Arne Slot makes 'wait and see' admission on Liverpool transfers after £300m summer spend

Liverpool may have spent £300m so far in this window and plan to splash even more cash before it slams shut. But boss Arne Slot admits he won’t know if they’ve upgraded their squad until the new recruits really settle in and all their business is done on September 1.

Not that the Dutchman doubts any of the signings and their qualities but he knows adapting to English football and the physicality will be a test.

The Reds have brought in striker Hugo Ekitike for £79m, playmaker Florian Wirtz for potentially up to £116m, versatile defender Jeremie Frimpong for £29m, left-back Milos Kerkez for £40m and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili for £30m.

But they have lost regular starters with Luis Diaz leaving for Bayern Munich in a £65m deal while right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold departed as his contract expired. Darwin Nunez is set to be sold to Al-Hilal while defender Jarell Quansah went to Bayer Leverkusen and back-up keeper Caoimhin Kelleher headed to Brentford. They also had the tragic loss of Diogo Jota in a car crash.

All those players Slot knew what they could do and couldn’t do so now he will be seeing what the new boys can deliver ahead of tomorrow’s Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace.

When asked if he feels the squad has been upgraded, he said: “That is something I can only tell you at the 1st of September, because the window is still three weeks open. So I do feel that the players we've brought in have done already really well, as expected, because that's why we brought them in.

“But I cannot tell you now if these players are able to perform at the same level every three days, therefore we first have to start the season [to see]. And I did know that Luis Diaz was able to do that, and all the other ones were able to do that. So that is another challenge at the Premier League, because we play so many games.

"And for Milos Kerkez, it's going to be his first time probably, that at this level he might have to play every three days. Florian Wirtz comes from the Bundesliga, where he was used to playing every three or four days, but we have to ask him in two months if the intensity levels of the Premier League are comparable with the Bundesliga.

“So in terms of talent and the quality we've brought in, we see that we have a very good team again. But we have to wait and see, will they stay fit? So the ones that have left were almost the whole season fit. [Will] all the ones that we brought in do the same?

“So there are multiple factors you need to take into account. But again, I am really happy with the players we've brought in.

“But we've also lost starters that have had a big impact on our title-winning season last year.”

It is something that clearly irks Slot that Liverpool ’s spending is being talked about more than the players they have lost or moved on in this window. He feels it is more replacing and rebuilding rather than adding to the side which won the Premier League title at a canter last season.

“What I feel is not being talked about enough - although you have to make your own decision when you talk about it - [is that] I've lost four players that have started regularly,” said Slot. "And one of them, I, we, his family, lost him. That's Diogo. Then Darwin might be on the verge of leaving. Luis Diaz was a definite starter, and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was a definite starter.

“So normally in the Premier League, teams only buy, and never sell. We do both. We lost players in a good phase of their career. I'm used to that, and it sometimes gives new energy as well.”

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