‘What’s happening with Isak?’ It’s been impossible to move around Liverpool this past three weeks without that question being asked.
It’s entirely understandable, too. The prospect of a record-breaking signing being added to a title-winning squad is the most potent combination for conversation in this football hotbed, so it didn’t take long for Arne Slot to be asked for his view on Friday.
Liverpool’s Head Coach is too savvy and too respectful to say something to add to this narrative, so he smiled faintly and explained politely that ‘you know we don’t talk about players from other clubs’; he understood what was coming but his bat, for this enquiry, was always going to be straight.
Life moves on, new topics are there to be discussed but there was something in Slot’s eyes that reminded you, clearly, about what has been important this summer and it has nothing to do with whether £120million will be lavished on a new striker.
Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, perished in a car accident on July 3 and the impact of that catastrophe continue to be felt all around a club that is doing its best to move forward but, in reality, remains in a state of shock.
‘First of all, the tragedy impacted us but it impacted far more his wife, children and his parents,’ Slot said quietly. ‘The tributes that have been done since were emotional and impressive; it started in Preston and then in Asia. They were emotional but impressive.’
Arne Slot reflected on the tragic passing of Diogo Jota ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield
Liverpool have paid tributes to Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, after they died in a car accident last month
There will be more tributes tomorrow at Wembley against Crystal Palace, one of the teams Jota scored against last season. His six goals were directly responsible for six points in the romp to the title but his presence, as a universally loved character, away from the pitch was just as profound.
So it is not wrong to wonder what shadow his passing will cast. Many fans expect athletes to simply turn up and get on with the business of winning, week after week, without ever thinking too deeply about issues behind the scenes and it was away from the cameras that Slot put this into focus.
Again, a question had been asked about the window and Liverpool’s activity. Again, it was fair and, again, Slot understood the reason behind it. But as he began to respond, he explained how English isn’t his first language and he didn’t want anything to be misconstrued. There was no need to worry.
‘It’s not like we start off when the season ends and say: ‘OK, who are we going to bring in?’ said Solt. ‘So we already knew what the plans were. This is the way this club has always worked, to prepare yourself for a summer like this.
‘But what I feel is not being talked about enough – although you have to make your own decision when you talk about it – is that I’ve lost four players that have started regularly. One of them, I, we, his family, lost him. That’s Diogo.’
Often, it is the shortest sentences that have the most profound impact and ‘That’s Diogo’ was the kind of punctuation that hammered things home. This has been the kind of incident you want to be a nightmare but there is no waking up from the reality.
No wonder, then, that Slot was quiet and if he is quiet for the entirety of the campaign, who could possibly blame him? Being the man he is, though, Slot will lead Liverpool forward as best as he can, aware that the show must go on and dealing with everything that entails.
So he will give the world a glimpse of what the ‘new’ Liverpool look like at Wembley tomorrow, as they attempt to win the Community Shield for just the fourth time this century and lay down a marker for the new campaign.
The club will look to move forward in the wake of such a sudden and unexpected tragedy
The club’s pursuit of wantaway Newcastle striker Alexander Isak continues to dominate headlines
The anticipation, particularly if they happen to make a breakthrough in the pursuit of Isak and recruit a back up central defender, is that they will run their rivals ragged. Headlines involving outlays close to £300million don’t do anything other than ramp up expectation but Slot offered a different view.
‘Darwin (Nunez) might be on the verge of leaving,’ said Slot. ‘Luis Diaz (who has joined Bayern Munich) was a definite starter, and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was a definite starter. So normally in the Premier League, teams only buy and never sell. We do both.
‘So that is something I don’t think is addressed enough yet. It’s quite normal if four of them are not there that you bring in players as well. It’s quite normal, if Trent is going to go, that we bring in a full-back. If Luis going to go, we bring in maybe Florian Wirtz, who can play as a 10 and as a left winger.
‘It’s quite normal if one attacking option is not there with Diogo, that we bring in Hugo Ekitike. And don’t forget that last season we only sold, we didn’t buy. Has the squad improved? That is something I can only tell you at September 1 because the window is still three weeks open.’
What Slot can’t dispute is the fact there will be intrigue in seeing how all this beds in. How will Hugo Ekitike fit in alongside Mo Salah? Will embryonic talents Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha take compelling steps forward and how will Liverpool adapt with how those who were mainstays?
Perhaps it will all click against Palace, the FA Cup holders, but maybe it will take time. So much has happened since these two sides gave each other a guard of honour on May 25 before they played out a 1-1 draw at Anfield and, at times, it has been all so difficult to process.
‘I do feel that the players we’ve brought in have done already really well, as expected,’ said Slot. ‘That’s why we brought them in. But I cannot tell you now if these players are able to perform at the same level every three days, therefore we first have to start the season [to see].
‘I did know that Luis Diaz was able to do that and all the other ones were able to do that. So that is another challenge at the Premier League, because we play so many games. For Milos Kerkez, it’s going to be his first time probably, that at this level he might have to play every three days.
Slot also discussed the challenges that new signings face in adapting to the club’s congested fixture schedule
‘Florian Wirtz comes from the Bundesliga, where he was used to playing every three or four days, but we have to ask him in two months if the intensity levels of the Premier League are comparable with the Bundesliga.
‘In terms of talent and the quality we’ve brought in, we see that we have a very good team again. But we have to wait and see: will they all stay fit? The ones that have left were almost the whole season fit. Will all the ones that we brought in do the same?
‘There are multiple factors you need to take into account. Again, I am really happy with the players we’ve brought in. But we’ve also lost starters that have had a big impact on our title-winning season last year.’
None bigger than the man whose name will undoubtedly be sung in the 20th minute and plenty of times before and after. Football is wonderful and the chatter and debate it generates will never grow old. But never, ever forget what is important. Diogo Jota and Andre Silva must remind you of that.
