New Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists his focus is on developing the talent he has inherited at the club rather than on transfers.
The Dutchman is excited about the squad left by Jurgen Klopp and believes there is huge potential to help ensure they build on last season’s third-place finish.
Asked about possible signings after a quiet start to the transfer window at Liverpool, Slot said: “I don’t have any specific figures. It’s clear that we inherited a good squad. There were already some changes last year.”
“With the way I watch football, I see through the Euro how important it is to work daily and for longer with a team.
“We see a lot of good players and not all of them have the same level (at the Euro) as in their clubs. This proves how important it is to work with the players on a daily basis and get the best out of them.
“It’s something we’re going to do. The more a team plays together, if there’s a good coach, then normally you see things improve. I’m lucky to be going to a club where there aren’t many transfers. It’s harder to progress when you lose players.”
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Slot added that he was comfortable with the title of head coach rather than manager and the influence it will have on transfer activity.
“For me it’s not a change, because in Europe we work like this. In my old clubs it was always like this,” the 45-year-old explained during his presentation at the AXA Training Centre. “There are not many clubs in the world where one person decides everything. It will be a collaboration between people.”
“I don’t think many sporting directors recruit players that the head coach doesn’t like or vice versa.
“In a club like this, there are many more people than just the two of us who can give their opinion. That’s how I’ve worked in recent years and that’s how I like to work.
“I will use my time in the coming weeks to prepare the team in the best possible way so that we are ready for the first match. Starting to work with the players will allow us to better understand the improvements we need to make.”
Liverpool finished third in the Premier League last season (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
New sporting director Richard Hughes has indicated that transfers are more likely later in the window, once Slot has had time to fully assess the squad.
“We have to improve on the training pitch first and foremost. And with the window open, we will always be opportunistic if we can,” he said, sitting next to Slot.
“Speaking industry-wide, when you have major tournaments in the summer, the attention is naturally there. After the excitement that was there (at the end of June), I think it will calm down a little bit now. That’s what I predict for July.
“Then, when August starts, when we have more time to work with the players, opinions will be more clear-cut at football clubs. Then we could see a situation in August where clubs will be a bit rushed to get things done. I see a quiet July and then maybe a crescendo in August.”
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Hughes declined to comment on the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who have all entered the final year of their current contracts. “It would not be right for me to comment on contractual situations,” he said. “Those are private matters between the club and the players.”
(Top photo: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
