Arne Slot admits he would have preferred Trent Alexander-Arnold to sign a new deal at Liverpool but said the task of finding a solution gives him “new energy.”
Alexander-Arnold’s announcement that he will leave Liverpool on the expiry of his contract has prompted an immediate shift in Slot’s plans.
With the news now public, the head coach has confirmed he will start Conor Bradley in the remaining games of the season as he plans for the future of his right-back position.
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That could still turn Liverpool to the transfer market, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong of interest, but the expectation is that Bradley will become first choice and any new arrival will supplement the right-hand side.
Either way, the matter of problem-solving is one Slot relishes, telling the Liverpool Echo that it is “new energy” for him.
“I’m not going to change everything, but it’s different – Trent playing than Conor playing, or Joe Gomez playing, or Curtis Jones playing,” he explained, naming three of his existing alternatives at right-back.
“So it does bring up the thing that I like about this job I’m doing, that finding answers for the qualities we have now in our team, because Conor brings in different qualities than Trent brings in.
“It is also for me, gives a bit of energy, it always gives you energy if new players come in as well, or if you just joined a new club, so last season all of them were new for me.
“It doesn’t always have to lead to something negative, let’s put it that way.”
That should be encouraging for supporters to hear, with there no outward concern from Slot that Alexander-Arnold’s departure will leave a hole in his setup.
On the contrary, there is a positivity around the situation – which perhaps marries with comments from Mohamed Salah suggesting the established order became “too much in our comfort zone” under Jurgen Klopp.
“Arne is very direct, he brought the competition back into play, whereas with Jurgen we were perhaps a little too much in our comfort zone towards the end,” the Egyptian told L’Equipe.
“Arne and his staff are more open to discussion, to the exchange of feelings, I think that was important in my performances. And, above all, it led us to success.”
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Slot has, however, stopped short of claiming the change was necessary, adding: “If I could make the choice, I would prefer Trent to stay.”
But it is clear that this will not be a problem for Liverpool’s head coach, who sees it as another welcome challenge.
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