What about the future? Liverpool could win the Premier League and Champions League this season, favourites in both esteemed competitions, but Arne Slot’s sharp tactical mind deserves sufficient backing.
It’s been one year since Jurgen Klopp made the dramatic decision to step down from his position as Liverpool manager, sending frisson upon frisson of shock through the red half of Merseyside.
It felt like a calamity, with fans across the globe nursing an ache in their heart. But Klopp knew. He knew that Liverpool’s elite and sustainable model would endure.
But Slot needs to be backed, or else Anfield’s potential over these coming years simply will not be realised. Federico Chiesa remains the only first-team player to have followed Slot into Liverpool’s training centre so far, and the injury-prone forward has only played seven times.
Mohamed Salah
31 (29)
22
17
Cody Gakpo
31 (20)
12
4
Luis Diaz
29 (21)
12
3
Diogo Jota
19 (11)
8
2
Darwin Nunez
28 (15)
6
4
Federico Chiesa
7 (1)
1
1
Liverpool need signings. Slot needs to be backed. But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes at Liverpool, with a multitude of varying exits on the cards.
The players that could be leaving Liverpool
The obvious players: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all approaching the conclusion of their Liverpool contracts, and while FSG are working hard toward renewals, we are frankly in uncharted and concerning territory, February being one week away.
Regarding non-contract-related departure rumours, Joe Gomez, 28, may wrap up his time on Merseyside after coming close to joining Newcastle United last summer. The versatile defender has played 240 times for Liverpool but is intrigued by the prospect of trying his hand elsewhere.
Between the sticks, Caoimhin Kelleher’s departure feels all but confirmed, for Liverpool have signed Giorgi Mamardashvili to jockey with Alisson for the number one spot, arriving this summer after his loan with Valencia concludes.
Players like Kelleher and Gomez could be moving away, but these are agreeable sales. However, a more sinister shadow has lurked over Anfield.
Liverpool could be in danger of losing another of their most prized assets.
Liverpool could lose another superstar
According to Anfield Watch, Liverpool could be in danger of losing Ibrahima Konate this year, with Paris Saint-Germain looking to bring the France international back to his homeland.
The 25-year-old centre-back has enjoyed his finest season in Liverpool colours, missing the festive period due to injury but hailed for his “imperious” performances by The Athletic’s James Pearce.
The slow-boiling issue is that Konate is in the penultimate year of his £70k-per-week contract, the significance of which is overshadowed by the more pressing aforementioned concern.
Anfield Watch stress that the Ligue 1 champions hope to ‘exploit’ the situation this summer. All the more reason for sporting director Richard Hughes to get the deal wrapped up with haste.
Selling Ibrahima Konate would be a disaster
Liverpool signed Konate in 2021, Klopp bringing the French talent over from RB Leipzig after activating his £36m release clause.
Konate’s quality has been clear for a long time, but he’s been dogged by injuries throughout his Premier League career and this has held him back.
See below. The hulking defender is on track to have his most productive campaign in England from an appearance-accumulation standpoint, even though he’s missed a month slap-bang in the centre of the campaign.
24/25
22 (19)
8
23/24
37 (29)
7
22/23
24 (23)
21
21/22
29 (26)
2
He’s come on leaps and bounds, with journalist Josh Williams even hailing him as a “monster at covering ground and in one vs one situations.”
He is the perfect foil to Van Dijk, allowing the supremely intelligent Dutchman to maximise his ability. Konate’s athleticism and, indeed, ground-covering expertise, are fundamental parts of Liverpool’s success under Slot’s wing this season, establishing a redoubtable rearguard that allows Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister to assert their authority in the centre, in turn promoting attacking quality in the final third.
The 6 foot 4 colossus has even started to outshine his skipper in some aspects of the defensive game – hitherto unimaginable that Van Dijk should be trumped in such an area.
As per Sofascore, Konate has won 74% of his aerial battles this season. Van Dijk, meanwhile, has won 73% of his aerial duels. This might feel like a pedantic comparison, but if anything it shows how the Les Bleus star has absorbed the fruits of his partner’s performances over the past several years to refine and develop his own game.
It makes a telling comment on his hunger to be one of the best in the business – if he is not already – even saying himself this week: “I just want to be better than him one day!”
For now, Liverpool fans are just happy to have both titans in their mix, bouncing off the other wonderfully to ensure that title dreams are very much tangible.
To lose this player as he steps into his prime years would be a disaster for Slot’s project. Liverpool might have their sights on silverware this term but the new gaffer has proved that he has the mettle and nous to compete against Europe’s biggest outfits year on year. He just needs to be backed.
Hughes’ main priority at the moment will be extending the deals of linchpins like Van Dijk and Salah, but Konate is Liverpool’s future and losing him to a Champions League rival like PSG would be detrimental, to say the least.
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