Liverpool are heading into the September international break after the perfect start to their season under head coach Arne Slot. The Reds fans can take this moment to have a breather after the divisive summer transfer window alongside football action.
Slot used July as the month to assess the squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp and praised what he acquired. However, after last season’s sudden late dip in form, the squad required some tinkering apart from the tactical changes.
Liverpool failed to sign Martin Zubimendi to bolster their number six options but it allowed Ryan Gravenberch the golden opportunity. Gravenberch’s impressive performances in the defensive midfield role under Slot have quickly made the scrutiny over Zubimendi’s saga a distant memory.
Liverpool signed Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to secure their future, allowing him to stay in Spain on a loan deal. They bolstered their attack by using the problems between Thiago Motta and Federico Chiesa at Juventus to steal the attacker.
Despite the displeasure of many fans, Liverpool opted to practice patience and maintain their stance of buying quality over quantity. The senior squad has a good depth apart from a couple of areas, specifically, left central defence and defensive midfield.
However, Gravenberch’s rise and Joe Gomez’s decision to stay have given the Reds enough to avoid further incoming. At the same time, the club made some surprising decisions in departure by letting many youngsters go during the summer.
Bobby Clark joined RB Salzburg in a permanent deal despite his emergence under Klopp last season. However, Liverpool have a first-buy option for Clark so they can sign him back if he proves his immense potential.
Speaking to ESPN (via YouTube), Steve McManaman revealed the new approach that Slot has implemented at the club. He said:
“I think there’s a distinct change between him and Jurgen Klopp just by the amount of outgoings there’s been. Klopp relied a lot on the youngsters to a certain extent over the time where Arne Slot has literally said to the U21 and the loans manager that a lot of them can leave, a lot of them can go on loan. So, there’s a lot of them that have been shipped out to get experience elsewhere, which is no bad thing to be very honest, they need to play games particularly at the age of 19 and 20, and he’s got off to a good start.”
The Reds allowed several loan deals to the players many expected to play some role at the senior level. Stefan Bajcetic joined Salzburg while Ben Doak joined Middlesbrough, Lewis Koumas joined Stoke City and Kaide Gordon joined Norwich City.
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Furthermore, Luke Chambers, Owen Beck, Marcelo Pitaluga, Calum Scanlon and Calvin Ramsay also departed the club on loan this summer. The new approach provides youngsters more exposure to senior-level football as players like Koumas are already thriving.
