Slot Talk: “Not a Reason to Add” Players in January for Liverpool
Liverpool’s strength and depth—Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa couldn’t even make the latest matchday squad—there was no need to add in January.
Liverpool didn’t make moves in January beyond the loan departures of a few promising youngsters because they quite simply didn’t have to.
Arne Slot’s Reds are top of the Premier League table. They’re in to the knockout rounds of the Champions League as the top side from the league phase. Their bench at Bournemouth over the weekend was so stacked that Joe Gomez and Federico Chiesa, both fit, stayed on Merseyside.
There may be concerns around the contract status of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. And summer will likely bring with it a few tweaks. But for now there was no need to deal.
“I’ve said it many times, we have a very good squad and if you look at the league table I think the players have shown that the trust we have in them was correct,” said the manager when asked about the club’s quiet January.
“Apart from Trent now maybe for a few days we don’t have many injuries, not long-term injuries, so there’s not a reason to add something to the team unless you have a chance in the market.”
The idea of moving for targets of opportunity has been something of a mantra surrounding the club in the last couple of windows. It’s a mindset that likely led to the signing of Chiesa last summer—not perhaps a player they strictly speaking needed, but too good a deal to pass up.
Again, that might change come summer. It certainly will, one would expect, if any of their star trio set to be out of contract do depart at season’s end.
For now, though, the simple truth is that Liverpool didn’t have any pressing needs to add players in January—and frankly no space to do it, not when Gomez and Chiesa aren’t even able to make the matchday squad at the moment.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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