Liverpool’s midfield rebuild has been drifting toward a familiar pattern all summer: high-energy profiles, strong resale logic and players young enough to be shaped around Andoni Iraola rather than merely added to the squad.
Kees Smit now fits squarely into that conversation.
A fresh update from Empire of the Kop, citing The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, has told supporters to “keep an eye on Liverpool” in the race for the AZ Alkmaar midfielder. Newcastle United have tracked the 20-year-old for some time but are not currently active, leaving a wider group of clubs circling a player whose profile looks increasingly aligned with the new tactical direction at Anfield.
That does not mean a bid is imminent. It does mean Liverpool’s recruitment department appear to be building a deeper midfield shortlist behind the more expensive names already linked with the club. In a compressed summer market, that kind of parallel planning is not background noise. It is the difference between reacting late and moving with conviction.
Why Smit Fits The Iraola Brief
Liverpool confirmed Iraola as head coach earlier this month, noting his three Premier League seasons at Bournemouth and the 18-match unbeaten run that carried the Cherries into Europe. That context matters because Iraola’s teams are not built around passive possession. They need midfielders who can jump forward, win second balls and play through pressure quickly.
Smit’s statistical shape points in that direction. Empire of the Kop cited FotMob data showing he ranked strongly among positional peers last season for possession won in the final third, chances created, pass completion, recoveries and successful dribbles. Those are not ornamental numbers. They describe a midfielder comfortable operating in the busiest zones of the pitch.
For Liverpool, the attraction is obvious. The post-Jurgen Klopp, post-Arne Slot reshaping has left the club trying to add legs and control at the same time. Smit offers the promise of both: a technician who can keep tempo without sanding the edge off Iraola’s press.
The Newcastle Factor Sharpens The Story
The Newcastle detail is important because Liverpool have already been drawn into a live market rivalry with the Tyneside club. The Reds hijacked the Victor Munoz deal from Osasuna earlier this summer and are due to open Iraola’s Premier League reign away at St James’ Park, a fixture already carrying extra heat on the 2026/27 schedule.
Smit would not be a straight repeat of the Munoz move, but the mechanics are similar. Newcastle admiration, Liverpool interest, and a young European talent whose decision may depend as much on role clarity as salary.
That is where Anfield can make a strong case. Liverpool can offer a pathway into a midfield that needs renewal, Dutch dressing-room familiarity around Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, and a manager whose system should reward Smit’s appetite for pressure rather than ask him to play within himself.
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Liverpool have been linked with several bigger-ticket midfield options, but Smit represents a different kind of play. He is not the finished article. He is a development bet with first-team traits, which makes him attractive if the club want to protect budget for attacking reinforcements.
That matters in a summer where Liverpool are also working through wide-forward questions. Yan Diomande, Bradley Barcola and alternative winger targets have dominated the external noise, yet Iraola’s success at Anfield may hinge just as heavily on whether the midfield can sustain his intensity for 90 minutes.
Smit is not a glamour headline in the way a marquee winger would be. He is more subtle than that: a recruitment-floor signal that Liverpool are looking for repeatable pressing value, not just name value.
If the interest hardens, the pitch to Smit should be straightforward. Anfield is no longer simply buying midfield depth. It is building a new engine room for a manager whose football demands one.
