This summer, Liverpool must make several important decisions regarding contracts and transfers. Head coach Arne Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes are hard at work behind the scenes.
Although Liverpool hasn’t added a new player this summer, internal planning is still underway to decide what would be the best course of action. Head coach Arne Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes have some important decisions to make.
Liverpool has to decide which players to let go, either permanently or on loan, in addition to adding more players to the roster in preparation for the upcoming season. With so many brilliant young players developing, it may be crucial to decide who remains put and who moves out to obtain regular playing time.
Some of the important decisions that must be made are simpler than others. Slot has been eager to go through his roster, but some of his players are currently out due to injury, and others are still on vacation. There are a few moving parts, that much is certain.
LOANS
Numerous teams are interested in loaning Bobby Clark, who is still recovering from an injury that held him out of the last weeks of the previous season. Among them is Red Bull Salzburg, and there is a case to be made for allowing him to go to a place where he will play each week.
Clark is one of a select group of young Liverpool players who are too good to be playing U21 soccer every week but aren’t quite ready to be regular first team players. These players are poised to make their way into the first team. The young wingers Ben Doak and Kaide Gordon belong in the same group.
Doak played 45 minutes against Preston North End on Friday after missing the second half of the previous season due to injury. He is now back in full training. Doak will not play in Euro 2024 with Scotland. Gordon, on the other hand, is still someone to keep an eye on after making a strong comeback to the field after 19 months out.
Luke Chambers is another player who might go for additional experience. He played for Liverpool in the Europa League group stages before going on loan to Wigan Athletic. The left-footed defender for England’s youth team is highly respected, but those ahead of him in the hierarchy may prevent him from playing more minutes at the senior level.
Sales
Liverpool may sell players like Nat Phillips, Billy Koumetio, and Rhys Williams this summer. None of them have a long-term future at Anfield, and Sepp van den Berg, another center back, has already stated that he needs a minute guarantee. The Reds estimate his worth at $26 million (£20 million/€24 million), albeit no one has yet expressed a desire to pay that kind of money.
Hopefully, Liverpool can persuade Caoimhin Kelleher to remain. If the Irish goalkeeper decides to push for a move in order to get more playing time, it will cost a lot of money, and it will be extremely difficult to find a capable replacement who will acknowledge that Alisson Becker is the clear #1.
RB Leipzig is among the European teams interested in Tyler Morton, and Fabio Carvalho has returned from a loan with Hull City. The player, who turns 22 next month, must decide if a permanent departure would be a better course of action for his future or if he has a realistic chance of playing regularly at Liverpool. There is undoubtedly a chance for another loan.
The news of new signings and contracts may be of utmost importance to Liverpool supporters. Those will come in time. However, these are by no means the only choices Richard Hughes and associates must make behind the scenes. There is still a lot to be done before the August 30 transfer deadline, which is less than one month away from the start of the new Premier League season.
