“Now We Have an Idea” – Arne Slot Explains Liverpool Challenge as Summer Transfer Plan Becomes Clear
Arne Slot has confirmed that he and sporting director Richard Hughes are thoroughly reviewing every position at Liverpool as they prepare for the summer transfer window.
However, the Liverpool manager emphasised that much of their recruitment strategy will hinge on the futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Mohamed Salah, whose current contracts are set to expire at the end of the season.
Diogo Jota’s injury against Chelsea on October 20 resulted in the Portuguese forward missing four months without a Premier League start before his recent appearance against his former team, Wolves. Due to ongoing fitness problems, Jota has played only 199 of Liverpool’s last 1530 Premier League minutes.
In Jota’s absence, Darwin Nunez has struggled to secure the role of Slot’s preferred striker. Instead, Luis Diaz has often been utilised as a temporary centre-forward in recent months.
Nunez has managed only four goals in the league, with two of those coming during stoppage time in a 2-0 victory over Brentford last month.
Nunez missed a significant opportunity during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday night. After Dominik Szoboszlai set him up by squaring the ball past goalkeeper Emi Martinez, Nunez failed to convert from six yards, sending his effort over the bar despite facing an open net.
Speaking on Thursday, Slot expressed his dissatisfaction with Nunez’s response to the missed chance and questioned the striker’s work ethic.
Although the Liverpool boss did not explicitly state that the club would be seeking a new forward during the summer window, he acknowledged that all possibilities are under consideration as they assess their squad options.
“We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team,” Slot said.
“And I think we’ve said this many times last season, or last summer, we didn’t do a lot [in the summer window] because we – Richard, me and all the other people involved – just wanted to know how these players were working with me, the different manager.
“Now we have a very good idea about that, and I think it’s clear to you that I’m not going to tell you which positions we prefer. But it is clear that we’ve assessed the squad, we’ve assessed what we think where we can improve, and that’s where we try to go for in the summer.”
A significant factor will be the contract situations of Van Dijk, Salah, and Alexander-Arnold, as all three could leave Anfield as free agents when the season concludes.
Slot added: “But if you’re OK with it, it’s quite an important two or three months to go. And we have some contract situations to take care of!
“So there’s a lot of work to do in the background, but my main focus is on the current squad.”
Asked if he had picked the brains of Jurgen Klopp to gain insight into dealing with Manchester City at the Etihad, Slot added: “No, we haven’t spoken about that. He’s only mostly given a lot of compliments after a game. So no, we haven’t spoken about that.
“I can talk to Jurgen, I’ve experienced it. Only one time when Liverpool won [the Premier League], it was 25 points [clear], but that’s not normal in a football season, except for France, because in France it’s always like this with Paris Saint-Germain. But almost every other league, it’s tight till the end.”
In other news, Liverpool Could Be Without Four Key Players for Crunch Man City Clash
