Arne Slot saw his squad depleted further by enforced absences during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton
When Liverpool were knocked out of the League Cup by Crystal Palace back in October, having named a much-changed squad filled with fringe players and academy starlets, Arne Slot was mocked by those not of a Reds persuasion for one of his observations following the final whistle.
“Before I went out I saw (Manchester) City’s line-up and I don’t think they had one starter from the weekend, but it felt as if you looked at their line-up that they played with 11 starters,” Slot said. “Maybe it also gives a little bit of insight that everybody has always said how big of a squad we are having.
“When we played Chelsea, I said they are missing eight but they can still bring Estevao in. We are only missing four players at the moment and already we needed to start with four players under the age of 19.”
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It is understandable why Liverpool’s critics had little sympathy for Slot in such circumstances. The Reds broke the British transfer record twice in the summer after all, and spent a record-breaking £450m only to navigate a poor first half of the campaign with their Premier league title defence already unravelled before their eyes.
But such a spend was not adding to their title-winning ranks, despite what it might have looked like on the surface after bringing in eight new senior players. It was necessary recruitment following a plethora of departures also.
The Palace defeat was again on Slot’s mind ahead of Liverpool’s latest match, as they welcomed Brighton to Anfield to Saturday, as he was left to bemoan having only 13 outfield players available.
“I am almost happy that we’re out of the League Cup,” he admitted. “Because if we had to play with 13 outfield players available with any Premier League experience – we have more available, of course, but not players that have Premier League experience – and we have to go (to) Arsenal away on Tuesday again after already so many games played, maybe, maybe, maybe people can understand a little bit better why I made that line-up against (Crystal) Palace, which wasn’t good for me but I did another decision I made for the team.”
Instead, Liverpool will enjoy a full week of training before travelling to Tottenham Hotspur next weekend. But despite being set to welcome Conor Bradley back from suspension, and hoping Jeremie Frimpong might be ready to return after a hamstring injury, Slot’s numbers will not have been bolstered.
He was left without four senior players because of injury against Brighton, with Cody Gakpo, Wataru Endo and Giovanni Leoni sidelined along with Frimpong. Meanwhile, Alexander Isak was limited to a place on the bench after suffering a knock against Inter Milan.
While Isak should, all being well, be fit enough to start against Tottenham and Frimpong could be back in contention, injuries suffered by Joe Gomezand Dominik Szoboszlai have depleted Slot’s options further.
Throw in Mohamed Salah now being away at the Africa Cup of Nations until next month and Liverpool are down to the bare bones.
And this is coming in a campaign where Alisson Becker, Frimpong, Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz and Isak have all endured varying injury lay-offs.
Yet on the face of it, now being left without six senior players is not the worst crisis. The Reds have suffered far worse in the past.
But having been limited to an eight-man substitutes’ bench against Brighton, featuring the likes of Calvin Ramsay and Wellity Lucky, Slot will likely find himself in a similar boat in north London.
Like it or not, despite a £450m outlay in the summer, Liverpool’s squad is simply not big enough to cope with more than a handful of senior injuries.
Slot’s hand will likely be forced when picking his side to face Tottenham. While he can choose between Milos Kerkez or Andy Robertson at left-back, he only has two available centre-backs while Frimpong will not be in a position to start following a lengthy lay-off.
With Szoboszlai potentially joining Endo on the sidelines, he is left with just four midfielders to choose from. And with Salah now unavailable alongside Gakpo, Federico Chiesa is the only senior alternative to Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
Admittedly, things would have been different had Liverpool’s incoming business not been accompanied by a plethora of outgoings.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz were both first-choice players, with Darwin Nunez also featuring prominently. Given the shortage of centre-backs, the presence of Jarell Quansah would have proven most beneficial, while even Tyler Morton or Ben Gannon-Doak would have offered more experience from reserve than some of Slot’s current options.
And then consider that loanees Harvey Elliott, Kostas Tsimikas and James McConnell have all found their game time limited at Aston Villa, AS Roma and Ajax respectively, the trio would have all aided Liverpool’s current dilemma.
With the former frozen out at Villa Park, and Unai Emery having now confirmed that Villa now have no intention of signing him permanently, it remains to be seen if a return to Anfield mid-season will be facilitated.
But with the transfer window re-opening in two weeks, it would perhaps be an obvious solution to Slot’s current woes.
Liverpool would have signed Marc Guehi on deadline day back in the summer, only to see Crystal Palace pull the plug on a £35m deal at the 11th though. With Gomez’s hamstring injury only reiterating the Reds’ need for defensive reinforcement, it remains to be seen if they will revisit such interest in January.
They continue to be linked with Antoine Semenyo, too, with the AFC Bournemouth forward boasting a £65m release clause in the new contract he signed in the summer.
While Salah and Gakpo’s absences might only be short-term, it would do Liverpool no harm to bolster their attacking options further. But you could argue that these two potential arrivals should be only the minimum business.
Slot named a 24-man Premier League squad at the start of the season, but that included Fabian Mrozek, Ramsay and Rhys Williams. The Reds have space to recruit further if the right opportunities present themselves without the need to move any senior players on.
In this turbulent season, Liverpool have been crying out for a straightforward victory like the one they earned against Brighton. An early goal, a lead doubled and a clean sheet to clinch a relatively comfortable three points.
Yet accompanied by further injuries, the strain on the Reds’ depleted squad has only grown as we head into the Premier League festive period and reiterated what they need to do next.
Liverpool might have spent £450m in the summer, but their necessary squad overhaul is not complete. The failure to sign Guehi was only one hole they were left unable to fill.
Slot and the Reds will inevitably earn further cutting remarks from critics if they again turn to the transfer market in January in a bid to reverse their fortunes.
But when bemoaning his limited number of available players, the Liverpool head coach was just stating the obvious when you look beyond that eye-watering figure.
The Reds need more players. And that will still remain the case even when the majority of their walking wounded return. Otherwise they will remain compromised whenever struck by just a couple of injuries.
When the transfer window re-opens, they need to be ready to act.
