Arne Slot concedes that Liverpool “would have had a problem” if there was no possibility to enhance its championship-winning squad. And the Reds boss is bracing himself for Manchester City and Arsenal to open their coffers in a bid to bridge the gap next term.
With the Reds sealing a record-equalling 20th league title just last weekend, still with four matches to play, thoughts are already shifting towards the next season.
The Anfield camp is reportedly ready to arm Slot and his recruitment crew, headed by sporting director Richard Hughes, with a hefty transfer kitty, as they eye their first back-to-back title defence in over four decades.
A left-back and a new number nine are at the top of the list for squad bolstering, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is set to join the ranks following an agreement with Valencia penned last year.
When quizzed about whether the convincing nature of Liverpool’s title win this season suggested positive headroom for growth, Slot acknowledged: “Yeah, because if I feel there’s no way for us to improve, then we would have had a problem because I know – normally I always say 99.9% but now I know 100% – for sure that City and Arsenal will improve.
“That improvement will also come by (rubs fingers to show money) probably bringing new players in because that’s what they did for so many years in a row, so we would be surprised if they don’t do it now.
“But perhaps we’ve set a precedent that makes other teams think ‘ah, maybe it’s better not to buy someone because then you can win the league’. I don’t foresee that happening, but you never know!
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“They will improve, so we have to step up our game as well. There’s room for us to grow. We’ve shown remarkable consistency throughout the season, and while there’s always room for improvement, maintaining that consistency is key to clinching a title.”
While Liverpool’s squad will be enjoying a well-deserved break this summer, City – along with Chelsea – are set to fly out to the United States to participate in the restructured FIFA Club World Cup.
The addition of another tournament to an already jam-packed schedule has drawn widespread criticism, with City manager Pep Guardiola among those expressing concerns about player welfare.
Despite being the newly-minted Premier League champions and ranking fourth in UEFA’s club coefficients that evaluate performance in European competitions over the past five seasons, Liverpool won’t be participating.
When asked if he was relieved his team had dodged the bullet, Slot responded: “I think you should ask me that question after the tournament. At this point, eight or even all 10 people working in this industry might be questioning ‘is it really necessary to add another tournament for these players who’ve already had such a long season?’.
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“I don’t think it’s healthy for players to only have maybe one week off, then go into the tournament, then have one week off and start the whole Premier League season again.
“But maybe when it’s done we all feel we would love to be there because it was a great occasion. Maybe then that can also lift you towards next season. In pre-season you play friendly games and at Feyenoord when we had to play qualifying games to go in the Conference League we always started off the season really well because these games are so competitive.
“So it could lead to the ones that are there starting the season really well. But then we have to wait and see what it means for the long-term for these teams hardly having any days off.”
