Liverpool have so far bided their time when it comes to transfers under Arne Slot, who has signed just one player since arriving at Anfield last summer – and that’s set to continue
Jamie Carragher claims Arne Slot has a “big pot of money to spend” – but Liverpool aren’t set to dip into it before the January transfer window ends.
The Dutch coach has massively impressed in his first season with the Merseyside club, who sit top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables. Slot, 46, has softened the blow of losing Jurgen Klopp, doing so without any major-money signings since becoming the Reds boss.
Aside from the signing of Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose arrival was put back to this coming summer in a deal worth up to £29m, only one player joined last year with Euro 2020 winner Federico Chiesa arriving for a cut-price fee of £10million. But he’s played just 190 minutes of football this season due to injury and fitness issues.
As is routine in the January transfer window, speculation surrounding any potential arrivals at Anfield has been minimal given Liverpool’s squad depth and level of performance for much of the campaign thus far.
During The Overlap’s Fan Debate Transfer Special, Carragher offered his theory on his former club’s stance. And fans hoping for a late surprise signing look likely to have their dreams dashed.
“I’m a big believer in that [coaches improve players] – we all get excited by transfers and we always want to see our team improve,” Carragher began. “Sometimes when we talk about a coach, I almost think sometimes a coach’s role is not just buying players, it’s actually improving the players he inherits.
“So when you actually look at Slot – [Ryan] Gravenberch looks a different player, Luis Diaz looks a different player,[Cody] Gakpo looks a different player. So he’s had an influence there. Some of them [were] bought 18 months ago but they look completely different.”
Given Liverpool have signed just one player in the last three transfer windows, the Sky Sports pundit has come to the conclusion that Slot has quite the transfer fund available to him when he does eventually look to bring in new signings.
He continued: “There’s no doubt, the fact that Liverpool haven’t bought anyone this window, didn’t really buy anyone in the summer, there must be a big pot of money there to buy whoever they want maybe next summer.”
Carragher then asked The Athletic’s David Ornstein if he knew anything they didn’t, insisting he wasn’t aware of Liverpool making any moves before next Monday’s deadline. It looks increasingly likely Slot will be sitting on whatever war chest he may or may not have for the foreseeable future.
One player who has been linked with the Reds is Dutch defender Jorrel Hato, who was in attendance for Saturday’s 4-1 win over Ipswich Town. It’s been claimed the 18-year-old Ajax defender, who’s reportedly valued in the region of £25million, was a guest of Gravenberch.