Slot makes emotional Diogo Jota admission when questioned on Liverpool links to Osimhen

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has come clean on summer links to Victor Osimhen, explaining whether he was ever a target and having revealed why the tragic passing of Diogo Jota forced the Reds’ hand in the transfer market.

We exclusively revealed back in early February that the Merseyside giants were set to embark on a historical summer of spending at Anfield – a motion which came to pass and then some as Liverpool forked out some £440m (€505m, $600m) on new players to truly change the shape of Slot’s title-winning squad.

Tragically, the unexpected and, still somewhat unbelievable, passing of Diogo Jota in a car crash in early July, altered the Liverpool summer strategy, with the Reds ultimately deciding to bring in two new strikers instead of the one they were always intending to sign.

While the Reds eventually added both Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak – the latter for a British record fee of £125m on transfer deadline day – to their ranks, they were also linked with a plethora of other attackers over what turned out to be a frantic and madcap summer window.

One of those strongly mentioned with a move to Anfield was Osimhen, with the Nigeria striker having enjoyed a brilliant season on loan with Galatasaray, but with his career at a crossroads as he contemplated a permanent move away from parent club Napoli.

Ultimately, the prolific Osimhen went on to rejoin the Turkish champions in a permanent deal and in a small twist of fate, the 26-year-old will get the chance to show Slot and Liverpool what they are missing in a juicy-looking Champions League clash on Tuesday evening.

Slot has now been questioned on those links, but insists they never looked beyond either Ekitike or Isak, though did admit that Jota’s heartbreaking passing did ultimately alter their thinking.

“How should I say this in the right way in English… Because of an enormous tragedy that happened with Diogo Jota in the end we had to bring in two number nines,” Slot told the media.

“We always thought we were going to replace Darwin Nunez, but in the end we had to bring in two number nines.

“We are always looking for very good players, but it was always clear to us from the start that we wanted to bring in these two [Ekitike and Isak] if we needed to.”

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Ekitike comes clean on Liverpool competition with Isak

While Osimhen faces a fitness test ahead of the game and might not be fit to feature for 90 minutes, he is expected to be seen at one stage.

For the Reds, Slot also has some selection battle decisions to make of his own and he may well be tempted to recall Ekitike after the French striker was forced to sit out Saturday’s defeat at Crystal Palace owing to a needless red card sustained against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

On that subject, a new conspiracy theory has emerged as to why he ultimately saw red, owing to a silly pre-planned decision.

Either way, with the 22-year-old available for selection again in Istanbul, Slot must decide whether to recall the player or give another outing to record signing Isak as the Swede continues to build up his fitness.

Ekitike, meanwhile, insists competition for a start with Isak is no issue to him, explaining to the media: “I think it’s good with players in such a big club. “I can’t see one big club playing with only one striker, so I think it’s good that he’s here.

“Even for me at my age, I think I still have a lot of things to improve and learn, so for me it’s good that he’s here.

“[As for if we can play together] that’s for the coach to decide how he wants to play. That’s not me.

“But obviously, it’s great players. I’ve been playing in two-striker composition, one striker, so I can do a lot of things. If we have to play together, I can do that.”

On the red card he sustained, he added: “I think that wasn’t smart. Obviously, I punished myself alone, I’d say.

“I felt a bit disappointed to watch the boys from home last Saturday, but, as I said [on Instagram], I apologise to everybody already, to my teammates.

“That kind of thing won’t happen again. I just move on now. I am just looking forward to playing, and I just focus on football.”

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In other news, Slot has been told he may have been too hasty in his decision to offload Tyler Morton this summer, with the French media frothing at the mouth over the impact the 22-year-old has made in France and having compared him to a current Man Utd star in his prime.

With the Morton money in the bank, Liverpool are making plans to sign not one, but TWO new defenders in the 2026 transfer windows, with sources revealing to TEAMtalk which player is at the very top of Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes’ wishlist.

It’s not just in defence that the Reds are keen to strengthen, either, with reports also suggesting that Liverpool are one of five Premier League clubs keen on signing an exciting Genk talent, who has been described as a Greek God and is also noted for his flair, creativity, and potential.

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