Meet You at the Cross Roads

In his first season at Anfield, Arne Slot pushed his Liverpool side to the top of the table. Even after a grueling loss in the Champions League, the Dutchman’s first year promises to be one for the history books.

However, with key players out of contract this summer, Liverpool seems to be staring at a potential rebuild in the eye.

Mohamed Salah’s incredible season caps off a truly impressive debut season for Slot. At the end of the season, however, this team faces a new challenge.

Salah and van Dijk headline a number of Liverpool players potentially on the outs this summer. With a lack of players ready to replace the stars, Anfield prepares for a rebuild. Similar to Klopp’s first season, a core exists for next season, but it’s unlikely that they will push this team to contention.

Liverpool’s front office faces two options this summer: spend to keep this team playing at the highest level or rebuild. Given the duds signed over the past few seasons, does anyone trust this team in a rebuild? On the other side, Liverpool owes Alisson, Salah, and van Dijk more chances at glory and should go all in.

Winning the Premier League title in your first season is impressive for any manager, especially given that no one expected Liverpool to dominate like this. This title may paper over what will be a defining summer for Anfield.

Slot arrived in England, with most expecting him to just achieve a Champions League spot without an actual title run. Klopp’s first season seemed to serve as the basis for Slot and any other manager who would have taken the Liverpool job.

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The squad inherited by Slot represented the mixed bag of transfers that this front office provided Klopp with in his final seasons. With an aging squad, they attempted to bring in younger players to replace the likes of Firmino and Mane. For the most part, Liverpool’s management failed completely.

Most point to Darwin Núñez as the club’s ultimate failure, and to be fair, the Uruguayan has been detrimental to Liverpool. While Firmino never led the league in scoring, he connected the offense so well that it opened play up for Salah. Núñez’s inability to play in this system hurts himself and the team, magnifying every miss.

In Díaz and Jota, Liverpool found two wingers who can chip in from time to time. However, both players continue to struggle with inconsistency with, swinging from world-class to average.

Perhaps the only place where the front office succeeded is with the midfield. Alexis Mac Allister remains the team’s best transfer in recent memory. The Argentine rivals any midfielder that the team employed during their prime with Klopp.

Dominik Szoboszlai flashes potential every few games and has looked better under Slot but is still yet to live up to the hype. With that said, he offers the team a strong foundation with Mac Allister in the middle. Finding that third piece in the middle, be it Curtis Jones or another player, will push this team into the next level.

Slot’s squad is composed of players who represent the failures and successes of Liverpool’s front office.

This leaves them in a fascinating position as they prepare to lift the Premier League trophy.

In the coming months, Slot and the front office need to make a decision that will define the club for the coming years. With a somewhat weak competition from their fellow title challengers, both paths may work, but they can’t afford to stay in the middle.

Konaté, Salah and van Dijk all profile as potential departures and that would cripple Liverpool. If the team wants to continue to contend, they can’t lose more than one of them.

Giving Liverpool icons Salah and van Dijk more chances at glory is the least that they can do. Bringing in a star midfielder or winger offers them another shot next season, especially if City bounce back. Going all in during the final years of their prime would also allow Slot to continue pushing this team forward.

With such an uncompetitive field, unless Chelsea and United find salvation, Liverpool can afford to push everything in. Arsenal and City are profiled as the only real challengers, which gives the Reds a chance at an extended title window. It offers the team a chance at more Premier League title chances and a path towards Champions League glory. 

Losing these three players sets Anfield back to the pre-Klopp days when they had some talent but were a joke. It may also signal a larger firesale, given that they lack a lot of younger talent. A full rebuild requires the team to be honest with themselves and understand their assets.

Utilizing a similar strategy as the one that helped them rebuild under Klopp is the only way to stomach this process. It also offers the team a better chance to evaluate Slot and what his system needs. This process needs a young core, but it means bringing in that talent in order to replace the stars of the past.

Liverpool’s position at the crossroads means that the team needs to make a decision.

If they sit back and allow their competitors to catch up, they will return to irrelevancy.

To imply that Liverpool’s potential title win would be unfair to this team. Slot and his squad pushed themselves ahead of the pack despite the pre-season concerns.

These issues will return in the summer and force the team down a certain path.

PHOTO: Liverpool FC/Facebook