Arne Slot right to CANCEL crucial Liverpool deal

Arne Slot put an end to one Liverpool deal in the January transfer window. He was right to do so.

Liverpool came out of the January transfer window much as they entered it. The Reds ultimately decided not to complete any moves, despite their squad really calling out for it.

They've known, for instance, for some time that they'd be short at centre-back after Giovanni Leoni's injury. Alexander Isak, too, was ruled out long-term shortly before the window opened.

Given Liverpool failed to sign Marc Guehi in the summer and never replaced Luis Diaz up top, both injuries opened the door for signings. Conor Bradley's season-ending knee injury during January then only exacerbated the need for a defensive signing.

Jeremie Frimpong then joined the injury list in the final week. He won't be out for anything like the length of time that Bradley will, but it highlighted again that Liverpool are short.

And yet, they signed no one. And it turns out that Arne Slot was at least partly responsible for that.

Liverpool and Arne Slot say no

Liverpool did look at right-backs by all accounts. Lutsharel Geertruida was one potential arrival - though that was always a bizarre move to pursue.

It involved convincing both RB Leipzig and Sunderland, where the player is on loan, to agree deals with just a couple of days to go before the deadline. Liverpool's bargaining position couldn't really have been weaker.

But that wasn't the only deal on the cards. Liverpool also investigated a move for Denzel Dumfries - another Dutch right-back.

Per Calciomercato, that one essentially fell apart because Slot didn’t want it. He was after a player who could immediately come in and influence things, whereas Dumfries has been injured since November and won’t be available until later this month.

And that’s absolutely the right call. Signing Dumfries would have been largely pointless, with Liverpool knowing full well that players lacking match fitness take a long time to get up to speed.

That was the case with Federico Chiesa last season and Isak this time around. Signing Dumfries and needing to be patient with him completely negated him as someone who can offer immediate cover.

The correct move, then. Liverpool were heading towards a needless signing that would only have brought further confusion in the squad.

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