Arne Slot could be denied chance to work with six Liverpool players

Liverpool boss Arne Slot could be denied the opportunity to work with six Reds players if they secure transfers away from Anfield before pre-season training gets underway. The Dutchman began his career in the Liverpool dugout on Saturday after agreeing to succeed Jurgen Klopp.

Slot has swapped Feyenoord for Liverpool after Klopp ended his association with the Reds following the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign.

And he will be desperate to make his mark in English football after his predecessor won the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Slot will need to craft the squad he desires at Anfield if he is to emulate Klopp over the coming years. But some players may follow their former boss through the exit before they even lay eyes on their new manager.

Defender Sepp van den Berg could be the first to leave after telling De Telegraaf at the end of his loan spell with Mainz: “[Liverpool] didn’t exude confidence in me all this time, but you do want to hinder my future.

“I want to keep playing every week and develop myself further. In Germany, I enjoy [Borussia] Dortmund away with 70,000 people, Bayern Munich away against Harry Kane, Stuttgart, [RB] Leipzig, [Bayer] Leverkusen. Against clubs like that I am challenged every week.”

He could be joined on the list of departures by back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who is looking to establish himself as a No 1 elsewhere, as well as left-back Kostas Tsimikas, who has been kept out of the team by Joe Gomez at times when Andy Robertson has been unavailable.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old ace Rhys Williams doesn’t look like he’ll get anywhere near the Liverpool first-team after being shipped out on loan to Port Vale during the most recent season and may decide to cut his losses as soon as possible.

Fellow centre-back Nat Phillips won’t be confident of getting gametime under Slot either following temporary spells with Celtic and Cardiff.

And 21-year-old attacker Fabio Carvalho could decide to put his Liverpool misery behind him after failing to nail down a regular starting place following his move from Fulham two years ago.

The six players could demand their agents work quickly to prevent their return to Anfield. And that would allow Slot to commit his time to dealing with the potential transfers of stars such as Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.

The talented trio have been linked with moves away from Liverpool this summer. But with the players all classed as high-profile assets and currently on international duty, they are likely to at least put their views across during pre-season before the futures are cleared up once and for all.