5 months ago
40 The Arne Slot era will soon begin in earnest at Liverpool Football Club, and the way in which he sets up his Reds team for the first Premier League game of the season, will set the tone for the 2024/25 campaign.
As of this moment one can only speculate on how things will turn out, though the Dutchman will surely be afforded a honeymoon period after Jurgen Klopp’s final day of the season speech to the Anfield faithful.
?? 'ARNE SLOT! LA LA, LA LA LA!' ?
It was Jurgen Klopp's moment. He used it to give Liverpool fans a new song for their incoming manager.
Moving scenes from Anfield ? https://t.co/fjhPjMksh5 pic.twitter.com/YYj020GFgx
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) May 20, 2024
It’s clear that Slot will want to take a good pre-season look at his squad before making any rash decisions, though there’s one player that former Reds striker, Stan Collymore, believes it would be right to sell this summer.
“I think Luis Diaz is obviously a talented player but Liverpool are not particularly short in attacking positions. If you look at Salah, Gakpo, Jota, Nunez and Diaz… they can afford to lose one, and if the choice was mine, it would be Cody Gakpo,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“There is the argument that he gives Liverpool flexibility and can play as a number nine, and there haven’t been lots of rumours about him going which would suggest that he’s staying put for a season or two.
Luis Diaz sale by Liverpool would make sense says Collymore
“Diaz is an odd one because of his injuries, the situation with his father’s kidnap which was obviously very traumatic during the season… at times he looks world class but at others he struggles to get a foothold in the game.
“It really does depend on whether Barcelona are prepared to pay £50m-£60m for him, in which case I’ll drive him to Barcelona. If it wasn’t a derisory offer and they offered a player in return aswell, for the new manager it might simply depend on what kind of player that they’re offering.
“In the pecking order of strikers at the club, you’re looking at Salah then Nunez, then Jota, then Diaz and finally Gakpo, so the Colombian is in the bottom two. Man for man, I don’t think you’ll find any Liverpool fan will put Diaz in between Salah and Nunez, for example in terms of importance to the club.

“So I have no problem with him going because he’s been okay, but I don’t think he’s been stunning. At Liverpool, if you’re going to win titles, you’ve got to be stunning. You’ve got to hit your marks, you got to hit your stats.
“If Barcelona come along with a good offer and it allows Arne Slot to have the kind of funds to be able to bring in a player that he likes in a position that he wants, it makes sense for me.”
Whether Luis Diaz ends up being sold or not is a moot point at this moment, though it’s clear that Slot has more than enough attacking options to keep him happy.
Much is likely to depend on how much the Reds will ask for the player, and that may determine whether any future sale is successful or not.
