Theo Squires was in attendance at Arne Slot's press conference to preview Liverpool
Theo Squires was appointed Liverpool FC Writer for the Liverpool ECHO in 2021, after covering EURO 2020 at Wembley as England reached their first major men's final since 1966. A senior football journalist, Theo joined the ECHO's sports team from Bolton Wanderers in 2018, having previously spent four seasons in the former Premier League side's communications team where he ran the club's website and social media channels. A regular in the Anfield press box since joining the ECHO, since being promoted to Liverpool FC Writer, Theo has reported on Jurgen Klopp's side as they won the FA Cup and League Cup at Wembley, and competed in the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. A regular on the Blood Red podcast, Theo has also conducted a number of exclusive interviews during his time with the ECHO, speaking to the likes of Roger Hunt, Nicolas Anelka, and Alberto Aquilani.
Alexander Isak and Arne Slot
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak (left) and Liverpool boss Arne Slot
Arne Slot is nothing if not consistent. Once again, all the talk ahead of the Dutchman’s latest pre-match press conference was transfer-dominated as Liverpool’s record-breaking window continues.
Ahead of the Community Shield, Alexander Isak was inevitably the name on everyone’s lips as Slot was quizzed about the Reds’ interest in Newcastle United’s wantaway striker for the first time - a week after Liverpool had seen an £110m bid rejected by the Magpies. His response was inevitably obvious.
“As you know, from me and I think every manager works like this, you never talk about players that are not yours,” he said of the Swede. “I can talk about Hugo (Ekitike), who we have signed and done really well until now.”
Fast forward a week and it was a case of Deja vu at the AXA Training Centre - though this time the Reds’ recruitment at centre-back had overtaken Isak as the leading topic of choice.
Only a couple of hours before Slot sat down for his latest media briefing, it emerged that Giovanni Leoni was set to travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical after Liverpool had agreed an initial £26m deal with Parma for the Italian teenager on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, the Reds opened talks with Crystal Palace at the start of the week over a possible move for Eagles captain Marc Guehi.
As was the case with Isak, Slot had little to say when it came to the England international.
But with Leoni set to become Liverpool’s ninth signing of the summer, he was a little bit more forthcoming on the Italian as he confirmed a deal was agreed with Parma, before promising to be more loose-lipped once the deal is officially complete.
“(I can tell you) that the clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn’t signed for us yet,” he said of the Italian. “The moment when he signs for us, I can go into more detail.
“And the other one (Guehi) is of course the answer you always get from me. No, (I cannot go into more detail) because he is not our player and unfortunately he was the captain of the team where we lost against last Sunday.
“No, if you want to have any talks about him, you should go to Palace, to (Oliver) Glasner and ask him his opinion about him.”
Slot would later prove such a point when waxing lyrical about two of his summer signings.
Sky Germany were in attendance at the AXA to quiz the Dutchman on club-record signing Florian Wirtz, with the German - who registered an assist on his Liverpool debut at Wembley - set to make his maiden Premier League appearance against Bournemouth in Friday’s season opener.
Considering the Reds are already looking to break the club-record deal for Wirtz, if they make a renewed attempt to sign Isak, he has almost become an afterthought when it comes to reporting on Liverpool’s ongoing transfer business.
The Reds have unveiled a further five signings since announcing the playmaker on June 20, after all, with Leoni set to become the sixth.
But that was never going to be the case in his homeland, as demonstrated by Sky Germany’s presence in Kirkby. The darling of German football, Wirtz was recently crowned Germany's Footballer of the Year for 2025 and named on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or.
And while it might only be early days in his Liverpool career, he has already surprised his new head coach.
"He might be young but he already won a lot,” Slot said. “Factually, we can see him as a young player but in terms of his experience that he's already having, I don't see him as a young player.
"He won the league in Germany, won the cup, played for his country numerous times.
"And apart from that, his mentality is maybe his biggest strength – and that says a lot because if you see him play you're like, 'Are you serious?' because he's so creative.
"But how mentally strong he is, he doesn't get distracted at all by a transfer fee or anything else.
"I think good players always find a way to play well in good teams, and he is a good player and he plays in a good team.
“On the pitch and on the training ground and in videos, he needs help for him to understand the way we want to play – that's not 180 degrees different than Xabi Alonso.
"The system is different but we want to be intense, Xabi Alonso wanted to be intense. He liked to dominate possession, Xabi tried to bring him in positions we want to try to bring him in, so a lot of things are the same for him.
"But it's true he has to adjust to England, to the league, to the intensity and to his new teammates as well.
"But I think if you saw the games, his adjustment went quite well – better than even expected, and we already expected a lot."
Content Image
Content Image
Slot would also offer further insight on Jeremie Frimpong’s role at Liverpool, having seen the Dutchman score on his Reds debut against Crystal Palace last weekend.
“In my opinion, Jeremie and Conor Bradley are similar types, although Jeremie is maybe better in the one-v-ones than Conor is,” he said. “But I think Jeremie and Conor can both contribute to Mo (Salah)’s output because if you play against these two, you know you have to be aware of these two as well.
“So, it normally gives Mo even more space to get the one-v-ones. Because if we isolate Jeremie in a one-v-one it’s difficult for the other team and if we isolate Mo in a one-v-one it’s difficult for the other team as well.
“Where maybe last season they [the opposition] could give a little bit more help because Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was a little bit more behind the ball, which was also dangerous because when Mo brought it back, Trent could deliver one of his famous crosses.
“So, it’s different types but I think both types – and Trent proved it together with Mo, Trent brought the best out of Mo – we think, I think, the same thing is going to happen with Conor and Jeremie with Mo in that regard.”
Slot might not be willing to speak on the likes of Guehi and Isak, for now at least, but, as demonstrated by his assessments of Wirtz and Frimpong, that will not be the case for long if Liverpool are to be successful in their remaining transfer pursuits.
With Leoni set to take the Reds’ spending past £300m, it would be a surprise if the reigning Premier League champions were done there with a further two and a half weeks to go until the summer transfer window closes.