Arne Slot has faced scrutiny over his handling of Liverpool’s talented young players ever since his arrival at the club in 2024.
By the end of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure, the Reds had re-established themselves as one of the country’s leading providers of academy graduates, with the German renowned for giving chances to teenaged stars.
In the eyes of some supporters, things have gone backwards under Slot. The Dutchman has rarely dipped into the Liverpool academy to supplement his first-team, and even when he has, many argue he has not used the likes of Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha enough.
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Curtis Jones in action during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.
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However, while some of the criticism is fair, much of it has been over the top. Slot could certainly use the academy more, but he should not be expected to promote youngsters simply for the sake of it.
And as former Liverpool midfielder and current academy coach Jay Spearing has now outlined, the Reds boss is very much taking a proactive approach to developing the club’s best talents.
Arne Slot holds regular meetings over academy stars
Aside from Ngumoha and Nyoni, one other Liverpool youngster seemingly on Slot’s radar is winger Kieran Morrison.
Morrison made his full first-team debut during October’s Carabao Cup defeat against Crystal Palace and was on the bench for Wednesday’s win over Sunderland.
Rio Ngumoha and Arne Slot during FA Cup tie against Barnsley
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According to Spearing, the 19-year-old is someone who has made his way to the senior squad following regular in-depth conversations with Slot.
“We speak to the manager most days, we’re in his office quite a lot, we speak to him probably three to four times a week in his office planning sessions,” the coach told The Official Liverpool FC Podcast.
“So if the manager says ‘right, who is playing well,’ if you’re playing well and training well, your name is going to get put in front of him and he will want to see clips, he’ll want to see video so that’s what’s happened to Kieran.”
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“Dom gets suspended so Kieran is the first name who gets mentioned; how did he play at the weekend? Fantastically well going down to 10 men, he showed a different side of his game, a maturity and there’s the reward, the manager wants to pick you in his squad and what an occasion it is.”
Kieran Morrison is impressing Slot
It may be a surprise to some to hear that Slot is so heavily involved in conversations with the academy staff over who has the potential to make a first-team leap.
Morrison is someone who there has been a bit of a clamour to be recognised, and according to Spearing, Slot is very much keeping an eye on his development.
“He’s been training every so often with the first team, he’s impressed the manager,” he said. “He’s been nominated for [Premier League 2] Player of the Month so he’s in a really good spot.”
With an FA Cup tie coming this weekend, Morrison will be hoping to get further exposure to the first-team environment.
In the meantime, it is clear that criticism over Slot’s approach, while valid, is slightly wide of the mark. If these youngsters are deemed good enough, he will give them a chance.
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