When a new manager arrives at a club it is usually when that club is in a bit of state, with the previous boss chased out of town or resigning because they simply aren’t up to the job any more. With Arne Slot at Liverpool though things are a bit different.
The Dutchman arrives to take over a Reds squad which had begun to be rebuilt by the outgoing Jurgen Klopp, but the German knew that he wasn’t going to see the whole job through.
Klopp has left behind a young, hungry group of players which looks well set for a decent tilt at the Premier League title next season, as well as impressing in the Champions League after a season away.
Promoting promising youth players was always a key element of the Klopp regime, and Slot has plenty of those at his disposal, but new bosses always want to bring in their own players as well, and he is sure have his eye on the transfer market, along with Liverpool’s team behind the team led by Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes.
New signings will be made, and there is indeed a pretty solid argument for improving a couple of key areas of the pitch which sometimes let Liverpool down last season.
In defence, for example, injuries to Ibrahima Konate and the now released Joel Matip were offset by the rise of young Jarell Quansah, but as well as the academy product has done, even forcing his way into the England squad, there is certainly an argument for a new centre-back to be signed.
Leny Yoro has been linked with Liverpool (
AFP via Getty Images)
With that in mind it has been interesting to see the Reds linked with Lille’s 18-year-old hot property Leny Yoro in recent weeks, with the right sided teenager expected to make a move to a European giant this summer.
At such a tender age then it would be no surprise to see him introduced slowly at Liverpool, perhaps alternating right sided centre-back duty with Quansah and Konate, but he would certainly be an exciting addition and someone who would learn from playing alongside Virgil van Dijk, who could see cover of his own brought in in the shape of a left sided centre-back such as Goncalo Inacio.
Ederson starred for Atalanta in their Europa League final success (
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Into midfield, and if Slot is going to want to replicate the 4-2-3-1 formation which brought him success at Feyenoord then he is likely to want to sign a defensively-minded player.
Wataru Endo is the closest thing Liverpool have to a pure No.6 in the squad, with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and even Joe Gomez pressed into service there in the past season.
A specialist such as Atalanta’s Ederson could tick the boxes here, fresh off the back of his superb performance in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen which turned plenty of heads. Liverpool have long been linked with Ederson’s Atalanta teammate Teun Koopmeiners, who played for Slot at AZ Alkmaar, but they might find that the 6ft Brazilian fits the bill better.
Slot could revamp his Liverpool side to look like thisDON’T MIS
In attack there are also additions that Slot could make, but again very few managers, or head coaches, have the luxury of walking into a squad which boasts striking talents like Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, and he likely to be licking his lips at the prospect of working with them.
Like all elite coaches Slot won’t think in terms of having a ‘dream’ or ‘best’ XI, but with just a couple of shrewd additions then he can ensure that the squad Klopp has left him delivers on its promise.
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