Liverpool head coach Arne Slot launched an impassioned defence of the club’s unprecedented summer transfer activity after taking a swipe at criticism from “pundits that favour other clubs”.
The deadline-day capture of Alexander Isak for a British record £125million took their spending to £450m on eight players, all aged 25 or under and viewed as an investment in the club’s long-term future.
That headline figure has understandably attracted a lot of scrutiny but Slot was keen to point out it was not reckless spending as they recouped over £250m in sales, having spent just £10m the previous summer.
“There is so much focus on our new signings, especially from pundits that favour some other clubs in the country that cannot stop talking about £450m. I repeat, £450m, £450m! But they forget about (nearly) £300m that we have sold for,” said Slot.
“So, yes, if we want to strength the squad we need to spend that much money. If we sell Dominik Szoboszlai tomorrow he would be worth £100m as well.
“I think it is only a compliment that people tell everyone we have spent so much because that tells you the players we brought in are seen as very good players.
“I think we did great business; we brought in great players and to add to that, we have already lowered the age of the players.
“Some other teams prefer to bring in 27-year-olds because they are ready but we think we have brought in players who are 21, 22 who are ready.
“And then if they are still with you in four or five years, we can sell (someone like) Luis Diaz for £65m. But it is harder to sell him for £65m if he is already 32.
“That is our model and I think we should get praise. I think all the money we have spent we generated ourselves by selling and by winning the league after we didn’t buy anyone at all.
“If you win the league that is quite good financially as well. Those two situations led to the fact that we could spend £450m. It’s not like we looked in the ground and saw there was money coming up.
“We have generated ourselves and that is a big compliment for the model we have and for the quality players we have brought in that everybody is only talking about the £450million.”
A number of Liverpool’s new recruits will feature in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
They exited the competition in the last-16 against eventual winners Paris St Germain last season, a draw which did them not favours despite finishing top of the new group stage format.
Asked what he learned from that experience Slot added: “It is not a smart thing to judge something on one event because then it is of no interest if you end up number one, seven or eight because we had a very difficult draw.
“What I don’t like about this format is everywhere (else) you have a league table and play-offs, you have a league table after everyone playing the same teams so if you end up number one then probably the number eight is weaker than the number five.
“This league table doesn’t give the real opinion about who is good and who isn’t so it can happen like last season, where the number 11 Real Madrid played the number 22, Man City.
“If you ask me this question immediately after we lost to Paris St Germain I would say ‘Forget about the first eight games’ but now I use my brains more and I tell you ‘Don’t judge a new format on the first time, judge it after three or four times and let’s see.”
