Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes that a couple of Arne Slot's players could have left him with a transfer headache before the August 30 deadline arrives.
Despite the Reds not having signed anyone this summer, Thompson says that a couple of Liverpool aces could have forced their way into the thinking for the new season. While that would not be in lieu of new additions in the transfer market, it is possible that their status could have changed after a strong summer and some impressive performances.
"You look at all the players that he’s got, there are players who have come back in there like Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg , who have done very, very well on the pre-season tour," Thompson said live on talkSPORT. "Those players, he is probably looking at and going 'Oh my goodness, these can be a bit of a headache here'."
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Liverpool has already rejected a bid worth $19m (£15m/€17m) for Carvalho from Southampton and wants considerably more than that to let him leave. Slot has been impressed by the 21-year-old but with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo now back available again, it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to get regular minutes.
Van den Berg, meanwhile, is valued at around $26m (£20m/€22m). PSV is among the clubs keen to snap up the young Dutch center-back but is unwilling to meet the price tag, which Liverpool believes is fair given his good season with Mainz and some of the other fees paid for similar players elsewhere this summer.
Liverpool.com says: Carvalho scored two goals in three games for Liverpool in the USA but will he play now Gakpo and Diaz are back? It seems unlikely. He has made no secret of the fact that he sees himself as a number 10 but to play there for Slot he would have to overtake Harvey Elliott , Dominik Szoboszlai , Alexis Mac Allister and possibly a few others, which isn't going to happen.
As for Van den Berg, he has clearly improved significantly since going out on loan to Germany last season. Whether he has improved enough to be more than a sporadic rotation option for Liverpool in 2024/25, though, is up for debate. He wants regular minutes guaranteed and that is almost certainly not going to happen if he stays at Anfield.
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