Arne Slot has been told in no uncertain terms by two pundits that Liverpool’s weakest link and position needs upgrading as urgently as possible after the player suffered a hugely difficult afternoon in the defeat at Chelsea – and with the Reds already well down the line to signing a replacement.
It was very much a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s parade’ for Liverpool as the newly-crowned Premier League champions suffered a humbling 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge. With Slot opting for a much-changed side and with several players granted rare starts, the Reds manager probably learned as much about his side in defeat as he has done all season in their march to their record-equalling 20th English league crown.
One of those handed a rare start was Kostas Tsimikas – often the deputy for Andy Robertson – though the Greece international suffered a very difficult afternoon as Enzo Maresca’s side were able to exploit his weaknesses and carve out a win that could prove hugely important for their own Champions League qualification hopes.
And after the game, two pundits both went in hard on Tsimikas and reckon he could be in the final knockings of his Anfield spell.
“The door looks open for Trent [Alexander-Arnold] to depart, but that’s less of a problem with (Conor) Bradley coming through,” Johnson told Premier League Productions when asked about Liverpool’s pending problems at full-back.
“Even today, he [Bradley] came on, looked sharp, and he was a threat – he almost created two chances in the first few minutes of coming on. So he could be a massive player for Liverpool.
“Today, though, I thought Tsimikas really struggled – it wasn’t his best game. There were a lot of Liverpool players who were under par by their standards, but I definitely think they need to sort out the left-back side.”
Johnson continued: “You always have to stay in front of the game. They are champions and the best team in the league, but you can’t dwell on that.
“They need to get some players in to improve them next season because you can’t rest on your laurels.”
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Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen agrees with Johnson’s assessment and has actually gone one step further by actually naming the player he sees as the best replacement for him at left-back.
“Left-back, I think Liverpool are going to invest,” he said. “(Milos) Kerkez, everyone is talking about from Bournemouth. That’s £50-60m they are going to invest.
“If Darwin Nunez or [Diogo] Jota leaves, you could argue they’ll get an attacker to replace them and you’ll have to spend decent money there. But that’s only two positions, and then you just need cover.”
Slot also agrees that Liverpool need new signings this summer if they are to defend their Premier League title crown.
Speaking after the loss at The Bridge, Slot told Sky Sports: “It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil [van Dijk] and Mo [Salah] and for large parts of the season, I don’t think everyone expected that.
“For us to keep them is a big thing. I’ve said already that I am happy with the squad we have.
“We will see what the summer brings but sometimes it can be good to bring fresh energy.
“It has already been a good summer and we won the league. Only if we see someone on the market who can improve us.”
As regular readers of TEAMtalk will know, we told you ahead of everyone else how the Reds were in the market for Kerkez, with our transfer insider Fraser Fletcher first revealing that interest as far back as September.
Now, according to Fletcher, there is a growing confidence that the Hungarian will move to Anfield and despite late competition from Manchester City. His signing is expected to cost in the region of £45m, though it could also be incentivised with further bonuses heading Bournemouth’s way depending on his success at Anfield.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler believes his former club should break with tradition and sign an experienced 18-cap England frontman to lead their attack next season, having explained why Slot will have to reluctantly walk away from a deal for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
Elsewhere, Liverpool have named their price to allow Caoimhin Kelleher to leave Anfield this summer, with his suitors Newcastle, Bournemouth, Leeds and Chelsea all learning his likely next destination.
Slot has also given the green light for Liverpool to reward one of their lowest-earning first-team stars with a new mega-money deal after convincing the Reds boss he is worth keeping around.
And finally, Real Madrid have reportedly sent a message to Dean Huijsen as Liverpool grow in confidence of signing him, while the Bournemouth defender has broken his silence over his future.
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