Arne Slot is not getting off to a great start at Liverpool despite having held the role for two months following the departure of Jürgen Klopp from the manager role.
The Dutchman is yet to sign a single player for his Liverpool squad and the fans are agitated. The club’s social media accounts have been facing barrages of questions asking for a new signing as the team continues their pre-season tour in the US.
There have been a few links to the club including Dominic Solanke, who left the club as a young player after failing to break through to the first team from the academy; Atalanta’s Teun Koopmeiners who reports claim they are looking to convince despite the player’s choice being Juventus, and Willian Pacho, a young defender from Eintracht Frankfurt.
None of these links are solid, however, but it is not without reason.
Slot is obviously taking his time to decide having agreed terms with the club to be fully in the know of transfer deals and to have a definite say – an issue that is bothering fans – but the futures of three of the club’s biggest names is one of the reasons they are delaying any signings or sales.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are due for contract talks with the club. Nothing is happening on that front yet, which is why things are slowing down. It is believed that their responses will guide Slot and the recruitment department in the market
In the meantime, Slot will fill the available slots that Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Adrian’s exits left in the club with two academy players: Tyler Morton and Bobby Clark.
The Reds have already rejected a bid for Clark because Slot rates him highly. He was unable to travel with the team to USA though, but is in line to become a first team player when the club returns from the UK.
Both players could also leave the club because there is interest in both of them. One of the teams interested in Red Bull Salzburg, who is now managed by Klopp’s former assistant manager at Liverpool, Pep Ljinders. Having watched them play at the club’s academy, Ljinders is willing to offer them a pathway to first team opportunities while building his own portfolio as a manager.
The next few weeks will be key in Slot’s decision on both youngsters as well as on which areas the team needs to strengthen. The fans are expecting a solid, foolproof decision thanks to the time it has taken to reach it.
