Liverpool chiefs hand Arne Slot a three-player project as priority task for first season

Liverpool boss Arne Slot will reportedly be tasked with getting Darwin Nunez, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai firing again during his first campaign in the Anfield dugout. The Reds appointed the Dutchman as their new manager earlier this summer following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.

Slot will be hoping to get his Liverpool tenure off to a solid start next month as his side travel to Ipswich in their Premier League opener, before hosting Brentford a week later.

And he will need to find the magic formula to get his stars clicking if he is to topple Manchester City and Arsenal come the end of the campaign.

According to The Athletic, there is a strong belief at Anfield that there is a lot of untapped potential in the current Reds squad. And Slot is expected to unlock the talents of Nunez, Konate and Szoboszlai.

Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica two years ago and appears to have the physical attributes to excel in the Premier League.

But he has been erratic in front of goal and has been guilty of missing a hatful of chances in a Liverpool shirt, despite bagging 33 goals in 96 appearances for the club.

Konate, meanwhile, struggled to hold down a regular starting place under Klopp last season as he fell behind Jarell Quansah in the pecking order at centre-back towards the end of the campaign. But he is regarded as a huge talent and will be desperate to rediscover his best form.

And Szoboszlai went off the boil as the season progressed after making a sensational start to life in England following his move from RB Leipzig last summer.

Slot is said to be evaluating the merits of his current squad before deciding on how players fit into his plans for the new campaign and has pored over match footage and training videos.

And discussing the new season, the 45-year-old explained in his first interview since joining Liverpool: “I am wearing the new jersey and, of course, there is change but a lot of things are still the same as well.

“I think the players are still the same, which is probably the most important thing because, of course, we as managers sometimes tend to think that we have a lot of influence, which we can have. But in the end it comes down to the players.

“And I think the fans are still the same, so many things are still the same. Of course, I bring my own things to the table as well and I think that’s also what is expected of me.”