Four Liverpool players who could challenge Arne Slot

With a new manager comes a new system and footballing philosophy, and few of them match Jürgen Klopp’s.

Liverpool’s brand of football over the past nine seasons has been thrilling but difficult to replicate and one that has maximized certain types of players.

Now the players brought in to fill these roles will have to try to adapt to an approach that may be less suited to their strengths and may be harder for some than others – let’s talk about some of Liverpool’s current players who might have a difficult time adjusting to life under Arne Slot.

Darwin is a candidate to struggle under any manager – losing around 80% of your big chances isn’t particularly acceptable for a striker in any system – but he might be a particularly poor fit for Slot’s footballing philosophy.

It takes a lot of precision to play the Dutchman’s brand of football and the wasted work around the net is all the more painful in a side that probably won’t move at Klopp’s pace and therefore may not generate the same volume of chances.

There is something to be said for Darwin’s merits as a left winger, but even in that regard he is much more of a Klopp player than a Slot player.

This partly depends on who would move to striker if he were to move over him, but there are probably better options on the roster at that position as well, leaving Núñez possibly homeless in the XI if Slot decides not to is up to the task of playing up. .

It’s not that Salah is a bad fit for the Slot system, it’s just hard to imagine him matching the historic levels of production he’s achieved under Klopp, especially as he turns 32 this summer.

In terms of skills, Salah has already begun to transition from a pace-based winger to a pass-first player, but barring major personnel changes, the goal-scoring onus will still be on him in a system which allows him somewhat less freedom to cut inside and create for himself.

Salah could be a good central player in Slot’s system, whether as a central striker or even an attacking midfielder, but he’s just not that likely to be given the chance.

As Liverpool’s biggest right winger, that’s probably where he’ll start for the foreseeable future, even if that’s not the best way to go at this stage of his career or under the new gaffer.