Didn’t Thiago replace Keita and then we replaced both with players who can play more than 10 games in a row?
You could also say Konate was Matip’s replacement.
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That’s a bit negative @GermanRed given nothing finalised yet in terms of player movement. In fact there is no reason we cannot be better by moving on a couple of players.
One of the lengthy periods of negativity on TAN was the midfield situation a couple of years ago. Solved quickly probably better than we all thought.
Everyone is replaceable although I will be pissed if Virg goes.
Fair to say Trent is likely gone along with Kelleher, one of the left backs and at least one of the forwards (insert any name bar Gakkers).
I’m not fussed if Mo goes for all his legendary status. One of the greatest ever signings but his legs will go and the wage demand sounds heavy.
Clearly more action than last summer but I have high hopes from the scouts and Slot to challenge again.
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Speaking to reporters, the Dutchman said: "I have no idea. I still have no idea at the moment. Genuinely. I have no idea at the moment. It is not on hold. Nothing on hold. There’s just… I keep saying the same thing. Listen, there are ten games to go, and that is my full focus. If there is news, you guys will know it.
“I don’t even know myself. Everyone knows there are some conversations behind the scenes, but that is about it. At the moment, I don’t even know what will happen next year. If anyone says they do know, they are lying to your face.”
This is from yesterday.
I know Kimmich for example extended his contract today but it’s very unusual for important senior players not having signed at this stage.
More than the last two summers combined.
Under Klopp we had up to 8 midfielders for the three positions. Some of them injury prone (Lallana, Ox, Keita, Thiago) but he trusted them to start when available.
We have 6 midfielders at the moment and Slot doesn’t trust Elliott and Endo to start matches in PL and CL.
Matip slightly better than Ibou but I admit thats personal preference.
But also - last season we had 4 senior CBs + Quansah. This season we have 3 senior CBs + Quansah who regressed as a CB and now being used at RB.
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We may have had 8 but we had about 4-5 who played 90% of the minutes which is probably about the same now.
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Matip played about 10 games last season hence the reason we saw so much of Quansah and he had the chance to prove he was capable of being a senior option.
The only reason he’s doing occasional bits at right back is because of injuries. I suppose we should add a third right back to the summer shopping list just in case Bradley, Gomez and whoever is replacing Trent next year all get injured. Maybe a fourth so we’ve also got a backup option just in case.
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I’m chilled because I know we will be fine. Whether it is this summer or not too much farther down the line because of age, we will wave goodbye to Mo and Virg. Trent is different as he is prime age, but if he wants to leave, so be it. We will be fine.
Slot will want to shape it according to his requirement. Hughes will want to show what he can do too. They’ve had plenty of time to assess everything, and prepare for what I expect will be a big window.
I had started to think that we will keep Virg and Mo, and Trent would be off. That was the calculus I had in mind. Now I’m not so sure, after listening to Virg.
If all three go it will be a big loss of leadership, so ideally one or two sign an extension. But whatever happens I trust we will recruit well and compete at the sharp end next season.
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I’d have probably bought that lad Kvaratskhelia.
“Muhhhh, he never plays from the right!!!”.
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I disagree with this. Our squad would be mediocre without the trio, especially Mo. Without him in the current squad, we would have zero attacking threat. There is no other attacker/player in the squad with his level of goals, assists, fitness etc. To replace all three in one Summer is like resetting the squad.
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Yes, and Virgil’s calm leadership gives us a security at the back that will be hard to replicate.
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Losing three world-class players can be a significant weakness for any team. However, to be honest, I’m expecting Salah to drop massively next year, even if he stays. Trent is up and down. Virgil will be the biggest loss.
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I just listened to Slot’s press conference and he says that he hopes that Virg will be here next year, but he wouldn’t be drawn on any details.
I remember a while ago that one of the backroom people was interviewed and he mentioned that players are capable of playing well into their 30s but that their number of minutes need to be managed. I wonder if that could be an issue?
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Yes, he’s really the one we can’t afford to lose. And he has probably still years of top-level football in himself.
But losing Trent would be a right kick in the teeth too. Our only fully-fledged English international, and a lad coming from Liverpool, home-grown and all that… 
Oh, and with Salah going, we lose thirty goals per season, and I can’t see any other player in our team taking up the mantle. Only his incredible consistency on penalty kicks is worth gold. Maybe his goals will be distributed around our other attacking players though, but I can’t really see it. Jota is injured too much throughout any given season, Nunez is more often miss than hit, and Diaz is no genuine goal-scorer.
All three are also a full part of the spine Klopp built up, and their winning mentality is top notch, especially Salah’s and VVD’s.
Overall, it’s hard not to see our consistency in results falling off from a cliff next season if all thre players depart…
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If Mo leaves we will not find another single player to replace his numbers, especially from the wing. They will have to be spread around. A more productive striker than Nunez, and a likely less productive winger than Mo will hopefully see the aggregate about the same. Only the new winger will hopefully have the pace and power that is diminishing in Mo as he ages. Not a criticism at all, as Mo is obviously a fantastic player.
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And if anything, less dependence on one big goal scorer is less risky.
Our two main central strikers have 10 league goals between them this season. That’s pretty shocking when you think about it. For context they’re being outscored by both Beto and Ndiaye at Everton.
You swap Nunez for a guy who gets you 15 from open play instead of 5. A winger to replace Mo who gets you 10 like Gakpo and Diaz have. Someone picks up the 10 or so Mo gets from penalties too.
Without anything dramatic you’ve replaced the 35 league goals from two players but they’re just more spread out. And that’s with Jota still only getting 5 which you’d hope he’d improve on.
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We need to get Lukeba from leipzig very quick right back/wingback imo he is as talented as PSGs Dembele. Ages ago I wanted us to sign Dembele ahead of Mbappé as I believed he was better than him and he was cheaper at the time but we swerved that transfer and we thought we had dodged a bullet when he joined Barca and they got rid of him. It turned out that he was not handled properly as they preferred home grown alternative.
The other French player that could replace Salah would be Tcherki he is a rough diamond and Slot is well capable of turning him into a superstar but it seems we are dithering again as in January Lyon were ready to offload him for as little as £12M but now he seems to get his head straight his value has rocketed and his French detractors have started reluctantly to praise him and Laud him for his hard work.
No doubt that in last decades, we haven’t had much of a sample how do we fully go from a winning side to another. Of course, we’re on a good way to win the league with multiple new players compared to 19/20, but really how we’ll look like without any players from Klopp’s era and some of the very best in possibly one window.
But one thing is eternal in football, clubs move on and there will be new players. Even when it’s hard to imagine how a certain club will cope without a highly influential individual or a few of them, there are cases that solutions are found, they’re not always the most shiny ones from the start and the team finds a new balance.
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Two things seem to be happening regards AS playing the same small core of players, whether fatigued or not. Firstly, he has said many times, he believes players can get physically stronger the more they play. Secondly, if you are on the periphery, or a bit-part player just outside of this core selection, then it feels as though; without AS actually bringing them into his office to give them the bad news; the writing is on the wall for them to move on… unless they fancy spending the tenure of AS as a makeweight.
Based upon the thoughts, new signings will be bought as an upgrade to these certain players, which means, they will never move upwards in the pecking order.
Lukeba is a centre back, not a right back. Not saying he’s not a good player if we’re shopping for a CB this summer but he’s not replacing Trent.
Cherki is an interesting one. Not sure he’s capable of replacing Salah but he’s talented and can play a number of roles. Certainly if we cut our losses on Chiesa or Elliot pushed for a move away he’s the kind of flexible attacking mid/forward type we could replace him with.
He’s only got a year left on his contract I believe and I know Lyon were having some serious financial issues, hence the price touted in January. Not sure it’d be that much higher now but there is a question as to why no one else made a move last window when it looked like he was available.
Malick Fofana is another very promising young winger they have. A left-sided right footer so not a big need for us and probably too expensive for the limited sample size but if they were forced into a fire sale this summer he’ll have plenty of suitors.
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