What Arne Slot recently said about his chat with Richard Hughes when he first joined Liverpool
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Arne Slot is set to be a busy man at Liverpool this summer.
The Dutch coach’s first season at Anfield has gone beyond expectations as the Reds are on the verge of winning a 20th Premier League title.
What makes this even more impressive is that Slot only saw Federico Chiesa added to his Liverpool squad ahead of the current campaign.
This has allowed the former Feyenoord boss to fully assess his squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign and with money to spend this summer, the Liverpool boss should know exactly what he needs to keep the Reds at the top of the Premier League.
Many wondered if last summer’s transfer window went to plan and a recent chat involving Slot has revealed this.
Arne Slot’s agreement with Richard Hughes at Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 campaign and the German left an impressive squad behind him.
It is common for most new coaches to arrive at a new club and bring their own players with them, but that was not the agreement Slot struck up with sporting director Richard Hughes last summer.
According to The Times, a few weeks ago, the Liverpool boss was speaking in a side room at the club's training ground about how, upon arriving at Anfield, he had resolved with Hughes to work with the existing squad because they "wanted to know how these players were working with me".
They agreed that there would be no rush to judge the current players in the Reds’ squad. Instead, that would take place throughout the season and decisions would be made ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.
Liverpool did attempt to bring Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi to Anfield ahead of the current season, only for the Spanish star to turn them down in favour of remaining in La Liga for another year.
This summer has become a key one for Slot and Liverpool as the last week has shown that the Premier League leaders need to strengthen some key areas.
Key areas Arne Slot needs to strengthen in Liverpool squad
Liverpool’s starting 11 has been very settled this season with Jamie Carragher believing Slot doesn’t trust several fringe stars to step up.
Slot’s squad have averaged the most game time in all competitions of any Premier League team this season and that looks to be taking its toll.
| Player | Games | Minutes |
| Virgil van Dijk | 41 | 3717 |
| Mohamed Salah | 43 | 2696 |
| Ryan Gravenberch | 41 | 3516 |
| Alexis Mac Allister | 42 | 3081 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | 40 | 2887 |
Many players are expected to leave Liverpool this summer with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz looking like potential exits.
Their exits will likely see Liverpool dip into the market for a new striker, while a new number six, a centre-back and a left-back will also be on the agenda.
Alexander Isak is the name every Liverpool fan would love to see arrive on Merseyside but that will be cost dependent.
The priority of recruiting a new number nine has gone up over the last week, but the Reds need to ensure they have the funds to address all the other key areas, while the contract situations of several key stars still need to be sorted.
