Six weeks into Arne Slot’s time as Liverpool new head coach and it remains all quiet in the transfer window. The Reds boss, as outlined in his press conference last week, is keen to get an up-close look at the squad he has inherited before major decisions on recruitment are taken with new sporting director Richard Hughes, who arrived from Bournemouth and started alongside Slot on June 1.
Liverpool’s squad is the envy of most and having made the significant step up from Eredivisie runners-up Feyenoord, Slot wants to explore the breadth of depth of his new team before any real calls are made and Hughes spoke last week about an “opportunistic” approach to signings this summer with the Reds once more in possession of Champions League football and its accompanying riches.
It’s a idealistic way of operating and in a perfect world, Slot would be able to run the rule over his players ahead of finally deciding where needs strengthening but with so many of his key men either still involved in international action or enjoying some well-earned end-of-season holiday times, the new head coach won’t be able to see what he has at his disposal until just before the season starts.
That presents a prospect of Liverpool needing to negotiate for new arrivals at a time when the season is already underway, which is fraught with tactical and technical issues when it comes to getting ideas across as quickly as possible on the pitch itself. It’s why the club have always tended to stay away from the madness of deadline day as much as possible, even if long-standing target Ryan Gravenberch could only be completed in the closing hours from Bayern Munich last summer.
