Mocked Arne Slot proved right as January transfers become unavoidable for Liverpool
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Arne Slot saw his squad depleted further by enforced absences during Liverpool's 2-0 win over BrightonWhen 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. We are only missing four players at the moment and already we needed to start with four players under the age of 19.”READ MORE: Curtis Jones shares Mohamed Salah's message to Liverpool squad and shuts down criticsREAD MORE: What Mohamed Salah said in Liverpool mixed zone as Arne Slot 'drops' another playerIt is understandable why Liverpool’s critics had little sympathy for Slot in such circumstances.
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. 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.
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. 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.