As Arne Slot‘s preparations for his first season as Liverpool head coach step up in the US, the Dutchman continues to be lacking a key piece of his puzzle.
Liverpool have arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the beginning of their first tour of the US since 2019, and the survivors from that three-stop jaunt round Indiana, Boston and New York could possibly be forgiven for feeling issues aren’t fairly the identical.
Certain, Jurgen Klopp’s travelling squad 5 years in the past was bulked out with youthful faces, however the supervisor may nonetheless work with the vast majority of his key gamers.
Alisson, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane all missed out, however Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and James Milner have been amongst these to make the journey.
This time round, Salah would be the marquee title that attracts in informal audiences within the US, however there are few real first-choice starters in Slot’s preliminary group.
Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai ought to match into that class, whereas Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Jarell Quansah can current a convincing case for a beginning spot, however there are few others past that.
Slot will undoubtedly see it as a chance, and even perhaps extra helpful as he can work carefully with these fringe gamers who he could not have been capable of monitor in his evaluation of Liverpool’s video games in seasons passed by.
However the uniquely difficult summer time dealing with a membership overhauled could have its affect on the fine-tuning Liverpool’s new head coach will hope to undertake Stateside.
Assessing the choices accessible to the Dutchman and it’s abundantly clear that he’s missing in a single key space.
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Brief up prime
Whereas six attackers made the journey in Salah, Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Lewis Koumas, Harvey Blair and Fabio Carvalho, finally these are 5 wingers and a No. 10.
Koumas is closest to a typical striker, however he has extra typically discovered himself stationed on the left wing attributable to his capacity to chop onto his proper foot.
Slot is anticipated to set his Liverpool aspect up in the identical fluid 4-3-3 system that introduced him success at Feyenoord, however the friendlies towards Actual Betis, Arsenal and Man United will probably be lacking one key cog: a centre-forward.
The brand new head coach’s ways have usually relied upon the striker to attain the targets, along with his aspect’s attacking play designed to offer probabilities for the person up entrance, whether or not through passing lanes or crosses from out broad and deep.
Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez has comfortably scored greater than another participant throughout Slot’s teaching profession thus far, with 49 targets in 85 appearances, and it stands to motive that the centre-forward will probably be a spotlight in his setup at Liverpool.
However Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo are nonetheless absent following their exploits at Copa America and the Euros, whereas even Jayden Danns has been dominated out with a again damage.
The identical scenario noticed Slot begin the Reds’ unofficial pre-season opener – a 1-0 loss to Preston on the AXA Coaching Centre – with Carvalho as a nominal No. 9.
It’s a position that Klopp steered Carvalho may play upon his arrival from Fulham, however there gained’t be many anticipating him to fulfil the position in maybe the way in which Slot will hope.
Whereas Carvalho’s tendency is to drop and hyperlink play, as a pure playmaker, Slot’s methods are constructed round a extra orthodox striker.
Salah, Gordon and Koumas may all feasibly step in up entrance, however none would play the place in the way in which Liverpool can anticipate to see because the season unfolds.
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One alternative missed, one other gained?
It’s by way of no fault of Slot’s, however till Nunez and, to a lesser extent, Jota return, the Reds won’t be able to totally realise their new tactical transient.
The passes performed to the striker will probably be totally different; the areas his runs would open up might not be there to take advantage of.
This makes it significantly irritating that Danns, the 18-year-old throwback-type striker who stepped up final season when Klopp wanted him, was unable to make the journey throughout the Atlantic.
Like Bobby Clark, who additionally stayed on Merseyside to proceed therapy, the time within the US would have been an enormous probability for Danns to imprint on his new coach.
As a substitute, the default possibility will seemingly stay Carvalho, with Jota maybe accessible to step in after he hyperlinks up with the squad halfway by way of the tour.
It’s definitely a chance for Carvalho to show himself – not solely as a participant, however as a personality, selflessly stepping up in a job he would like to not settle in.
That situation might be associated to numerous positions and gamers who landed within the US, however when Slot’s system is prone to rely so closely on a centre-forward, alternative is just so helpful when the best personnel shouldn’t be accessible to know it.
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When it may all come collectively
In fact, Slot shouldn’t be a dogmatic coach, and he can use this time within the States to work on different options, maybe together with the likes of Salah and Blair rotating up prime.
However Liverpool followers could solely see the primary actual shoots of his attacking system in full circulation when the Reds return to Merseyside in August.
By then, Nunez, Jota, Gakpo and hopefully Danns could have returned to the fold and, all being effectively, the workout routines labored on in coaching might be put into motion towards Sevilla at Anfield.
Whereas it’s removed from the perfect begin for a brand new head coach, with out the vast majority of his key names for many of pre-season, little question Slot will nonetheless see double periods and warmup friendlies within the US as an opportunity to kick on.
