Liverpool looks set to stick with Arne Slot heading into the summer and beyond, with the Dutchman needing to focus on three areas to ensure his side gets back on track
04:00, 15 May 2026
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during a Champions League press conference.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot during a Champions League press conference.(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arne Slot was asked directly whether he believes he will be Liverpool head coach next season. It isn't entirely up to him, he explained, but that is the expectation.
Planning for the summer has already begun, and while qualification for the Champions League is not yet 100 per cent sealed, it shouldn't be too far away — even if that is as much down to those around Liverpool not being at a particularly high level than the Reds being anything near their ceiling.
A slow start to next season could really increase the pressure on Liverpool and Slot, but equally, oversee a strong beginning to the new campaign — after a good summer in the transfer market — and things can change quickly.
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Replacing Mohamed Salah
Upgrading on this season's version of Mohamed Salah will not necessarily be that difficult. Getting someone as good as the Egyptian in the campaign before, though, will be almost impossible.
Liverpool will need to add at least one new winger to its roster this summer, adding goals, creativity and speed. Bradley Barcola (PSG) and Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig) have both been mentioned as possible targets this week.
The importance of replacing Salah directly is one thing. In addition to that, though, Liverpool will also see much more from Florian Wirtz with better quality around the German.
Alexander Isak, meanwhile, a cliche though it might be, will be like a new signing if he can reach full match sharpness and stay fit throughout the summer and beyond.
Wirtz and Isak, as well as the now-sidelined Hugo Ekitike, were a big part of the post-Salah plan. Just because Liverpool is yet to see that come to fruition doesn't mean that it never will.
Mohamed Salah (left) and Alexander Isak (right) of Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah (left) and Alexander Isak (right) of Liverpool.(Image: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Adding quality depth
On paper, Liverpool doesn't lack that much in terms of depth. Dig slightly deeper, however, and that picture quickly changes. Federico Chiesa, for example, is an option in little more than name.
What would it take for Slot to throw the Italian in from the start? Chiesa has started just three Premier League or Champions League games since he arrived from Juventus — two of which were dead rubbers.
Wataru Endo fits into the same category — a squad option, but not one who is trusted enough to throw in regularly — while others like Jeremie Frimpong can be back-up on the wing and at full-back, but they can't play two roles at the same time.
With Jeremy Jacquet signed and Ibrahima Konate suggesting he will sign a new contract, defensively, Liverpool looks fairly well set (albeit Alisson Becker might be another big loss should he depart).
An extra body in midfield would be useful, though, and signing two quality attackers — not least with Ekitike out for the long haul — would make a transformative impact. Three or four high-quality additions has to be the aim.
Arne Slot shakes hands with Rio Ngumoha after making a substitution.
Arne Slot shakes hands with Rio Ngumoha after making a substitution.(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Increasing fitness levels
Slot spent most of his first season at Liverpool explaining why "control" was so important. This season, for a variety of reasons, that has been lost — and it needs to be regained.
Alexis Mac Allister, in particular, has looked a long way off his usual energy levels, while he and Ryan Gravenberch have been too easy to play through to put it mildly.
That is not just an issue with those in the center of the team, however: defending starts from the front. Across the board, the players need to be much more physical.
"The first challenge is to be fitter and more ready to play every three days next season," Slot said on Thursday. "We've had more than a few times a good spell after 70 or 80 minutes, but that goes hand in hand with dropped points in late phases of the game."
Being able to run faster and more intensely across the team will plug plenty of gaps, but that needs to be sustained across the course of full matches and throughout the whole campaign.
That is where pre-season, which was so disrupted a year ago, will be vital — and also links back to there being sufficient squad depth.
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There are plenty who need convincing again that Slot is not the right man for the job at Liverpool, but there have been mitigations for the things that have gone wrong this term — now, it will be up to the Dutchman to prove he can put them right.