As we begin to go full steam ahead into the Arne Slot era at Liverpool, the talk about the squad has largely revolved around a handful of names.
Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Alisson Becker. These are of course insanely gifted players that are worth their weight in gold. However, I'm here today to take a look beyond these marquee names.
A coach is more than just his top-end stars. Everyone in the squad will be called on at some point to perform and that could be when things click or turn to disaster.
I found 3 players that, while having a following of support, are not the world class footballers like some of the above but could prove just as crucial to Slot,
Conor Bradley
It will be important for Bradley to continue his rapid growth at Liverpool next season. As we have looked at before, the Slot system encourages the fullbacks to invert and get involved in the attack often.
However, with Alexander-Arnold fit and firing, that means Bradley might not be an instant name on the team sheet.
Yet, if he can continue playing at the exceptional level we saw in early spring, he could allow the option for Alexander-Arnold to finally make the move to midfield. Trent could become a permanent fixture in the double pivot spot under Arne.
If the Dutchman can trust that Bradley will hold the fort down at right-back, he might be more inclinded to explore options with Trent. So in a way, an ever improving Conor Bradley could mean the Reds gain two whole new players. Himself and a full-time Trent midfielder.