Liverpool will “wait for the right moment” to add to squad – Arne Slot

Arne Slot insists Liverpool will “wait for the right moment” to strengthen their squad and has not ruled out a late move before the January transfer window closes.

Season-ending injuries to Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley have increased calls for defensive reinforcements, but Liverpool have missed out on former target Marc Guehi, who is set to join Manchester City.

City have also completed the signing of Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo.

So far, Liverpool’s January business has focused on the academy, with the arrival of Senegal youth international Mor Talla Ndiaye and a deal close for Austrian prospect Ifeanyi Ndukwe.

Slot said he remains aligned with sporting director Richard Hughes and the recruitment team on when and if the club should act before the window shuts.

“Are we less stretched in attack, then? I am a bit surprised people are talking like this,” Slot said when asked about the prospect of a defensive arrival this month.

“You think we have more options in the front? I am surprised people are so focused on our last line.

“We don’t have an injury in our midfield so that is the line we don’t have them but I think I have said it in the press conference but I can say it one more time.

“Everyone is aligned, everyone knows what the challenges are, and we all agree but that is not to say there is no possibility for us to act because as you know this club has always waited for the right moment and never from a position of panic.

“We always do the right things at the right moment. The one who was here before me had some issues at the back as well in a certain season.

“If the right player arrives for multiple reasons no matter what the position in our team – it could be last line, midfield or attack – then we will act.

“If not we do it with the players we have because Wata (Wataru Endo) has come back now as well. At this moment there are only three players who are out with long-term injuries (Leoni, Bradley and Alexander Isak).

“[We won’t move] unless it’s an opportunity or a chance in the market, but I think we have shown in this window or in the summer how we act. That has been meticulous and a very detailed process that is not done in two weeks but over a long period of time but then we act at the right moment.

“But if there is an opportunity in the market or if things get even worse, we can have a different situation.”

Slot added: “I think this club has always shown, similar to bringing players in, that we never say no.

“This club has always shown that if another club makes the right offer – and we think it is the right offer and a good offer, and I don’t include only me, I include the sporting directors and our owners – then we can make a decision we all agree on.

“But at this moment in time, we are working with the players we have. So that is something you know how this club works too.

“I don’t think at other clubs, I have said many times, months ago, that everyone is talking about our £450m spend and everyone is forgetting we sold for £300m. And I cannot blame anyone because I think we, Liverpool, are quite an exception to selling.

“Usually most Premier League clubs only buy and that is why it is such an unbelievable accomplishment. It is so well run this club so it can perform at the level it has in recent years.”

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