Arne Slot has made it clear that Giovanni Leoni’s season-ending injury will not change Liverpool’s transfer strategy and specifically won’t accelerate a return for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in January.
Liverpool missed out on Guehi on deadline day when a £35 million move fell through, leaving Palace unwilling to sell without a replacement. With the England international’s contract expiring next summer, the expectation is that the Premier League champions will revisit the deal when he becomes a free agent.
But Slot, speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Selhurst Park, stressed that Leoni’s anterior cruciate ligament tear sustained in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup win over Southampton will not force Liverpool into a rethink.
“That all depends on whether we get more injuries, yes or no, and if there’s a chance in the market all the answers I always give,” he said.
The Dutchman pointed to Liverpool’s squad-building philosophy as the reason they won’t rush. Unlike some of their rivals, Liverpool prefer a leaner core of players, prioritising development and game-time opportunities over sheer numbers.
“I would not prefer to go to 24 or 25 players,” Slot explained. “Also, if it is ever a situation where I lead a team that has four or five injuries throughout the whole season, it might be a bit smarter to go to 24/25, but recent history showed that we have a good record until now.
“We don’t have five or six injuries at the same time throughout the whole season. If that would be the situation then we would end up with 15/16 players and that would normally be difficult. So it’s a choice I like to make but I think it is also a financial choice that we as a club have to make. If we want to keep these top players, we cannot have 24/25 of them.”
For Slot, it’s about balance: ensuring competition without leaving too many players on the fringes.
“It’s also a choice we make,” he continued. “I know a lot is being said about our squad but if people would start to look at it in the way they should, you’d say we’ve got 20/21 players where some other teams we are in competition with are on 24/25/26. But that’s the choice we make because I believe that every player needs to have perspective of development or playing time.”
“If I have to disappoint four or five players, I believe that is not the right energy that you want to have in the building.”
That approach brings risk. Injuries to one or two key players can leave Liverpool light in certain areas. Slot acknowledges that but says versatility is the club’s safety net.
“On the other hand, that means if you get one injury, you don’t have two replacements anymore, so you don’t have two players for every position anymore. That’s then the risk you take but that’s also why we try to bring in versatile players like Florian Wirtz who can play left, can play as a 10, can play as an eight; Dominik Szoboszlai can play every position, I think.”
“That is the way we do it and it is also why we can maybe spend a bit more on one player instead of bringing three in, and that is maybe the difference between the clubs.”
Leoni’s setback has been met with sympathy inside the club, but Slot was keen to stress Liverpool’s injury record remains strong. Prevention, he said, is an area the club prides itself on, even if certain injuries such as ACL tears can rarely be avoided.
“I would like to say so but I think it takes a longer term to prove this [good injury record],” Slot said. “We, as with any other team in the league by the way, try to have a certain way of working where you prevent as many injuries as you can, but normally it is very difficult to prevent an ACL.”
“But muscle injuries are maybe a bit better, there’s a better chance of preventing a muscle injury, unless you only have 14 players available and you have to overload them.”
He pointed to Alexander Isak as an example of that longer-term approach. The £125 million summer signing is still being eased into full match sharpness, and Slot admitted he has to resist the temptation to overuse him.
“If you look at Alexander Isak now, we are trying to make the best possible programme and also to stick to that programme. I might be tempted once in a while, maybe even tomorrow, to keep him on the pitch for 90 minutes, but then I always try to look at the long term and not at the short term with these issues.”
For now, Liverpool’s focus remains on working with the squad they have not expanding it. Guehi, in all likelihood, will have to wait until summer.
