Arne Slot set to land perfect Liverpool triple boost after internal discussions held over decision
Euro 2024 and the Copa America are not the only international tournaments taking place this summer.
Arne Slot has been handed his latest boost as he gears up for his maiden Liverpool pre-season.
The Reds are due back at the AXA Training Centre this week as a new era begins. Jurgen Klopp brought the curtain down on his nine years in the Anfield hot seat at the end of last season - leaving as a club legend.
It will be Slot’s task to continue Klopp’s magnificent work that yielded seven major trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.
It’s not the most ideal summer for the Dutchman to take charge in terms of player availability due to the European Championships and Copa America. It means that many players, including key men Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker and Alexis Mac Allister, will return in drips and drabs.
Certainly, Slot will not want to lose any more of his senior players throughout the summer. Yet there had been a fear that the new head coach could be without Mo Salah and Wataru Endo for a period.
With the Olympic Games taking place in Paris, both had been mooted to be called up for Egypt and Japan respectively. While the tournament is limited to under-23s, squads can have three over-aged players.
However, Endo will definitely not be heading to the Olympics after Japan announced their squad. That is despite the midfielder being the captain of his country’s national team. Endo had previously admitted he would be interested in taking part.
Meanwhile, Salah is also not expected to be called up by Egypt although discussions were held per the Athletic. As the Olympics is not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, clubs are not obliged to release players for international duty. That means that Slot has significant time to work with Liverpool talisman Salah for a significant period.
What’s more, Stefan Bajcetic not been omitted from Spain’s squad. The 19-year-old is very much eligible to represent his country. But Bajcetic was plagued by injury throughout the 2023-24 campaign and made just three appearances for Liverpool. It means that the midfielder can build up his fitness levels during pre-season and will be hoping to play a part in Slot’s plans.