Liverpool are yet to decide whether or not to send Jayden Danns on loan for the rest of the season, with Diogo Jota‘s latest injury impacting their decision.
Danns is attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs after returning from a long-term back injury, including Stoke, Plymouth, Cardiff and Derby.
But with the 19-year-old scoring off the bench in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley, there has been a debate over whether he should instead stay as a first-team option.
That has been compounded by another fitness setback for Jota, who is not expected to be sidelined for long but could miss Saturday’s trip to Brentford.
And speaking in his pre-Brentford press conference on Friday, Slot explained the dilemma Liverpool are facing when it comes to their academy product.
“You take a lot of things into account if you want to loan out a player, and this could be one of them,” he said when asked if Jota’s injury could influence Danns’ future.
“But there are also other factors you take into account: is it good for a player to get some playing time, yes or no? Do we think we still need him?
“We do have already three options for the No. 9 position and it’s not like we expect Jota to now be out for a long period of time.
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“It will be a struggle to have him on the pitch maybe on Saturday, but we’re hoping to see him on the pitch in the near future again. So we have three options.
“But Jayden did really well when he came in so we actually have four options.
“Then it’s up to us as a club to make the best possible decision for the near future, but also for the long-term future of this club.”
With Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez the other options up front, it is unclear whether Danns would be needed in the second half of the season.
However, it could be argued that, with Diaz a natural winger, Jota unreliable in his fitness and Nunez seemingly unsuited to the system, there should be a focus on the No. 76 in the long term.
That may be aided by a carefully selected loan, of course, and the likes of Harvey Elliott, Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton and Jarell Quansah have all benefited from spells in the lower leagues.
The winter transfer window closes on February 3, and it seems likely that any call on Danns’ future will not be made until late on.
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