Though Liverpool has tailed off now that the Premier League title has been won, don’t let that distract you. Arne Slot’s side won the league at a canter and has since been preparing for a big few months.
The smallest possible margin of victory that Liverpool could end up with in the standings after 38 games is nine points, and Slot has taken the chance to rest the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk in recent games. Alexis Mac Allister, another to have put in a mammoth shift, sat out the trip to Brighton and won’t play against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Liverpool has earned the right to rotate in the run-in and it sets up an ideal summer. Sporting director Richard Hughes can be busy in the transfer market, and Slot can have some proper, sustained time on the training pitch.
“It’s so special. We have a good relationship with [Slot],” Mohamed Salah told Sky Sports ahead of the final game of the season. “From the beginning, we had a conversation.
“He asked me for stuff and I asked him for more support because I wanted him to put me in a situation where I can really provide numbers. The relationship is really good and it is working now. You can see the numbers this year, they are very high.”
Another summer of conversations and tactical tweaks now awaits, but this time with the complete buy-in that comes with a Premier League title win.
This time, unlike last year when some players, including Virgil van Dijk, returned from international duty with only a few days to go before the opening day win at Ipswich, Slot will have the luxury of proper, quality time to work on things.
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Everything is set up for Liverpool to kick on again next season. It isn’t playing in the summer’s Club World Cup, has had time to give key men some additional time off on top of that, and has a strong financial position to snap up its transfer targets.
While Bayern Munich is the favorite to sign Florian Wirtz, the very fact that Liverpool is prepared to enter the conversation for such a big name tells you exactly where the Reds are at. Even Manchester City has balked at the $169 million (£126 million) price tag, most likely because it needs to spread that cost over various other positions.
Already, Liverpool has secured two of the biggest signings of the summer in Salah and Van Dijk. And the former is unwilling to rest on his laurels in the pursuit of more silverware.
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“I always believe this club has to never be the underdog because this is Liverpool,” Salah said. “It always has to be there to win trophies.”
Arguably for the first time since it won the title in 1990 — the last time a league win was celebrated in front of fans — Liverpool will head into a new season as the favorite to lift the trophy. While Manchester City and Arsenal will spend big and improve, it is the Reds who have a vital headstart.
But Salah is right. Liverpool is in a position now where it is not the underdog — and that is before what could be the most exciting summer in years has even begun.
It’s little wonder he was so desperate to stay at Anfield. Liverpool has so far won one title under Slot, but now, it is perfectly ready to capitalize on the position it has swiftly established.
