Arne Slot has again said Liverpool will strengthen in the summer and added that they “have a very good idea” about which positions will be targeted.
By the time the summer market comes around, Liverpool will have only brought in one first-team player, Federico Chiesa, in the last two years.
With departures also likely, the Reds should have a good budget for recruitment as Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes seek to acquire players more in his mould of the current side.
“We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team,” Slot told media including the Liverpool Echo.
“And I think we’ve said this many times last season, or last summer, we didn’t do a lot [in the summer window] because we – Richard, me and all the other people involved – just wanted to know how these players were working with me, the different manager.
“Now we have a very good idea about that, and I think it’s clear to you that I’m not going to tell you which positions we prefer.
“But it is clear that we’ve assessed the squad, we’ve assessed what we think where we can improve, and that’s where we try to go for in the summer.”
Last summer, Chiesa was the only player Liverpool brought to Merseyside, but they did also secure goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili‘s services from next season.
Looking ahead to 2025, there is also the big question of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk‘s contracts to sort out – the result of which could hugely inform Liverpool’s transfer targets.
“Contract situations to take care of…”
Slot added: “It’s quite an important two or three months to go and we have some contract situations to take care of!
“So there’s a lot of work to do in the background, but my main focus is on the current squad.”
While Slot still has influence in the transfer department, the restructuring of the club following Jurgen Klopp‘s departure took some of the responsibility away from the manager and placed more on the sporting director’s team.
This means the head coach will have less of a say on who is targeted by the recruitment staff, something Paul Gorst of the Echo alluded to in an interview with The Redmen TV.
The journalist said: “I’m of the opinion that he (Chiesa) wasn’t necessarily a Slot signing.
“[I think it was] very much Richard Hughes driving that one because of his contacts and expertise in Italian football, coming in as a cut-price, opportunistic one.”
Expect Liverpool to be busy in the summer transfer window, and it may not just be the entrance that is crowded. Don’t be surprised to see a couple of unexpected exits.
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