How Arne Slot aims to turn Liverpool into Europe’s footballing superpower | OneFootball

The 2023-24 season finished at Anfield with Jurgen Klopp singing Arne Slot’s name, the following campaign with the Dutchman returning the compliment. Well he might. It always appeared that Slot’s inheritance at Liverpool was an enviable one. It turned out it was even better than most realised. After a summer of transfer market inactivity last season, defined by an inability to recruit Martin Zubimendi, Slot cruised to the title.

Of the 418 Premier League starts for Liverpool in the campaign, just one – by Federico Chiesa in May’s defeat to Brighton – was made by anyone signed in Slot’s reign. And even then, not really by Slot.

In some ways, there will not be a repeat. In others, there could be. Liverpool were third favourites 12 months ago. Now, after a summer of spending and following a campaign when they lost just two league games before becoming champions, they are. If the crown is retained, it will be Slot’s side.

Last year, in contrast, Klopp’s successor seemed to follow in the footsteps of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, who all won their first league titles with the aid of continuity and with groups broadly assembled by others.

Now the scale of the overhaul is such that Liverpool 2.0, to borrow Klopp’s phrase, may only be a two-season affair: the German’s last and the Dutchman’s first. This looks something different, albeit shaped by a recruitment team who are a throwback to Liverpool’s recent past, with the sporting director Richard Hughes handpicked by the returning Michael Edwards and a strong Bundesliga influence.

For owners Fenway Sports Group, austerity can permit expenditure. Neither they nor Slot can be accused of a lack of ambition this summer. It remains to be seen if it produces Alexander Isak, who would give them a scarily good forward line. A £110m offer would make for a club record deal. As it is, Liverpool have already made a signing that, if add-ons are triggered, would break the current British record, with Florian Wirtz’s £100m move having the potential to come to £116m. Besides bringing in a player who could prove Anfield's creator-in-chief for a decade, there was a significance in one of Germany’s leading talents rejecting Bayern Munich for Liverpool.

open image in gallery

Liverpool won a record-equalling 20th top-flight title in 2024/25 (Getty Images)

There have been times when Liverpool had looked to be shopping in cheaper markets than some of the European elite. Not now. The pecking order had seemed entrenched when Trent Alexander-Arnold followed the familiar path from Anfield to Real Madrid. There is now a legitimate question where Liverpool figure among the continental superpowers: after all, they topped the Champions League group stage last season, beating Real, only to exit the competition in the last 16, albeit to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

But Alexander-Arnold’s replacement Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez constitute a pair of new full-backs; evidence of Andy Robertson’s decline came even amid the team’s outstanding form. Whether or not Isak arrives, Liverpool have a searingly quick striker who should make them still more devastating on the break, in the £69m Hugo Ekitike, who has made a hugely encouraging start. Such moves have been funded in part by Hughes’ capacity to command excellent prices for departing players like Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah and Tyler Morton.

open image in gallery

Florian Wirtz was a statement signing from Arne Slot (PA Wire)

But the rebuilding started with two who stayed, the makeover with the constants. Liverpool lingered in limbo last year, unsure if they would lose Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk as well as Alexander-Arnold. There was a scenario in which they were substantially weaker now and much of the transfer budget had to be devoted to a right winger and a centre-back. Instead, they kept both and if it may be unfair to expect the Egyptian to replicate last season’s contribution of 28 goals and 19 assists in the Premier League alone, he and Van Dijk can continue to defy the years.

That said, a squad with enviable talent in some departments may look slightly short of depth in others. Quansah’s sale to Bayer Leverkusen leaves Liverpool with only three specialist centre-backs, which cost them the last time they tried to defend the Premier League title. While Rio Ngumoha’s emergence has been a highlight of pre-season, the winger is still only 16. In attack, Liverpool have quality, but perhaps not quantity.

open image in gallery

Rio Ngumoha, 16, has been a highlight of pre-season (Getty)

It reflects the tragedy of their summer, one that is both inescapable and yet which, for obvious reasons, feels difficult to discuss. A beloved husband, father and figure around the club first and foremost, the loss of Diogo Jota in a car crash also robbed Liverpool of a very fine footballer with a priceless ability to find space in the penalty box. No one can say what psychological effects there will be from the sudden loss of him. It would be understandable if they take a toll on individuals or the team as a whole.

Many of the footballing questions look answered. A few others remain: if Liverpool can show the consistency they did when going 25 games unbeaten in the top flight last season or if Slot, who operated with a small core, can rotate more if they need to peak later in the campaign or how Dominik Szoboszlai responds to the arrival of Wirtz. Another was added by the Community Shield: if Liverpool are too open defensively and too likely to concede as they search for a new blend to include their attacking additions.

But past Liverpool sides used to marry transition with glory. This one looks to record a rare feat. Apart from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, no one has retained the English title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2009. No Liverpool side has since Fagan, following Paisley, did so in 1984. That team won the European Cup, too. And, fresh from their buying, that will be a target for Liverpool now.