The hot topic of this summer transfer season remains that No. 6 or CDM position. With Martin Zubimendi finding it difficult to leave his Basque home club and no Plan B target, it appears that Liverpool are as is.
The No. 6 position goes a long a way to define the backline also. The defence saw several changes last season and it will be interesting to see how that resonates this coming year which we will take a deeper look.
Centre-Back
We have to start with the surprise package of last year. Jarell Quansah the 21-year old defender was the breakout star.
After coming on against Newcastle, Quansah held down a regular spot alongside Virgil van Dijk. Whether he starts as regularly as he did last season largely depends on the injuries of Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Both players are known to have spells on the sidelines. There is also the factor that young stars who burst through may suffer a dip in form.
Playing for Liverpool any kind of error or mishap will be analyzed in greater detail than normal. There was the error against Manchester United last season but it was rare.
Quansah has a fantastic mentor alongside him and Liverpool should make the most of that by playing him often. As long as he stays on top of his game there is no reason why he shouldn’t be the first choice alongside Van Dijk.
Konate had an indifferent season last year. The niggling injuries and coming in and out of the team clearly is a factor in this.
On this basis it is clear that Konate’s minutes need to be managed. From a squad perspective it is comforting knowing that there is the quality of Konate and Gomez in the squad.
This will be needed when Liverpool navigate the Champions League games in the week and the Midday kicks offs on the following Saturdays.
Right-Back
The other emerging star from later on last season was the 21-year old Northern Ireland native, Conor Bradley.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the obvious first choice at the Right-Back position however without a No. 6, would Arne Slot be tempted to push Alexander-Arnold to that position knowing that he has a ready made replacement to slot(No pun intended) in at RB?
Bradley is no TAA but carries a different kind of threat on that right hand side. We saw against Chelsea at Anfield that he also has a goal in him. It is a regular occurrence for Bradley to get into goal scoring positions.
Gomez has been an able deputy on occasions last season and before in this position too. It is worth stating that since Bradley has come in he would be the second choice behind Alexander-Arnold.
Left-Back
If the holding midfield position is an issue then the left-back position comes in as a close second.
Andy Robertson had a stellar game against Las Palmas in preseason and was probably the best player on the pitch.
As it stands, Robertson is the first choice in his position. With Robertson’s athleticism and the way he plays the game he is susceptible to injuries.
He is on the wrong side of 30 to compound matters. Last year saw him miss a great deal of the season and we could see a repeat of this.
Kostas Tsimikas is the deputy at this spot but Slot may prefer him over Robertson. It would not be too much of a surprise if the Greek Scouser lines up against Ipswich this weekend.
His form can be erratic and the fanbase have yet to see any kind of consistent form from Tsimikas. In the case of his defence, Tsimikas has not had a consistent run of games to produce that form. This season could be the season where he establishes himself as first choice but has a big job to dislodge Robertson.
Gomez showed great form at left-back last season in the absence of Robertson and Tsimikas. It is difficult to see how Gomez fits in this coming season considering that a deal had been agreed with Newcastle for Gomez to move to the North East.
It should be remembered that it was Gomez who partnered van Dijk in the title winning season. We could see the emergence of that partnership again as Gomez is more experienced than Quansah and is more injury robust than Konate. As mentioned above Gomez can also come in as right-back when needed.
Tactics
The key tactical facet of Slot’s football is being able to pass the ball quickly and under pressure.
All the centre-backs have this ability and that bodes well. All the full-backs discussed above are athletic enough to get up and down the wing but also are smart on the ball and in possession.
The only question that remains unanswered is what kind of relationship is developed between the defence and the midfield considering that the No. 6 position is still unsolved.