Today is a new beginning. Today is the day that Arne Slot gets to work as Liverpool's new head coach.
The saddening departure of Jurgen Klopp not two weeks ago, when he led his side to one final dance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, is still fresh in supporters' minds but hard graft must be plied over the coming months to set Anfield up for a successful start to a new era.
With Michael Edwards pulling the strings from above, Slot can focus on energising his squad and preparing for the 2024/25 campaign, but there is plenty to do on the transfer front, not least ensuring that core trio Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah – all out of contract in one year – do not leave.
However, there are further potential exits on the cards, with Barcelona's lingering interest in Luis Diaz something that could be granted on Merseyside if an apt replacement was identified.
While he might not be a left-sided wide forward by default, Liverpool are looking to sign a talented Premier League star and could make their move if certain cards come into play in the coming weeks and months.
Liverpool lining up Premier League star
According to L'Equipe, Liverpool are indeed on the prowl for a new wide forward and have focussed their efforts on Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, aged 24, with the French-born ace ready to take the next step in his career.
The Bees would demand a fee in excess of £50m for Mbeumo, who has played a starring role in keeping the club in the English top flight for three successive seasons, though a deal is complicated by interest in his strike partner Ivan Toney.
Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested, though Slot will hope that his team's exciting project and allure of Champions League football will put Liverpool in the driving seat.
Bryan Mbeumo's season in numbers
Unfortunately, Mbeumo's incredible start to the season was stifled by injury in December, with the 5 foot 7 whiz missing three months through the middle period of the campaign after injuring his ankle and requiring surgery.
The 11-cap Cameroon international, who opted to play for the African nation due to familial ties, had fired his way into form during the opening months of the 2023/24 season, scoring seven goals and supplying three assists across 15 games before his mishap.
The Athletic's Jay Harris had even remarked that he “cannot be stopped” during this Midas-touching period. Let's not forget, supreme goalscorer Toney was suspended until January but this did not stop Mbeumo from succeeding, perhaps even allowing him to showcase his talismanic ability to a greater level.
As per Sofascore, Mbeumo scored nine goals and provided six assists from only 22 starting roles in the Premier League, creating six big chances and averaging 1.3 key passes, one dribble, 4.2 successful duels and 3.7 ball recoveries per game.
Games
22
16
Wins
8
2
Points (pm)
1.36
0.56
Goals scored (pm)
1.63
1.18
Goals conceded (pm)
1.4
2.1
Not just a goalscorer, Mbeumo possesses creative, ball-progressing and defensive skills that make him a fearsome weapon in the Premier League, ranking among the top 10% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists and shot-creating actions, the top 5% for passes attempted, the top 7% for progressive passes and progressive carries and the top 5% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
Mbeumo's FBref metrics underscore a roundedness and dynamism in his approach play that enhances his team and puts him above that of just 'goalscorer'. Instead, this is a player with far-reaching skills that would make him a tailor-made addition to Liverpool.
Moreover, this is illustrated through the £45k-per-week star's influence when performing, making Brentford a far better, more fluid and more effective unit. It's no wonder that Thomas Frank has hailed him as "very sharp".
Why Bryan Mbeumo would star at Liverpool
Slot's system, while not yet implemented on the Anfield pitch, is likely to demonstrate a fast-flowing, possession-based blend, with Dutch reporter Marcel van der Kraan recently praising the "crazy, sexy style".
A semblance of high-octane football can be found in Slot's system, but he is not a carbon copy of his Liverpool predecessor and his focus on control is something that makes Mbeumo such an interesting prospective arrival, with the Brentford man's aforementioned ball skills perfectly placed for success on the right flank, or upfront.
His technical prowess and the fact that he could be signed, aged 24, from a Premier League rival performing lower down the table – Brentford finished 16th this season – could make him Slot's own version of Sadio Mane, with the Senegalese forward instrumental in kickstarting Klopp's reign.
Left winger
194
80
31
Right winger
44
21
8
Centre-forward
29
19
3
Firstly, Mane's positional versatility made him an invaluable striker for Liverpool, and so too is Mbeumo free of the shackles of tactical inflexibility, scoring four goals and adding one assist from nine matches from centre-forward this season but clinching five goals and five assists apiece from 14 matches on the right.
Furthermore, Mane's goalscoring ability made him the perfect fit after signing from Southampton in a £34m deal in 2016, posting 120 strikes from 269 appearances for the Reds.
Fleet of foot, positively electric and invariably sharp, Mane might not have maintained the same prolific levels of his alternate wide-man Salah, but he was so impressive in an iconic Premier League frontline, embodying Liverpool's approach of shaping talented players into world-beaters, instead of launching ludicrous sums for those already performing at the top of their game.
Mbeumo is itching for a chance to prove himself for a team at the top of the European game, and while he's got plenty to prove, Slot might just hit the jackpot in signing him, replicating Klopp's Mane masterclass and starting his tenure with a bang.
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