A round-up of the latest Liverpool news as Arne Slot issues his honest verdict on Luis Diaz and Jamie Carragher offers his prediction for their Premier League title chances.
Darwin Nunez stunned by Ben Doak in Liverpool training
Pre-season offered Ben Doak a chance to impress new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot. But it also gave the teenager a chance to show the Reds’ first-team what he can do with further senior games at Anfield, and Doak has left a positive impression on especially Darwin Nunez.
Doak has only featured in 10 competitive senior games since joining Liverpool from Celtic in 2022. Just five of those fixtures also came last season due to a knee injury, before Doak also picked up a fitness problem that saw the winger withdraw from Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad.
Yet despite his limited competitive minutes for Liverpool and Scotland, Doak has a big fan in Nunez. The Uruguayan can be heard in the latest episode of Inside Training greeting the 18-year-old at the AXA Training Centre and stating, “What a player!”, while they clasped hands.
Read more about what Nunez thinks of Liverpool prospect Doak, here.
Jamie Carragher backs Liverpool to win the Champions League over the Premier League
Reds hero Jamie Carragher feels Liverpool have a greater chance of winning the Champions League than the Premier League in Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield. The Dutchman is set to take in his first competitive game since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title just once since the division split from the EFL in 1992/93. Klopp delivered the first top-flight title on Merseyside in 30 years during the Covid-interrupted 19/20 term. But third place was the best that Liverpool would achieve in 23/24.
A late-season collapse with three wins in their last eight games left Liverpool nine points shy of champions Manchester City. But it sealed their return to the Champions League after one year away. Now, Carragher thinks UEFA glory is more likely than domestic success with Slot.
Carragher said on The Overlap: “Liverpool have got more chance of winning the Champions League than the Premier League.”
Read more about what Carragher thinks of Liverpool’s Premier League title chances, here.
Arne Slot rules out Liverpool sanctioning a transfer for Luis Diaz
New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has ruled out sanctioning any transfer out of Anfield for Luis Diaz this summer. The Dutchman is determined to retain the Colombian after admiring what he gifted the Reds during their pre-season this year and from afar under Jurgen Klopp.
Diaz only returned to the Reds’ AXA Training Centre at the start of August as Colombia made the Copa America final. But he quickly gained further respect from Slot, who is now loath to let the 27-year-old move on given Diaz has interest from PSG and FC Barcelona in a transfer.
Diaz joined Liverpool in January 2022 from FC Porto and has 24 goals plus 13 assists in 98 appearances so far. He offered eight of those goals plus five assists over 37 Premier League games last season. Now, Slot hopes to see Diaz penning even more goals in a Liverpool shirt.
Slot stated in his pre-Ipswich press conference on Friday: “His future is with us because I like a lot what I’ve seen in the last 10 days, and I saw the same last season. He’s had a big impact on Liverpool’s seasons and I’m hoping he has a big impact on this season, too.”
Read more about what Slot has said about Diaz’s Liverpool future, here.
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