It all started in August, a scorching day against newly-promoted Ipswich Town at Portman Road on opening day.
After a brilliant 2023/24 Jarell Quansah starts the first game of Arne Slot’s reign as Liverpool manager.
But after a poor first half showing, Slot hooks young Quansah for Ibrahima Konate halfway through.
This was a theme that would continue throughout Liverpool’s season.
The Jarell Quansah dilemma
Jarell Quansah was trusted explicitly by Jurgen Klopp, who kept playing him through the inconsistencies of first-team life as a young footballer.
The now 22-year-old arguably started the season still hungover from the confidence dent he suffered at Old Trafford, gifting Manchester United’s equaliser to Bruno Fernandes.
Amid some injury issues in the defensive line, Quansah was a regular feature in the Liverpool team in Klopp’s final games.
Even once Konate returned, the Frenchman’s poor form helped Quansah retain his place, as the youngster played Liverpool’s last seven Premier League games.
This season, only in the Ipswich game has Quansah started for Liverpool at centre-back in the Premier League. The Reds have played 29 games in the competition.
Slot’s distrust of Quansah after a poor showing in one half of football against Ipswich, is quite astounding.
The Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott dilemmas
Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott have also found themselves sidelined this season, but both have less of a traceable reason for distrust from the manager.
Arne Slot has recently said that he wished he had played Elliott over Dominik Szoboszlai against Southampton. Slot has also praised Endo’s workrate in recent months.
The exclusion of these two players in certain games, has arguably caught up to Liverpool in recent weeks, as the midfield has looked increasingly leggy.
Endo has not started a Premier League game all season, which is really quite extreme.
While understandable that Ryan Gravenberch is the first-choice, starting Endo against Southampton in between two massive games versus Paris Saint-Germain, which Slot did not do, is not entirely ridiculous.
Harvey Elliott, like Endo, has proved his worth by-and-large when given the chance this season. Elliott scored three goals in five Champions League appearances this season.
Transfers and Arne Slot
The only transfer acquisition that came into the Liverpool team this season, Federico Chiesa has also seldom been given a chance.
Chiesa has made 11 (ELEVEN) appearances since joining the Reds at the end of the summer transfer window, five of which have come in the domestic cups.
As Arne Slot’s first acquisition you would have thought he would have been more fancied this season. Chiesa came on to score in the cup final and he should have been given more games especially recently, to help Mo Salah during Ramadan.
Despite this, Arne Slot has proven his worth as a manager this season, Liverpool have been great, better than they were last season.
He has made a start that has gone unimaginably well after the departure of Jurgen Klopp, and if Liverpool win the Premier League title he should rightly get all the acclaim he deserves.
It is worth bearing in mind though, with a huge summer to come for Liverpool, whether Arne Slot’s team will improve if he brings in more fancied squad players, and whether or not they will get more gametime.
A fully trusted squad could be the springboard for more success in the future.