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Liverpool's Alisson Becker has expressed that the Reds are feeling the absence of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez after a bustling transfer window at Anfield. The Merseyside club welcomed 10 new faces in a whopping spending spree.
However, they also saw an influx from player sales, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah among those departing, along with Diaz and Nunez. The South American duo have both hit the ground running at their new clubs after signing for Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal. Diaz netted the decisive goal on his debut for the German titans as they triumphed over VfB Stuttgart to clinch the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup.
Following this up with a goal and two assists on his Bundesliga debut against RB Leipzig, he now boasts four goals and two assists from his first five appearances for Bayern.
Meanwhile, Nunez found the back of the net for Al-Hilal in his second match for the club last time out against Al-Qadsiah. Both players played pivotal roles for Liverpool as they secured the Premier League title last season.
Liverpool splashed the cash to bolster its attack in the summer, with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike all joining in deals amounting to a combined $436M (£320m).
Isak could make his Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, but Wirtz is experiencing a subdued start to his Anfield career with his only goal contribution coming on his debut in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace.
In contrast, Ektike has shone in attack with three goals and an assist from his opening five appearances for the Reds.
Arne Slot's team currently lead the Premier League table with four victories from four matches, yet they haven't been at their peak and have needed dramatic late winners to secure triumph in each of their fixtures thus far.
Alisson has acknowledged that Liverpool must raise their standards as he confessed the Reds are feeling the absence of players like Diaz and Nunez whilst their new acquisitions continue to settle in.
"All the players who left were important," he told ESPN's SportCenter. "Lucho, Darwin, they all made a difference for us with goals or their playing, fighting, defending.
"They had good energy, and we miss them. The ones who arrived are stars, they're doing very well with their contributions, they have a lot of quality. It's clear we want to improve because we need to; we have many competitions to play."
Alisson isn't the first Liverpool player to acknowledge it will require patience for the Reds to find their rhythm following such an active transfer window, with the Brazilian reflecting comments made by Mohamed Salah earlier this month.
"The players are adapting to our system," the Egyptian told Sky Sports after scoring a 95th minute winner against Burnley on Sunday. "We had a few new players in the starting line-up. It takes time to adapt their game to our game.
"We try to make them comfortable in a game. Alex [Isak] also came last week and he's going to be in the team. We try to find the balance."
Salah has previously acknowledged that it will take time to establish a rapport with Liverpool's new attacking players, and he is still adjusting to playing alongside the likes of Ekitike, as he revealed in a chat with Men In Blazers.
"So far, I didn't figure the connections out yet," he admitted. "Like with Darwin (Nunez) or Lucho (Diaz) or the guys they used to play in front, or Diogo (Jota).
"I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well, but with Hugo, he's still new. Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need it in the space.
"We try to figure that out, through the training sessions or like the videos. The manager shows us. So I will figure it out soon because also it's going to help my game to grow as well."
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