Following the departure of former manager Jurgen Klopp as he sought to take a smallish break from the world of football, Liverpool fans have been paying firm attention to our pre season progress under new gaffer Arne Slot, as many simply do not really know what to expect from the Dutch 45 year old.
His spell in the Dutch Eredivisie was a pretty good one in fairness and he impressed enough for Feyenoord to take a punt on him. Our board were obviously suitably impressed with his progress over his three years with them, but whilst we have now begun to see some departures take place as Slot tweaks his new side, and there is plenty of speculation on the transfer window rumour mill, we are yet to actually complete an incoming deal.
With a growing Canadian fanbase – some fans may have travelled and attended our recent tour of the US – and the opening of our Ontario based international Academy last season, interest in our summer business is bound to be high and there will undoubtedly be some who occupy their time by playing one of the many popular online slot games that are now available as they look to see how our new gaffer hits the ground running.
With the big 2024/25 Premier League kick off taking place this place, whether our lack of business is by design remains to be seen, but the positive is that despite the speculation surrounding some key players, as of yet, those fears have not come to pass. But it still feels inconceivable that there will not be a fresh face or two in by the time we hit deadline day.
For now though Slot seems to be happy to work with what he has, and that could mean that Cody Gakpo will get to feature in his preferred position more often in the coming campaign. The 25 year old naturally considers himself as a left winger, but Klopp rarely used him in that position, and the midfield gamble last season did not really pay off.
With the new season almost with us, Gakpo recently revealed that talks with Slot had been held and that they had been productive on a positional front, as the new gaffer seems to agree that a return to left wing (where he excelled for PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands) would likely bring the best out of him once again.
The player admitted himself that it did not mean his more versatile days were over at Anfield, as Slot is fully aware that he can fill in if needed to cover injuries or suspensions, but it seems like there is an understanding that this would now be an exception as opposed to the rule.
It is certainly going to be an interesting campaign though as Slot continues to adjust to life in England and the Premier League, but whilst fans will not overly read into our pre season friendlies, the performances and the results, spirits and optimism would have risen given our four victories against Real Betis, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla.
Slot also has a fully fit squad to choose from for his dug out debut as we face newly promoted Ipswich Town on our opening day of the campaign, and although fans will have their own string ideas on what our strongest starting XI would be, we will have to see if our new gaffer feels the same way – or whether or not there is a surprise in his selection based on what he has seen over the last few weeks.
The timing of the Gakpo interview could well prove to be interesting as many had speculated that Luis Daiz’s performances against Sevilla would have cemented him for that position on Saturday, but maybe Slot’s thoughts on that have now changed?
Or maybe people are just overthinking things as the excitement levels rise?
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