Managing Liverpool as Arne Slot sells Mo Salah, brings in Leroy Sane and signs ex-Man Utd target
The Jurgen Klopp farewell tour is gearing up for its curtain call so over to you, Arne Slot.
For the first time in almost nine years the home dugout at Anfield will be inhabited by someone other than Liverpool’s adopted German next season with Klopp set to ride off into the sunset.
Klopp leaves mighty big shoes to fill. Given the work done in the transfer market during the final 12 months of his premiership, Slot has all the tools required to maintain Liverpool’s current trajectory – but doing so is easier said than done, especially given there will be a natural mourning period for the Kop’s great leader.
Slot inherits a squad bristling with talent – some of whom are yet to hit their prime – but also plenty of conundrums. A new era is guaranteed to coincide with some high-profile casualties, so let’s play Managing Liverpool …
Saying goodbye
A handful of players have their deals coming up and we won’t be retaining them in our make-believe world. Joel Matip has been a fantastic servant but we’ll need him to make way for a younger centre-half. Unlike Matip, Liverpool probably haven’t seen the best of Thiago Alcantara. Alongside Adrian, he’s also free to seek pastures new.
Moving on to contracted players, we’re looking to raise some additional funds. Nat Phillips has been fantastic when called upon but has fallen down the pecking order following the emergence of Jarrell Quansah. He can go.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool arriving before the Premier League match with Aston Villa
In the forward areas, we have big decisions to make. Mohamed Salah: does he stay or does he go? If anybody from the Saudi Pro League is willing to stump up the £150million they were willing to spend last summer then (in my best Sir Alan Sugar voice) with regret, we will cash in one of the club’s all-time greats to build for the future.
While selling Salah leaves us torn, there’s no such dilemma when it comes to Luis Diaz. He’s not been as consistent as we hoped so we’ll cash in on him. Darwin Nunez is another who could be moved on. We’ll persevere for now, but he’s very much drinking in the last chance saloon.
Incoming
Jurgen Klopp and Ivan Toney
And now the fun part. Let’s start at the back and work our way up. With Matip and Phillips both out the door we’re light in central defence. Tosin Adarabioyo is available on a free transfer and has Premier League pedigree. He’s looking for a big move and is a good profile to compete with our other centre-backs.
In midfield, Thiago’s absence (through injury) has left us light on options this year. With the veteran moving on permanently, we don’t want to be caught out again. So, with that in mind, we’re raiding the free agent market again for Adrien Rabiot – a former target for Manchester United. He’ll help bolster our options in the engine room.
Leroy Sane is the top pick to replace Salah: he’s evolved during his time at Bayern Munich, he’s in his prime and, crucially, with Premier League pedigree he should hit the ground running. Pedro Neto from Wolves is our other top target as we revamp the wide forward areas after cashing in on Diaz.
Lastly, Nunez has come in for criticism and it feels like another quality No.9 wouldn’t go admiss. Given we’ve been prudent with our signings in defence and midfield, we should have some wriggle room in the budget after selling Salah and Diaz. We’re going to take those leftover funds and roll the dice on Ivan Toney to ensure we’ve got the firepower to challenge on all fronts again next season.
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