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When Liverpool won the Premier League last season, the closing weeks of the campaign were almost overshadowed by questions over the future of three of their key players. While Trent Alexander-Arnold ended up leaving for Real Madrid, captain Virgil van Dijk and top scorer Mohamed Salah both stayed at Anfield.

Van Dijk's extension came with a warning, though. The Dutch international wanted Liverpool to make a statement in the transfer market after a limited amount of business was conducted during Arne Slot's first season as manager.

"Whatever happens in terms of players going out, players coming in, I think it should be a big summer," Van Dijk said in April, before his renewal. "I think they're planning to make it a big summer, so we all have to trust the board, as a Liverpool-connected fan, to do the right job. I think Liverpool should be able to challenge for titles in the upcoming years."

He added: "I think we 100% can improve. If you take it all the way back to the [previous] summer, I didn't have a proper pre-season (after playing at Euro 2024). You don't have time to work on what the manager really wants in terms of a training camp.

"This year, there is a training camp and there is time for the team to work on what the manager wants and I think that will then improve the team. There are still so many things to improve. I think a proper pre-season would definitely help the club in order to be even more consistent than we have already been."

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That wish was well and truly fulfilled. Liverpool spent more than any other Premier League club over the summer, breaking the competition's transfer record not once but twice as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak both moved to Anfield.

The Reds' total spending topped £400million, with Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all arriving alongside Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose move from Valencia was announced a year earlier. However, the title defence has not gone at all to plan.

There have been other factors, of course. Luis Diaz's sale to Bayern Munich and the tragic death of Diogo Jota have robbed the club of two dangerous attacking outlets from last season, even before addressing the emotional impact on the players of Jota and brother Andre Silva losing their lives in July.

Liverpool have also had on-field setbacks to deal with on the injury front. Isak has faced multiple spells on the sidelines after a lack of a proper pre-season brought a slow start, while Leoni suffered a season-ending injury on his debut and Conor Bradley is now out for months with a knee injury of his own.

There will also, unavoidably, be questions about the failure of some new recruits to bed in as quickly as hoped. Ekitike has been the only immediate success story, though Wirtz has improved as the season has gone on and Frimpong can point to injury-related disruption.

Some will also no doubt make reference to Caoimhin Kelleher's impressive form since leaving for Brentford. The Irishman was always going to be set on an exit after the arrival of Mamardashvili and there have been question marks over whether Liverpool should instead have left the Georgian in Spain and provided Kelleher with a clear eventual path to replace Alisson as first choice.

With all this in mind, though, it's worth remembering the broader argument put forward by Van Dijk. He didn't just want Liverpool to strengthen immediately - he wanted them to challenge for more titles for years to come.

The league triumph last term owed a lot to the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister stepping up in their second season at Anfield, while the front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino had been at Anfield for some time already already when the club ended a long title drought in 2020. This season may have been tough, but there's still time for the immediate struggles to turn into longer-term gains.

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