Arne Slot could sell four Liverpool defenders to boost his boost his transfer fund by £30m

It’s been a slow transfer window at Anfield so far. There is no doubt work going on behind the scenes as Liverpool plot their business but Arne Slot is still to make his first signing since being appointed head coach.

Slot will be assessing his squad in pre-season, although many senior players are still to return because of Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

There may be funds available for the ex-Feyenoord chief but he will be treated the same way as former manager Jurgen Klopp - and may have to sell some players to increase his budget.

A centre-back has been mentioned as the area of Liverpool’s squad that could be strengthened. And there are four in the current squad who may be sold to raise additional funds.

Nat Phillips

The 27-year-old must feel like he's been in limbo for several years. Phillips' contributions during the 2019-20 season will never be forgotten, as he came to the rescue during an injury crisis to help Liverpool finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.

But Phillips finds himself down the centre-back pecking order at the Reds having had loans at AFC Bournemouth, Celtic and most recently Cardiff City. He has just a year left on his Anfield contract and a permanent exit may suit both parties.

Turkish side Transzonspor have had a bid turned down of around £4 million. Liverpool are said to want £8 million.

Rhys Williams

The academy product's efforts of 2019-20 when Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were all injured also will be fondly remembered.

Given that Williams was just 19 at the time, fans had high hopes he could develop into a first-team regular. However, that has not been the case.

Williams has had loans at Swansea City and Blackpool, while he played just once during the first half of last season at Aberdeen. Then the former England under-21 international moved to Port Vale but his stay was ended after just 16 days because of injury.

Williams hasn't been training with the first team this summer and reportedly has interest from League One and Turkey. The 23-year-old is valued at around £1.5 million by Transfermrkt.

Billy Koumetio

Liverpool signed the defender from French club Orléans in 2018 when he was 16. But Koumetio's Anfield career has never taken off despite becoming the club's youngest-ever player to feature in the Champions League against FC Midtjylland in December 2020 when aged 18 years and 25 days.

Koumetio has had loans at Austria Wien, Dunkirk and Blackburn Rovers yet played bit-part roles at all three clubs. Scottish club Dundee United are reported in talks although a fee for the 21-year-old may be nominal.

Sepp van den Berg

The Dutchman’s future has been talked about significantly this summer. Van den Berg has made just four appearances for Liverpool, having been signed from PEC Zwolle in 2019, none of which in the Premier League.

Van den Berg has also been loaned out for the previous three-and-a-half seasons. His latest spell at Mainz 05 was highly impressive as he recorded three goals in 37 games - and was ranked among the best under-23 centre-backs in Europe by WhoScored.

Yet the 22-year-old returns to Anfield behind van Dijk, Gomez, Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah. Van den Berg has reported back for and Slot will be having a close look at his fellow countryman and he started in the 1-0 loss to Preston behind-closed-doors.

But van den Berg has expressed his desire to play regularly. If that cannot be promised then Liverpool could cash in with a year on the Holland under-21 international’s contract. A price tag of £20 million has reportedly been set.