With Euro 2024 and the Copa America over, it’s full steam ahead for the new season – or maybe not if you’re Liverpool .
The Reds are busy preparing for the 2024/25 campaign, which will of course be Arne Slot’s first in charge. The new head coach is slowly but surely meeting his new squad, with Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Vitezslav Jaros the latest to join the group at the AXA Training Centre .
The rest of the internationals will follow in due time, with a pre-season tour of the US on the horizon as Slot takes charge of the Reds for the first time against Real Betis in just over a week’s time.
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Marc Guehi price set, Leny Yoro decision, Mohamed Simakan tracked
READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold responds to Gareth Southgate's England exit following tough Euro 2024
It’s certainly a busy time for Liverpool, although things are much quieter on the transfer front. The club is yet to dip into the transfer market, and it seems it will be a while before any new signings are unveiled.
Three potential targets have already been ruled out, with the ECHO reporting that there is no interest in Marc Guehi, Mohamed Simakan or Karim Adeyemi. What’s more, the pursuit of Leny Yoro looks as though it could be all but over amid an acceptance that the Lille teenager will be heading to Real Madrid.
It’s suggested that any potential business could arrive later in the window once Slot has had a chance to assess his squad in full. That thinking follows the theory from sporting director Richard Hughes that activity in the Premier League will pick up next month .
That won’t be welcomed too kindly by the masses on social media that have been baying for new arrivals from the moment the window opened, and it will no doubt anger the #FSGOut mob some more. It is a sensible approach though, given the huge change that the club has undergone with Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
It’s only right that Slot is given an opportunity to assess his options properly, and he hasn’t been helped by 14 of his players being away on international duty this summer. It will still be a while before he even meets the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold , Virgil van Dijk or Alexis Mac Allister .
But as understandable as the wait-and-see approach is, it does come with a major warning from the recent past, and one that FSG should already be fully aware of.
Just two years ago, with Darwin Nunez , Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho already on the books as July began, the Reds decided to sit back, content with the business done. It soon became clear though that a much bigger job was on hand for new sporting director Julian Ward, with the Reds’ midfield faltering as the season began.
Playing the waiting game on that occasion cost Liverpool dearly. In the end, the only midfield addition they were able to make was Arthur Melo, with the Brazilian’s loan spell surely going down as the worst transfer of the Klopp era after he managed just 13 minutes of action for the first team.
With Ward now back working for FSG, he won’t want a repeat. Any decisions need to be made as soon as possible so as to avoid any more panic buys. There are already some obvious areas that need addressing. It’s no coincidence that two of the supposed targets ruled out were center-backs, while the future of Mohamed Salah means there could soon be an obvious hole to plug in attack.
By all means, give Slot time to make his own decisions on his squad. But don’t wait too long and risk making the same mistake twice.
Most Popular
Comments / 0