The Richard Hughes transfer decision threatening to BACKFIRE on Arne Slot

It was a slightly underwhelming January transfer window for Liverpool fans. Ultimately the club opted not to complete any incoming business with focus instead on sorting out new contracts.

Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract in summer 2025 and sporting director Richard Hughes’ priority was to get those new deals done.

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That didn’t come to pass and, instead, the Reds wrapped up some outgoings including loans and permanent deals. So Arne Slot has the same players at his disposal that Jurgen Klopp had during his final season in charge - Federico Chiesa aside.

It’s not the biggest of squads and a heavy load has been placed on Slot’s preferred 11.

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have all racked up over 2000 minutes in all competitions.

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For some, the toll is beginning to tell. Robertson requires more rotations than in previous seasons while Gravenberch’s tank has seemed empty at times in recent weeks. Moreover, injuries and occasional absences have exposed shortcomings in the squad.

Liverpool needed a squad top-up

Trent has suffered the odd muscle injury, his deputy Conor Bradley has had his own issues while Konate’s knee injury warped the Reds’ fine defensive record. Joe Gomez (himself injured) and Jarell Quansah don’t appear up to the standard required these days.

And up top, it’s no secret that Liverpool could use a better alternative to Darwin Nunez and a more reliable one than Diogo Jota.

Despite these issues, Hughes wasn’t minded to pull the trigger in January.

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With Liverpool now 11 points clear at the top of the table, it shouldn’t have too much bearing on the title race. But one or two injuries and suspensions could see that advantage over Arsenal reduced once again.

On Saturday, Aston Villa beat Chelsea 2-1 with two goals from winter signing Marco Asensio. He was assisted by another in Marcus Rashford.

Manchester City opted to open the chequebook, signing Liverpool targets Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush as well as a couple of young centre-backs.

Man Utd were active in signing Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu. Mathys Tel moved to Spurs on loan, Lloyd Kelly went to Juventus and even Evan Ferguson made a temporary switch to West Ham.

Strength in depth not there

We are not suggesting that these exact players would have been the ones to come to Anfield - although Gonzalez, Marmoush, Dorgu and Kelly have certainly been looked at.

But the burden could certainly have been eased on Slot’s key 11 if the right signings were made. That hasn’t happened in the case of Chiesa.

There are some glaring issues in the Liverpool squad that will sooner or later need to be addressed. And there’s a long way to go - not only in the league but also in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup.

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As it stands, Slot cannot afford to rotate too much - if at all - as adverse results against PSV and Plymouth proved recently. Let’s hope the decision not to reinvigorate the squad in January doesn’t come back to haunt Richard Hughes.

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