Arne Slot makes Liverpool prediction for 2026 with transfer reality clear - 'Serious chance'

Liverpool made lots of changes in the summer transfer window, with Arne Slot expecting to see more from those who came in, like Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)

Arne Slot expects Liverpool to improve and kick on in the second half of the season, with his new signings, like Florian Wirtz, showing signs of settling in after a difficult few months.

Liverpool is up to fourth in the Premier League standings but looks out of contention for competing at the very top of the league. Slot, though, believes that better things are coming, with Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong among those to play well in the last couple of weeks after coming in last summer.

"Yeah, for sure," Slot said when he was asked if he expects Liverpool to be better in the second half of the season than the first, as a result of the players getting used to one another.

"That’s not only for the new players," Slot explained. "If you bring in a lot of new players and a lot of players leave, usually at least if I do my job well, they will play better football the longer they are here and when they have more training time and playing time.

"You saw this last season because that team was here the year before all the same with Jurgen [Klopp]. In the first half of last season, we played very good football. That is helpful.

"History has shown many times that the longer players play together, the bigger the chance you have of winning something. If you add players to what you have, there is a serious chance of improving.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"If you replace, like we have done, then it takes time. And usually it gets better after a certain period of time. Unfortunately, Giovanni Leoni, we won’t see him this season, and Alex [Isak] will take a long time before we see him again.

"You can do the numbers of how much money that is, combined with how much we have sold, that is maybe an interesting story to make."

While Liverpool spent around $600M on new players, around half of that was offset by sales, with substantial parts of the team moving on including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz.

Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Jarell Quansah all left Liverpool during the summer transfer window(Image: Getty Images)

In terms of cost, more than a third (around 35 per cent) of the Liverpool summer incomings are currently sidelined (Isak and Leoni).

Add in Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili, who have not played much either through being second choice or injured, and that figure rises to 48 per cent, showing that while Liverpool went big, it shouldn't be a huge surprise that value for money has not yet become apparent.

Slot has spoken a lot about PSG in recent months, with Luis Enrique's team setting the benchmark around Europe in 2025.

And with the signings of Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, the flying full-backs, comparisons, style-wise, have been drawn between the two sides. Frimpong is back from injury now, and played very well against Wolves.

"We had to make one change in that position because Trent left," Slot said. "That was not ideal for me as Trent was so important to this club and was very important for me last season.

"When we looked in the market, Jeremie was one of the first we noticed. He has that pace similar to Conor, Milos and Robbo. That pace is one thing going forward.

"But also, if you face the forwards of Paris Saint-Germain or many Premier League teams with very, very, very fast wingers, it is definitely helpful to have them. Unfortunately for them they have not always had the same players in front of them.

"So it is still a work in progress, especially because too many times not all of them have been available and we have had to change because of load management. But bit by bit, we see players and the team improving."