6 months ago
36 Former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel has identified the three Dutch players in this Reds squad as being particularly important for new manager Arne Slot as he takes over from Jurgen Klopp this summer.
Slot has done hugely impressive work at current club Feyenoord, and Babel has discussed the squad he’ll be inheriting once he takes over at Anfield in the summer.
Babel believes it will be important for Slot to have Dutch players in his ranks as they’ll more easily understand what he wants straight away.
LFC have Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch on their books, so that could help Slot once he gets pre-season started with the Merseyside giants.
Van Dijk, Gakpo and Gravenberch are all important players for Liverpool as it is, but one imagines they’ll be even more crucial for the club as they get this new era underway next season.

“I think that with him being Dutch, naturally he’ll want a few people in his squad who speak the language. But also he’ll want people who already understand what he expects from his team, and his philosophy,” Babel exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone.
“Luckily, there are already three Dutch players at Liverpool in Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, who will understand what he wants immediately. That will be an advantage, absolutely.”
Slot can rely on Liverpool’s Dutch stars, but what about Darwin Nunez?
Babel also had some interesting thoughts on Darwin Nunez, who he rates highly, but who perhaps looks in need of some help up front.
“There are many ways you can approach Nunez’s situation; in one breath you might say OK, he’s had a lot of chances to prove himself, but at the same time, realistically, not all players are world class from a young age,” Babel added.
Darwin Nunez has had a mixed spell at Liverpool“If I remember right, was Didier Drogba not 26 when he signed for Chelsea? So, with that in mind, it’s worth remembering that some players just need a longer time before they eventually reach their prime, and maybe Nunez’s prime is at 27 or 28… whether he gets the time at Liverpool is another question. But I still believe that I’ve seen enough from him to know he has the power, he has the pace, he has the work ethic.
“He has all of the attributes you need to be a Liverpool striker. You cannot be lazy; for example, when Liverpool signed Mario Balotelli, I immediately knew that wasn’t going to work, because Balotelli is not a worker. He has quality, yes, but he’s just not a Liverpool player.
“I’d like an established striker to come in and take some of that pressure off Darwin Nunez; someone who already understands what it means to play for a top team like Liverpool.”
