Insider: Arne Slot ‘hasn’t been convinced’ about one part of his current Liverpool squad
It’s been claimed that Arne Slot has major reservations about one part of the Liverpool squad that he inherited from Jurgen Klopp.
Despite the Reds cruising to the Premier League title in the Dutchman’s first season at the helm, it looks set to a summer of considerable change at Anfield in terms of both incomings and outgoings.
The final third of the pitch could be in for a substantial reshuffle, with Richard Hughes heavily pursuing Florian Wirtz and talks also being held over a potential move for Hugo Ekitike.
Meanwhile, as we exclusively reported on Empire of the Kop on Wednesday, Darwin Nunez is reportedly seeking a ‘fresh start’ this summer, with his agent exploring options away from Merseyside.
Mick Brown: Slot unconvinced by Liverpool’s forwards
Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown – who remains well-connected within the game – told Football Insider that Liverpool continue to hold an interest in Anthony Gordon and could potentially move for the Newcastle winger if they sell some forwards, with Slot seemingly unconvinced about his current attacking options.
The ex-Old Trafford scout said: “They’ve got a few players there, [Luis] Diaz, [Cody] Gakpo, Nunez and more who could leave, and those sales would open to door for Gordon to come in.
“If they keep those players, they won’t need both Gordon and Wirtz. If they don’t, Gordon is a player they’re considering to come in as a direct replacement for the current attacking options, who Slot hasn’t been convinced on.”
Liverpool’s attack could see slight refresh rather than radical overhaul
We can say without any fear of correction that the Liverpool head coach will have been more than happy with Mo Salah’s astounding haul of 34 goals this season, and he’ll surely have been quite pleased with the output from Gakpo and Diaz (18 and 17 goals respectively) as well.
However, it would be fair to say that Nunez, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa underwhelmed with their scoring contributions in 2024/25, with that trio netting only 18 times in 98 combined appearances. Even allowing for the latter two enduring injury problems, we could still expect more in terms of their productivity when available.
The Uruguayan seems likely to depart this summer, although we wouldn’t be pushing any of the Reds’ forwards out the door hastily unless top-quality alternatives are brought in. With LFC set to play upwards of 50 matches next term, the importance of squad depth can’t be exagerrated, and Slot will know that.
Gordon netted just nine times in 42 games for Newcastle this season, an output which declined from his 2023/24 figures and suggests that he could find it tough to displace Gakpo and Diaz on his preferred left flank.
There always appears to be room for improvement at a club like Liverpool where standards are enormously high, but while some of our attackers may have had a disappointing campaign, there were still a few who delivered in spades for the Premier League champions.
We expect a slight refresh to the Reds’ attack over the summer rather than a radical overhaul.
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