If you were hoping for a quiet summer at Anfield, you picked the wrong club and frankly the wrong decade. With Michael Edwards' departure as FSG chief executive still fresh and raw, Liverpool are navigating one of the more complex transfer windows in recent memory — and they haven't even kicked a ball in pre-season yet.

The Reds' only confirmed business so far is the arrival of Victor Munoz from Osasuna, and while patience is a virtue, the clock is ticking. Pre-season gets underway later this month when Andoni Iraola's squad jet off to the United States for friendlies against Sunderland on 25 July, followed by Wrexham and Leeds United. August then brings matches against Monaco and Como back on Merseyside. In less than a fortnight, Iraola will finally get his first proper look at his players in action.

The biggest hole to fill, of course, remains the one left by Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian's exit after years of extraordinary service has predictably sent the rumour mill into overdrive. France international Bradley Barcola has emerged as one of the most prominent names being linked with a move to Merseyside, alongside Norway's Antonio Nusa and Germany's Said El Mala. Three very different profiles, all capable of operating wide. Whether Liverpool move for one, two or none of them remains to be seen, but the need for a wide attacker of genuine quality is beyond dispute.

On the Salah front itself, there has been an unexpected development. According to the Daily Mail, MLS side Sporting Kansas City are pushing to sign the forward following Egypt's World Cup exit at the hands of Argentina. The report indicates that Salah's agent Ramy Abbas is actively assessing his options. Whether that leads to a move stateside or elsewhere, the chapter appears to be firmly closed on his time at Anfield.

Meanwhile, there is some clarity on the Cody Gakpo situation. Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been eyeing the Dutch winger as a potential option while they pursue other targets, but according to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are simply not opening the door to a Gakpo exit this summer. That should settle a few nerves amongst supporters who had been speculating about his future. He stays — at least for now.

A name generating attention from an entirely different direction is Joao Gomes. Weekend reports from Brazilian outlet Globo suggest that both Liverpool and Manchester United could yet move for the Wolves midfielder after his proposed move to Atletico Madrid fell apart at the last minute. Gomes, valued at around £38 million, made 35 Premier League appearances for Wolves last season and represented Brazil at the 2024 Copa America. Whether Liverpool's interest translates into something concrete is unclear, but he is clearly a player attracting serious attention at the top end of the game.

Perhaps the most sobering element of Liverpool's summer so far has been the honesty of their new manager. Andoni Iraola faced the media for the first time on Monday and did not come armed with grand proclamations or crowd-pleasing rhetoric. Instead, he spoke plainly about the challenges ahead — including a significant injury headache that has arrived before a single training session has taken place.

"You know, we haven't started training and we already have, especially in the cases of Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, long injuries," Iraola told reporters. "So, in terms of also improving the team we have to consider [that] we have to replace very important players that were making very good numbers, and also we have the situation with, especially those three, big injuries that are going to miss some time that we also have to find a way to replace."

Leoni was the first to go down, having already undergone ACL surgery. It is a brutal blow for a player who had barely had the chance to settle. The injuries to Ekitike and Bradley compound the problem considerably and will undoubtedly influence how the club approaches the remainder of the transfer window. Iraola was calm and measured in the way he delivered this news — no panic, no drama — but the implication was clear. Liverpool need bodies, and they need them soon.

For what it's worth, Paul Gorst, who was present at Iraola's first press conference, noted that the new head coach "did not arrive with any bombastic claims or seek to deliver the type of soundbites that might eventually end up on a coffee mug at the AXA Training Centre, but his hard-working nature is seeking to instill a more aggressive, front-footed style into this Liverpool team, who, for large parts of last season, looked undercooked and even disinterested."

That assessment will resonate with supporters who spent much of last campaign shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Elsewhere, Victor Munoz continues his wait for a first World Cup appearance. The summer signing has been an unused substitute throughout Spain's tournament run due to injury concerns, though reports suggested he was in contention ahead of the quarter-final against Belgium. He did not feature that day, but the semi-final against France could yet offer him a debut on the biggest stage — which would be a welcome sight for Liverpool supporters eager to see what they have actually signed.

And across the city of Madrid, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been making noise of his own. The former Liverpool man shared a montage of his solo training drills and conditioning work on Instagram this week, captioning it simply: "Summer done." It speaks to a player with something to prove after a difficult year, having also been omitted from Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup. Whether his redemption arc plays out in the Spanish capital or elsewhere, that is very much his story now.

Liverpool's story is only just beginning to unfold — and something tells you the next few weeks are going to be anything but quiet.