The Liverpool ECHO's Reds correspondent Paul Gorst answers some of the burning questions from supporters
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Liverpool's Dutch coach Arne Slot (R) greets Liverpool's French defender #05 Ibrahima Konate following the victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League, round of 16 second leg football match between Liverpool and Galatasaray at Anfield in Liverpool, north-west England on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Questions remain over the Liverpool futures of title-winning head coach Arne Slot and centre-back star Ibrahima Konate (left)(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
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Liverpool's hopes of silverware are over after they knocked out of the Champions League by holders Paris Saint-Germain.
But there is still much to play for in what has been a difficult and disappointing season for the outgoing Premier League champions.
Starting with Sunday's historic first-ever Merseyside derby against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool have six games to secure their place in next season's Champions League.
But even if they achieve what is the club's minimum objective, questions still abound, and Paul Gorst, the ECHO's Liverpool FC correspondent, attempts to answer some here...
Q) Arne Slot speaks like a manager who will still be here come the summer. What do you think? Harry Jones
A) What I think will happen and what I believe should happen aren't necessarily the same thing. However, if Arne Slot secures Champions League football then I suspect owners Fenway Sports Group will be minded to give the head coach the third and final season of his current contract to put right what has clearly gone wrong this season.
Is his first season the exception to the rule? Or are this year's meandering performances a truer reflection of where Liverpool are under their current boss?
The truth is Liverpool spent around six months sourcing Slot as Jurgen Klopp's successor in 2024. With a Premier League title already won under the Dutchman, I believe FSG will be keen for him to prove he was the right man after all. But there can be no denying the goodwill is evaporating on the terraces.
Q) Is Ibrahima Konate close to a new contract? James LFC95
A) The most recent update we had on this from Arne Slot, two months ago, was that the club remained in talks with Konate's representatives and it is currently viewed as more likely that he stays on than leaves as a free agent.
Liverpool left it until April of last season to confirm Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were staying so there is precedent for this sort of impasse to drag on this long before finding a resolution that suits.
Konate, despite an indifferent season, will no doubt have suitors at the table and he is technically able to speak to clubs outside of England about a pre-contract agreement. But it is viewed presently as more realistic that he will still be a Liverpool player for next season.
Konate is still on the same terms he signed five years ago when he was a relative unknown, signed from RB Leipzig. Now he is a Premier League winner, Champions League finalist (2022) and someone who has captained France and may start at the World Cup. The centre-back's status has changed but the bottom line hasn't.
On the other side, Liverpool are careful not to overburden a wage bill already at breaking point. This is perhaps where the sticking point lies after around 18 months of talks.
Q) If (Hugo) Ekitike is out as longer as what's been reported, do Liverpool need another striker in the summer? Jay
A) Liverpool need at least one more forward option regardless of the timescale of Ekitike's injury. With Mohamed Salah leaving and Federico Chiesa as another potential departure, the forward department clearly needs some renovation.
Liverpool's broad plan for next season is to get Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz on the pitch with Ekitike as often as possible but that now looks like it won't be one that comes into action for some time.
So Liverpool need more firepower, it's as simple as that. Rio Ngumoha has come on leaps and bounds and that progress is expected to continue but Cody Gakpo has endured a poor season.
So weighing it all up, Liverpool surely have to be thinking about adding one or two up top. A wide forward who can play central if needed is a must.
Q) With the departures of Trent (Alexander-Arnold), (Jarell) Quansah, (Harvey) Elliott, (Mohamed) Salah and (Andy) Robertson, and the possible transfer of (Curtis) Jones, are Liverpool losing their identity? So few Scousers and British players in the team… Antoine
A) I don't necessarily think Liverpool's identity is being lost because of the nationality of their players but any successful Reds squad has always had at least one Scotland international in it, for example. And now Robertson is on the move alongside Mohamed Salah, the dressing room is about to lose two of its most experienced and influential characters.
I've heard the names of James Milner and Jordan Henderson referenced a lot lately and those sorts of personalities just aren't as readily available now in the Liverpool squad. That is a real concern.
This is a group of players who have shown they can play some nice, neat stuff at times and they are fabulously gifted footballers when the mood strikes. But with Robertson and Salah set to leave, do they have enough characters in there that aren't afraid to get their hands dirty?
The sort of players who will scratch and claw and fight. I think that is where Liverpool might be losing its identity. They need real leaders this summer but we know the club prefers to target younger players with high ceilings.
Q) Is (Arne) Slot a bad tactician or has this Liverpool team just failed to gel quickly enough throughout the season? Should not finishing in the Champions League spots be a sackable offense? Kwatako Order
A) I think Liverpool, with hindsight, had a summer that involved too much upheaval in the squad. So many players left who would have played prominent roles this season but it's tough to get away from the fact that £320m of a £440m spending spree was on just three players in Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike and they have played so little together and now likely won't for quite some time given the injury to the latter just as the former comes back after four months out.
However, questions also remain about Slot and his side's inability to resolve the problems that have frequently plagued them. It's too slow, it's too ponderous and it's a tactical framework that sees Liverpool fail to create huge opportunities game after game. Too many late goals conceded has also been a major problem, which maybe stems from the squad's conditioning.
Slot bemoaned the side failing to make the most of their xG after the PSG game in midweek but attempts to pull the wool over fans' eyes won't really work. It's been a tough watch in an attacking sense all season. That has to fall on the coach, regardless of personnel available.