“A Few of Them” – Arne Slot Hints at Dropping Some Players in His Liverpool Squad Ahead of New Premier League Season

Arne Slot has had the opportunity to evaluate his Liverpool squad over the course of four matches, providing significant playing time to nearly all players who participated in the pre-season tour in the USA.

Now that the team has returned to Merseyside and the first-team players who stayed behind have rejoined, Slot’s focus has shifted to the beginning of the new season.

According to The Athletic, Slot has announced that several academy players who accompanied the senior squad will be sent back to their youth teams. The main squad, with a few minor injury exceptions, is now fully assembled at the AXA Training Centre.

Slot said: “I think other clubs have more players than us but it depends on who you are counting. If you are counting all the youngsters on the tour then there are many, but a few of them will go back to the under-21s or under-18s so I don’t think we have too many.”

The new head coach is satisfied that he has two players for every position in his squad, saying: “In most positions we have double and that is completely normal…For me, we have a normal amount of players, especially if you play all these cup games and we have to play more Champions League games this season.”

During pre-season, it’s typical to see a few academy players join the senior squad, especially when many first-team members are engaged in major international tournaments.

When Liverpool regrouped in July, up to 11 key players were either representing their countries or on holiday. This situation led Slot to include several younger players to reinforce the squad.

Even with the ongoing Euro 2024 and Copa America, Slot would have aimed to assess as many players as possible in his first summer with the team. He has now gathered a good understanding of which young talents might be ready for senior roles this season.

Throughout the year, Slot may need to rely on under-21 players, much like Jurgen Klopp did in the 2023/24 season. However, he now has a clear sense of which individuals are prepared to transition to the senior team.

In the next 12 months, there is hope that additional viable first-team candidates will emerge, similar to the progress made by Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley over the past year.

In other Liverpool news, What Liverpool’s Starting XI for Ipswich Opener Might Look Like After Three Signings Worth £153m Under Arne Slot