for Iraola’s side
Jeremy Jacquet has silenced any fears of a lack of quality at the back. The 21-year-old has been a class act and looks like a Rolls-Royce defender
But Jeremy Jacquet has silenced any fears. The 21-year-old has been a class act and looks like a Rolls-Royce defender. Van Dijk is showing no signs of slowing down and fans are already calling for the club to extend his contract, which expires at the end of this season.
At full back, there are worries. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were both signed in summer 2025 but neither has yet lived up to the billing. The club has faith in both but they need to start repaying it.
Loan signing Ronald Araujo has plugged several gaps and has been a sound addition at both right-back and centre-half. The former Barcelona skipper is loving life on Merseyside and is already keen to stay. There is an option to make it permanent.
Alisson is aging like a fine wine. Similar to Van Dijk, he is maybe not quite as good as his peak but he is still in the top three in his position in the league. The Brazilian’s deal expires at the end of this term. Will Liverpool offer him a new deal, even if just to ward off yet another star player leaving without earning the club a transfer fee? A better question might be: would Alisson want to stay? He heavily flirted with Juventus this summer and it would not be surprising should he depart.
Managerial staff: 7/10
It’s early days for Iraola so it is hard to give him any more than a seven – but there are more positives than negatives. Iraola’s vibrant, more attacking style closer to Jurgen Klopp than Arne Slot has won over fans, as has his trust in youth. It also did his PR no harm that he was at the women’s Merseyside Derby, showing his approach to the one-club model.
By the end of the Slot era, supporters seemed to be irked by everything he did so Iraola has had some easy wins but the next block of fixtures – from Sunday to the next international break – will define true fan feeling.
There are nine games including some tough league assignments: Manchester City, Brighton and Arsenal all come to Anfield, then there is a tricky trip to Brentford next Saturday on the back of Iraola’s first European away trip this midweek. Chelsea are also in town in the Carabao Cup.
Some things to keep an eye on in this next block of fixtures: can Iraola solve his midfield muddle and sort the (lack of) balance? Will Liverpool be more consistent and play well for full games rather than just spells? Can the Reds’ full backs improve and will Barcola settle?
Full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have yet to convince since joining last summer
Virgil van Dijk and Alisson are aging like fine wines – but can Liverpool convince the latter to stay beyond this summer?
Academy set-up: 9/10
Liverpool are thriving in this regard, even though the academy teams themselves would like to do better in their competitions.
Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, poached from other academies in their mid-teens, are playing regularly for the first team, as is Lewis Koumas after a few loans to the Championship.
Liverpool are also part of an aggressive youth recruitment drive that has seen a global talent-spotting team, led by Matt Newberry, sign some of the best youngsters in the world in the past 18 months. Newberry was in Colombia recently to check on Samuel Martinez, who will arrive at the club next summer from Atletico Nacional when he turns 18. Belgium Under 21s goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans, 18, is rated as one of the best young keepers in the world.
They have signed other players from Senegal, France, Austria and beyond thanks to this global operation – but domestic recruitment is an equal priority. They recently signed goalkeeper Zach Trinder from Wolves, a move first flagged by Daily Mail Sport.
Striker Will Wright, 18, arrived from Salford last summer and he is one that many think could be the next cab off the rank, with some leader-like performances for the Under 21s recently. Josh Abe, still just 16, is also fancied to go far.
Rio Ngumoha (left) and Trey Nyoni (centre), poached from other clubs in their mid-teens, are playing regularly for the first team, as is Lewis Koumas (right) after a few Championship loans
Chief talent-spotter Matt Newberry was in Colombia recently to check on Samuel Martinez (left), who will arrive at the club next summer from Atletico Nacional when he turns 18
The club have also brought in future star Lucca Brughmans, who represents Belgium at Under-21 level
Hierarchy/owners: 7/10
Fenway Sports Group have been in the headlines a lot in the last six months or so, starting with their attempts – or failed attempts, we should say, after fan protests – to raise ticket prices.
The American owners are also in the process of selling a hefty 38 per cent stake to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, with the backing of billionaires Jeff Bezos and Eduardo Saverin. But as we have seen with a certain other club in the North West recently, having wealthy owners does not guarantee teams becoming big spenders (legally or otherwise), something we also saw with Newcastle.
Whether the 1892 Holdings group eventually buys out FSG is not known – but it is certainly something to keep a close eye on in the next 18 months.
As for the football hierarchy, there were two high-profile exits in Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, alongside scouts Mark Burchill and Craig McKee who followed the Scottish sporting director to Al Hilal. Ward is the sporting director now. He held the same position in the 2022-23 season but stepped back for personal reasons. Ward first joined the club in 2012 and has held roles such as scout, loans manager and assistant sporting director.
The 45-year-old, who grew up near the Lake District but returned to his home city Liverpool to study sports science, knows the club well and has solid relationships with key agencies around the game.
He is supplemented by David Woodfine, a well-regarded figure who was part of the famed Portsmouth recruitment team featuring Hughes, Edwards and Eddie Howe. ‘Woody’ has also worked at West Ham and has been at Anfield since 2014.
Finances: 8/10
Liverpool reported record revenues of more than £700m in the latest financial accounts which reflected the title-winning 2024-25 season. The cash injection from 1892 Holdings has only strengthened their position, though finishing only fifth will be reflected in the latest accounts with a drop-off in prize money expected year on year.
Summer exits of Salah, Konate and Andy Robertson saves the club around £35m a year (a conservative estimate). Money is definitely in the bank for future investments in the transfer window.
Liverpool’s American owners are selling a hefty 38 per cent stake to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, with the backing of billionaires Jeff Bezos (left) and Eduardo Saverin
Julian Ward (second left) is back in as sporting director after Michael Edwards (centre) and Richard Hughes (second right) departed this summer
Stadium: 8/10
Realistically, Anfield could double in size and still sell out for big games. The demand for tickets remains through the roof.
Many fans are either priced out or unable to get tickets due to complex loyalty points systems (which are not exclusive to Liverpool, it must be said).
Fans have also complained in recent years about growing queues outside the ground and missing kick-off due to intense security checks. Things have improved this season so far.
A poor season last term led to the atmosphere being flat a lot of the time. You get the feeling that may change for the visit of City on Sunday.
