Arne Slot’s debut season at Liverpool has been near-perfect, but five looming problems should be giving him a headache leading up to the summer.
The smashiest and grabbiest of victories against Paris Saint-Germain provided further evidence that the 2024/25 campaign is Liverpool’s season; everything is coming up roses for new boss Slot as he threatens the best debut year ever produced by a Premier League manager.
Slot has added a sprinkle of his expertise to an already brilliant Liverpool squad to turn them into a relentless Manchester City-esque winning machine after Jurgen Klopp left his beloved club in a far better state than Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd.
The Dutchman has done very little wrong in his first year, but his biggest test at Liverpool could come in the summer as several huge decisions need to be made.
Alisson Becker proved he remains one of the world’s best goalkeepers in his record-breaking solo performance against PSG, but his latest masterclass will give Slot a major headache ahead of the summer as he’s among the five conundrums for the head coach.
**Alisson Becker or Giorgi Mamardashvili?**Federico Chiesa has been Liverpool’s only signing this season, but a ‘furious’ Mamardashvili will join Liverpool this summer after FSG reached a £25m agreement with Valencia last year.
While the Chiesa experiment has not worked as intended, his cut-price fee made the injury-prone winger a risk worth taking and there was also a lot of sense in the Mamardashvili deal.
One of the standout performers at Euro 2024, Mamardashvili has been mooted as a future world-class goalkeeper, and Liverpool secured their chosen long-term replacement for 32-year-old Alisson for a reasonable fee.
Liverpool’s initial intention was for Mamardashvili to replace Alisson as their No.1 next season, but the Brazilian has already put exit-bound Caoimhin Kelleher in his box and his superb form should set up an uneasy fight to be Slot’s first choice next season.
READ: Alisson genius sees Liverpool beat first Proper Team this season in PSG smash and grab
**Who will replace Trent Alexander-Arnold?**Slot has done an admirable job during his press duties to swat away the constant noise surrounding the futures of Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Still, this topic remains at the forefront of Liverpool’s season as three of the world’s most valuable footballers with expiring contracts near the end of their deals.
Naturally, there has been widespread scaremongering throughout this season with a final answer on their deals yet to be revealed, but the consensus from reliable journalists is that Salah and Van Dijk will stay, while Alexander-Arnold is likely to join Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold is not without his critics, with his shaky defensive work still under scrutiny, but there’s no debating that he’s a remarkable talent who offers so much to Liverpool in attacking areas.
Fellow academy product Conor Bradley appears primed to take his place, but Alexander-Arnold’s boots will be difficult to fill and Slot may decide to look further afield to at least take some of the burden away from the inexperienced 21-year-old Northern Irishman.
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**Who will replace Andy Robertson?**Alexander-Arnold and Robertson were Liverpool stalwarts for most of Klopp’s tenure, but their time at Anfield is coming to an end for differing reasons.
While Alexander-Arnold appears set to become a Galactico, Robertson is at risk of being replaced by a shinier upgrade as he’s looked past it at times this season.
As mentioned, Slot has improved most of Liverpool’s squad, but Robertson is one of the only exceptions as the hard yards he ran for Klopp appear to have caught up with the 30-year-old.
Kostas Tsimikas is a fine backup, but Liverpool will look elsewhere for Robertson’s replacement and Slot has reportedly already made his choice between two Premier League standouts.
**Sign a backup for Ryan Gravenberch or not?**Liverpool did not need to be busy during last summer’s window as Slot inherited a ready-made squad, but a new defensive midfielder was required, with Wataru Endo a short-term fix and not a suitable long-term replacement for club legend Fabinho.
After Liverpool’s widely reported swoop for Martin Zubimendi fell apart, Slot looked internally for a solution. Eyebrows were raised as he turned to Gravenberch following his sub-par debut season at Anfield.
Typically a No.8, Gravenberch was moved deeper in one of Slot’s masterstrokes as the Netherlands international has been transformed into a Rolls-Royce holding player who makes Liverpool tick.
From major flop to huge bargain, Gravenberch has certainly been like a new signing for the Reds and his ability to remain fit has been another boost.
Gravenberch is among the ten most overworked players in the Premier League this season and Liverpool would have been up sh*t creek if he broke down. His startling improvement means Arsenal-bound Zubimendi is no longer required, but Slot could still be tempted to pursue quality cover to reduce the impact of an injury for the sensation included in our team of the season.
Which underperforming forwards to sell?As superb as Gravenberch, Van Dijk and Alisson have been for Liverpool this season, they pale in comparison to Salah, who has achieved a remarkable new high in a Ballon d’Or-worthy campaign.
This time last year, a large portion of Liverpool fans would surely have accepted Salah leaving on a free transfer, but his stunning form means his potential exit is inconceivable while he has plenty more to give at this level.
Liverpool’s other attackers have not come close to replicating Salah’s immense standards this season and Slot has even become ‘frustrated’ with two of his forwards.
Darwin Nunez is ‘very upset’ after missing out on an exit in January, while Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota are also linked with transfers as Slot looks to put his stamp on Liverpool’s stacked attack.