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Liverpool offloaded several senior and youth players over the summer and added just one new player to the dressing room, so how does Arne Slot‘s squad depth compare?
The Reds bid farewell to Joel Matip, Thiago and Bobby Clark from last season’s squad, while the likes of Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak were sent out on loan.
Federico Chiesa, meanwhile, represented the sole signing under the club’s new sporting director Richard Hughes after Martin Zubimendi turned his back on a switch to Anfield.
As ever, there has been plenty of scrutiny over how Liverpool failed to address their glaring needs all the while adding the luxury of a sixth forward and future-proofing the goalkeeping department.
With four competitions on the agenda, including a Champions League campaign with more games than ever, can Liverpool’s squad stand up to the demands for the next eight months?
Here, we can visualise Liverpool’s squad depth:
Goalkeepers: 3
Defenders: 8
Midfielders: 6
Forwards: 6
As you can see, Slot could name two strong XIs with the players he has at his disposal, and it must also be noted that there is more versatility across the squad than what the graphic shows.
But in the pursuit of keeping it simple, we want to highlight who is currently considered first-choice and who is waiting on the wings for rotation and when injuries strike (we’re hoping they don’t).
Seeing as though it was the focus of the summer, your eye is immediately drawn to defensive midfield, where Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo sit – not quite the depth we had hoped for.
And we cannot be surprised if we see Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones turned to by Slot at No. 6, his flexibility with the Argentine at Old Trafford showed it will not be rigid all season long.
Further up the pitch, the addition of Chiesa gives Liverpool six options – what a luxury! – and there is plenty of flexibility there with every player capable of at least two attacking roles.
With injuries having been at a minimum to start the season, we can look at Liverpool’s depth with a level of positivity, but we know how quickly that can change as the season ramps up.
Slot brought physical performance coach Ruben Peeters with him from Feyenoord, where player availability levels were above 90 percent – a figure we can only hope to get close to in 2024/25!
How do the Reds’ rivals compare?
Liverpool have 23 first-team players named in their squad, which sits perfectly between Man City and Arsenal:
Man City
Players in first team squad: 24
Goalkeepers: 3
Defenders: 6
Midfielders: 7
Forwards: 6
Although City’s club website would lead you to believe they have 12 midfielders and only one forward they, in fact, have seven and six respectively – on par with Liverpool.
They’re stocked in defence with multiple options across the backline, but you can see what they were trying to get at, as Erling Haaland is their only recognised centre-forward.
Arsenal
Players in first team squad: 22
Goalkeepers: 2
Defenders: 9
Midfielders: 5
Forwards: 6
The Gunners are not short on defenders, that is for sure. However, Bukayo Saka is their only real option on the right wing – it was similar for the Reds before Chiesa’s arrival.
Mikel Arteta was lucky with injuries last season, but with only five midfielders, any issues could spell real trouble for them.
As for the squad sizes of others, Chelsea, unsurprisingly, currently have 30, Tottenham 26 and Man United 27, Aston Villa have 25 and Newcastle have 31.
Finally, as per Transfermarkt, the Reds have the joint-second smallest squad in the Premier League and have an average age of 25.9 years, which is the ninth-oldest across the division.
It will be intriguing to see how Liverpool’s squad fare and compare across the full season!
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