Why Liverpool’s spending spree has piled pressure and scrutiny on Slot

Arne Slot arrived at Liverpool last summer without fanfare into an atmosphere of uncertainty following his iconic predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s shock decision to leave Anfield.

The 46-year-old Dutch coach built a fine reputation with successes at Feyenoord, but was an unknown quantity to many Liverpool supporters and untested in the Premier League.

Slot’s understated persona was in sharp contrast to the charismatic Klopp, whose departure shaped expectations to the extent that a top-four finish and continued Champions League football was the widely accepted target for Liverpool’s fanbase.

The pressure of being Liverpool manager is ever-present – but early expectation management in the new era meant levels were adjusted accordingly.

Fast forward a remarkable 12 months and Slot’s Liverpool start the new campaign as Premier League champions, strolling to the title with a 10-point margin and four games to spare, barely threatened from Christmas onwards.

What should have been a summer of celebration has been lived under the shadow of the tragic death of much-loved forward Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash, and the incident in which many Liverpool fans were injured at the title parade.

In the purely sporting context, however, the landscape has shifted dramatically for the club – and with it comes increasing pressure and scrutiny on Slot to deliver more success.

After barely dipping into his spending pot last summer, Slot now has an array of new talent at his disposal following a remarkable summer spending spree that could yet comfortably top £300m – making the Reds firm favourites to retain their crown.

Liverpool have signed Florian Wirtz, one of Europe’s hottest properties, in a £116m deal from Bayer Leverkusen, a new pair of full-backs in Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong for a combined £70m from Bayer Leverkusen and Bournemouth respectively, then added Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike in a deal that could be worth £70m.

Add to this the possibility that Crystal Palace captain and defensive lynchpin Marc Guehi could sign for £35m is growing. They have also secured a £26m move for 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma.

Liverpool may yet add Newcastle United’s £150m-rated rebel striker Alexander Isak to their ranks, which effectively means Slot cannot afford to fail to deliver a trophy and a challenge for the biggest prizes – namely another title and the Champions League.

Slot will know better than anyone that he, as well as his expensively reassembled side, will be viewed through a completely different prism this season.

Liverpool are now the hunted rather than the hunters. A campaign without a trophy would be regarded as failure, while rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in particular, have also strengthened heavily to ensure there is no repeat of last season’s one-team title race.

Slot has shown a cool head from day one, barely losing his composure, apart from at the conclusion of an incendiary 2-2 Merseyside derby draw at Goodison Park in February, when he was one of four sent off after the final whistle.

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy is confident Slot can deal with the added pressure, telling BBC Sport: “I don’t see Slot being the kind of manager who gets too preoccupied with pressure. He looks very calm. He seems to be very articulate and knows how to handle different situations.”

He added: “Slot’s temperament throughout last season was pretty exquisite. There were not too many times where he seemed rattled.

“I know you could say it is easier to be calm and articulate when you are winning games, but even when they lost to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League, or when they lost to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final, he still remained really calm and controlled.

“He was good with his words, said the right things. There was still a real clear focus from him, so I don’t see him being too affected by the outside noise. He has shown he can cope with that.

“Expectation has changed, no doubt, at Liverpool there is always a certain amount of expectation anyway, but now he has won the league and spent most of the season playing phenomenal football.

“That high bar is set by Slot now, and an expectation to a degree, but there is also a reality around a group of new players at any time.

“Whether you have just won the league or have finished sixth, there is still going to be an adaptation period where those players need to grow into their roles and become comfortable in those positions.”

Slot has been at pains to point out that Liverpool’s incomings have been accompanied by departures, with Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving for Real Madrid on a free transfer, forwards Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez sold to Bayern Munich and Al-Hilal respectively, while defender Jarell Quansah made the journey in the opposition direction to Wirtz and Frimpong to join Bayer Leverkusen.

It is an unusual amount of churn for champions, showing in a disjointed performance in the Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace, which saw Frimpong, Kerkez, Wirtz and Ekitike start in a performance suggesting a work in progress, lacking last season’s calm and cohesion.

The absence of midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, suspended for Friday’s opener at home to Bournemouth, hit hard as Liverpool looked a team of too many attacking parts without a solid midfield base, exposed too often.

Slot must find a way to fit Wirtz – so effective across the line of attacking positions as well as from deeper positions – into his plans. How will this impact on the smooth-running midfield of last season, where Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister were a well-oiled machine?

Murphy said: “I think Liverpool fans, and probably Slot himself, will be aware that there might be some bumps in the road because you are talking about really young players coming in into an environment they have never been used to, with that expectation of the Liverpool public, with that magnifying glass on every performance.

“That is something those players won’t have had before. No disrespect, but at Leverkusen or Frankfurt it is not quite the same pressure, but the Liverpool fans will know that and will understand that will be new for some of the players.

“Liverpool started last season really well. This was mainly obviously to do with the quality of players they had, but also there wasn’t any integration of new players. They all knew each other.

“It is different this time. There is also the pressure of being at a club where you are expected to win every week. We are in this kind of grey area where we are waiting to see who fits in smoothly, who adapts the most quickly, who gains momentum the quickest.”

Any doubts about Slot’s ability to succeed a figure as beloved as Klopp were swept away in the euphoria of the club’s 20th title, where his calm command and tactical shrewdness kept the best of his predecessor’s “Heavy Metal” football while making Liverpool more controlled, less likely to fall victims to self-created chaos.

Slot’s status on The Kop means he had earned their trust to manage the process.

Murphy said: “Liverpool fans probably didn’t expect what happened last season. They are aware there has been a turnaround of quite a few players, so if the season doesn’t start brilliantly smoothly, with them winning every game, they will still stay right behind Slot because they know what he is capable of. He has credit in the bank. He hardly put a foot wrong in his first season.”