Arne Slot has enjoyed a decent opening to his tenure at Liverpool, with the Reds having to be satisfied with how they’ve performed in pre-season.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, those results are often incidental and it’s what matters once the first whistle goes in the Premier League season.
With respect, aside from an away fixture at Man United, Slot’s opening five games – that also includes matches against Ipswich Town, Bournemouth, Brentford and Nottingham Forest – should see the Dutchman off to a flying start at Anfield.
Liverpool potentially have some tough decisions to make
Taking any opponent lightly will be a recipe for disaster, though the professionalism that Slot’s squad have already shown would suggest that won’t form part of their thinking.
One area where the management and recruitment teams do need to concentrate is with regards to transfers.
??? Liverpool remain confident to sign Martín Zubimendi, with talks ongoing as reported earlier today.
There’s still work to do but #LFC on it. https://t.co/FCmDeLYOgN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2024
CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, has indicated that the Reds are going to push for the signing of Real Sociedad’s brilliant midfielder, Martin Zubimendi, however, the futures of captain, Virgil van Dijk and keeper, Alisson Becker, may be of more interest to supporters.
“I still think that with Van Dijk and Alisson, there are two question marks that may stay unresolved for the next few weeks,” former Everton CEO, Keith Wyness said on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
“It’s been very quiet at Anfield over the summer and they’ve gotten away with it with the new manager coming in – but the scrutiny is going to be really on them right now.
“The spotlight will be shining to see what’s going to happen now in August, and some big decisions have to be made.”
Were the Reds to lose both their captain and main custodian at this late stage of the transfer window, it could prove incredibly problematic for Liverpool’s start to the campaign.
Finding players of equal ability and at a price considered acceptable with three weeks of the window to go isn’t impossible, but it will be difficult.