Incoming Liverpool boss Arne Slot set for critical transfer decisions as five stars return

Arne Slot may yet be officially announced as Jurgen Klopp’s successor, but that hasn’t stopped the Dutchman from studying the inventory list that will greet his arrival at Anfield later this summer.

The 45-year-old is set to be named as Liverpool’s new head coach later this month after Anfield officials agreed a compensation package in the region of £9m with his current employer Feyernood, who he led to the Eredivisie title last season ahead of both Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

And after Feyenoord’s 5-0 win over PEC Zwolle on Sunday afternoon, Slot admitted that he had watched the first part of Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as goals from Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott sealed a memorable win in Klopp’s penultimate Anfield fixture.

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In keeping with the theme of recent weeks since he emerged as the favorite to succeed Klopp, Slot continued to play with an open hand in his post-match press conference over the weekend and joked that he would need to watch more than Liverpool’s recent game against Spurs if he was to be appointed as the Reds’ new boss.

In addition to the tapes of an illustrious nine-year era at Anfield though, Slot will also be made to review some of this season’s English Football League encounters as the likes of Tyler Morton, Fabio Carvalho and Luke Chambers have continued to earn their stripes in the professional game with productive loan spells away from Merseyside.

Elsewhere, Owen Beck and Sepp van den Berg also enjoyed impressive temporary moves away from Anfield in the 2023/24 season and will, like all of their peers, be evaluated by Slot in the early weeks of pre-season.

Herethe ECHO takes a look at what the future could hold for the aforementioned Liverpool loanees.

Tyler Morton

Last September, 21-year-old Tyler Morton sealed a second successive loan move to the Championship, this time with promotion-chasing Hull City after spending the previous campaign at Blackburn Rovers.

In total, Morton made 41 appearances across all competitions as he underlined his talent and remarkable durability by featuring in a range of midfield roles as the Tigers missed out on a place in the play-offs on the final day of the season.

After the conclusion of his loan deal at MKM Stadium, Morton will return to Anfield for the start of the 2024/25 season where he is set to be included in the Red’s pre-season tour of America and afforded the opportunity to showcase his talents to Slot.

However, given how Morton has impressed in the Championship in recent seasons and most recently at Hull City where he and his family built up a strong rapport with the club’s supporters, it would be no surprise to see the Tigers launch an audacious move to bring the 21-year-old back to the MKM Stadium if his playing time is not guaranteed at Anfield next season.

Morton, though, has made no secret of his desire to forge a long and successful career at Anfield like his hero Steven Gerrard and, at this moment, will have his eyes set on impressing Slot in pre-season with a well-rounded skill- set that has earned him recognition for both club and country this season.

Fabio Carvalho

The 2023/24 season will prompt mixed emotions from Fabio Carvalho when he reviews his campaign in the coming weeks and months.

After a disappointing debut season at Anfield, Carvalho made the courageous decision to sign for RB Leipzig last July. However, his time in Germany was brought to a premature end in January after just 158 ​​minutes of Bundesliga action, only to join Morton at Hull City before the end of the mid-season window.

During his time in North Yorkshire, the 21-year-old made quite the impression as he scored nine goals in 20 appearances for the Tigers and reminded Liverpool exactly why they made such an aggressive push to land his signature from Fulham 18 months earlier.

Like Morton, Carvalho will return to Anfield after his loan spell at Hull City finished over the weekend, with his aim solely on forcing his way into Slot’s plans next season.

“It’ll be a fresh start for me, and for the likes of Tyler (Morton) as well. We’ve just got to take the chances that come. Really grasp it and take it with both hands,” Carvalho told the ECHO last week. “Tyler and I have spoken (about the summer). Especially after the news came out about Jurgen. We just spoke about what could potentially change at the club.

“Ultimately, it’s a fresh start for both of us. We’ll just go back there with nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Carvalho could benefit from a slight tweak of tactics under Slot, who, at times at Feyernood, has operated with a more natural attacking midfielder at the tip of his midfield in a 4-3-3 system. While under Klopp, Carvalho’s opportunities had mainly come in an unfamiliar role on the left side of attack or in a more restricted midfield role.

Sepp van den Berg

One thing that is for sure is that when Slot does arrive, he will be made to feel at home right away given how many compatriots he will have at Anfield.

As well as club captain Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, Liverpool’s Dutch contingent will be bolstered this summer as Sepp Van den Berg returns from his loan spell at Bundesliga outfit Mainz 05.

The versatile defender has only made four first-team appearances for the Reds since signing from PEC Zwolle in 2019 but has spent the last three-and-a-half seasons impressing while on loan at the likes of Preston North End, Schalke 04 and more recently Mainz.

Discussing his future earlier this year, Van den Berg admitted that his sights remain primarily on establishing a career in England or Germany and, at the moment, he has little desire to return to Holland.

However, Van den Berg’s chances of superseding either Ibrahima Konate or Jarell Quansah as Van Dijk’s right-hand man next season look rather slim despite a strong campaign in Germany. And that is before Liverpool potentially add another centre-back to their ranks this summer.

It means that despite the Dutch revolution that is taking place at Anfield, Van den Berg will have to buy his time before he can count himself in.

Nat Phillips

One can only expect that this is the summer Liverpool finally pay homage to Nat Phillips and cut their losses on the defender.

The 27-year-old has spent most of his Anfield career plying his trade in leagues here, there and everywhere apart from, of course, his stellar contribution in the 2020/21 season as he and Rhys Williams formed an unlikely partnership to help the Reds combat an unprecedented injury crisis and finish third in the Premier League.

But after spending the last two campaigns turning out for Liverpool’s under-21s in the Premier League 2 before joining Celtic and later Cardiff City, Phillips must surely now call quits on his Reds career if he holds any hopes of ever establishing himself as a first- choice defender playing week in, week out at a decent level.

After an underwhelming reunion with Brendan Rodgers at Celtic earlier this season, Phillips has enjoyed something of a revival with Cardiff City in the Championship and started 17 of 18 league games since moving to South Wales in January.

Speaking on his future last month, Phillips admitted that he would be open to returning to Cardiff City next season amid a summer of change at Anfield as Slot prepares to replace Klopp.

“There’s a lot of change going on at Liverpool so there’s a lot up in the air there. They’ve got a lot to sort out themselves,” said the defender. “I’d certainly consider (a return to Cardiff). I’ve enjoyed my time here, I’ve enjoyed playing regularly. I want to continue playing regular football and enjoying my football.

“Any time you move clubs, a lot is up in the air. I’ve done it a few times with loans, so I would say I’m more accustomed to it than some people are. I know how to do it. I know Cardiff now and I’ve done that.”

Luke Chambers

After a strong half-season at League One Wigan Athletic, left-back Luke Chambers could be ready to take his place at Anfield over the summer.

The 19-year-old England youth international was handed his professional Liverpool debut in the League Cup victory over Leicester City last September and as well as catching the eye of Klopp, can name Pep Lijnders as one of his biggest allies as Anfield.

And as Kostas Tsimikas has fallen down the defensive pecking order in recent months as a result of Joe Gomez’s faultless showings in the absence of first-choice Andy Robertson, there could be an opening for Chambers to impress Slot and be kept at Anfield next season, and even more so if Tsimikas decides to kick-start his career after four years of playing the role of deputy.