Liverpool are yet to make a signing under Arne Slot and one potentially ideal target surprisingly wasn’t offered a move to Anfield this summer.
Arne Slot is gearing up for a first Premier League campaign as Liverpool boss but has yet to make a first signing.
This has actually been a very, very quiet window for Liverpool with no incomings and few outgoings.
Fans are starting to worry; the new Premier League season is around the corner and Liverpool have not yet strengthened.
Slot and co may have some moves in mind for the final weeks of the transfer window with Richard Hughes no doubt seeking additions.
A new face before the start of the season now looks very unlikely though as Slot prepares for the opener against Ipswich Town.
Feyenoord star on Liverpool move
Some wondered whether Slot would be pushing to sign some of his former Feyenoord players.
Lutsharel Geertruida watched Liverpool against West Ham United in April, sparking rumours that the Feyenoord defender could follow Slot.
HITC understands that Liverpool have explored signing Geertruida but no deal has materialised yet.
Midfielder Mats Wieffer was another name suggested having played a crucial role under Slot in Rotterdam.
Wieffer has instead signed for Brighton and Hove Albion for £25million with Slot being asked whether a Liverpool move was ever on the cards.
“No, I haven’t spoken to Mats Wieffer to join Liverpool this summer,” said Slot. “I really enjoy meeting him, but I hope he doesn’t want to prove too much to his old trainer!”
Wieffer himself has now commented on the situation having been speaking to Viaplay in the Netherlands.
Wieffer, as quoted by FC Update, has stated that he wasn’t thinking at all about a move to Liverpool this summer.
The Dutchman accepted that the time was right to move on from Feyenoord and Brighton made him feel wanted, completely ruling out the prospect of joining Liverpool.
“Not for me actually,” said Wieffer about a move to Liverpool. “I played well at Feyenoord for a year and a half and thought that this was the right time for me to take this step. I had been talking to Brighton for a long time and had the feeling that they really wanted me. They have known me for a long time, so that feeling was good for me right away. So no, I didn’t really think about that,” he added.
Arne Slot may need a midfielder
Liverpool may wish they had made a move for Wieffer before Brighton struck a deal.
The Reds are now receiving interest from Marseille in Wataru Endo.
The Japan star was a short-term solution for Liverpool last summer as the Reds needed a defensive midfielder.
Endo impressed last season but is now 31 and Liverpool may be tempted to cash in.
If Endo does leave, Liverpool will need to find a replacement who can be defensively strong whilst progressing the ball through line-breaking passes or driving runs forward.
That is exactly what Wieffer did for Slot at Feyenoord but Liverpool will have to look elsewhere with the 24-year-old now set to face off against the Reds as a Brighton player.
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