Liverpool FC
After Arne Slot: Who Benefits and Who Risks Their Liverpool Future
Slot’s exit reshapes Liverpool’s summer: winners and losers as the squad faces a reset this summer..
Two years after his appointment, Arne Slot has left Liverpool and the club begins the search for his successor. The decision follows a run of poor results and performances and will split opinion inside the dressing room. For some players the change brings fresh opportunity; for others it raises questions about their future.
Florian Wirtz endured a difficult debut season after last summer’s blockbuster move from Bayer Leverkusen. Slot was unable to get the best from him, with Wirtz finishing the campaign with just 15 goal involvements in 49 matches and often shifted to the left flank. Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann had previously unlocked Wirtz’s potential at club and international level. Liverpool’s next manager, almost certainly ex-Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, would inherit a creative talent who still needs careful nurturing.
Curtis Jones arrives at the summer with uncertainty around his future. Reports of a move to Serie A champions Inter intensified after first surfacing in the winter window, fuelled by frustrations under Slot and limited involvement. The 25-year-old has shown technical ability but inconsistency remains his key problem. Even Jürgen Klopp was unable to turn Jones into a world-beating midfielder. If Iraola arrives, Jones could benefit from a coach known for man-management, with Alex Scott’s progress at Bournemouth cited as an encouraging example.
Milos Kerkez struggled early after signing last summer but improved as the season went on, though he did not reach the levels he showed in 2024–25 at Bournemouth. Slot’s move away from using attacking width from fullback constrained Kerkez’s impact. If Iraola returns, Kerkez would reunite with the manager who turned him into a $53.5 million (£40 million) player and might rediscover the form expected of Liverpool’s Andy Robertson successor.
Jeremie Frimpong’s season was disrupted by five separate spells on the sidelines, and when fit he found Slot’s system confusing. The 25-year-old had delivered 10 or more goal involvements in each of his final four seasons at Bayer Leverkusen as a wingback but managed just three in 35 appearances for Liverpool.
Cody Gakpo featured heavily with 52 appearances, yet scored nine goals and only one in the final three months after signing a new contract last August. With Rio Ngumoha emerging and Liverpool targeting at least one new winger this summer, including Yan Diomande as a first-choice target, Gakpo will need to prove himself to Slot’s successor.
Ryan Gravenberch was redeployed by Slot as a defensive midfielder and that transformation was important to Liverpool winning the Premier League, so Slot justifiably retained faith in the former Bayern Munich man last season.
Liverpool FC
Wirtz ends Liverpool drought with late concerns over second-half drop-off
Wirtz finally scored for Liverpool, a winner in a 2-1 win, but he urged the team to fix late issues.
Florian Wirtz admitted relief after finally scoring his first Liverpool goal, the second in a narrow 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. The goal followed a period of adjustment to the Premier League, where the 22-year-old has found the pace and physicality challenging and has not yet been able to dictate play as he did in Germany.
Manager Arne Slot tried Wirtz on the left in search of impact, before briefly dropping him when early form failed to improve. A gradual uptick in performances over recent fixtures culminated in Wirtz breaking his duck against the league’s bottom side. His strike arrived just 89 seconds after Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring, putting the champions 2-0 up, although Wolves fought back and made Liverpool work for the three points. The win extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Premier League to six games, a recovery from a sequence that saw the club lose six of seven between late-September and November.
On the pitch after the match Wirtz reflected on the moment and his expectations. “It was very nice, the feeling on the pitch with the fans around,” Wirtz said in a postmatch interview. “I was very happy and I am still, I like it. I was confident that I would score one day but of course I wanted to start scoring and assisting earlier. It was like this, I have to accept it, but I just knew it will come.”
He also urged his teammates to address a dip after the interval. “We played a brilliant first half and I think everyone was working really hard,” he continued of Liverpool’s overall display. “Then in the second half, the last 25 minutes we made it ourselves difficult. I cannot explain why but we have to talk about this at training. We have to change this.
“This is the way we want to do it. We want to be there, on top of the table. It’s not been easy start but in the last games we’re doing better and better. We’re trying to win every game.”
Slot was upbeat about Wirtz’s progression and his growing adaptation to English football. “I think I’m quite sure it was a relief for him, this I could see after his reaction after he scored the goal—and the same I saw with his teammates,” Slot said in his postmatch press conference. “I think they were really happy for him scoring his first goal because in football—rightly so, maybe—we mainly get judged on results and individuals mainly get judged on goals and assists. Sometimes we tend to forget what else there is to do during a game.
“I think he’s had multiple good games for us but I also feel he gets better and better every single game he is playing for us. He gets fitter and fitter and was getting closer and closer to his first goal. Then it was not a surprise to me that he scored one today, but he would probably be the first one to understand that one goal is not enough.
“He will score many more goals for us than only this one, but I also liked his performance during large parts of the game today. I think he was special in a lot of moments.”
Liverpool FC
Rooney Condemns Salah Interview as Terry Says Forward Has Been Scapegoated
Rooney slammed Salah’s comments; John Terry says the forward has been unfairly scapegoated publicly
Wayne Rooney launched a blunt public critique after Mohamed Salah’s recent interview in which the forward criticised Liverpool and manager Arne Slot. Salah’s comments provoked a strong response from a cohort of pundits and former players, while John Terry offered a contrasting defence.
Salah, described in the piece as last season’s Player of the Year, demanded “respect” for his past achievements and said, “I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it.” That line was singled out by Rooney on his podcast, who said: “To have the arrogance to say he doesn’t have to earn his place because he has already earned his place, you need to be at your best every week to try and stay in the team.” Rooney added, “If I was one of his teammates, I wouldn’t be happy at all with what he said because this is where Liverpool need him most. If anything, he has thrown Liverpool under the bus with his words.”
Rooney argued that Slot should make an example of Salah by excluding him from the travelling squad for Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Inter. “Arne Slot has to show his authority and pull him in and say, ‘You are not travelling with the team, what you said is not acceptable.’” He warned that the remarks risked undoing much of the forward’s work at the club: “He is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool,” and, “I am sure over the next couple of years he will regret saying what he has.”
John Terry, a former Chelsea teammate, took a different view and said on his TikTok channel: “I think he’d be the first one to say he’s been out of form this season, but I have to agree with him as well. I think he has been made a scapegoat a little bit. I think a lot of Liverpool players, including himself, have been out of form recently.” Terry also warned against leaving Salah out: “And to leave him out—I’m not being funny, if there’s one player that can win you a game, it’s going to be him, so it’s a big call from the manager.”
The interview highlighted Salah’s own claim that he has been “thrown under the bus” and that “that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.” The forward has suffered a marked dip in attacking output and has been criticised for limited defensive contribution. Notably, he started both of Liverpool’s home defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven before being dropped for the next three matches.
Liverpool FC
Liverpool Players Call for Calm After Two Straight Defeats
Players urged calm after successive defeats saying early-season luck gone and improvement needed so.
Liverpool’s squad have asked supporters for patience after back-to-back losses that followed a bright start to the campaign. The reigning Premier League champions had been fortunate to secure seven successive wins at the beginning of the season, but that run has ended in two difficult outings where their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed.
Fans have expressed concern after the recent displays, and players have been clear in their message: setbacks are part of the sport and response matters. “It’s just part of the game,” said Reds midfielder Jones after the defeat in Istanbul. “I say it all the time, you must be mad if you think you can win every game.
“You’d obviously like to, but the reality is these teams you play are world-class teams and it’s normal if you lose. It’s just how you bounce back. It’s part of it—it’s not fine that we lose but we just have to stay calm and it will all change. Of course it will.”
The tone in the dressing room remained defiant rather than alarmed. Captain Virgil van Dijk also urged composure following European disappointment, pointing out that the team have already shown their title-winning qualities at times this season but must deliver more consistently. “I think we have showed it [our title-winning form] already in many games this season but we haven’t shown it for the full 90 minutes yet unfortunately,” confessed the Liverpool skipper. “It is absolutely normal and nowadays you don’t get the time from the outside world so you have to be strong mentally.
“I am very confident. We have to keep working and sticking together. We had a good start this year in terms of points tally. There shouldn’t be panic, but improvement is needed.”
The immediate focus will be on correcting defensive lapses and finding sharper collective performances as the season progresses. For now, players ask supporters to remain calm and trust that the group will seek a swift response.
