The Reds coach explains failed move for right-back but defends Liverpool’s recruitment stance despite mounting defensive injuries
Liverpool entered the final days of the January transfer window knowing they needed defensive reinforcement, and Arne Slot has now confirmed the club explored that option before ultimately deciding not to force a deal.
The Reds head coach admitted he wanted to strengthen his squad but made clear there is no regret or resentment over how the window closed, even with Liverpool facing the rest of the campaign without the additions he initially hoped for.
Injuries steadily shaped Liverpool’s winter priorities. Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong were all sidelined during January, further stretching a back line already weakened by Giovanni Leoni’s season ending ACL injury suffered earlier in the campaign.
With the squad thinned and European qualification still very much the target, Liverpool attempted to bring in short-term cover before the deadline.
That search led them to Lutsharel Geertruida, a player Slot knows intimately from their time together at Feyenoord, where the defender wore the captain’s armband under the current Liverpool coach.
Geertruida, now on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig, was seen as a versatile solution who could provide immediate depth across the defensive line.
With the window nearing its close, the conditions required to complete the deal were not there, and by Sunday evening the club accepted that the move would not happen.
Liverpool instead chose to step back rather than rush through a transfer that did not fully align with their broader plans.
“I think I’ve said that we’ve tried to strengthen the squad, so that probably tells you [I wanted players] and I don’t think I was the only one who wanted that,” Slot said. “But it’s always about availability and the right player.”
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Short-term pressure and long-term planning
Slot acknowledged that balance openly, explaining how Liverpool weighed immediate needs against the club’s longer vision.
“We do have discussions about what is good for the short and for the long term of the club and now, for example, Jeremy Jacquet wasn’t available for the winter, but he was for the summer,” he said.
“We’ve made a decision to sign him because we think he’s a really good signing for the future of this club. I’m very happy with the squad. Let that be clear. But it’s all clear and obvious, that we have three long-term injuries (Bradley, Leoni, Alexander Isak).”
Slot reiterated that the club did everything possible to strengthen during the winter, even if the outcome did not bring immediate reinforcements.
“That’s why we’ve tried to strengthen the squad in winter break and the player you mentioned [Geertruida], in the end, wasn’t available. But we’ve tried to strengthen the squad that is clear,” he said.
“And that tells you that we think that it would have helped us. But it should be possible that we’re not going to sign players that are not good enough to play for this club.”