'Lot of potential': Arne Slot admits he 'wanted to sign' £8m Bologna star Liverpool will now face

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There will be a reunion between two familiar faces as Liverpool go head-to-head with Bologna in Wednesday night’s Champions League group-stage clash.

Arne Slot – near faultless in his Anfield tenure thus far – welcomes the tournament newcomers to the red side of Stanley Park looking to continue his remarkable start to life on English soil.

And, with only one win from seven games so far in 2024/25, the odds on a shock Bologna triumph are about as long as Peter Crouch’s trousers.

The Rossoblu’s reward for securing Champions League football was to lose not only their head coach Thiago Motta but also their star defender – Riccardo Calafiori shone again as Arsenal swept aside PSG this week – as well as the reigning Serie A Young Player of the Year in Joshua Zirkzee.

Now under the stewardship of former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano, Bologna are yet to recover from a brutal raid on their resources.

There is, however, still one member of the travelling party who has already earned Slot’s affection.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot wanted Bologna’s Sam Beukema at Feyenoord

Sam Beukema moved to Italy in an £8 million deal from AZ Alkmaar during the summer of 2023.

And, by his own admission, Slot wanted the Dutch defender to join Feyenoord ranks during his time in the De Kuip hotseat.

Not when the Rotterdam giants were the Dutch champions, either, but as far back in 2021. When Beukema was just starting to make a name for himself following a breakout year at Go Ahead Eagles.

“I wanted to sign him,” Slot said during his pre-match press conference, pointing out that Beukema would have won an Eredivisie title had he opted for Feyenoord instead of AZ.

“He had had a very good season at Go Ahead Eagles and we were looking for a central defender. We saw a lot of potential in him.

“I think he chose the wrong club, because Feyenoord did a lot better than AZ. But, in the end, he made a nice transfer to Bologna, where he is also doing well.

“Beukema is a very good player and I’m looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.”

Bologna star excited to prove himself against Liverpool stars

One of the first names on Bologna’s team sheet, Beukema started as Italiano’s side marked their Champions League bow with a goalless draw against Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 25-year-old will be hard pressed repeating such a scoreline with Liverpool’s fearsome frontline rated even higher than Arsenal’s by the legendary Paul Scholes.

Beukema is looking forward to testing himself against arguably the deepest attack in the game, even if keeping Mo Salah off the scoresheet will be easier said than done.

“I don’t know yet,” Beukema laughs when asked by Goal what he will do to stop Salah in his tracks. “But the problem is, it’s not just him! There’s also Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa.

“It’s crazy, because they’re all doing so well this season.

“They’ve had a great start under Arne Slot, a coach that I know a lot about because he did so well in the Eredivisie, so it’s going to be really tough for us. But we really are looking forward to it.

“Now, I have got this chance to show against the best players in Europe, like Salah, Gakpo and Luis Diaz. [I can prove that] I belong at this level.”