Slot must bin Liverpool’s “Origi regen”

When defending a Premier League title, it is important to ensure you make signings of outstanding quality.

Liverpool did that, didn’t they? A record-breaking summer spending spree consolidated FSG’s new era, with Arne Slot at the helm. The league title was in the bank, and players like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike arrived with a weight of expectation, regarded as elite talents.

Isak, in particular, was a banker, having been hailed by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher as “the best striker in the Premier League right now” as Newcastle United rode the crest of a wave through last season’s winter period.

But, having forced his way out of St. James’ Park this summer, missing out on pre-season, the Sweden striker has found himself on a sticky wicket, lacking sharpness and coherence. Across 752 minutes of action this season, Isak has scored just two goals.

Better days will surely come for this world-class player. And it’s not like he’s alone in flattering to deceive, with Ibrahima Konate and Cody Gakpo among those to have put their jobs at risk with such poor performances.

The Liverpool players whose jobs are at risk

First, let’s address the elephant in the room: Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian’s incendiary interview after the recent Premier League draw at Elland Road has cast his Reds future into jeopardy, the 33-year-old having been left out of three successive starting line-ups before being dropped ahead of the win over Inter.

Salah has been poor this season, ineffective in front of goal and lacking work-rate in regard to pressing and defending. The intensity hasn’t been there, but Salah’s struggles have been a part of a wider malaise.

When he aired his frustrations, the Egypt superstar might have been referencing someone like Gakpo, who has reprised his starting berth regularly this term despite struggling for fluency and dynamism down the left flank. Liverpool need a more protean threat, for sure.

Konate may have been the worst of the bunch. Certainly, the France centre-back has been riddled with mistakes, lacking any semblance of the powerhouse of last season. He is out of contract at the end of the season, but FSG plan to renew his deal.

These are players who have not done their reputations justice this season, and many of a Liverpool persuasion would press for upgrades after such a wretched campaign.

However, there’s another man who has been in finer fettle than the lot, and yet he may need to be sold too, given Slot’s reluctance to hand him minutes.

FSG could sell Liverpool’s “Origi regen”

Last season, Federico Chiesa flattered to deceive at Liverpool. The Italy international arrived in August 2024 as the sole summer signing of Slot’s first transfer window, a cut-price buy of just £12.5m as he entered the final year of his contract with Juventus.

Chiesa had to wait until the title was wrapped up before he earned a starting berth in the Premier League, and while Slot has yet to hand the 27-year-old an appearance from the outset in the Premier League and Champions League this season, Chiesa has redeemed himself with some impressive performances.

An intense and direct forward, the Italian scored the late winner against Bournemouth in August, sealing three points on the first game of the Premier League season. He bagged again against Crystal Palace in September, a consolation in defeat, while assisting twice against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

This kind of potency has even seen the versatile forward hailed as a “Divock Origi regen” by reporter Lewis Oldham for his clutch quality in the final third, popping up when teammates around him were foundering.

The problem: Slot clearly doesn’t favour Chiesa as a prominent member of the squad. And we have to believe that Liverpool will turn a corner sooner rather than later, challenging again for silverware, rather than scraping the gutter for points.

Would Chiesa fit into grand plans of greater ambition? Could the plain truth be that we saw how that transpired last year?

Given that he earns £150k per week, more than most of his teammates, FSG may feel that they are not getting bang for their buck, and that they need to invest in a wide forward better aligned with Slot’s vision.

For this reason, it might be worth cashing in while Liverpool can still recoup something of their shrewd, low-risk investment.