‘I like the fact that Liverpool have numbers and options. They’re going to play 60 matches if they go far in all competitions, so the number of people who can turn a game will be key’ Steve McManaman on Liverpool’s depth

With five wins out of five and a five-point lead at the top of the embryonic Premier League table, Liverpool appear to have picked up where they left off last season.

The defending champions were quickly installed as the bookmakers’ favourites following a campaign which saw them finish ten points clear of the chasing pack in Arne Slot’s first season.

That came after the Reds largely kept their powder dry in the 2024 summer transfer window, with Federico Chiesa, a £10million arrival from Juventus, the only new face welcomed into Slot’s squad.

Steve McManaman’s take on Liverpool’s summer business

This summer was a different story, as the Reds shelled out £415million on a plethora of talent as they target title number 21 this season.

Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak both arrived on nine-figure deals, while the cash was also splashed on the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, while Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose move as agreed last summer, has now arrived.

Former Reds winger Steve McManaman believes his old side have made some shrewd moves.

“Liverpool sold Diaz and Nunez and, of course, they had the incredibly tragic loss of Diogo Jota, so they lost three forwards from last season,” McManaman tells FourFourTwo.

“They brought in Wirtz and Ekitike, so they were still one forward down from last year. I like the fact that they’ve got numbers and options. They’re going to play 60 matches if they do go far in all competitions, so the number of people who can turn a game will be key.”

McManaman - who was ranked at no.89 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best-ever Premier League players - also believes that Wirtz, who arrived in a £100million move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, will soon show his worth after a quiet start to life in the Premier League.

“Listen, he’s a fantastic player, he’s only young, he’s 22 years old and I like the positions he picks up,” McManaman adds. “He’s got really good shoulder movement, his balance is excellent, he can go from left to right and he moves comfortably with the ball.

“I loved watching him play for Bayer Leverkusen. I saw him a lot when he played there, and I thought it was a real statement signing for Liverpool.”