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Arne Slot recalled the clamour for new signings at Liverpool after he made nine changes and oversaw a 5-1 win over West Ham, with Cody Gakpo a standout.
Throughout the summer it became a growing concern among fans and journalists alike that Liverpool were the only club across Europe who hadn’t made a signing.
Ultimately, their only new arrival was Federico Chiesa, who joined from Juventus in a surprise deal days before the transfer deadline.
Chiesa made his first start for the Reds on Wednesday night, as Slot made nine changes to the lineup that beat Bournemouth 3-0 at the weekend, with his rotated side thrashing West Ham 5-1 in the Carabao Cup.
Asked about the depth of his squad in his post-match press conference, the head coach let off a laugh.
“You already start to laugh because you’re thinking ‘for two months I only ask him about [signing] new players’,” he replied.
“I constantly told you guys how many quality players we already had and I think you all knew.
“That’s also what showed in the last weeks and today again, that we have many quality players.
“What pleased me most is that even if a lot of new players come in, they don’t come in and try to have a good individual performance, they try to work really hard for the team.
“There was a lot of desire not to concede.
“And as a result of that, we had some good individual performances as well.”
Liverpool came close to adding a new left winger to their squad over the summer, with a deal agreed with Newcastle to sign Anthony Gordon in a package worth £75 million.
That fell through as Newcastle found other solutions to their PSR issues, and Slot went into the campaign with Gakpo and Luis Diaz as his options on the left flank.
Despite the frustration at the Gordon deal breaking down, supporters have been treated to an outstanding start to the season from both of Slot’s existing left wingers.
Gakpo scored twice late on against West Ham, while Diaz netted a brace of his own against Bournemouth to bring his tally to five goals for the campaign as Liverpool’s top scorer.
“I’ve never worked with a group where players didn’t want to play, so it’s always, everywhere, the same,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“And then it was Cody time!” ?
Arne Slot shares his thoughts after Liverpool’s 5-1 win over West Ham ? pic.twitter.com/D8ks9NoNIi
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 25, 2024
“Players like to play. Especially if you’re winning, they like to be part of a winning group and that’s what we are in the moment.
“You know if you play at Liverpool there’s a lot of quality players, and that’s a good thing for me.
“A week ago it was Cody in the San Siro, Saturday it was Lucho and now it was Cody again.
“That’s what maybe fires them as well, to get the best out of each other.”
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