Liverpool’s lack of depth will soon make life tough for Slot

Liverpool signed only Federico Chiesa in the last transfer window after spending much of the summer deliberating whether Arne Slot needs new players or not.

The Dutchman walked through the door at Anfield, and he knew Jurgen Klopp’s shoes were big ones to fill.

The German’s appointment at Liverpool shook the club, Premier League and European football.

He left as a hero to not only Liverpool fans, but also neutrals who had enjoyed his team’s performance for the years he was on the bench at Anfield.

Replacing him was never going to be an easy task and there were some popular names that fans believed could come to Anfield and build from where Klopp stopped.

However, Liverpool’s decision-makers have always been people who make unconventional choices, and the noise around the transfer market never sways them.

Some of their signings have come under the radar and impressed at the club, so not many followers who buy Liverpool tickets would have been surprised when they made Slot their manager.

He was unpopular, but when news broke he could be the club’s next manager, searches about him turned up exciting results.

Slot arrived with a good reputation from Holland not just for the work he has done at Feyenoord, he was also a manager who had good temperament which is important to Liverpool as a whole.

At the start of last season, Liverpool had been forced to reconstruct their midfield with some fine players.

That spot felt like the only problem spot in the team, so when they solved that problem by adding the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch to their squad, it seemed Liverpool had no more weakness.

Their defence and attack has looked strong for several seasons, so it was easy to see why they could challenge for the Premier League title last term as they did.

Does Liverpool lack squad depth?

Liverpool supporters begged their club to make new signings in the last transfer window as they watched rivals bolster their squad.

Across their city, Manchester United was active in the transfer market and seemed to be the most serious team among the title contenders based on their market activity.

The Reds fans wished their team was as active as United, especially after losing Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara.

However, Slot wanted to get used to his players and seemed impressed with the quality of the group that he met at Anfield.

The Liverpool manager repeatedly said it was tough for his side to find a player that can make them better because they have quality options everywhere.

He did not want to sign a player for the sake of it and seemed to have been proven right so far, despite missing out on signing Martin Zubimendi.

So far, so good. Liverpool has stuck with most of the players who have been at the club since at least last season as Chiesa works his way into the team.

The Reds have been successful at the start of the season, but they might have to change their team more drastically in the coming weeks.

Why is Slot sticking to the same players?

Some Liverpool fans complained that Klopp was too loyal to some of his players when he was manager, and the German is probably guilty of doing that.

He had some of the best talents available and even when some of his frequent starters had become injury-prone or were not delivering consistently, Klopp stuck to them.

This contributed partly to their terrible 2022/2023 season, which Liverpool missed on playing in the Champions League last term.

Slot has not signed any of his starters at Liverpool so far, so he cannot be accused of being loyal to some players.

However, the Dutchman has largely stuck to the same lineup since he moved to Liverpool as manager this summer.

In his first official game, he started with a back-four of Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Jarrel Quansah and Trent Alexander Arnold.

However, he swapped Quansah for Ibrahima Konate at half time and his second half team against Ipswich Town has been the team he has relied on since that game.

Liverpool has to decide if they have to keep several top key players who have expiring contracts, but Slot has stuck to the likes of Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent, despite their contract situations.

He seems to enjoy working with a small group of players. As long as injuries does not affect his first choice picks, we will continue to watch the same names on Liverpool’s team sheet.

New competitions will stretch Liverpool’s squad

Liverpool were comfortable on their Champions League debut against AC Milan and Slot won his first UCL game as their manager in convincing fashion.

Again, the gaffer did not make much changes to his team for that fixture and the usual stars all started the game and earned his team the win.

The Premier League and the Champions League are both considered the major trophies by clubs in England and Liverpool is rightly considered one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season.

The Reds have won the competition six times, the most among Premier League clubs and they reached the final as recently as 2022.

Interestingly, Slot led Feyenoord to the final of the newly formed Europa Conference League in the same year.

His team lost to AS Roma, but very few people expected them to reach that stage in the competition and he proved he can do well in Europe as well.

However, when the Carabao Cup and FA Cup begins, Slot must make serious changes to his playing team.

The Dutchman is aware that the football calendar has become hectic for players and he must protect his key men by resting them in the cup games.

Klopp employed this tactic very well and he used youngsters at the club to execute Carabao Cup and FA Cup games.

Liverpool still made progress in them, so Slot must trust the youngsters at the club and rest his main men, otherwise, his team will be stretched and may suffer many injuries in the second half of the season.

January signings could be important

By January, Slot would have known the capabilities of his players, including their limitations and he can now delve into the transfer market for reinforcements.

However, that would involved two things: he has found a good player to sign and his team does not have a good option for that role or the player is injured.

If Liverpool’s main men stay fit, there is a good chance that they will similarly fail to bolster their squad in the January transfer window.

Conclusion

Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the Reds will be looking to win some titles this season. Not signing players this summer could come back to haunt them, but for now, they remain in a good position.