Arne Slot claims to be full of optimism about the future at Liverpool despite a bleak season, with the Premier League champions set to go trophyless after their European exit on Tuesday.
Another summer of flux is expected at Anfield with key players departing and an overhaul of certain positions necessary.
But will it be straightforward for Liverpool to rebuild into a side capable of challenging for the title? Is Slot right to say the future is bright? Daily Mail Sport looks at five key issues they must sort this summer.
Liverpool’s comprehensive 4-0 aggregate defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals ended their hopes of winning a trophy this season
Arne Slot is coming under increasing pressure over his future – but he can still lead Liverpool back into the Champions League by outlasting Chelsea in the race for the top five this season
Get the Salah replacement right
Mohamed Salah announcing his upcoming exit over the recent international break was not a surprise but still sent shockwaves through the fanbase who idolise him.
Despite his powers clearly waning in the last year, the Egyptian will leave behind a ginormous hole. Even in the loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, it felt like Salah was the Reds’ best attacking player and most dangerous creative spark.
Yet he is going and Liverpool have to replace a player who at times has felt irreplaceable. As the Salah years end, this recruitment decision could define their next era.
Realistically, they are going to struggle to get anyone who is like-for-like for anything below, say, £70million. No club would come to the negotiating table for anything less. Slot wants a tricky winger who can help break down low blocks in Premier League games where opposition teams set up to restrict and frustrate.
Various names have been touted as potential options. Truthfully, not many possible targets fill one with excitement, save for perhaps Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise who is a special talent but almost certainly unavailable.
The data gurus at Anfield know more than us, though – as they have shown in the last decade with some shrewd recruitment of players like Salah – and must earn their corn with this one.
Liverpool have a huge task on their hands to find a suitable replacement for Mo Salah
Make the correct call on Slot’s future
Slot has the backing of the club and its hierarchy. The Dutchman looks likely to be in charge for a third season after two opposing campaigns, one full of memorable highs and another pockmarked by disappointing lows.
Liverpool and the boss himself (of course) believe that would be the right decision and the tide can be turned as they will surely have better luck with injuries, stop being so wasteful and not have other small margins go against them such as late collapses and refereeing decisions.
It goes without saying that the decision over Slot’s future is huge. Yes, there is the possibility he will turn things around and revert to something more akin to last season especially when this season’s new boys (Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak et al) further adapt.
But there is also the possibility that nothing changes. What if after 10 games Liverpool are still tossing away points late in games? What if they are still easy to play through and vulnerable in defence? Slot can be forgiven for this wretched campaign – by those in power, at least – but sympathy will be in short supply if it continues and another season looks to be heading down the pan.
Arne Slot has the backing of the club’s heirarchy but what if next season starts in the manner this one is ending?
Get the right players into leadership positions
Liverpool have five players who are captains of their national teams: Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Salah (Egypt), Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary), Andy Robertson (Scotland) and Wataru Endo (Japan).
There are other experienced heads such as Alisson and Joe Gomez. But out of the seven just mentioned, it is hard to see any of them bar Szoboszlai still being at the club by the end of summer 2027. That leaves a huge leadership vacuum after Trent Alexander-Arnold, the old vice-captain, also departed last year.
So who steps up as a key voice? Who drives up the standards on and off the field? Who can stand up and be counted during moments of frailty like several tricky runs this season?
Szoboszlai seems to have soft-launched his bid to be a future captain and he is certainly growing as a leader. Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister and even Isak will soon be the more experienced names in the dressing room. It is another issue for Slot and Co to solve in the coming year.
Dominik Szoboszlai seems to have soft-launched his bid to be a future captain and he is certainly growing as a leader
Halt the demise of Mac Allister
Mac Allister ended last season with an injury and never really got over it, returning to pre-season late and playing catch-up with his fitness from that point on.
At the start of this season, he would have been considered in the top bracket of stars at the club but his drop-off has been quite something. While he is certainly not the only player whose form has fallen off a cliff this year, the Argentine’s demise has been the most noticeable.
Mac Allister is yet to start negotiations over a new contract and there has been talk in the background, especially from Spain, over Real Madrid keeping an eye on his situation. It would do him good to have a summer off but the World Cup winner will be a key cog of Argentina’s title defence in the United States. If he stays, Liverpool have to make sure he’s fit and firing for next season.
Curtis Jones, a fellow midfielder, has a number of teams circling for his signature as the local lad has failed to nail down a consistent run in the starting XI this term. Given the dip in form of Mac Allister and to a lesser extent Ryan Gravenberch, Jones will be questioning why he can’t get the minutes he desires — and whether it is best to move on from his boyhood club.
It means midfield could — and should — be a position of priority for the Reds recruitment team this summer. But like replacing Salah, this is not a cheap fix.
While Alexis Mac Allister is certainly not the only Liverpool player whose form has fallen off a cliff this year, the Argentine’s demise has been the most noticeable
Get the new boys to gel
Slot is confident that the same problems will not haunt Liverpool next year but it is easier said than done.
Key to this will be the form of Wirtz and Isak. Prior to Hugo Ekitike’s devastating Achilles injury — he is ruled out of the World Cup and will do well to play again this side of 2027 — the three key attacking signings had been on the pitch together for just over two hours.
Liverpool must get the best out of Alexander Isak and make sure he gels with the likes of Florian Wirtz
Wirtz should, in theory, only get better. Isak should, in theory, find his fitness and start banging in goals.
Other new signings from last summer will only grow. Highly-rated defender Jeremy Jacquet will arrive from Rennes while last summer’s buy Giovanni Leoni, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on debut, is poised to return and will be like a new signing. Conor Bradley, too, will be back from a long-term knee injury.
Playing devil’s advocate to Slot’s optimism, players such as Van Dijk and Alisson enter the final year of their deals and might suffer Salah-esque dips in form. The Egyptian’s exit will be felt more keenly than many think, just as the departures of Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz et al were this year.
The future at Liverpool can indeed be bright. But first they must get tackle these defining issues.
