Football Apr 28, 2026

Liverpool need to sell before buying this summer, says Arne Slot as pressure mounts after Champions League exit

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Liverpool need to sell before buying this summer, says Arne Slot as pressure mounts after Champions League exit

Arne Slot says Liverpool will need to raise funds through sales before they can make any new signings this summer.

Liverpool spent a record £446.5m last summer but a difficult season has shown the need to continue the rebuild, with Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson set to leave on free transfers and Hugo Ekitike feared to have suffered a serious injury.

The club funded last summer's spending by selling a string of players including Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Ben Gannon Doak and Tyler Morton.

And with many of last summer's recruits, including Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, having struggled for form and fitness, Slot says more players will need to be sold to fund any new additions.

"We are losing Mo and Andy Robertson on a free transfer, as we lost Trent on a free transfer, and this model of the club means that we have to sell, usually, to buy," he told Amazon Prime after the Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain.

"It's a big challenge. It was already last season and it's going to be a challenge in the summer again. But this club has also shown many times that this model works and we can be very successful.

"We have signed very good and talented players. Let's hope they are all fit, and most of them go into their second season in the Premier League.

"As I said many times, the future looks very good, especially if we can add a few good signings after good players leave this summer."

Ibrahima Konate is one of the players whose future at the club appears uncertain, with the defender having so far failed to agree a contract extension, leaving Liverpool under pressure to sell this summer before his contract expires next year.

Slot's comments come amid uncertainty surrounding his own future.

The Dutchman, who guided Liverpool to the Premier League title last season, has a year remaining on his contract but Jamie Carragher has said failure to clinch a Champions League finish could spell the end of his reign.

Liverpool currently occupy one of the Champions League qualifying spots in fifth, four points clear of Chelsea, but face Everton in Sunday's Merseyside derby, live on Your Site, having only won one of their last four Premier League games

"If you don't qualify for the Champions League, having won the league the season before and spent as much as Liverpool, I don't think you've got a leg to stand on," Carragher said on Monday Night Football in February.

"The real worry I have for Liverpool in terms of qualifying for the Champions League is the three big things that stand out in the Premier League now are set-pieces, counter-attacking football and coming up against low blocks.

"Liverpool can't cope with any of them. What we're seeing is a team in the Premier League that's not suited to the Premier League."

The same issues have resurfaced since Carragher's comments, with Liverpool losing to Wolves and Brighton either side of a draw with Spurs before Saturday's win over Fulham.

"Once you start fearing Champions League qualification for next season, that's when I think we've got a completely different proposition when we're talking about the manager's job," added Carragher. "That, for me, is completely different.

"If we're talking about not winning the league or challenging for the league, that is a collective responsibility, and Liverpool don't win the league every year.

"Not making the Champions League from [being] champions, spending £450m and having the highest wage bill in the Premier League, which is normally the biggest determining factor over where you finish in the league, I think you've got serious questions to ask."

Watch Everton vs Liverpool live on Your Site Premier League and Your Site Main Event on Sunday; kick-off 2pm

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Brentford 3-0 West Ham: Hammers suffer damaging defeat to give Tottenham chance to move out of Premier League relegation zone

Brentford 3-0 West Ham: Hammers suffer damaging defeat to give Tottenham chance to move out of Premier League relegation zone

West Ham have presented Tottenham with the opportunity to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone after suffering a damaging 3-0 defeat at Bre...

Wolves 1-1 Sunderland: Dan Ballard sent off for pulling Tolu Arokodare’s hair as Black Cats can only draw at Molineux

Wolves 1-1 Sunderland: Dan Ballard sent off for pulling Tolu Arokodare’s hair as Black Cats can only draw at Molineux

Wolves and Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw at Molineux as Dan Ballard was sent off for pulling the hair of Tolu Arokodare.When Nordi Mukiele headed S...

Millwall 2-0 Oxford United: Lions must settle for play-offs despite victory

Millwall 2-0 Oxford United: Lions must settle for play-offs despite victory

Millwall had to settle for a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs despite finishing the regular season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over rele...

Ipswich Town 3-0 QPR: Tractor Boys promoted back to Premier League from Championship at first time of asking

Ipswich Town 3-0 QPR: Tractor Boys promoted back to Premier League from Championship at first time of asking

Ipswich have been promoted to the Premier League after a 3-0 win over QPR.A draw would have been enough if Millwall failed to beat Oxford and Middlesb...

Newcastle 3-1 Brighton: Will Osula, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes score as Eddie Howe's side end five-match losing streak

Newcastle 3-1 Brighton: Will Osula, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes score as Eddie Howe's side end five-match losing streak

Newcastle United ended a dismal run of five straight defeats with a 3-1 win over a Europe-chasing Brighton at St James' Park. Will Osula scored Newcas...

Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough: Red Dragons miss out on top six as Boro also condemned to play-offs

Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough: Red Dragons miss out on top six as Boro also condemned to play-offs

Wrexham's hopes of a historic fourth consecutive promotion were ended with a 2-2 Sky Bet Championship draw against Middlesbrough at the SToK Cae Ras.H...