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Jurgen Klopp has left behind an enviable generation of academy talent at Liverpool, but where will these outstanding youngsters fit into Arne Slott’s system?
‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ was the mantra for Klopp’s Liverpool.
A generation of talent broke into the first team in 2023/24, including a dramatic Carabao Cup final victory that ended with six academy players on the field.
Academy full of character ?? pic.twitter.com/Hfd8a7hyxs
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 25, 2024
Now Slott is a man to impress. Having given 12,334 minutes to academy talent at Feyenoord in 2022/23, he is certainly open to working with young blood.
So how might each of these young stars fit into Slott’s Liverpool?
• READ FIRST: Arne Slot tactics: Feyenoord’s system and how Liverpool FC could line up
Harvey Elliott
Age: 21
LFC Performances: 119
We’ll start with the easy one.
Elliott has now fully broken through, playing a vital role in Liverpool’s unlikely title challenge in 2023/24.
The boyhood Liverpool supporter can play as a No.8, No.10 or right winger in the Sloto system, and has shown real quality in both his performances and his end product – bagging 11 assists in all competitions this past season.
I’m only including it as a reminder that, incredibly, he’s still only 21 years old.
Role under Slot? The new manager will like his versatility, just like Klopp.
Jarell Quansah
Age: 21
LFC Performances: 33
Composure on the ball (Old Trafford error aside) and dominance in defensive duels saw Quansah leap from a loan spell in League One to 33 senior appearances.
By the end of the campaign he had overtaken Ibrahima Konate as Virgil van Dijk’s preferred partner.
It is this playmaking ability that will appeal to Sloto the most.
The new gaffer is happy to play forward quickly when space is available, but the upgrade unit will initially see a lot of the ball – moving it around to encourage pressure and create space inside the opposition block.
Center backs are also asked to play progressive passes forward when the opportunity arises.
For all his undoubted talents, Konate is not known for that. Quansah could therefore retain his place in the starting line-up.
Role under Slot? He is fighting to remain Van Dijk’s first-choice partner.
Conor Bradley
Age: 20
LFC Performances: 28
Bradley has well and truly arrived in 2023/24.
The right-back went from player of the year at Bolton to scoring his first goal at Anfield and starting the Wembley Cup final (both against Chelsea, ridiculously).
Given the opportunity when Trent Alexander-Arnold went off injured, the Northern Irishman was so good that the team’s system revolved around him.
Out came the reverse right-back and in came a lung-bursting, overlapping Bradley to press high up the pitch and score moves in the final period.
This is not how Slott usually uses his guards. He relies on width in attack from his wingers, with the full-backs more likely to stay deeper and more central.
This is because, if the ball is turned over, the full-backs are closer to their goal and therefore better able to track and defend the space behind them – something Liverpool have struggled with.
Slott can be pragmatic in his pursuit of success, and he has an extremely talented person to work with in Bradley.
But whether a system or a player can bend to suit the other is a question that needs to be answered in the preseason.
Role under Slot? Unclear, but he showed he can emulate the role of Alexander-Arnold.
James McConnell
Age: 19
LFC Performances: 9
Each young player has years of training in Liverpool’s aggressive out-of-possession approach across all age groups.
But when Liverpool needed to convert an academy player into a first-team defensive midfielder in 2023/24, McConnell’s technical assurance meant he got the call-up.
Taking the ball under pressure during a high-stakes Carabao Cup final showed composure and maturity beyond the 19-year-old’s tender years, and he later scored a brilliant assist in the FA Cup.
As a result, Hull City have already expressed an interest in him.
Slot, meanwhile, is a serial improvement player. It’s the reason he’s been an instant success at every club he’s managed, it’s how he thrives on budgets, and it’s what FSG hired him to do at Liverpool.
If he is destined to look at the academy as much as the transfer market, McConnell would be a great place to start.
Role under Slot? If it remains, the option at number 6.
Bobby Clark
Age: 19
LFC Performances: 14
Clark rarely makes a spectacular appearance. He receives the ball well, releases the ball at the right moment and counter-presses effectively.
The most impressive quality he has shown in 14 appearances is that no catch a glimpse.
He simply looks like he belongs in the engine room of an elite team, even though he is only 19 years old.
Slott asks his midfielders to show the ball and rotate fluidly to play short, quick passes that disrupt the opposition’s defensive shape.
Clark’s possession game is perfect for this.
Slot’s number 8 should also contribute goals and assists higher up the pitch, so that’s an area for Clark to improve if he wants to continue.
Role under Slot? A perfect candidate as one of the 8.
Jayden Dance
Age: 18
LFC Performances: 5
One of the most sought-after profiles in modern football is the ‘nine and a half’. A striker who can connect the game like Roberto Firmino, but also score goals like Erling Haaland.
Danns’ ability to link up play and score goals helped him break into the first team and earned him comparisons with Harry Kane.
Before we get too excited, Dunns is still a long way from Harry Kane levels.
He scored twice for Liverpool’s senior side, both against Championship opposition, and is still building the physical capacity to compete at an elite level.
There’s a reason why Klopp left him on the bench when he was looking for a goal at Goodison Park in April.
In terms of profile, Danns is the main asset Slott can inherit. Next season is probably too early to expect a major contribution at Anfield – but then many would have said the same last summer.
Role under Slot? The odds may be slim, but more experience will come.
Stefan Bajčetić
Age: 19
LFC Performances: 22
His breakthrough campaign in 2022/23. she was so good that a complete absence in the 2023/24 season. did not calm down the talks about Bajčetić.
The main question was about his position.
Breaking in as a number 6, usurping the aging Fabinho, Bajčetić paired his technical assurance with endless running and screeching.
But his resistance to pressure and dribbling ability, as well as his understated cool in front of goal, suggest his best position is as a No.8.
Unfortunately for him, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch all have similar attacking sides.
Bajčetić’s long-limbed fighting style and his robustness in physical duels make him best suited for a deeper role – at least in the short term.
Role under Slot? More chances in the number 6 role for now.
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