Sporting director tells Liverpool what it will take to sign ‘machine’

Victor Munoz being Liverpool’s only summer transfer so far is rather worrying.

The Anfield outfit were expected to undergo a massive rebuild with the club looking to add at least five or six new players to their ranks.

They already replaced Arne Slot with Andoni Iraola so it felt like it was only a matter of time before some of their players were replaced.

However, that didn’t end up being the case and now, with just over a month left of the summer transfer window, the Reds feel like a weaker team now than they did at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Many rumours have emerged from L4 over the last couple of weeks but, some names have stayed consistent with fresh updates being shared almost every day.

This has led fans to believe that, even though there’s little-to-no movement from Anfield now, by the start of the 2026-27 season, there should be a fair few new players featuring for the Reds.

Liverpool will have to spend big if they want to sign Kaishu Sano this summer

One of the main areas in focus at Liverpool throughout the summer has been their midfield.

Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Trey Nyoni have all been linked with exits this summer and, even though it is their strongest area in terms of depth, the Reds will still need to replace any of the players that they choose to move on.

This fact has caused many players to be linked with Liverpool moves with some edging closer to Anfield as the days go by.

Liverpool clearly have a lot of money to spend as they have reportedly just opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain for the transfer of Bradley Barcola.

But, if the latest news to emerge about Kaishu Sano from Mainz’s sporting director is to be believed, the Reds will have to fork out a rather hefty chunk of change if they want to sign the Japan international.

“I won’t comment on any rumours or any of the clubs mentioned. We don’t have to sell Kaishū; we can afford to keep him,” Heidel explained to Bild.

“If he stays, there will be many happy people in the team, the club, and everywhere around it. But it’s like always at Mainz 05. Should an offer come in that takes our breath away, we’ll have to consider it!”

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Kaishu Sano would give Ryan Gravenberch a run for his money

Aside from the 2026 World Cup, most people won’t have heard of Sano.

The Japan international is 25 years old and has been playing in the Bundesliga since the 2024-25 season.

During that time, he’s featured in 84 games for Mainz across all competitions with 80 of those games coming as a defensive midfielder.

He’s also contributed to seven goals, all of which have come during the 2025-26 campaign.

A fee worth around £50 million is what Mainz would demand for the 25-year-old which, considering how inflated the market is at the moment, would be a fairly solid deal.

Obviously, it doesn’t help solve Liverpool’s homegrown issues and, if he was brought in after Jones exits, another midfielder is going to be needed.

But, since the Reds could do with a new number six to try and improve their defensive line, Sano feels like a solid option, that is, especially since he’s been described as a “machine” in the past.