Arne Slot has acknowledged that Liverpool are keeping a close watch on the transfer market.
However, he also emphasized the challenge of enhancing the squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp.
Despite a successful pre-season tour of the U.S., which saw Liverpool secure three consecutive victories, the Dutchman has yet to make his first signing as Liverpool head coach.
He has been in ongoing discussions with sporting director Richard Hughes about the available options, with conversations continuing daily.
“The bar is really high for new signings because we have so many good players,” Slot said.
“It is not so easy to first find a player to meet those standards and then is he available?
“Then we have to find an agreement with them, so it is not always easy to find a player who can help us.
“Richard is working hard on it and let’s see what comes from this. If he’s not here with us then we speak on the phone many times.
“My main focus has been on working with the team and preparing them in the best possible way for the first Premier League game.
“He’s working on things and he keeps me updated.”
When asked whether he was considering adding a holding midfielder to his squad this month, Slot responded: “I think Ryan (Gravenberch) did really well in that position (against Manchester United in South Carolina) and we have other options as well.
“The best way to judge it is when we have all the players back and we still haven’t, but a club like Liverpool always keeps its eye open to see what’s available, players who can strengthen the squad and that is what we — Richard mostly — but me as well are looking to do.
“That is not particular to one position.
“We constantly evaluate the squad where can we do something and what we have.”
There are also significant decisions to be made regarding outgoings. Liverpool have rejected bids for Wataru Endo, Sepp van den Berg, and Fabio Carvalho.
Additionally, young talents such as Tyler Morton, Bobby Clark, and Ben Doak are drawing interest from other clubs.
“I think other clubs have more players than us but it depends on who you are counting,” Slot said.
“If you are counting all the youngsters on the tour then there are many but a few of them will go back to the under-21s or under-18s so I don’t think we have too many.
“In most positions we have double and that is completely normal. If you look at other Premier League clubs (laughs) you see more players than double in every position.
“For me, we have a normal amount of players, especially if you play all these cup games and we have to play more Champions League games this season.”
Slot is eagerly anticipating having his full squad together for the first time at Kirkby on Tuesday, with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Alisson all back in the mix.
Gomez was close to leaving Liverpool for Newcastle United earlier this summer, with discussions centered around Anthony Gordon potentially moving in the opposite direction.
Alexander-Arnold, who is in the final year of his contract, spoke with Slot prior to the Euros, but his future was not a topic of discussion at that time.
“We didn’t speak about his commitment, we only spoke about the way I wanted him to play and how he could fit in that style,” Slot revealed.
“He was mainly focused on the Euros at that moment we spoke and I saw some clips from people recently showing me that he looks really fit and sharp. I can’t wait to see him train.
“But some others did quite well on the tour so it is interesting to see if the others come back and the level goes up even more.
“We have a good platform to build from and not just because of this tour.
“Jurgen left this squad in a very good place.
“Now it is up to us to keep performing like Liverpool did for so many years.”
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