Arne Slot has Liverpool three-way position dilemma after Euro 2024 and Copa America successes

The summer has seen Liverpool players flourish on the international stage which only reiterates the strength of Arne Slot’s squad ahead of his debut campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s departure was a hammer blow for the fans but the Slot-era brings a fresh energy and the Dutchman is armed with a brilliant squad that perfectly balances youth and experience. He said it himself, when asked by the media in his first interview whether he is wary of the size of the task ahead of him after Klopp’s exit.

“You can look at it both ways," he said. "They are big shoes to fill but you are also inheriting a squad and a team which has a winning culture. As a manager you want to work at a club with good players and an opportunity to win something. The past has shown there is a possibility to win some trophies. I look at it as ideal.”

Clearly unfazed by such claims, he will be overjoyed with how his key performers are performing across the Copa America and Euro 2024 tournaments this summer. Currently, prior to the semi-finals of both competitions, Liverpool have nine players in the final four. Ibrahima Konate , Virgil Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. There’s a good chance that some players will return as champions, returning to the club riding a wave that could carry into them the new season on a new high - and it looks like three attackers will be vying for two roles this season with Mohamed Salah deputising on the right wing.

Firstly, in one semi-final, it’s Luis Diaz vs Darwin Nunez, as Colombia take on Uruguay. Both have been questioned about their end product. Especially in Nunez’s case, carrying the country’s hopes at a major tournament for the first time since Edinson Cavani’s retirement and Luis Suarez’s reduced role, the confidence in which he exudes under Marcelo Bielsa isn’t seen as consistently as required at club level. But a leading role in a major tournament win could set him up perfectly for the new campaign - and he already has been backed by the new Reds boss.

Secondly, Cody Gakpo has been one of the standout attackers at Euro 2024 and is the joint top-scorer who has netted key goals at the right time for the Netherlands. He struggled to displace either one of those attackers last season but he is certainly staking a claim and is likely to be one figure who benefits from Slot’s system with narrow wide attackers.

The outcome of these two tournaments are not the be-all or end-all for these players but the sheer confidence and feeling of achievements could be carried into the new season but it is certainly a three-way battle for two positions which is a puzzle that Slot is faced with after their good form.