How will Arne Slot change his team to win the Champions League in 2026 | OneFootball

Despite closing in on their twentieth Premier League title, Liverpool are in need of a rebuild in the summer. In fact, recent losses to Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain have highlighted some notable issues Arne Slot needs to address.

The back-to-back defeats to the Ligue 1 giants and the Toon Army ended Liverpool’s Champions League and Carabao Cup hopes respectively.

And while Arne Slot’s troops have played their part in a memorable first season in charge for the Dutchman, the former Feyenoord boss won’t want to rest on his laurels. Particularly given the competitive nature of highly desirable competitions like the Champions League.

Will Trent, Salah and Van Dijk stay?

If Liverpool are to put together a more sustained push for European glory next season, then their star trio of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have to stay. With their deals expiring at the end of the season, though, nothing is certain.

Alarmingly, Slot could easily require a new leader at the back in the same mould as Van Dijk, a full-back who can replicate the type of creativity Trent has shown with his 64 league assists since 2016, and a reliable goal-getter in Salah who, at the time of writing, is responsible for a league-high 63.8 per cent of all Liverpool’s goal involvements this season.

All three players are vital to any Champions League hopes Liverpool have next season. With no obvious ready-made replacements lined up, fans who make the best bets today with FIRST.com and select their UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football squads will probably ignore Liverpool.

Should at least one key cog in Liverpool’s wheel depart, then it’s fixable. Should all three players leave, though, then the Reds suddenly become an unknown quantity.

While it might be out of Slot’s hands given FSG’s refusal to tie players over the age of 30 down to long-term deals, replacing the likes of 32-year-old Salah’s attacking output and 33-year-old club captain Van Dijk’s fine form at the back will be tough for him and sporting director Richard Hughes to navigate.

Attacking reinforcements are key

As the blunt performance against Newcastle at Wembley highlighted, when Mohamed Salah isn’t quite at the races, Liverpool’s other attacking players rarely step up to the plate.

The Reds are heavily reliant on their Egyptian star, backed up by the fact that Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Federico Chiesa have just five Premier League goals between them this season.

Meanwhile, when assessing the competition, Barcelona’s attacking threats of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal have 23 European goals between them, compared to Liverpool’s return of just nine goals from forward players like Salah, Diaz, and Gakpo. With that in mind, adding more goals and some additional attacking options for Slot to have at his disposal is a necessity.

Ageing squad could result in new-look Liverpool

Alongside the lack of trust Arne Slot appears to have in his attacking players is an ageing squad that needs refreshing. More options in the final third are required for a serious Champions League push, with the physical and mental toll of a gruelling season taking it out of some of Slot’s regular performers.



The midfield area of the pitch has also gone stale, with the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai rarely being rotated. Throw in the fact that Liverpool have the fourth-oldest average starting XI age in the Premier League this season [27.65] and some fresh talent is required.

Conclusion

In the biggest of games in the Champions League, solely relying on some Salah magic to get Liverpool over the line is a big ask. Likewise, another punishing schedule could impact Slot’s ageing troops.

Should Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk depart the club, though, then we could see even bigger changes to come at Liverpool. One thing’s for certain, adding more squad depth needs to be the focus if Liverpool are to win the Champions League in 2026.