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Victor Munoz transfer shows Liverpool's 'opportunistic' side as Arsenal model followed

At last the long Victor Munoz transfer saga is over. Well, almost. After a quiet June so far, Liverpool have sprung into action to move for the Spain World Cup winger at breakneck speed , agreeing a fee with Osasuna and overseeing a medical for the 22-year-old as he trains with his nation in Tennessee. With that medical passed and a six-year deal on the table, it is fitting that a move for a player renowned for his pace should be progressing so quickly. Munoz completed 12 dribbles in a match against Rayo Vallecano last season, the most by a player in a single match in Europe's top five leagues across the campaign. This is someone who doesn't do hurdles. And neither do Liverpool when they act like this. The swift, decisive nature of the deal might have left Newcastle cursing the Reds for a third time in a year after the signings of Hugo Ekitike from under their noses and Alexander Isak after a long, bitter pursuit, but it is also a reminder of how Liverpool would often do business away from the limelight. Everyone has a story of how they first found out that the Reds were signing Fabinho out of the blue in the hours that followed the 2018 Champions League final defeat in Kyiv, while news of a deal for Cody Gakpo emerged on Boxing Day 2022 when everyone else was distracted by turkey sandwiches. On both of those occasions, and others, Liverpool were able to swoop in and complete deals without making them the type of ongoing sagas that we saw last summer, particularly so in the case of Isak but also to an extent with Ekitike and Florian Wirtz. If the Munoz signing is to be a sign of a return to the old, Michael Edwards driven ways, then it could also be evidence of the famed 'opportunistic' approach that Richard Hughes spoke of when arriving at Liverpool, and it could also be something more. Because while Liverpool hit the headlines last summer for the signings of Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike, it was Arsenal's transfer policy which ultimately served them the best. The Gunners ended up signing seven first-team players, with four of them - Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze - arriving for fees in between £48m and £60m. Despite the Reds' headline expenditure Arsenal ended up with a bigger net spend than them last summer, but it turned out to be money well spent as the Gunners won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final with a squad as strong as any they've had in the modern era. All of those aforementioned four players played their part in domestic success and European progress, as Arsenal built a squad that was strong enough to deal with the rigours of Premier League and European football, something that the Liverpool class of 2025/26 spectacularly did not. With Andoni Iraola facing continental competition for the first time, he is going to need plenty of tools at his disposal in order to fight on all fronts, and the addition of Munoz - a pacy wide player who can play across the front line and won't expect to start every game - looks a clever one. If it is to be the start of Liverpool returning to quieter, cleverer ways of doing business, then the arrival of the Spain international should be welcomed in more ways than one. FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page

2026-06-18