Jamie Carragher warns ‘four or five’ Liverpool stars Arne Slot ‘doesn’t rate’ as THREE summer targets are named

Jamie Carragher is predicting Liverpool will be one of the more active sides in the summer transfer window and expects three players of real quality to arrive at Anfield in the close season after indicating Arne Slot is not a fan of several players currently at his disposal.

The Reds secured a statement 2-0 win at Manchester City on Sunday, completing the league double over the reigning champions and remaining the only Premier League side not to lose away from home this season. More significantly, it also opens up an 11-point lead at the top of the table – and it would take a monumental collapse if Liverpool were not to be crowned champions now.

Liverpool also hope to add even more silverware to their trophy cabinet this season with the Reds also through to the Carabao Cup final and through to the last-16 of the Champions League, where they face Paris Saint-Germain.

But the real prize would be the Premier League title – only the second they have won in 35 years – and ensuring a remarkable first season at the helm for Slot regardless of what else happens.

Having not even added to his squad since taking over from Jurgen Klopp – aside the £12.5m deal agreed for Federico Chiesa – Slot will be expected to be a big spender in this summer’s window.

And club legend Carragher believes Slot will have already identified the three positions he wants to improve on – as well as the players he is happy to get rid of too.

£What I would say is, and it is an exciting thing for Liverpool, Slot hasn’t bought anyone really,” Carragher told Sky Sports following the 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

“They bought Chiesa last minute to cover [Mohamed] Salah if he was injured. He is going to know this squad a lot better going into next season and if I’m being honest, he only ever used 14 or 15 players.

“There are probably four or five players in the squad he doesn’t rate. I am not being critical but he is probably thinking now I know what this team needs.

“While this team is going to go on and win the league title, I still think there are three positions in this team that can be improved quite a bit.

“I think Liverpool, could bring a left back in, a centre forward in and an attacking midfielder, players coming into the team then maybe certain areas of the team.”

READ MORE 🔴 Liverpool urged by ex-Red to sign Alexander Isak who’d ‘love’ to leave Newcastle for Anfield

How much Liverpool will spend this summer and who they will target

Of the likely summer transfer activity, Carragher added: “That’s pretty exciting because you would imagine Liverpool have money to spend.”

According to our transfer insider, Fraser Fletcher, Slot is likely to have around £200m at his disposal this summer – and the big focus is likely to be on quality over quantity in what has been described as a ‘historic window’ for the club.

Striker Darwin Nunez is expected to depart, with the Reds setting a £60m fee on his head.

With a move to Saudi Arabia the likely option, replacing him in attack is likely to be his first port of call and where the largest part of his budget is likely to be spent.

Sources have informed us that Slot is an admirer of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and, while a move will not be easy and would likely cost a fee in excess of the current British record deal of £115m Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo, the striker’s stance on a move to Anfield will undoubtedly help their cause.

Despite that, qualification for the Champions League will aid Newcastle’s chances of retaining the Swede, while trusted journalist Ben Jacobs has told us that Newcastle have zero intentions of allowing him to leave this summer.

As far as a new left-back is concerned, Liverpool are very much on the trail of Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and the Hungarian has now dropped a sizeable hint that a summer move to Anfield could be on the cards.

“It wouldn’t look bad [working with Szoboszlai at Liverpool], that’s for sure,” Kerkez said.

“But it’s too early to talk about something like that. I have big goals with Bournemouth, we still have a lot of games to win, that’s the most important thing right now.”

As for the identity of the new attacking midfielder that Carragher references, that remains a mystery and one that will likely unfold as the weeks and months roll by.

Opening up on his need to strengthen his squad this summer, Slot told a press conference last week: “We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team, and I think we’ve said this many times, last summer, we didn’t do a lot because we, Richard, me and all the other people involved, just wanted to know how these players were working with me.

“Now we have a very good idea about that. I’m not going to tell you which positions we prefer, but it is clear that we’ve assessed the squad, we’ve assessed what we think where we can improve, and that’s where we try to go for in the summer.”

Liverpool transfer latest: Fans plea for Isak; Brazilian right-back linked

Liverpool supporters, meanwhile, feel Isak would fit perfectly into Slot’s side next season and a wave of them have made their feelings clear on the prospect of signing him this summer following his brace in their 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The Reds may also need to sign a new right-back if Trent Alexander-Arnold departs as a free agent and now reports from Brazil have namechecked Flamengo star Wesley as Richard Hughes’ new preferred target.

How much a deal would cost for the uncapped 21-year-old has also come to light.

The Reds are also seemingly chasing top Norwegian midfield prospect Sverre Nypan, with a report revealing how the Reds are trying to convince him to snub a move to Arsenal.

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