Arne Slot bats off transfer question with post-match response which might concern Liverpool fans
Arne Slot refused to be drawn on a question as to whether or not Liverpool would enter the January transfer window following the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
We’re almost halfway through the month and, despite rumours surrounding various targets such as Stefanos Tzimas and Antoine Semenyo, it doesn’t look as though any new signings will be completed imminently.
Jamie Carragher took to social media after last night’s match to beg his former club to ‘buy a defender’ amid legitimate concerns over a loss of the solidity which characterised the early weeks of the season, a topic that the Reds’ head coach wasn’t keen to explore in much depth.
Slot coy on transfer question
Following the game against Forest, Slot was asked whether or not Liverpool’s performance at the City Ground had highlighted any areas of the squad that he’d like to strengthen in January.
The 46-year-old batted away the question as he replied (via GOAL): “I think you saw today again that I can still strengthen the team or impact the game with the substitutes I have on the bench. Not for the first time this season, these players have helped us, that I could bring in.”
Slot could do with defensive reinforcement this month
Obviously Slot wasn’t going to be too loose-lipped when quizzed about prospective transfer activity at Anfield, although his response might still be concerning for some Reds supporters.
His comments about the strength in depth that he can call upon – as illustrated by substitutes Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota combining for the equaliser – may appear to suggest that, publicly at least, he’s happy with what he already has at his disposal.
Liverpool are in a rude state of health in terms of their current squad, with Joe Gomez the only injury absentee, but it was only a couple of months ago that the treatment room was worryingly overpopulated, and it’s impossible to forget the frightening list of first-team regulars that we were missing in the early weeks of 2024.
Some Reds fans on social media have raised concerns about LFC getting to this stage of the season in a commanding position in the Premier League, only to pay the price for a lack of January transfer activity by ultimately falling away in the second half of the campaign as the same players run out of steam from being asked to go to the well every single week.
Carragher is right to feel worried about the increased defensive vulnerability in Slot’s team, as evidenced by the concession of 12 goals in our last seven top-flight games (compared to eight goals in the previous 13).
With Gomez out injured, Ibrahima Konate not long back from his own body blow, and the form of Andy Robertson continuing to be a worry, Liverpool could do with seizing upon their opportunity this month to bring in at least one defender.
Slot might have plenty of quality in his current squad, but we’d be surprised if privately he isn’t yearning for Richard Hughes to capture one or two additions before the end of January.
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