Henry Winter names three stars Arne Slot can’t rely on after Liverpool boss makes first major mistake

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been told he walked right into an “ambush” at Plymouth on Sunday as his side were eliminated from the FA Cup, with journalist Henry Winter identifying three players the Reds manager learned he cannot rely on and having made it clear he needs to target four new signings this summer.

The Dutch coach has proved a brilliant successor to Jurgen Klopp at Anfield winning an incredible 29 of his 38 matches in charge so far. Having steered Liverpool to the top of the Premier League, through to the last 16 of the Champions League and into the Carabao Cup final so far, hopes are growing that this could be one of the most successful campaigns in their history.

However, the FA Cup will not be on the Reds’ list of possible trophy triumphs this season after they slipped to an extremely disappointing 1-0 loss to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle at a bouncing Home Park on Sunday. While Slot put out a much-changed and weakened side for the contest, he could have few complaints after seeing them beaten 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Ryan Hardie after 53 minutes.

The result was another sign of the improvement that Argyle have made under new manager Miron Muslic, having beaten high-flying West Brom last time out and drawn at fourth-placed Sunderland in the game before that.

And while the Liverpool scalp is obviously the most impressive yet, Slot has come in for some rare criticism off the back of the defeat, with Winter using his Substack to highlight the loss as his first major mistake since succeeding Klopp.

‘Arne Slot’s teamsheet did Mirlon Music’s team-talk for him’, Winter wrote. ‘It wasn’t so much the 10 changes to Liverpool’s starting XI that was disrespectful to Plymouth Argyle but the bench. The A-listers were left at home. Slot naively thought his B team could beat a proud EFL club with an ambitious new head coach, a reinforced defence and an impassioned support.

‘Slot walked into an ambush at Home Park and didn’t have the cavalry to rescue him. He’s filling some big boots at Liverpool and until yesterday has not put a foot wrong as Jurgen Klopp’s successor.

‘The sole positives are that Liverpool get a free weekend before their away game in the Champions League round of 16; that Slot will have a better view of Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa after they failed to seize their opportunities and that Joe Gomez is too injury-prone; and that he and [sporting director] Richard Hughes will have to focus on a centre-back, a left-back, a centre-forward as well as another high-quality midfielder in the summer’.

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Why the assessment of Chiesa is somewhat harsh

While many will question Liverpool’s lack of strength in depth as an issue – particularly amid the club’s refusal to spend much money in either of the two transfer windows Slot has overseen so far – Winter does make the fair point that Slot’s selections were indeed somewhat disrespectful.

Indeed, the central midfield pairing of James McConnell and Trey Nyoni were always going to struggle and were thrown in at the deep end on both a difficult pitch and in hostile atmosphere. Asking both to cope with such an occasion was always a big ask for a pairing that went into the game with just six senior appearances between them.

As for Chiesa, after a season of playing catch-up with his fitness and having missed a pre-season programme which Slot has readily admitted has been a significant factor in his slow start, Sunday’s loss at Plymouth – only his third start for the club – was not a fair game in which to pass judgement.

Indeed, there is a fair assumption that Chiesa’s teammates were simply not on the same wavelength as the 51-times capped Italy winger, with many of his tricks, flicks and efforts failing to get the reward they perhaps deserved. On one occasion, a neat reverse pass to Kostas Tsimikas caught the full-back flat-footed, while various flicks around the corner to teammates might have been anticipated better with different and a better level of player alongside him.

To summarise, it would be harsh to blame Sunday’s loss on Chiesa, and while a low bar, he was arguably the pick of a very poor Liverpool performance on Sunday.

Latest Liverpool transfer news: ‘Early’ Salah exit fears; Jota’s Arsenal links

Meanwhile, the Reds have been given fresh cause for concern over the future of Mo Salah amid claims that a move to Saudi Arabia now looks closer than ever amid a worrying double update and following a report that moots the possibility of the Egyptian’s early departure from Anfield before his contract officially expires.

The 32-year-old might not be the only big name attacker to exit Anfield this summer either after a report on Sunday revealed the names of THREE other forwards Slot could let go.

One of those – Diogo Jota – has already been linked with a surprise move to Arsenal.

Elsewhere, fresh claims over the future of Virgil van Dijk has seen Liverpool once again linked with a move for a face very familiar to Slot as the Dutchman looks to sign a quality successor for the Reds club captain.

Slot’s record for Liverpool after Plymouth cup upset