3 Liverpool players to watch in 2026 including Hugo Ekitike and Steven Gerrard-like star

Liverpool will be hoping to improve in the second half of the season under Arne Slot, with several players set to be important for the Reds boss in the coming months

Hugo Ekitike will have a huge role to play for Liverpool in 2026(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool began 2025 hoping that Arne Slot's side could get over the line in the Premier League title race. A few months later, it was mission accomplished.

With lots of changes in the summer transfer market and a difficult start to the new season, though, the expectations for this season have been readjusted. There have been signs of improvement of late, but Liverpool is chasing the Champions League places from here.

Get that secured, and this new-look team can then look ahead to next season, by which time everything will have bedded in that extra bit more. In the next few months, who are the key Liverpool players to watch? Some of our writers have had their say.

Florian Wirtz - Matt Addison

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Florian Wirtz will be a success at Liverpool. We've already seen it in flashes, but there is much more to come.

Wirtz cost a huge amount of money, but he arrived at Anfield as a 22-year-old who had never played outside of Germany before. It was always going to take some time for him to adapt to the Premier League.

There is a reason that Liverpool was prepared to spend so much money on Wirtz: because he will prove value for money. As a 20-year-old, he fired Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title, scoring 18 goals and laying on 20 assists.

Combining skill and flair with work ethic and energy, Wirtz still needs to improve at Anfield. It won't be long, though, before we see the best of him on a regular basis. He is truly too good for that not to be the case.

Florian Wirtz pictured at the AXA Training Centre after he signs for Liverpool on June 20, 2025(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Hugo Ekitike - James Findlater

Originally, my answer would have been Alexander Isak. Unfortunately, that broken leg means any chance of us seeing the sort of form he produced at Newcastle is probably going to have to wait until next season now — even if he is back before the end of the campaign.

So when the Premier League's most expensive striker of all time is missing, you're going to need something pretty special to step up. Thankfully, Hugo Ekitike has already proven he can be that man.

The Frenchman has undoubtedly been the pick of the summer signings so far, and one of Liverpool's best players in general this season. His workload is about to increase, with the Reds needing him to fire even more now, but if he can handle the physical aspect of that and keep turning in the sort of performances we've been seeing, he could make all the difference.

Hugo Ekitike has been Liverpool's standout signing so far this season(Image: Liverpool FC, Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Dominik Szoboszlai - James Martin

Not many Liverpool players emerged from October and November with even more credit in the bank, but Dominik Szoboszlai was certainly one of them. At times, he was almost dragging the team single-handedly through games.

Standing head and shoulders above his teammates regardless of whether he was tasked with playing at right-back, right-wing, or in his natural central berth, Szoboszlai offered more than a few shades of Steven Gerrard. That’s just about the highest praise you can get at Anfield.

As Szoboszlai enters what are likely to be his prime years, it’s exciting to see what he can do as the rest of the Liverpool team begins to click back into gear. He has even more levels to unlock and will be a big part of anything this team achieves between now and the end of the campaign.