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Those around the Liverpool squad might quip that it was a development even more inevitable than the club making signings. The players, predictably, have now started to talk amongst themselves about the considerable contrasts between Arne Slot’s training sessions and Jurgen Klopp’s.
That isn’t to say they’re either better or worse, but they are “different”. The players can’t help noticing it, which is pretty natural when anyone goes from one everyday working environment to another. Slot’s sessions are described as much more technical, almost more about “the theory”.
If the squad have now had the chance to get a feel for their new boss, their new boss has had more than enough time to get a feel for the squad. In short, Slot now has more of a handle on what he wants, and what he needs. The belief around the Liverpool camp is that transfer business will finally accelerate next week, as the opening Premier League game away to Ipswich Town on 18 August comes into view. The next 10 days are likely to see the first concrete bids put in.
Liverpool are now looking for a centre-half, a defensive midfielder and a wide forward, although potentially two of the latter. The most high-profile of those is Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon, who has long been hugely keen on the move.
It is still an exaggeration to say any deal with Liverpool was close before the 30 June Profit and Sustainability Rules deadline in the middle of the Euros, despite rumours about medicals being booked. The two clubs were some way apart.
Liverpool’s persistent interest may surprise people given that the pressure on Newcastle to sell around that period would surely have made it the opportune time for a purchase, but some other clubs and market figures suspect that the St James Park hierarchy could do with making one more major sale for their own plans.
That would almost certainly mean one of Aleksandar Isak, Bruno Guimaraes or Gordon going if it came to it. Arsenal are interested in the former two, but Newcastle are completely unwilling to do business. They are also, for their part, “digging their heels in” on Gordon.
It means Liverpool may have to go very high to secure the 23-year-old, which could amount to £80m plus add-ons. If there is a debate about whether Gordon is quite worth that, the decision would ultimately be taken by Anfield’s revitalised recruitment department, amid a very different market to that which first operated in the seasons around Klopp’s appointment.
Slot’s requirements would obviously feed into that, which explains why business is only ratcheting up now.
As is always the case with a department headed by Michael Edwards, it is not just about the short-term needs of the team but also the medium-term outlook and players’ potential for growth.
Gordon can already be electric when running with pace, but there is a belief that other elements of his game have huge scope for development. All of this comes as the hierarchy are also mindful of the succession plan, with Mohamed Salah having just one year left on his contract.
Elsewhere, since Leny Yoro surprised many in the market with a move to Manchester United, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Willian Pacho has long been viewed as a potential option at centre-half. The 22-year-old Ecuadorian could cost around £50m, though. Liverpool are currently assessing a thinner market for defensive midfielders in the style they want. The price of players who might previously have been considered, such as Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, has rocketed after Euro 2024.
All of this is likely to be offset by outgoings, with Slot currently deciding who he is making available to sell.
Amid all of that, one thing can so far be said for sure. Slot’s “theory”, and his different coaching, has translated into some promising football in pre-season. There’s the obvious caveat that these are only friendlies but some of the players are starting to see why one prominent figure from a rival club described the Dutch coach as “maybe the best in the world on the training ground right now”.
What matters is the pitch for real games and, until then, the transfer market.
