Liverpool offloaded a number of senior and youth gamers over the summer time and added only one new participant to the dressing room, so how does Arne Slot‘s squad depth evaluate?
The Reds bid farewell to Joel Matip, Thiago and Bobby Clark from final season’s squad, whereas the likes of Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak have been despatched out on mortgage.
Federico Chiesa, in the meantime, represented the only real signing below the membership’s new sporting director Richard Hughes after Martin Zubimendi turned his again on a swap to Anfield.
As ever, there was loads of scrutiny over how Liverpool failed to deal with their evident wants all of the whereas including the posh of a sixth ahead and future-proofing the goalkeeping division.
With 4 competitions on the agenda, together with a Champions League marketing campaign with extra video games than ever, can Liverpool’s squad stand as much as the calls for for the following eight months?
Right here, we are able to visualise Liverpool’s squad depth:
Goalkeepers: 3
Defenders: 8
Midfielders: 6
Forwards: 6
As you’ll be able to see, Slot may identify two robust XIs with the gamers he has at his disposal, and it should even be famous that there’s extra versatility throughout the squad than what the graphic exhibits.
However within the pursuit of maintaining it easy, we wish to spotlight who’s presently thought-about first-choice and who’s ready on the wings for rotation and when accidents strike (we’re hoping they don’t).
Seeing as if it was the main focus of the summer time, your eye is straight away drawn to defensive midfield, the place Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo sit – not fairly the depth we had hoped for.
And we can’t be stunned if we see Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones turned to by Slot at No. 6, his flexibility with the Argentine at Outdated Trafford confirmed it is not going to be inflexible all season lengthy.
Additional up the pitch, the addition of Chiesa provides Liverpool six choices – what a luxurious! – and there’s loads of flexibility there with each participant able to at the least two attacking roles.
With accidents having been at a minimal to begin the season, we are able to have a look at Liverpool’s depth with a stage of positivity, however we all know how rapidly that may change because the season ramps up.
Slot introduced bodily efficiency coach Ruben Peeters with him from Feyenoord, the place participant availability ranges have been above 90 p.c – a determine we are able to solely hope to get near in 2024/25!
How do the Reds’ rivals evaluate?
Liverpool have 23 first-team gamers named of their squad, which sits completely between Man Metropolis and Arsenal:
Man Metropolis
Gamers in first workforce squad: 24
Goalkeepers: 3
Defenders: 6
Midfielders: 7
Forwards: 6
Though Metropolis’s membership web site would lead you to consider they’ve 12 midfielders and just one ahead they, the truth is, have seven and 6 respectively – on par with Liverpool.
They’re stocked in defence with a number of choices throughout the backline, however you’ll be able to see what they have been making an attempt to get at, as Erling Haaland is their solely recognised centre-forward.
Arsenal
Gamers in first workforce squad: 22
Goalkeepers: 2
Defenders: 9
Midfielders: 5
Forwards: 6
The Gunners usually are not brief on defenders, that’s for certain. Nevertheless, Bukayo Saka is their solely actual possibility on the proper wing – it was comparable for the Reds earlier than Chiesa’s arrival.
Mikel Arteta was fortunate with accidents final season, however with solely 5 midfielders, any points may spell actual hassle for them.
As for the squad sizes of others, Chelsea, unsurprisingly, presently have 30, Tottenham 26 and Man United 27, Aston Villa have 25 and Newcastle have 31.
Lastly, as per Transfermarkt, the Reds have the joint-second smallest squad within the Premier League and have a mean age of 25.9 years, which is the ninth-oldest throughout the division.
It is going to be intriguing to see how Liverpool’s squad fare and evaluate throughout the total season!
